Page 37 of Hula Girl

When we take a rest during a long lull in waves, I lie flat on my back on the board and she climbs on top of me, fitting her body along mine. We kiss as the board moves gently with the ebb and flow of the water. When she rests her head on my chest, I wrap my arms around her in complete contentment. Connected this way and with the water beneath us, I don’t think there’s a more perfect feeling in the world.

* * *

It isn’tuntil we’re back on the sand, drying off, that I think again of that phone call she had. She had suddenly snapped into corporate lingo that sounded very familiar. It made me wonder if she was a lawyer. But she’s already told me she isn’t. Still, it was a reminder that she’ll be heading home. And her home includes the kind of working life I’m determined to keep my distance from.

“What do you want to do with the rest of your last day?” I ask, hoping my voice doesn’t betray the tinge of sadness I feel. This thing with her hit me so unexpectedly, so fiercely, that I don’t know how to manage the sense of loss I feel with knowing she’s leaving tomorrow.

“Ooh, is it my pick?” she asks with a laugh.

“Yeah, you choose. I’ll spring for a fancy dinner if you want.”

“Hmm, tempting. But I think what I really want is more of what we already had.”

“Hot sex?” I ask hopefully.

She smirks. “Yes, that. But also, I want to go back to Makai’s. And I want to hear you play guitar.”

“Cheap date,” I say approvingly and she playfully slaps my arm. I grab her and pull her to me so she’s sitting between my legs, her back to my chest. Wrapping my arms around her, I hold her and kiss her temple. “Perfect date,” I amend.

This time, she relaxes and looks back and up at me for a kiss, which I gladly give her.

* * *

Our time playsout as Ava requested and we have a blast with each other. She’s fun and witty and such a pleasure to be with. I’m so tempted to tell her I’ll be in LA soon, to tell her we should get together there. But that would turn this carefree night into something different. It would mean we’d get into what that real world looks like. What she and I have right now is pure. It’s simple. We’d lose all the easiness we have in this moment. Why mess with this perfection? I do, however, have thoughts of tracking her down in LA once I’ve dealt with my business there. I need to focus on that first before I can give her the attention she deserves.

On this last night, we indulge in another bottle of “our” tequila at Makai’s, snatching it on our way out the door so we can drink it while sitting on the cold sand down by the water.

“Tell me something,” she says, leaning her shoulder in a way that tells me she’s tipsy.

“What’s that, Hula Girl?”

“Is that place of yours legal?”

I follow her eyes to my partially hidden beach shack. “No, not exactly. Make you feel like an outlaw?”

She sputters out a laugh.

“You tell me something,” I say and nudge her back.

“Okay.”

“When are you going to actually do a hula dance for me?”

“Oh!” she says excitedly and struggles to her feet. “Yes, let me see if I can figure this out.”

“Just pretend you’re trying to get a signal on your phone.”

“Ha-ha,” she says with a smirk. “Okay. Don’t laugh.”

“I won’t.”

She stamps her foot in the sand when she sees my smile. “I mean it!”

“I won’t, I promise. I’ll probably be dealing with a raging hard-on, not laughing, anyway.”

“Ford,” she says.

It’s meant to be an admonishment, but it comes out slow and sexy. God, I love the way she says my name.

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