by Antonia Paul
She sipped. Not that it mattered. She wouldn't be kissing him, and she squeezed her legs together firmly under the table.
"What's your real name," she asked. She liked to keep the upper hand and he wasn't getting away with that chief business.
He laughed. "I was named Kahurangi after my koro; my grandad. But everyone shortens it to Rangi. Obviously I'm not really a Chief. That's a family joke. You probably have a proper name too -you can't be just Cassie."
"Oh." She flushed, and quickly took another sip. "You're right. I'm Cassandra, but my parents never called me that."
"Do you like it? It's a grand-sounding name."
She shrugged. "I never hear it; no one uses it."
She liked his hands. She wanted her sketchbook. Long fingers in many hues of brown.
Rangi nodded. "You in Marsden Bay by yourself?"
She nodded. "Yes. I gave up my job and have a couple of weeks before I'm going to start freelancing.
"Graphic art," she added as she saw the question on his face.
"I like artists," said Rangi. "My mum painted a bit. So did I when I was a kid, but I was never very good."
He leaned forward. "Tell me about your work."
So she did. There wasn't much to tell. Computers, mainly. Logos and advertising banners and photo manipulation. But it paid the bills. Hopefully freelancing would pay a few more.
Rangi nodded when she finished. "You picked a nice place for a holiday. Should get some nice hot days."
She was feeling hot right then. He was so near; not threatening, just near. Part of her wanted to reach across the small distance and touch him again. The hand-up had felt so good. He smelled nice - not perfumed - just manly, his open face growing on her.
"A few months ago, when I still thought my ex might be worth it, I booked us a 'rediscovering the lust' holiday," Cassie said. "Two weeks ago, I told him he was a wimp and we were past our use-by, but I was taking the holiday anyway." A smirk played around her lips as she recalled the scene.
"Do you like doing outrageous things, Cassie?"
Her mouth dropped open. "What's outrageous about dumping a guy who won't take responsibility for anything?" She exclaimed. "And the holiday was paid for. With my money. I wasn't wasting it."
He leaned back slightly, his tongue caressing his teeth as he looked at her.
"You're adventurous," he said. "You need a challenge."
Cassie felt a gauntlet being thrown down between them. It was time to go, before she got in too deep. The sun was setting. She could walk back before it got dark.
"Thanks for the drink." She stood, reaching for her raffia bag's green straps.
He stood too, only a small lacquered table with two glasses on it between them. He grinned. "Retreating, Cassie? What about dinner? You don't have something organized, I'm sure."
"Well. . ." She could listen to his voice all night, and while she had been practical and shopped, she didn't particularly want to go and cook. But she didn't want to get hooked into anything she would regret, either. Men all wanted the same thing. She loved to get off too, but the whole relationship deal had no appeal any more, and she couldn't imagine when it would again. The occasional drink, ok.
"What do you have in mind?" She said.
Oh my god. Her voce seemed to be controlled by someone else. She didn't want an invite. She wanted to get away from him.
He guided her out of the booth; they ordered at a side counter and he looked into her eyes as they waited. She hoped her brown eyed gaze held as much directness as his did. She wasn't going to be anyone's walkover.
She realized it was takeaways. "Where are we going? Can't we stay here?" She kept it light, but she didn't know him at all.
"We could stay here, but I'd like to sit with you back on the beach. It's noisy here and I like the sound of your Aussie accent, which I can hardly hear. I think you'd prefer some quiet too, wouldn't you?
Rangi's challenge
They sat on the sea wall, legs dangling, fish and chips on paper between them.
"Hope you like it," he said.
"I like anything fishy," she told him. And she was hungrier than she'd thought. The smell of the snapper was so inviting, she nearly burned her tongue on the first piece she picked up.
The horizon held a fiery glow; all that remained of the day's heat and light. His face was indistinct now.
"How long have you lived here?" she asked.
"Just a few months."
Rangi told her he came from Whangarei, and was working the summer for his Uncle, which meant sitting on the beach most of the time. But it was something to do. He wasn't enthused, so she knew there was more behind the story. Wasn't there for everyone?
Cassie knew how claustrophobic relatives could be - and how obliged one felt to assist when they came asking. She didn't pry, but when the chips were finished and the paper tossed in a bin, she found herself leaning against him as he moved his arm behind her. She liked his warmth. Maybe it was just the evening. The jacket stayed in her bag.
"What's the craziest thing you've ever done," he asked.
"I dunno," she said. What a question. "Sleepovers without consent when I was at high school." She suppressed a giggle at the memory.
"How do your girlfriends rate you? A risk taker or a closet-dweller?"
Cassie had no idea. "Not everyone is cut out to be Marco Polo," she said.
He chuckled. "Very few people. But do you try new things, or do the same ones all the time?"
He was definitely going somewhere with this; her skin prickled.
Cassie wavered. "I guess I take risks, she said."
She flicked her head round suddenly. "That doesn't mean I jump into bed with someone I just met. Or go home with them!"
Rangi ignored the indignation. "I won't be following you home. But if you were given a challenge that didn't involve anything sexual or harmful, what would stop you doing it?"
She felt his arm squeeze a little tighter around her. "Well, Cassie?"
She was more than confused. "Um... you mean like drinking games to get someone wobbly so you can take advantage of them?"
"Silly girl," he said softly. "That would potentially be both harmful and sexual. You didn't listen to the question."
She bristled. The term 'girl' wasn't a term she thought appropriate.
"I guess," she said, "I'd be up for a challenge if it wasn't going to be harmful.
"-or embarrassing," she added, recalling an office Christmas party from five yrs earlier. It had been best forgotten; thankfully held in the days before most people knew what could be done with Facebook.
Tell me," he said, as he pulled her off the wall and upright onto the sand. "Are you staying close by?"
She told him the apartment complex name.
He nodded. "That is close. But it's a very small town. I'll walk to the end of the road with you. It's near where I park."
His hand felt good wrapped around hers. She grabbed the bag with her other hand and they walked along the beach.
It was a beautiful night, with lights of many colors on the water. The tide sucked and gurgled softly as it receded ripple by ripple, and occasional bursts of talk and music came over the wind from the bars across the road.
She would come and see him again. She knew she would. Just to see him so she could paint him, if for nothing else.
She noticed the wharf looming closer, and expected they would step up onto the road, but he led her underneath it. As they passed into its shadow, he stopped, and turned to face her, taking both hands in his.
"Time for a challenge, Cassandra," he said. "When was the last time you went skinny-dipping?"
"What?" Her first reaction was to pull away. Stories of raped and murdered girls flooded her conscious.
He held her firmly, but as she settled, his grip lessened. She could easily pull loose if she wanted.
"Well, Cassandra? Nothing sexual or embarrassing; it's too dark for me to see you, no one else will either, and I won't touch
you."
He paused and the tide slapped at the wharf piles, applauding his challenge. "You know you want to."
How could he possibly think she wanted to? She did not. She'd only just met him.
"No way, Rangi," she hissed through the dark. "I never skinny-dipped at high school. What makes you think I'd do it with a stranger under a dark wharf, miles from home? You think I'm crazy?"
She bit her lip. Why had she decided against swimming earlier and come without her Speedo? She had on white lingerie. Would it show if she kept it on?
Damn him.
"What's with calling me Cassandra," she finally got out.
He stepped away. His alluring voice came through the darkness; she could barely make out his shape. "I like your long name, and I've decided I'll use it. Put your clothes in your bag; leave it up by the wall. The tide's going out, nothing will happen to it."
As he spoke the, tide slopped around the wharf piles and sucked at the sand near their feet.
Breeze ruffled her dress as he stood in silence.
Light from the rest of the world sneaked under the wharf edge and danced for her on the surface as the sea tickled the piles.
What a cheap trick. Daring her without warning. She supposed it was safe enough, and she couldn't think of a suitable retort. She guessed he was trying to show her up: teasing her, with no intention of following through. Time to call his bluff.
"All right Mr Smartass. Get your stuff off."
She pulled her dress over her head with a quick tug, and loosed her bra, balling them and bending to tuck them into the bag. She didn't want wet pants either, and it was too dark to matter, so they followed. She could see the darker shape of the concrete wall and walked the few steps up to it, putting her sandals on top of the bag.
She sensed him, scented him. Was he really going to strip? She heard something drop lightly onto the sand, and then, silhouetted against the water's gleam, saw his dark shape merge with the harbor and sink low.
"There are no rocks in the middle here, Cassandra. It's all sand, so come close to me and you'll be fine."
She wasn't going anywhere close to him. The water stopped her breath as she walked into it and submerged herself to the neck.
"Wooo, it's not as warm as yesterday," she said.
She could hear his smile. "Nice though, isn't it? I'm pleased with you, Cassandra."
Pleased with her? She wasn't a kid in his class.
"You do take risks, don't you?" His voice was very close, velvet in the darkness. Anticipation welled, jostling with panic. What was next?"
"No touching," she gasped, after a remnant of swell found its way under the wharf and its energy wooshed water over her shoulders and into her face.
His voice was reassuring. "I'm staying where I am. You're quite safe. But I will push you to try things. Like I just did."
"I barely know you."
"True, but you know me more than you did when you stepped off the bus. I expect you'll soon know me quite well."
The tide swirled and breathed as she wondered how to answer.
"You're attracted, aren't you?" The voice in the night continued. "Didn't you come down to the beach this afternoon in the hope you'd see me?"
She saw his form had swum closer. But not too close.
The stupid thing was, she did feel safe. Everything screamed warning and danger and yet something reckless in her wanted to be held. She wanted to send that piece away in a strait-jacket.
She shivered. "I've had enough."
"Of course. Don't get cold." She saw him rise and wade out. Amazing how her eyes had adjusted. But not enough to see very much. Which meant he wouldn't either. Thank God.
In the breeze, it was colder out. She found her bag. She skipped the towel and underwear to get covered faster. It wasn't easy to get the dress on while wet. She wished she'd not panicked. She rummaged around and found her jean jacket, and pulled it on.
"Here." His hand touched her arm and found her hand. She held it. Damp but reassuring. Breath gushed out of her. She'd dared and it had been ok.
She giggled. "I guess that was fun."
The sand clung to her toes as she walked out from under the wharf with him and up onto the road. She saw he'd only pulled his shorts on, and carried the rest; his chest had a wet luster under the streetlights' glare. And he didn't low-ride; that was a pleasant relief.
She squinted while her pupils contracted, and let go his hand to fish out her sandals. Rangi pulled his shirt and his canvas shoes on, after dusting the sand off his feet.
"That's your road." Rangi pointed across the crossing to the street opposite. Recognise it?
She did now he pointed it out.
"Thanks, I'll be fine from here," she said. Was this the moment when he invited himself into her sanctuary? And, if she said no, would he listen?
However, before she could decide on a response - and she wasn't sure she was going to decline, which appalled her mind's remaining rational part - he lightly touched her cheek.
"It's been great meeting you. And you know where I work." He gave her the smile again. "I'm off home now. Take care, eh?"
And he walked away. Stunned, she saw him drag open the driver's door of a battered pick-up parked in the first space past the crossing.
Without a look back, he was gone, accompanied by a snarly snort from an obviously worn muffler.
Black boxer shorts
Dawn had brought clear skies; the sun was a hand-span above the horizon and full in her face as she left the studio. Suzanne was already about, watering the lush garden.
"Swimming with dolphins? I've done that several times. You have a lovely day, dear."
Cassie gave her a wave and walked down to the wharf. She had to be at the boat by seven for her all-day cruise. She hoped they found dolphins, and that conditions allowed swimming.
Speedo on, she was ready for it.
She hadn't been dressed to swim last evening, she recalled, though probably he would have still dared her to skinny dip and she'd probably have still agreed.
Paua-eyed Rangi: aggravating and alluring mixed together. She didn't know why he hadn't tried the normal-guy move, an attempt to bed her. If he'd started persuading her to take him home, she knew in her heart she would have acceded. She'd gone happily enough with him to that point: to the pub; back to the beach; under the wharf; into the water stark naked.
What was his game? She didn't understand why he seemed to be playing her like a fish. Letting her out; reeling her in. A wry smile crept along her lips. She knew it would be hard to get off his hook if he kept affecting her every time his eyes fastened on her.
The cruise staff welcomed her on board, and soon the rumble of engines heralded departure. But Rangi's face hovered like a hologram above the sea, trailing alongside all morning. When she sat down for a drink, he seemed to have his arms around her.
Of course he was not there. She knew there was little chance he was even thinking of her, and she tried to shake him off.
Even if . . . In the end, she had to have the discussion with herself because the matchmaking fairies refused to be quieted. Even if she ended up liking him and even if he was single - which she didn't know because she'd never asked, she remembered crossly - there was no future with Rangi; they lived four hours apart.
She knew you couldn't hold two thoughts in your head together, so she tried replacing Rangi with her ideas for the logos she'd be designing on her return to Auckland. But her mind didn't want to think about logos.
Would she sleep with him? As she got physical symptoms of desire when the question rose again in her mind, she knew she'd struggle to delay it if he pushed before she was ready. And she knew she'd got past hoping he might see her again. She'd seek him out herself.
After a few island stops to deliver mail, the skipper found dolphins. Into the water she went and spent a wonderful afternoon, over all too soon. She stood with the others as the engine slowed and they bumped alongside at Marsden Bay. She stepped up ont
o the wharf.
"Rangi?" She had not told him about the trip. How had he known she'd gone?
"Had a good day?" His eyes were dancing, his smile and arms wide to welcome her.
But . . ."
"How did I know you'd be on the boat? That's easy, eh? I went to your hotel looking for you, and Suzanne told me."
"Determined huh?" She put her hand in his as they walked off the wharf.
"I usually get what I want," he said.
He helped her into his truck, then turned it and headed away from her street.
"Rangi . . ."
He put his hand on her leg. "I'm taking you to dinner," he said.
"Rangi! I want a wash. Look at my hair."
He used his hand to change gears for a slight hill, and caressed her thigh again. "All right. I'll take you to my place first.
Cassie considered this. She didn't have anything to change into.
"I've got nothing to wear," she said. I didn't bring anything else as I was never going to change on the boat. I only have my Speedo and this dress." She mentally shrugged. He'd have to have her like she was.
Rangi grinned."You do travel lighter than most chicks," he said. "I'll give you some boxers to wear."
Boxers?
He parked. It looked like a restaurant.
"Is this the place?"
"Yup." He was out of the pick-up already. "Move yourself."
"But . . ."
"I live out the back. Come."
Rangi explained that he lived in a small place underneath his Uncle's restaurant, and that his Uncle lived above it.
"Great views from up top," he said."
Rangi led her down a wooded path, and some steps. His small basement flat opened onto a grassy terrace with a wide view looking down over the bay. He showed her inside; one space with everything, plus the bathroom.
A photograph on the wall caught her eye; a long-haired fair-skinned girl, hands bound behind her, kneeling.
Cassie gasped. "Who's this?"
He came up next to her, and touched her waist, a hand each side, very lightly. "That's Briar, my last girlfriend."
