Chapter 3
I hear Daisy sneak out of the house from where I’m sleeping on the couch, and while I’m not surprised she’s leaving like this, a huge part of me wishes she could’ve just stayed. That maybe I could’ve woken up first so she couldn’t sneak out of here like her being here is some dirty little secret.
Maybe it is. I wouldn’t know because I have no idea what the status of her relationship with that fucking asshole is. I don’t talk to the guy anymore, and I am sure as shit not interested in discussing any aspect of how my former friend stole my girlfriend with anyone.
And that’s exactly what he did. The second I left for the mainland too, with the band he wished he was still a part of. I have no doubt he did it out of spite, angry and jealous that he was no longer part of something that looked like it was going to be huge.
So he went after the one thing he knew would get to me.
Daisy.
And not only did he get my girl, the band imploded and all of that fell apart anyway. It was almost like he won twice. Like he fucked me over both ways.
And I lost big time because I didn’t even realize Daze and I had broken up in the first place. I mean, I was always coming back, and she knew that, and even though we did get into this weird argument right before I left, I didn’t think we’d actually broken up.
I thought I was still coming home to her.
The front door opens, and my older brother strolls in, an easy smile on his face, just like always. He kicks off his flip-flops before he sees me lying on the couch.
“Bro, you pass out on the couch or something?” he asks, walking through to the kitchen.
I exhale, heaving myself off the couch as I stand and follow him. “No,” I reply, opening the fridge.
Kai moves in to stand beside me, the two of us in front of the open fridge as we stare at the contents.
It used to drive our mom crazy when we did this back when we lived at home, and she’d always tell us to decide what we wanted from the fridge before we opened it.
Of course, Kai would always tell her we didn’t know what was in the fridge until we opened it.
It was stupid, but clearly, we haven’t grown out of it.
“So why you sleeping on the couch then?” he asks, reaching for a bottle of juice.
I do the same, taking a long swig of the OJ as I debate whether to tell my brother about who I brought home last night. It’s not like it’s going to stay a secret anyway; Nate and Flynn both saw me put Daisy into an Uber. Same with Alana and Sage. One of them is talking, for sure.
I lean back against the counter as I say, “Because Daze slept in my bed.”
Kai’s eyes widen in surprise, his bottle of juice now paused halfway to his mouth. “What?”
“You heard me,” I say, taking another sip.
Kai does the same before asking, “Okay, so if she was in your bed, why were you on the couch?”
I roll my eyes at him as I say, “Really?”
“Well, dude, you want her back, so I mean...” He waves his hand around as though it’s obvious.
“She was drunk, Kai,” I start. “And I don’t know if she’s still with...”
“That dickhead?” Kai asks, and I nod in confirmation. “Pfft, fuck him, Miles. She’s your girl. Fight for her.”
I blow out a breath before taking another sip of juice. “She’s not my girl, Kai. She was, but she’s not anymore.”
“But you want her to be, right?” he asks, chuckling a little when I hit him with a look. “Okay, you do. So you gotta fight for her, Miles. Stop fucking about and thinking you can sit and wait for her to come back to you. Maybe she has no idea you even want her back. You ever think about that?”
I blink at my brother. “Wow, I think that’s the most profound thing you’ve ever said,” I deadpan.
Kai laughs, shaking his head at me. “Dude, I can be profound, and you know I’m right anyway. I’m a lover, not a fighter, remember? So I know love.”
I laugh. “You know love? Since when?”
He shrugs. “Since always.”
“Your one-night stands know that?” I ask, finishing my juice.
He grins, finishing his juice before throwing the bottle toward the recycling. “I never have any complaints. I know that.”
I scoff. “How would you know that? You only fuck tourists who don’t stick around. Maybe they all go home complaining about the shit lay they got while vacationing on Maui.”
“Shit lay, please,” my brother says, stepping toward me. “I know what I’m doing, little brother, and you know if you ever need some advice in that department... Well, I’d be happy to give you some tips.”
“Fuck off,” I say with a laugh.
Kai grins at me. “Just sayin’.”
I finish my juice, putting the cap back on the bottle as I smack it against my brother’s arm. “I’m gonna go grab some breakfast. You wanna come?”
“Yeah, sounds good. Fucking starving after last night,” he adds.
“I don’t want to know.”
Kai and I head over to our favorite breakfast place, a dive down by the water that makes the best breakfast burritos on the island. After we’ve ordered, we head over to one of the old wooden tables to wait for our food.
“So where did you sleep last night?” I ask before taking a sip of my iced coffee.
Kai laughs, his brows popping as he says, “Man, she had a fucking suite at the Orchid Bay. It was epic.”
“Oh my god, Owen’s family’s hotel? Dude, that’s so gross.”
“What? Why?” Kai asks. “Not like Owen or his parents are cleaning the sheets.”
I roll my eyes at his comment. “No, but it is their place. Do you really need to take your dirty sex habits there?”
His grin widens as he says, “It was kinda dirty, actually. She was insane, wanted to fuck all over the suite.”
“Oh my god,” I say, pretending to gag. “Please, stop.”
Kai lets out a loud laugh. “Dude, just because you aren’t getting laid, don’t shit on my bedroom action,” he says, just as our food is dropped off.
“I don’t even want to know about your bedroom action,” I mutter before taking a bite of my food.
Kai laughs, unwrapping his burrito. Just as he’s about to take a bite, something catches his eye behind me. “Yo, Daze,” he calls, as I turn to see Daisy, still wearing the same clothes as last night, standing at the counter, now looking over at us. “Come join us when you’ve ordered,” Kai calls.
“Dude, what the fuck,” I mutter, kicking his foot under the table.
Kai waves Daisy over in case she missed his verbal invitation before turning back to me. “Time to step it up, bro,” he says with a grin.
“Kai, fuck,” I groan, weirdly nervous all of a sudden, even if I’m certain Daisy isn’t even going to join us. While things are definitely better between us, in that we can now actually be in the same room together, that doesn’t mean we’ve suddenly built a bridge and gotten over everything.
Shit is still tense, and as long as she stays with that fucking asshole, I don’t see that changing. Actually, I know it won’t be changing, because I can’t even stand the thought of it, let alone seeing it.
“Hey.”
I look up to see Daisy standing beside our table, an iced coffee in her hand and an almost nervous look on her face. “Hey,” I reply.
“Sit down, Daze, join us,” my brother says, gesturing to the spot beside me. The fucker is certainly working the angle, and I don’t know whether to be grateful or pissed at him. For a guy who seems to give zero fucks about most things, he’s certainly very interested in my love life right now.
“How are you feeling?” I ask, not looking at her.
Daisy takes a long sip of her coffee before she says, “Okay, I guess. Thanks for helping me out last night.”
I nod, just as Kai chimes in with, “Word on the street is you two had a little sleepover last night?”
And yep, there it is.
“She just crashed at ours, Kai. Don’t need to make a big deal out of it,” I murmur before taking another bite of my burrito.
Beside me, Daisy fidgets in her chair as she says, “Yeah, and if we can keep it quiet too, that would be good.”
Kai gives her a look as he says, “From who, Daze, Isaac?”
She squirms beside me, clearly uncomfortable as I say, “Dude, seriously.”
“Not sure it’s the sign of a healthy relationship, is all I’m sayin’,” Kai replies, hitting me with a pointed look now. “But your secret is safe with me, Daze.”
Daisy’s food is dropped off before she can answer, and as she unwraps her burrito, I lift my gaze to Kai’s. He just shrugs, giving me a grin as he takes another bite of his, like nothing about this is weird or uncomfortable or whatever.
There are times when I would give anything to be like my older brother. Because while you can definitely tell we are related, the two of us sharing the same brown hair, brown eyes combination, our personalities couldn’t be more different.
He’s always been the chilled-out extrovert.
The one who isn’t fazed by anything or anyone, and while a lot of people probably think he’s an aimless slacker, I know he’s anything but.
Kai works super hard for our family business, learning the whole board-making thing from our dad and taking every part of it very seriously.
He’s always said I’m his polar opposite, and in a lot of ways, that’s true, preferring solitude and music to picking up tourists in bars for a one-and-done night of fun. But despite our differences, we get along really well. He’s my best friend, and I know I can always count on him for anything.
“So, what’s on the agenda for today?” Kai now asks, and I’m grateful for the subject change. “You guys wanna go surf?”
I turn to Daisy, who turns to me at the same time, our gazes locking and the two of us silently looking at each other, as though we’re both wondering what the other is thinking.
Back in the day, surfing together would be a given.
Fuck, we practically did everything together, but those days are long gone now.
She blinks, licking her bottom lip as she shrugs and says quietly, “I could go for a surf.”
My heart stutters in my chest, unsure what this means or if it even means anything. “Yeah, me too,” I reply, not looking away.
Beneath the table, Kai kicks at my foot, and when I glance across at him, he’s grinning. “Sounds good, let’s do it.”
Thirty minutes later, Daisy, Kai and I are sitting out on our boards, waiting for a wave. While I’m grateful for my brother’s attempts to get her to hang out with us, I’m not sure her coming surfing means anything more than we all know the ocean is a great way to cure a hangover.
And Daisy is definitely hungover today.
“Whoo, I’ve got this one,” Kai says, his face lighting up as he lies down on his board and starts to paddle.
Daisy and I hang back, watching as he slips into the wave, just as it crests, popping up on his board as he raises both arms in the air and lets out a loud whoop. Beside me, Daisy laughs, and when I turn to her, she’s smiling, watching Kai as he surfs in.
“He’s such an idiot,” I mutter.
Daisy chuckles, nodding as she glances over at me. “He is, but he’s fun too.”
“Yeah, he is,” I concede.
“Where was he last night?” she asks, still watching Kai.
I snort. “Where he always is, picking up tourists.”
“He’s still doing that?” Daisy asks, a surprised look on her face.
“Yep. He’ll probably still be doing it when he’s like eighty and gray. Total fucking creeper.”
She laughs again, watching as Kai reaches the shore and jumps off his board before strolling over to a couple of girls standing at the shoreline. “I don’t know, maybe eventually he’ll find the one and stop.”
I turn to Daisy, my eyes taking her in: the blue bikini she’s wearing, the long brown hair, the body I spent so many years learning and worshiping, the tattoo she got.
The tattoo that I know still decorates her inner thigh and is a permanent reminder of what I once was to her.
Fuck, I can still remember the day we got them, the way we both knew we wanted them to be somewhere intimate, dirty almost, like no one else was going to get to see them but us. Hers less so maybe, and I’ve no doubt that fucking asshole has seen it up close many times.
But at least it’s my fucking name he’s staring at.
Dick.
“I doubt it,” I say, as Kai turns to us, waving his arm before he points at the two girls.
I already know what’s about to happen. The fucker is ditching us for them, which means it’s just me and Daisy out here.
Shit, maybe that was his plan all along.
It doesn’t take much to catch Kai’s interest, and clearly these two girls have.
“Is he leaving?” Daisy now asks as she registers what’s happening.
“Sure is.”
She turns to me, swallowing hard as she says, “So it’s just you and me?”
I stare at the girl who stole my heart back in junior high. The girl I can’t stop thinking about and the girl I would do fucking anything for. “Yeah, Daze, just you and me, I guess.”