Page 68 of Try Easy

“‘Lucky we live in Hawaii,’” Keoni said with a half smile.

Lou burst out laughing.

Keoni was going to miss that sound. He smiled with a tinge of sadness and turned on the shower.

Warm water rained down on them from the showerhead he’d mounted to a wooden pole. Bamboo trees and banana plants formed high walls around them, and the sky was their ceiling.

“Come here,” he said, reaching out for Lou.

She hesitated before joining him. “Can anyone see us?” she asked.

“No.” Keoni tugged Lou under the spray of warm water.

She sighed and tilted her head back, letting the water soak her hair. The moonlight turned her skin a pale gold.

“Have I told you I love your hair?” Keoni asked, running his fingers through her wet hair.

Lou smiled and said, “You can tell me again.”

“I love your hair.”

Lou laughed and reached for a bar of soap on a tray next to a bottle of shampoo and a washcloth on the wooden bench. She brought the soap to her nose and inhaled deeply.

“Ah,” she said. “This is why you smell so good. Coconut soap.”

“My sister Miriam makes it by the truckload. Always giving it to me for a present,” Keoni said.

Lou lathered the soap between her hands and ran them over Keoni’s chest. “Tell her thank you for me,” she said.

They started to kiss again as Lou ran her hands over Keoni’s body, washing him thoroughly. He took the soap and washed her with the same attention to detail she’d given him. Then he shampooed her hair with the coconut shampoo—also made by Miriam.

When they were both clean, Keoni wrapped Lou in a towel and took her back to his bed where they made love much slower this time and dozed off in each other’s arms.

Later in the night, Keoni woke up and covered them with the quilt. He lay on his back, and Lou propped herself up on one elbow beside him and traced her finger down his bearded cheek.

“Can you turn on the light?” she asked.

Keoni reached over to turn on the bedside lamp. He blinked at the sudden brightness and pulled Lou back into his arms, settling himself against the pillows. “You don’t want to sleep?” he asked.

She shook her head against his chest and pushed the quilt down so that she could trail her fingers along the thin line of hair that grew down the center of his body.

“I think the rumors I heard about you might be true,” Lou said.

Keoni could feel her smile against his shoulder. He reached up and took her hand, lifting it to his mouth for a kiss. “What rumors?” he asked.

“I heard you were a descendant of a god,” Lou said.

Keoni made a little noise in his throat and pushed Lou’s damp hair off her cheek. “That isn’t a rumor,” he said.

Lou lifted her head and looked at him. “Are you saying it’s true?”

“Of course. Do you want to hear the story?”

Lou laid her head back on his shoulder, chuckling. “Is this another one of your made-up stories, Keoni?”

“Do you want to hear it, or what?” he asked.

Lou nodded. “Tell the story,” she said.

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