Page 65 of Try Me

Pearl craned her neck to look up at Declan. “You’re not half bad,” she said as Declan led her around in a barefoot shuffle to the static of the radio.

“Thank you.”

She peered up at him. Rain dripped down her hair and into her face, but Declan saw the curiosity there, glittering like diamonds in her slanted black eyes.

“Who taught you?” she asked.

Declan hated talking about his past. He didn’t like to revisit anything before the last wave. But he felt so good right now that he didn’t think a few bad memories could deflate his happiness.

“My parents made me go to Cotillion,” he said.

“Hah!” she said. “They don’t do Cotillion in the back-woods of Maui.”

“You were in Vermont,” he pointed out.

She frowned. “At an all-girls school. A shame.” Smiling as he twirled her in a circle, she said, “I’m grateful for Cotillion.”

While Declan’s feet moved over the slippery leaves with confidence, his mind tripped down memory lane. That night at Cotillion had been a rite of passage for Declan. He’d been only fifteen, and hadn’t wanted to go to a boring dance. Some of his friends’ parents had let them out of it, and they were all going to the Drive-Inn for burgers, but there was no getting out of the Cotillion for Declan. He was a Bishop, and there was a list of expectations as long as Waikiki Beach for him to uphold.

Learning to waltz with a bunch of girls whose parents had enough money to buy entire neighborhoods in Makaha was one of them.

Declan had had a surprisingly good time at the Cotillion. He’d gotten his first kiss, and a little bit more. But when he’d gotten home five minutes past his curfew, he’d had to face his father, who hadn’t been pleased with his disobedience. His father had dragged him up the stairs by his neck, giving him a necklace of bruises that had kept him from surfing for weeks.

Pearl’s presence reminded Declan that those days were over. He hadn’t spoken to Teddy Bishop in years, and he didn’t plan on reuniting anytime soon. Dancing with Pearl made the good memories of that night come to life and the bad ones recede into the darkness.

“I danced with Margaret Ann Shelby, and Susie Baldwin, a third cousin on the Alexander side,” he said.

“No Linda Cooke?” Pearl asked.

Declan shifted to look down at Pearl, surprised that she’d even remembered Linda’s name. “Linda was a year ahead. She would have done Cotillion before me,” Declan said. “But never mind Linda.” He swiveled and dipped her over his thigh. “Margaret Ann let me feel her up under her sweater. It was the best moment of my life to that point.”

“She’s beautiful,” Pearl said.

“Margaret Ann?” Declan asked, pulling Pearl back upright. “I wouldn’t know. I haven’t seen her in a dozen years.”

“No.” Pearl rested her head against his chest. “I mean Linda.”

Declan’s fingers tightened at Pearl’s waist. Would Linda ever be anything but a sore subject for him?

“Declan?” Pearl asked.

“Hmm?” He led Pearl to a patch under the trees where the canopy protected them from the rain.

“Is Linda the reason you don’t have real girlfriends?”

“What?” Declan asked, pulling back enough to look down at Pearl. “What makes you ask that?”

“Nate told me you were hung up on somebody from home.” She stared up at him. “Is it Linda?”

“Nate doesn’t know shit,” Declan said. “He’s a snake. I wished you would have never gotten hooked up with him.”

“Then I wouldn’t be here,” she said, frustration clear in her voice. “If you don’t want to talk about Linda, it’s okay. It’s none of my business, anyway.”

Declan pulled her closer. “Linda isn’t the reason I don’t date,” he said definitively.

“You really need to quit lying to me,” Pearl said, the hurt evident in her voice.

Declan looked down at her in surprise. He hadn’t even realized he was lying, but Pearl was right. Linda was part of the reason he didn’t date.

“I’m sorry,” he said, lifting Pearl’s chin to look into her eyes. “I won’t do it again.”

“Promise?” she asked. “I don’t like lying.”

“I promise.”

He shifted his hand down to cup her ass possessively. Her eyes slashed to his in the darkness, conveying her desire. Declan lowered his head to kiss her, his tongue pushing inside to explore.

Thunder rumbled, sounding far off near the valley. Lightning streaked across the dark sky.

Declan clutched Pearl to him, claiming her mouth even as he pulled her toward the door of the cabin. They made it inside before lightning struck again, but they never made it to the bed. They ended up on the floor halfway between the recliner and the bed, where they made love for the second, but not final, time that night.

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