Page 1 of Cheesecake
Penny
Maui locals don’t spend a lot of time atThe Hibiscus Cafe. It’s a kitschy surf-themed business that’s purely for the tourists of our little island paradise. It’s decorated to look like a straw hut with surfboards, tiki lamps, and strings of fake hibiscus with fairy lights in their center. And despite the fact that the locals scoff at this place and avoid tourist traps at all costs, I, Penny Frost, love it. I eat here every day. Why? Because the owner, Corey White, makes the best cheesecake on the island. Heck, it’s the best cheesecake in the entire state—world, even.
“So good,” I mumble around a forkful of the rich and creamy dessert. Ilivefor this stuff.
“Penny is in love with the owner, by the way,” my older brother, Rob, says to his girlfriend, Tina. He’s two years older than me and has been going to college on the mainland for that same amount of time. He met Tina freshman year, but this is the first time she’s been here to meet the…folk. It’s just our mom, since Dad left and moved to LA without us when I was too young to remember. Word is, he’s one of those dressed-up characters on Hollywood Boulevard conning tourists out of their cash for a photo. But you won’t catch me ever going there to try and find him.
“I do not lovehim,” I shoot back, giving Rob a warning look before I slap him on the shoulder, then the chest, causing him to laugh and hold his hands up defensively. “I love hiscooking. There’s a difference.” I flick my shoulder-length brown hair over my shoulder and slice off another bite with the side of my fork. “He’s also just a really nice person.”
“Sure,” Rob scoffs before gesturing for Tina to scoot out of the booth so he can get up. “We’ll wait outside while you finish up.”
“Oh, uh, sure,” I say, looking at my half-eaten cheesecake and forcing a smile on my face. “I won’t be long.”
“Great,” he says, slinging his arm around Tina’s shoulder and steering her toward the doors that lead out to the balcony. My eyes can’t help but follow their movement as I suddenly feel like a very wobbly third wheel.
“Did Rob find another unsuspecting tourist to ditch you for?” Corey asks as he clears away Rob and Tina’s coffee mugs. I don’t even think they finished them.
“Not unsuspecting. She’s his girlfriend from college.” I lift my eyes to meet his, noting the way my heart goes pitter-patter just at the sight of his baby blues. OK, maybe I have atinycrush on Corey. But it’s totally one-sided because Corey is in his thirties and I’m, well, just out of high school. I’m way too young for a mature man like him.
“Someone actuallychoseto date him? She wasn’t coerced?” Corey isn’t a fan of Rob’s. The last time Rob was home from college, Corey had to take me home after a bonfire party where Rob had gotten a little too drunk and forgotten his big brother duties when he left with some random girl from out of town. Corey found me walking along the side of the road on my own and insisted on driving me, saying that family didn’t abandon family. I doubt anything would have happened to me, but Corey was fuming. Rob felt like an asshole the next morning and apologized profusely. But Corey still holds a grudge. He’s got a protective side, which I guess makes sense since he’s a single dad.
“They’ve been together a year and a half now,” I say with a shrug. “She came home with him for summer break.”
His brow lifts. “She’s staying at your house? How do you like her?”
“She seems OK. She’s smart. So, that’s cool.” I pop the last bite of cheesecake into my mouth, and he takes my plate but doesn’t try to leave.
“She into all those crazy books you read?”
I often talk Corey’s ear off about books and films and anything else I feel like rattling on about at the time. He’s a good listener who seems to have all the patience in the world. We get along well, but while Rob likes to see our friendship as a massive crush on my side, I think Corey sees this as more of a big brother type of friendship which I suppose is understandable. He’s thirty-five, a widower with a six-year-old son, and he lives in the same street he grew up on so his mother can help raise his boy while he works. Rocking the hot surfer look, Corey has light brown hair that falls in a wispy mess, its only style is however it dries after he hits the waves each morning. He’s tanned a golden brown all year round and has kind blue eyes with flecks of brown in them. He forever looks as though he forgot to shave, always wears a pair of tan cargo shorts with a white cotton t-shirt and an open Hawaiian-themed short-sleeved button-up. The only close-toed shoes he owns are canvas boat shoes that don’t require laces, and if he isn’t working, he’ll wear flip-flops or go barefoot. He’s quite the character, and I often wish I could be as…chillas he is.
“She’s read Kant,” I offer in explanation as to why I stated that Tina is smart.
“What’s that book about?” he asks, carrying the empty dishes to the counter as I get up and follow.
“It’s not the name of a book.” I smile. “Kant is a philosopher.”
He frowns and looks into the distance before returning his gaze to mine. “What does he or she philosophize?”
I give him a bounce of my shoulders. “I have no idea. I haven’t read his work.”
Pressing his lips together, he nods and returns to the other side of the counter, transferring the dirty plates and mugs to the dish tray for washing. “She must be smart then if she’s read a book thatyouhaven’t.” Corey has it in his head that I’m the smartest girl around and often comments that he thinks I’ll be the first female president.
“She’s studying philosophy, so she read it as part of the syllabus. I can’t wait to go to college and expand my brain. It sounds like I’ll finally get the chance to find my people, you know?” I grin, and Corey meets my eyes with a smile before he nods.
“You’re destined for great things, Penny Frost. Far bigger than this place can offer you,” he says, sliding a small white box across the counter. “A slice for your dessert tonight.” He gives me a wink before he’s forced to turn his attention to a couple of new customers walking in.
“Thank you, and don’t forget to watch that movie I suggested.” Corey and I have been trading movie recommendations for a while. I love black and white horror while he likes anything 80s. Once we finish watching, we chat about them whenever the café is quiet. I’m really going to miss that when I have to go away to college, so we need to get in as many as we can in the weeks before I go.
Corey is already serving the customers but nods to let me know he heard, then I smile and head outside, a bounce in my step as I walk to where Rob and Tina are standing close together, looking out over the balcony while they wait for me.
“Have a good chat with your boyfriend?” Rob teases as soon as he sees me.
“Quit it, Rob, he’s way older than me.”
Tina turns and looks inside to where Corey is serving an older-looking couple at the counter. “Age is just a number, Penny. He’s hot. I think he’s got a good body under that oversized shirt.”
“You think he’s hot?” I ask, and she nods as we make our way down the steps and back home.
