Page 38 of Hula Girl

“Go ahead.”

For some reason, she clears her throat. It’s not as if she’s about to sing, but I guess this helps her re-set. Raising her arms and angling her hands and fingers delicately, she starts to sway. Her hips move from one side to the other in tandem with her arm movements. It’s not even close to the real thing, but damn if it isn’t the sexiest dance I’ve ever seen.

I watch her appreciatively for another thirty seconds before she drops her arms and laughs.

“Ta-da,” she declares with a curtsey.

Getting up, I join her at the shoreline, pulling her into my arms. “That was fucking amazing,” I tell her.

“I’m sure it wasn’t.”

“You know what?”

“What?”

I cup her face in my hands and look down at her. “Ilikeyou. I like you so much.”

Her eyes sparkle as she touches one of my hands. “I like you, too.”

“What are we going to do about it?”

“Hot sex?”

That’s the obvious answer. The not so obvious answer I was looking for has to do with what we’re going to do once she goes home. But I know why she didn’t go there. On thesurface of things, there’s no way we can survive outside the little bubble of her vacation. I’m committed to rebuilding my life here in Maui and she’s obviously got her life waiting for her in Los Angeles. There’s no choice but to just go our separate ways.

Unless ….

Unless I can see her again in LA But again, I don’t want to get into that right now. Right now is about living in the moment.

“Definitely hot sex,” I say, nodding so emphatically that she laughs. “But first, how about a little nighttime swim?”

She looks dubiously at the dark water. “I didn’t bring my bathing suit.”

Pulling off my T-shirt, I quickly go for my shorts next. “That’s what skinny-dipping is for, honey. Come on!”

There’s only a brief hesitation before she’s stepping out of her dress to join me. Though I have the feeling she’s not normally this impulsive, I’m not complaining. Definitely not when I get to see her naked under the moonlight like this. Definitely not as she runs with me into the water. We both dunk our heads and come up smiling even though the water is cooler than one might expect. Still, it feels good against my bare skin. And it does amazing things to Ava’s bare skin, as her body glistens under the moonlight and her nipples harden.

We don’t go too far out, swimming just deep enough so that I can stand with the water coming to mid-chest level, but it’s a bit much for my petite Hula Girl and she needs to hold on to me. Again, not complaining about that as I wrap my arms around her and pull her close.

“This is amazing,” she says.

“Look at you. Jesus, you’re beautiful,” I tell her.

“Ford.” She looks away from me but she’s smiling.

“Ava,” I reply with mock seriousness and she laughs the way I had intended and looks at me again. “You sure as hell aren’t wound tight anymore, are you?”

“You make that impossible.” She kisses me quickly. “In the very best way.”

Cupping her cheek in my hand, I lean in and take her mouth with mine, kissing her with slow deliberation. Lingering in the softness and saltiness of her lips as the water moves gently all around us, finding its way between our bodies even as we’re pressed together. In return, she slides her hand into the hair at the back of my head, wraps her other arm around my neck, and tightens her legs around my waist. As we kiss, small waves lift us up and then lower us in a smooth, hypnotic rhythm.

This.

I’m transfixed bythismoment. Bythiswoman. It’s unreal and yet absolute perfection. I don’t want it to end.

When she pulls away from our kiss and buries her face into my neck, I wonder if she’s having the same thoughts. Then she looks up at the sky and takes in a deep breath.

“It really is paradise,” she murmurs.

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