Chapter Five
Nimita was waiting next to the car in the hotel’s driveway when the three men appeared the next morning, just after sunrise.
The three of them cut a path, for sure, once again, all three oblivious to the heads they turned.
Her glance immediately landed on Roshan.
He was wearing the nice version of athletic shorts in black, a sweat-wicking T-shirt in blue, and his hair was still damp and curled slightly at the edges.
He nodded and laughed along with something Karan was saying.
Her stomach jumped as he turned to her and donned his aviators.
Certainly not the boy she had known in high school, for sure.
“Nimita!” Vishal called out, his smile huge and welcoming. “Our trusted guide. Good morning!”
Nimita grinned at him. It was difficult not to, Vishal just showed up…happy. “Good morning!”
“Hey, Nimita. Have a good evening?” Karan asked, giving her a small but earnest smile, which she was coming to understand was his quiet way of giving acceptance.
“Got some sleep for sure,” she said to him, side-eyeing Roshan.
“Nimita.” Roshan nodded at her, his expression blank. He held a to-go cup of coffee out to her.
She hesitated in surprise for just a split second. But it was enough. He noticed.
“It’s not poisoned, I promise.”
She took the coffee. “Thank you.” She sipped it. Perfect. Cream, one sugar. She looked up at him, not knowing whether she was shocked that he had gotten her coffee order correct or that he had even bothered to try.
“We should get going,” Nimita said. “I booked a flight out day after tomorrow, so I’ve packed in everything you’ll want a tour guide for today.
” She walked around to the driver side, donning her own sunglasses.
She nearly bumped into Roshan coming from the other direction as they both reached for the driver door handle.
“I got this,” he said.
“I’m driving,” she said, making sure that her voice held no room for discussion. “I thought I made that clear on day one.”
“I read that the Road to Hana can be treacherous,” he pointed out.
“Oh, it is. I’ve been many times.” She grinned. “Which is why I’m driving. I have experience.”
He didn’t move. Neither did she. She would vomit if she sat as a passenger on that road.
It had happened before, with less than great consequences.
But that was not the only reason she wanted to drive.
She looked up at him (was he taller than he had been in high school?) and met his gaze. “Trust me. You’ll be fine.”
Roshan did not look like he believed her.
“Ro. Just get in the car,” Vishal said from the back seat.
Roshan huffed, so she knew he wasn’t happy about capitulating even though he would.
He opened the back door to find Karan and Vishal already seated in the back. He glanced at her again and shook his head as he walked around the car and got in the passenger seat.
She grinned at him as she buckled up, and he did the same. “First stop, Paia to grab snacks and lunch.”
“You are a wise woman,” Karan said sagely.
Nimita laughed. She had already figured out that Karan was constantly hungry and that his humor was quiet and understated. “I’ve been told that before.”
It was a short trip to Paia, where they picked up a wide range of snacks and a picnic lunch. They then headed out on the Road to Hana, Nimita still driving, Roshan still giving her the side-eye.
“It really burns you to not have control, doesn’t it?” she said as they made their way to the Twin Falls. “Like the surfing yesterday.”
The three of them had done very well at the end of it. Roshan gained comfort, then he excelled. The three men had spent the afternoon trying to best her, but they had ultimately failed.
“Surfing had nothing to do with having control. And neither does the driving.” Even through the aviators, she could tell he was intent on the road. “I’m fine.” He turned to her. “I just recall that you had a few fender benders in high school.”
She snapped her head to him, eyebrows raised. “How do you remember that?”
“Because I had to come to your house for those tutoring sessions.”
“I had forgotten.” She rolled her eyes as she faced the road. “I was a new driver then. And I had two small accidents. One wasn’t even my fault.” There had been a third accident much later in her life. But she didn’t speak of it.
“Whatever.” Roshan stayed fixed on the road in front of him. He was quiet for a moment. “Your sister was a soccer player, right?”
Nimita stifled her groan. “You remember.” Mostly, she’d tutored Roshan at his house, but every so often they’d go to hers instead.
Having Roshan at the house had been a big deal for Reena, who was still in middle school but was a star soccer player.
Roshan was well-known for his goal-tending abilities.
Her sister had gaped every time Roshan came over, like he was some kind of rock star. Nimita had been mortified.
“She fangirled every time I was there.” He chuckled. “It was humbling.”
“You were a hero to her,” Nimita admitted.
“A good thing she never really actually spoke to me then,” Roshan said quietly. “You know, never meet your heroes and all that.”
“Agreed,” Nimita said. But then she felt a bit bad for saying it. “And your sister? Malini, right?”
“Fine. Still always getting into trouble if I’m not there to stop it.”
She thought that was an odd thing to say. Wouldn’t Malini be in her twenties now? Weird.
They arrived at Twin Falls. The hike was a bit muddy but not long, and the falls did not disappoint.
Emerald green water pounded the rocks below, a light mist clinging to the air.
They were early enough in the day that it wasn’t crowded.
The men became boys almost immediately upon entering the water, proceeding to splash each other and outdo each other.
Nimita wasn’t sure what to make of them, but their laughter was contagious.
The next stop was another gorgeous Hawaiian hike, the Waikamoi Ridge hike—an easy mile or so full of giant eucalyptus and mahogany trees. It was perfect for stretching their legs.
“It’s 9:00 a.m.! We had breakfast like two and half hours ago, Karan. You already eating your lunch?” Vishal shook his head at Karan, and Roshan just laughed.
“That’s what I like about you, Karan. Your stomach is the same as it has been since Montessori school.” Roshan playfully smacked Karan’s arm.
Karan, for his part, wasn’t abashed in the least and finished his sandwich in about three bites.
Next, Nimita brought them to the Ke’anae Peninsula, which was just off the main road. The main reason for stopping here was that on the way out, they could get warm banana bread from a small stand. Nimita was sure that Karan would love it. This was also the halfway mark to Hana.
“Nimita! This is a culinary delight.” Karan nearly swooned, and Nimita was visited by the idea that the way to Karan’s heart was definitely through his stomach.
She had no idea what the path might be to crack Roshan’s heart of stone, though an image of him in only his bathing trunks chose that moment to occupy her brain.
She shook it from her mind. She wasn’t trying to get into his heart or his pants.
Karan slowly ate the bread. “What do you think, Roshan? I can totally deconstruct this and make it at home.”
“You would need the bananas from here,” Roshan said.
Karan nodded agreement. “I might get close.”
“You would also need to save some to take home and deconstruct.” Vishal grinned. “Meaning you would have to stop eating.”
“Yeah. No. Never mind. I’ll just enjoy it here.” Karan grinned at Nimita as he popped the last bite into his mouth.
Luckily, the next stop was hiking and swimming at Pu’a Ka’a State Wayside Park. Roshan seemed to enjoy his time with his friends but was making a concerted effort to ignore Nimita. She had caught him looking at her a few times, but he had quickly turned away.
Whatever. She wasn’t here to make friends. She shed her shorts and T-shirt down to her two-piece bathing suit and entered the swimming hole to cool off before eating lunch. The water was wonderful.
She saw the guys from the corner of her eye, swimming and razzing each other. Karan held a small ball, the soft kind used in a pool. He tossed it to Roshan, who caught it and tossed it to Vishal.
She grinned. They were adorable together.
Her heart ached a bit. She didn’t have that kind of relationship with anyone.
Not even her own family. She and Reena had been close growing up—inseparable almost, even with their age gap.
Now, she was basically alone. She wondered if these men had any idea how rare their bond was.
“Heads up!” Vishal said as the rainbow-colored ball was lobbed in her direction. She was just in time to lean over and grab it with one hand.
Karan clapped. “Nice catch!” He held up his arms for her to toss to him.
She did, throwing a line drive at his chest. He caught it easily and did the same throw to Roshan.
Roshan caught it, and with a glance at her, did the same throw to Vishal.
Vishal turned to her and threw the ball with a different throw.
Getting the gist, she copied Vishal. Then Roshan switched up the throw and so on.
They passed time pleasantly, all of them laughing and enjoying the water and the beauty of the falls.
“Shouldn’t we eat?” Karan finally said.
Nimita grinned to herself. That man was always hungry.
“You just had like an entire loaf of banana bread,” Roshan tossed at him, but he and Vishal made to get out of the water.
“Yes, and?”
“We really should eat so we can make the next stop and still get back to the hotel before dark,” Nimita said. “We need to reach Hana and start back by around 4:00 p.m.”
“What happens after dark?” Roshan asked.
“The roads are quite a bit harder to navigate in the dark.”