Page 23 of Hula Girl

“Um.” I hesitate. As much as I’m drawn to him, I fear that if we push this thing beyond our one-nighter, it’ll get weird. I mean, what if our connection last night and this morning was based mostly on the fact that we knew we were never going to see each other again? Shouldn’t we just end it here?

But then he does something that makes me laugh. He pulls his cell phone from his pocket in preparation for getting my number. It’s a flip phone. It’s so unsophisticated that it looks like a child’s toy.

“What is that?” I ask.

“No laughing,” he replies. “This is called ‘simplifying your life.’ I don’t need it for anything other than making phone calls. Everything else is a worthless distraction.”

“You don’t text anyone? Or need to check your email? Read the news? Watch videos?”

“I’ve lived that way before, obsessively glued to my phone. But it didn’t reallyaddanything to my life. It was more of a constant drain on my focus. I’m happier without all that.”

I shake my head in wonder. “I can’t even imagine. Being here without any connection to work has had me going through withdrawals.”

“Seems like you’ve enjoyed yourself recently without ever once checking that thing.”

I open my mouth to reply but then stop. He’s right. During this brief time with him, I haven’t once picked up my phone. I was, for once, living in the moment.

“Anyway, I know you’ll be here for a few more days. I’d love to see you again. Take you for a ride on a longboard, like I said.”

“Is this part of your MO with the tourists?” I ask with a smirk. “Go back for seconds when time allows?”

He squints at me in that way of his. “You’re really invested in this idea, aren’t you?”

“What idea?”

“That you’re just another one of the many women I take to bed?”

“Well—”

“If it turns you on to think that, then, by all means, be my guest. But I’ll tell you the truth—I’ve never invited anyone to Makai’s. And I’ve never taken anyone to my place. And no, I’ve never gone ‘for seconds’ in the way you’re talking about. I just … I like you, Ava. I know this is temporary. That you’ll go back to your life in a few days, but I still think it’s worth enjoying more time together. What do you say?”

Looking up at him, I see the sincerity in his eyes. He’s gorgeous, sexy, and decent. How can I say no to seeing him again? “Um, yeah, I’d like that, too.”

We exchange numbers. “I’ll give you a call, okay?” he says.

I nod and when he tips my chin up so he can kiss me goodbye, I melt into him, my hands going to his bare chest. It feels like the kind of kiss you’d see in a movie where the couple is desperately clinging to each other at a train station, or better yet, on the wet sand as the water rushes up on them. It doesn’t feel like a goodbye kiss. It’s more like confirmation. Confirmation that we’ve got some irresistible force keeping us connected.

As our kiss grows deeper, more heated, I drop my hand from his chest to his hip. The exquisite muscle in a V shape leading into his low-slung board shorts is exposed just enough for me to trace it.

“Fuck,” he moans as he pulls away. “I gotta go. But I don’t want to go.”

I drape my arms around his neck and press my body against his so that we’re both aware of the way he’s reacted to our kiss.

“I know exactly how you feel,” I tell him softly.

He laughs and kisses me again, quickly this time and nipping at my bottom lip as he pulls away. “You’re something, Hula Girl.”

I sigh in pleasure and contentment. “Go do your thing, Surfer Boy.”

He walks backward for several steps, keeping his eyes locked on mine. Finally, he smiles and shakes his head before turning away.

I don’t know if he’ll really call or if that was just his way of ending this on a polite note. As I touch my kiss-bruised lips, I feel absurdly giddy, excited for the possibility of what might happen.

And suddenly, my vacation seems too short.

9

Ford

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