by Marika Ray
Loud clapping broke me out of my medically unstable trance. Kai was smiling at the kids and then he was walking away to sit back down with the other presenters. I even liked his walk. It was manly yet sensual, if that even makes sense. It was like he was so comfortable with his body, he could have been walking down at the beach by himself or like now, in front of hundreds of students. It wouldn't have mattered.
Damn, confidence was sexy as hell.
The other presenters kept coming and I managed to take some paltry notes. My attention was shot and all I could think about was how to make my move. Desperate times called for desperate measures, you know?
The assembly finally ended, but I planned to stick around and make sure my seniors were striking up conversations with the professionals in the booths lining the walls of the gym. In the mass of bodies exiting the gym, I lost track of Kai's location.
"Ms. Woodland?"
A student materialized next to me, looking up tentatively.
"Yes, Grace?"
"Can you go with me over to the booth over there? There’s a female entrepreneur that I want to talk to. But I'm kinda nervous." She was wringing her hands and I felt bad for her. Of course, I'd help, that was my job. Never mind that I was letting my future husband walk out of the gymnasium before I'd had a chance to approach and make things awkward.
"Sure, kiddo, let's go." I marched her over to where she pointed, seeing a woman standing behind the table with a few students clustered around.
As we got closer, I realized it was Esa, the lady who owned Chocolate Dreams.
It was like the universe was sending me bright neon pink signs, that looked a lot like Cupid's arrows, pointing me to my lifeguard. I refused to believe in coincidence.
Esa caught sight of me and she broke out into a big, friendly smile. "Hessa, right?"
"Yes! Great memory." I smiled back at her. "One of my students, Grace, would like to meet you and talk to you about starting your own business." I gently pushed Grace up closer to Esa, who reached over the table and grabbed Grace's hand in a hearty hand shake.
"Hi Grace! Come here, Hessa, join me." Esa pulled me around the table and put me right next to her, her arm around my waist.
All my friends from college had moved away over the years, and I hadn't made a whole lot of new ones here in HB. I wasn't used to all the touching and had forgotten what it felt like to be instantly accepted.
It felt nice.
Esa asked all kinds of questions to the group of girls hanging out at her booth. She encouraged them, gave them sound advice and told them to come see her at her shop. The hot chocolate would be on her. I couldn't have asked for a kinder role model for my female students.
When the girls reluctantly moved on to another booth, Esa dropped her arm and moved us further back in the booth for some privacy.
"So what happened?" She looked at me like I knew what she was talking about.
"Come again?"
"Where were you last night? You know? Wednesday night? Chocolate Dreams? Lifeguards?" She rolled her eyes at me, but softened it with a smile.
"Oh. Well, I'm planning on swinging by one of these days, but to be honest, I didn't feel my wardrobe was up to snuff."
She burst out laughing, laying her hand on my arm. "Oh, Hessa. I like you."
"Thank you, I like you too," I answered truthfully.
That got her laughing harder. She collected herself finally and whipped out her phone. "What's your number?"
"My number?"
"Yes. What's your phone number, girlie? We're going to make plans to get together. My bestie, Bailey, is a personal shopper. We'll help you get your clothes 'up to snuff'." She giggled at that and waved her phone at me.
It felt kind of like I was a charity case but desperate times, remember? I gave her my number and we planned to meet up Sunday morning.
A new group of kids crammed into her booth, so I left her to charm their socks off while I perused the other booths. I was just walking from her booth to the next, not looking where I was going as I was discombobulated by my new friend, when I ran into a warm body. Hands grabbed my arms and steadied me before I could ricochet off and hurt myself. Which was fortunate because walking in these heels on a slick, wood floor was hard enough without being a human pinball.
"My apologies." The velvety voice sang to me.
A shiver ran down my spine and my thong chafing turned surprisingly sexual in nature. It could only be one man.
"Kai," I muttered, eyes wide in surprise.
He cocked his head and those hazel eyes turned green as they swept me from head to toe and back up again. "Do we know each other?"
Well that was just awkward. I'd called him by name, like the fantasizing crazy woman I was, when we'd never actually met. "I-I saw your speech earlier. Kai Kāne, right? Is that Hawaiian?"
There. That was normal. I was about to pull myself upright, my dignity restored, when I realized his hands were still on my arms, holding me in place. I liked those hands on my arms. Maybe I should try tripping and bumping into people more often if it had this effect.
He flashed his straight, white teeth at me, those eyes never leaving my face. "Yes, it's Hawaiian. How'd you know?"
"I'm an English teacher. Sort of a nerd for words and language. I find Hawaiian to be particularly beautiful with all the vowel usage."
"Ah, I see. Do you have a name too, teacher?" He smirked at me, his hands trailing off my arms, causing goose bumps to appear.
"I do, though not as alliterative as yours, I'm afraid." I used my newly freed arms to push my glasses up and take a step back. The oxygen level that close to him was lower than normal air or something. I couldn't seem to catch my breath.
He chuckled, causing the cutest dimple to appear on his cheek. How did one man get all the good genes? Statistically, he had to have some of the negative ones too. Maybe he'd go bald early or develop halitosis.
"My mother had a thing for alliteration, but I'd much prefer to know your name, alliteration or not." He was still throwing the dimple out there, which is why my brain short-circuited and I didn't tell him my name earlier. It was a powerful weapon, he should use it sparingly.
"Oh! Right. Sorry. Yes, I'm Hessa Woodland." I stuck my hand out.
He grabbed hold of my hand, but didn't shake it. Just held it.
It was awkward. It was warm. It was nice. It should never end.
"Nice to officially meet you, Hessa."
"Ms. Woodland, are you coming?" I whipped my head to the side and saw Grace standing there, waiting for me it seemed. I looked around and most of the kids had exited the gym, off to their next class.
I jerked my hand out of Kai's grasp, coming back to reality and realizing I couldn't be standing around holding hands with a man in front of the whole school. I didn't want a resurgence of my grade-school nickname from a particular nasty bully: Hessa the Hussy. I didn't mind being a hussy, but behind closed doors. A girl had to have boundaries.
"Nice to meet you too, Kai. See you around." I couldn't look him in the eye, instead, hustling around him to catch up to Grace and get to my classroom on time. The thong was back to straight chafing, the sexy leaving my body the further I got away from Kai.
"I hope I'll see you around..." I'm pretty sure that's what he said as I walked off, but I wasn't about to turn around and confirm.
Kai
I watched her walk away, her hips swaying in that dress of hers, the heels bringing up desires that weren't appropriate for school grounds. I'd never had a librarian fetish before, but I was starting to see the appeal. The long, blonde hair pulled back in a demure ponytail, the black-rimmed glasses, the prim and proper sweater over a tight pencil skirt.
And her skin. She was pale and soft and warm. I'd wanted to have my hands on her as long as I could, enjoying the blush that spread over her face just from a simple touch.
Where did this woman come from and how could I see her again? That was my only thought as I stared at the door through which she
'd left me.
"Yo, earth to Kai."
I spun around and found Esa smiling at me, arms crossed over her chest.
"What's up, Esa?" I wasn't sure how much of that she'd seen.
"What the hell was that?" Her smile turned slightly evil.
Okay, clearly she'd seen a lot. "I'm not sure what that was, but I do know I'm gonna track down Ms. Woodland." No sense pretending otherwise. When my intuition said to go for something, I knew better than to ignore it. And right now? My intuition was screaming Hessa's name.
"Not that I know anything, but just make sure you come to Chocolate Dreams on Wednesday. I have a feeling she might be there..." Esa raised an eyebrow before spinning around and walking back to her booth and packing up her table.
Looks like I had plans Wednesday night.
Hessa
I walked into Nordstrom, my purse shaking in its boots. You know, if it had feet. My wallet had never been taken out of my purse in Nordstrom before and she could feel the highly priced charge in the air. Before I could question my decision, Esa waved her arms in the air across the aisle by some dresses that looked more appropriate for prom.
I made my way over, seeing another woman by her side. A really beautiful woman. With the trendiest outfit clinging to her every curve. Hair, make-up, and accessories so on point I wondered if she stepped right out of a fashion magazine. The butterflies in my stomach took flight, and I felt completely out of place in my khakis and plain shirt.
"Hessa! I'm so glad you're here! Hessa, this is Bailey. Bailey, meet Hessa." Esa put her arm around me again and waived her other hand to Ms. Gorgeous.
Bailey smiled warmly. "Nice to meet you, Hessa. I've heard great things about you! I can't wait to come up with outfits for you today. Are you looking for things for work or personal life?" She linked arms with me and pulled me out of the dress section, waiting for my answer.
"Um, I think a little of both. A few work pieces, but mostly I need casual wear and maybe a few date night outfits." My stomach was settling just being around Bailey. She may be gorgeous and intimidating, but she was equally friendly.
"All righty. Let's get the casual wear stuff first and then once we're warmed up we'll get the date night outfits. Sound good?"
I nodded my acceptance. From there, it was a whirlwind of Bailey grabbing hangers and then I found myself in a huge dressing room. I was embarrassed to change in front of Bailey, but she just buzzed around getting things off hangers and arranging the clothes on me, which took all the humiliation out of it.
We decided on three pairs of jeans (ripped jeans are in style, who would have thought I'd pay for brand new jeans with rips already in them), four shirts, one fake leather jacket that makes me look like a straight badass, and two pairs of ankle boots. Bailey threw in a few bras and a pile of underwear.
"Oh, I don't know. I don’t find thongs very comfortable." I just can't see paying more money for those torture devices.
Bailey tilted her head, a knowing smile on her face. "Where did you purchase the thongs?"
"Target?" Yes, I said it as a question, knowing the answer wouldn't be the right one based on Bailey's calculating gaze.
"Come here, Hessa." Bailey stood there with thongs overflowing her two hands. "Grab a handful, would you?"
Well now, this was getting awkward again. We were all alone in the fitting room, caressing lacy underwear. My girlfriends in college were the studious-nose-in-a-book kind, not the feel-up-underwear-and-talk-about-sex kind.
Although, the thongs I held now did seem to have a different feel to them.
"Do you feel that material? Without looking at it, can you even detect a seam?" I was about to answer her, but decided correctly the question was rhetorical. Bailey looked dead serious and was on a roll. "No, you can't. Why? Because that's quality right there. You get what you pay for, and I believe your lady parts deserve the very best. Don't you?"
I swallowed, hoping she was done. "I think I'll get some thongs."
She nodded at me and I felt palpable relief, knowing I'd finally landed on a correct answer.
"How's it going in there?" Esa's voice came through the fitting room door, breaking the tension. "I've got coffee."
"Bless you, my friend." I swung the door open and snagged a cup out of her hands before letting her step into the room.
"Perfect timing. I'll go find some date night outfits while you two take a break." Bailey grabbed the other cup out of Esa's hand and swept out of the room.
"Hey! That one was mine..." Esa pouted for all of three seconds before she swung her gaze to me, brightening to a grin. "So. Date night outfits. Got any dates lined up? Let's talk about it."
Between the two of them, I felt like I'd stepped into an alternate universe where conversation boundaries didn't exist and energy levels never dipped.
"No. No dates lined up right now. But I'd like there to be." It was humbling to admit. Here was Esa, younger than me by a couple years, and she was engaged.
"I have a feeling that's going to change for you soon, Hessa-dear." She winked at me and lowered her voice. "I saw you have a 'moment' with Kai the other day at Career Day."
The statement hung in the air and I didn't know how to respond. Did we have a 'moment'? Was she friends with Kai because of her fiancé? And if so, did I dare tell her how I felt about him?
I was saved from answering by Bailey entering the room loaded down with more clothes.
"Okay, I pulled an LBD, which every woman should have, a few more casual dinner outfits, and just a few colorful things for fun." She hung it all up on the hooks on the wall, then spun around to look at us. "Why is it so silent in here?"
"I was just questioning Hessa here on her dating prospects. She and Kai had an interesting exchange the other day and I wanted to know what was going on," Esa spilled.
"Reaaallllyyyy?" Bailey's eyebrows went up in her hairline.
"I don't know if I'd call it a 'moment' but he's a very nice man to look at," I admitted.
"Very nice? That's like how you'd describe the eighty-year-old next-door neighbor or that tomato soup at that place off Magnolia. Give us something better, girlie." Bailey folded her arms over her chest and gave me an encouraging smile.
I blew out a big breath, boosted by the caffeine, and launched into it. I told them how I felt when I first saw him, how he bought me a hot chocolate, and the conversation in the gymnasium. When I finished they both had smiles on their faces and looked ready to jump up and down in excitement.
Bailey clapped her hands and whipped the LBD off the hanger. "We better get back to work so you have something to wear when that boy asks you out. Mark my words: he'll ask you out. I've gotten to know the habits of these lifeguards. It's just a matter of time."
I walked out of the store with my bank account several paychecks lighter, but my heart lighter too. I'd found friends and I'd found courage and hope. Which was priceless, really.
4
Kai
It'd only been two days, but I was finding it hard to focus on my job when all I could think about was that teacher walking away from me, the way she'd looked at me, the way I'd felt around her. It was ridiculous, really. She was completely not my type. I wanted a woman who was low maintenance, not a prim and proper teacher in heels and a sexy skirt. One who could hang with me at the beach all day, not fry the moment her skin was touched by the sun. A woman content to get her hands dirty in nature, not study the nuances of various languages from the safety of a book or computer.
Yet. I couldn't get her out of my mind. So I took the leap of logic most besotted fools do and decided I needed to see her again. See her faults, be annoyed by her quirks. That would cure me. In the meantime, I'd keep reminding myself to focus on my job and let the rest go. Time to rely on my meditation skills that were supposed to have trained my brain to focus.
Mid-shift on Monday, I was glad for the concentration because I spotted a guy carting a shortboard out into the water north of the pier, directly in front of my to
wer. He didn't have a wet suit on which was my first clue he wasn't an experienced surfer. That and he never stopped to watch the sets come in. He just walked right into the water and plopped down on his board. He paddled out by the pier which was normal, but instinct told me to keep my eye on him.
After he'd made it out past the break, he straddled his board and it was so short, only the very tip of it was still out of the water as he waited for a wave. He didn't wait long. Laying flat on the board, he started frantically paddling, trying to catch a wave that he wasn't fast enough for. He attempted to stand and the wave crashed over his head. I lost sight of him as he went under in the white water, taking a hard hit.
I grabbed the phone and called it in, grabbed my red buoy and raced down the sand. I did the high knees run once I hit the water in a run-and-swim entry. I hadn't seen him surface and his board shot by me, on its way to shore. I swam out where I last spotted him. I dove down and spotted him floating approximately three feet below the surface. I pulled him up, laying him on my buoy and towed him in. By the time I reached the shore, a lifeguard truck from headquarters had pulled up. Ivan and Jax jumped out to start assessing the victim as I tried to catch my breath and fill them in on what happened.
They'd just started chest compressions when he coughed and spit out some ocean water. Knowing he'd make it, I collected his board from the sand where it washed up and brought it up to the truck. Once he was stable, we loaded him up in the truck and they took off.
I grabbed my buoy and headed back to my tower. Crossing the sand, I heard a group of people talking about the guy I just rescued. Something they said caught my attention, prompting me to approach them.
"Sorry to interrupt. Did you say something about a dare?" That was the exact word Jackson had used in the hospital.
