Chapter 23 Miles
“Hey,” I say as I wander over to where Owen stands, a couple of boards propped against the side of the hut that we always run the lessons from at Orchid Bay.
“Hey, how’s the demolition going?” he asks as we clap hands together in greeting.
“Good,” I reply, laughing. “I kinda think Daze likes swinging the sledgehammer around, destroying the place.”
Owen laughs, shoving a hand through his hair. “I’ll bet she—” He doesn’t finish his sentence, though, his grin widens as he says, “Well, holy fuck, look what the cat dragged in.”
I glance over my shoulder to see his cousin Eli walking toward us, an equally huge grin on his face. It’s been ages since I last saw him, between me leaving for the mainland and Eli heading over to Oahu.
“Hey, dude,” he says, pulling Owen into a hug. “Long time no see.” The two of them embrace, slapping each other on the back, before Eli turns to me and says, “Hey, Miles, how’s it hanging?”
I laugh, holding out my hand as we pull each other in for a half hug. “It’s hanging good, you?”
“Can’t complain,” Eli says.
“When did you get back?” Owen asks.
“Just flew in this morning,” he replies.
“Shit, you back for good or just visiting?”
“Back for good. Got a job with Maui Fire Department. Although, I did swing by home earlier, only to find I’ve been locked out of my own house,” he adds, hitting Owen with a teasing look.
“Ah shit,” he replies, shaking his head. “Sorry, man, we had some issues with a break-in, so I had the locks changed. You’re back permanently?”
Eli laughs, hooking an arm around Owen’s shoulders. “Yeah, I am, and it’s all good. Just giving you shit. Figure I’m gonna need to find somewhere else to live anyway.”
“Nah, of course, you still live there. I just gotta talk to Sloane and get—”
“It’s good, Owen, seriously. I’ll let you and your girl enjoy playing house. I can find somewhere else to live.”
“You should move in with Kai,” I suggest.
“Really?” Eli asks.
“Yeah,” I tell him, pulling my phone from my pocket and firing off a text to my brother. “Daisy and I got a place, so he’s living by himself. Bet he’d love some company, although fair warning, he’s still a total manwhore.”
Eli laughs, running a hand along his jaw. “Sounds like the perfect roommate.”
“Rich coming from you, Eli. How many hearts did you break on Oahu?” Owen now asks, elbowing his cousin in the ribs. “Because from what I remember, you are also a bit of a player.”
Eli shakes his head, chuckling. “Dude, just because you’re a one-woman kinda guy doesn’t mean the same applies to me. I’m too young to settle down.”
“Too young,” Owen mutters, grinning at his cousin. “You’re like twenty-six.”
“Exactly,” Eli confirms.
My phone chimes with an incoming text, and when I glance at the screen, I smile at the message my brother has sent through. “Kai says you can move in today,” I say, holding up my phone screen to Eli. “And that he’s looking forward to having someone to chase tail with.”
Eli reads the message, laughing as he says, “See, he gets it.”
“I literally don’t even want to know what you two are going to get up to,” I say, sticking my phone in my pocket. “I’m just glad I don’t have to fucking listen to it anymore.”
Eli laughs as Owen says, “Gonna have to bleach that house every morning. Scrub out all the debauchery.”
“Please,” Eli scoffs. “Don’t go getting jealous or anything. You made your bed. You lie in it.”
“Jealous?” Owen says with a laugh. “You know there are a million perks to having a live-in girlfriend that you share a bed with. Every. Single. Night.”
“Totally agree,” I chime in.
“Whatever,” Eli says, grinning as he waves away our comments. “Anyway, what are you two up to? Wanna go for a surf?”
“Can’t, got some lessons to give,” Owen says as a group of girls walk past, grinning and giggling, clearly checking us out.
Eli returns the smiles, giving the group a wave as his eyes take them all in, and he says, “No worries, looks like I’ve found something to do anyway. Later,” he adds, before making his way over to the group of girls.
“Fuck me, I’m actually seriously worried about him and Kai living together,” I say as we watch the girls giggle and fawn all over Eli. I mean, he’s a good-looking guy and he’s definitely in great shape, but jesus, he may give even my brother a run for his money.
“It was your brilliant suggestion,” Owen says with a laugh.
“I know,” I say, shaking my head. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”
After my morning with Owen doing surf lessons, I head over to Dad’s shop to work on some boards with him and Kai.
As we’re finishing up, Eli swings by to grab a key from Kai, and somehow, I get roped into helping him and Owen move all his stuff in, which has been stored in the garage at Owen and Sloane’s house while he’s been on Oahu.
“So this is really happening?” I ask as we take a break in the kitchen of my old house.
Beside me, Kai laughs, slinging his arm around my shoulders as he says, “Wasn’t this your brilliant idea, little brother?”
“Yeah,” I reply.
Eli hands me a beer, a huge grin on his face as he says, “It’s gonna be fine, Miles. Besides, aren’t you all loved up with your girl now?”
Now it’s me grinning as I take a sip and say, “Yep.”
“Not just him, your cousin too,” Kai adds, pointing at Owen with his beer bottle.
Owen rolls his eyes playfully as he says, “Yeah, but at least me and Miles are getting it on the regular. You two clowns still have to work for it.”
Kai and Eli look at each other before they both burst out laughing, my brother shaking his head as he says, “Work for it? Fuck that. I never have to work for it.”
Owen bursts out laughing, shaking his head as he says, “Oh man, I cannot wait for the day some woman makes you work for it.”
“Pfft,” Kai scoffs. “That day is never gonna happen, I promise you.”
“Truth,” Eli says, holding his hand out to my brother for a fist pump. “Never.”
Owen and I both laugh at that as we finish our beers before we get back to hauling all of Eli’s stuff into my old house.
It’s late by the time I get home, but the light is still on in the shop. When I walk in, I see Daze through the door to what I know will be her kitchen. She’s covered in dust, her hair pulled into a messy knot on top of her head, and her skin hot and sweaty.
With a smile, I walk through, wrapping my arms around her from behind as I lean in and whisper, “You look kinda filthy.”
She laughs, her head falling back onto my shoulder as she smiles up at me. “Good filthy or bad filthy?”
I drop a kiss to her mouth, my lips against hers as I say, “Always good filthy.”
She smirks, hooking her hand around the back of my neck as she draws me in for another kiss. “Wanna go get me clean?” she murmurs.
“Um, kinda more interested in getting you even filthier.”
Daisy laughs, turning in my arms as she loops hers around my neck. “How was your day?”
Now it’s me laughing as I press my hands to her lower back, pulling her closer. “I tell you I wanna get you filthy, and you ask me how my day was? Babe, please don’t tell me the magic has died already.”
She smiles, shaking her head as she says, “No, of course not, I’m just...you know.”
I lean in and drop a kiss to her lips. “My day was good. Nothing with Isaac. How about you?”
“Nope, nothing,” she says, still smiling up at me. “Just me and Sloane getting shit organized and then some cleaning and stuff in here.”
“Good,” I whisper, brushing my lips against hers. “So how about we call it done here and go get filthy together?” I murmur.
“You’re on,” she says, taking my hand in hers as we make our way outside, locking up behind us before we cross over the small road to our house.
“Oh, I meant to tell you, Eli’s back,” I say.
“Like back for good?” Daisy asks, looking back at me over her shoulder.
“Uh huh, working for Maui Fire Department. And get this,” I add, wrapping my arms around her again as we walk inside and I kick the front door shut with my foot. “He and Kai are now living together.”
Daisy stops as I all but crash into her from behind, our phones and keys falling to the floor. “Are you serious?” she asks, her eyes wide because while Eli might be four years older than us, we all know what he’s like, which is exactly like my brother.
“Yep,” I say, spinning her around so her back is to the wall. “Was actually my idea,” I whisper, pressing my body against hers as I brush my lips against her mouth.
“Of course it was,” she says, laughing a little, her giggle turning to a moan as I slide my tongue inside her mouth. “Why would you suggest that, Miles Olsen? You know it’s going to be a total shit show with those two.”
“Daze,” I murmur.
“Uh huh?” she asks, her hands sliding under my t-shirt. I’m not much cleaner than she is, having spent the afternoon at Dad’s shop and then helping Eli move.
“I don’t wanna talk about my brother right now.”
She smiles, pulling my t-shirt up and over my head before dropping it on the floor. “What do you want to talk about?” she asks, trailing her fingers slowly down my chest and over my stomach, her fingers teasing the buttons of my shorts.
Chuckling, I press my hips against her as I drop my mouth to her neck, kissing and sucking her skin as I push the fabric of her tank top up. “I wanna talk about you.”
“Me?” she asks, her voice breathy as I push her tank off and my hands move back to cup her tits. “What...what about me?”
I smile, brushing my thumbs over her hardened peaks as I kiss her again, deeper this time, my hips still pressed against hers as I push her back against the wall. We’ve barely made it inside the house, the two of us standing in the hall by the front door, now half undressed.
I move my mouth along her jaw, kissing a path to her ear. I whisper, “About all the things I’m gonna do to you tonight.”
Daisy sighs, her fingers now pulling on the buttons of my shorts.
With a smile, I press a kiss behind her ear, loving the shiver that runs through her. “You like that, huh?” I ask.
“Yes,” she breathes, just as one of our phones chimes with an incoming text message.
We both ignore it, not giving a shit about who’s trying to reach us right now. I have everything I want right in front of me, and in this moment, there is nothing and no one that I could want more.
Unfortunately, whoever is messaging one of us isn’t getting that memos because another couple of pings sound to indicate more messages.
“Miles,” Daisy says, her hands flat against my chest, my shorts half undone and pretty much only held up by my dick at this point.
“Yeah?” I ask, pulling back a little to meet her eyes.
“Do you...” She doesn’t say anything more, her eyes wide as she looks up at me.
She doesn’t have to, though, because I’m pretty sure we’re both thinking the same thing.
Exhaling, I look down at our phones on the floor beside us.
The screen on mine lights up again, and I reluctantly bend to pick it up, breathing a sigh of relief when I see the text messages and who they’re from.
“Is it...?” Daisy asks.
“No,” I reply, chuckling as I turn the phone to her and show her the picture of Kai and Eli, already out drinking with some girls.
Daisy glances at the screen, the relief on her face obvious, even as she grins, shaking her head at the image. “Jesus, they didn’t waste any time, did they?”
“Nope,” I reply, dropping my phone to the floor again. “And neither are we,” I add before I grab her around the waist and haul her against me, carrying her down to the bathroom, relieved that asshole hasn’t invaded another moment of ours.