by Eden Butler
But the photographers outside weren’t many, and though the crowd was growing, doubled with the pleasant locals who wanted a bit of Kona’s time, Keira understood that this group was more interested in finding Kona than pestering her. It happened often enough back home and she knew that Kona coming back to the island only encouraged the excitement of the locals. It was hero worship that Keira understood. They only wanted a picture, a conversation, maybe an autograph. But “just one minute” and “this’ll only take a sec” usually turned into hours, sometimes an entire day that kept Kona from his family. Keira hadn’t seen or heard from him all day and now that those photographers—she recognized the same slimy ponytail wearing jerk that Kona had yelled at from the airport—had converged, joined by Kona devotees, and were likely inventing wild, ridiculous scenarios about her and Mark, that attention would only grow. It would take them awhile to duck out unmolested, especially if the crowd didn’t soon discover Kona wasn’t with her at the bridal shop.
“Is Kona supposed to be picking you up?” Leann asked, frowning as the banging on the shop window didn’t abate.
“He said he would, but that was before he went to the high school. I have no clue how long he’ll be out on that field.” Kiera pulled out her phone and sighed when a call to Kona went straight to his voice mail.
“All day if the kids spot him. He’ll be doing autographs, pictures, possibly pep talks.” When Keira looked up at Mark, tilting her head, he shrugged. “I watched ‘Any Given Sunday’. Jocks do that sort of stuff.”
“Not when their fiancés are trapped in a tiny bridal shop with a crowd stalking her.”
“That’s a wildly exaggerated version of the truth, Leann.” Keira waved off her cousin’s frown and stepped out of the storage room, nodding Lina over. “Can you get through to Kona?”
“No, cuz. He’s out with the Red Raiders. My boy Neo said that most of the town is running out there. That kine no take football easy like, yeah?”
“Great,” Keira said, moving back into the storage room when Lina answered a call. “I don’t like Ransom being around all those people.” Keira looked down at her phone, scanning through it to find her messages. There were none from her son or Kona and that bothered her more than she thought it should.
“I don’t like you around those people,” Leann said, nodding toward the front window to scowl at the three photographers still lurking outside the shop, trying to snap pictures between the slats in the lowered blinds. “They need to call the cops.”
Keira felt the pinch of tension working its way up her back when she lowered her shoulders. “Leann, it’s three photographers and a few locals who think Kona is here with us. Besides, all the cops are probably out at that school following Kona around.” She looked up at Mark, then to Leann, hoping that she didn’t sound too pathetic and whiny. “We’re gonna have to make a run for it.”
And that’s what they did. Mark in back of her, Leann barging through the small crowd toward the driver holding the car door open until they were all inside of it. She’d attempted polite nods, but couldn’t bring herself to answer their intrusive questions. And when they’d returned to the resort and Keira had still not heard from Ransom or Kona, she worried what sort of crowd they’d run into out on that high school football field. The bridal shop hadn’t been surrounded and the people milling around it were maybe twenty deep, aside from the lingering photographers. Keira worried that Ransom and Kona would be stuck out there unable to get back to the resort.
That worry turned to annoyance when she finally managed to get in touch with her son.
Keira: Haven’t heard from you. What’s going on? she texted Ransom. It took a minute, one that Keira thought stretched as the temperature in the suite rose and not even the cooling breeze wafting in from the balcony could keep the sweat off her skin.
Finally, her cell chirped and Keira read her son’s message.
Ransom: It’s a madhouse over here. You get finished with all your girl stuff?
Keira: Yes. Sort of. Is your dad watching out for you? I heard there’s a crowd.
She didn’t like the pause between his messages or how quickly that paranoid, anxious mother gene of hers kicked in. Ransom was big, just like his father, but Keira still saw him as her little boy. She didn’t like that he was out there with a bunch of strangers crowding around him.
Another chirp, and Keira frowned as she read Ransom’s reply.
Ransom: They’re treating him like a king. It’s crazy. All these people everywhere. Hundreds. It’s freakin hilarious.
The niggling pluck of annoyance grew in Keira’s mind. She sat there worrying about her son, about Kona getting lost in that crowd and Ransom spoke like he was having the time of his life.
Keira: So you’re safe? She texted back, choosing to disregard her son’s king description.
Ransom: Why wouldn’t I be? And then, a few seconds later, before Keira could respond, he shot back, you should get out here and see this shit.
That small flicker of irritation only grew. Mark and Leann had stayed with her at the resort for a while, but then she’d sent them back to their rooms, wanting some time to relax before Kona and Ransom returned. That was hours ago and the waiting and irrational worry for her son’s safety only made the time slow to a snail’s pace. Once again, though Keira hated to admit it to herself, she’d been shuffled to the sidelines as Kona, and now Ransom, enjoyed the spotlight. Frustrated, Keira knew sarcasm and anger didn’t translate well via text, but she still hoped Ransom caught on to her attitude.
Keira: Can’t. Had to dodge a few photographers of our own. The car isn’t available and I’m stuck at the resort.
She was going to stuff her phone into her bag, try ignoring Ransom for a while to let her frustration cool, but the phone rang, vibrated in her hand and Keira relaxed, a little too happy when she saw Kona’s number flash across the screen.
“Hello?”
“Baby?” His voice was loud, as though shouting was the only way he knew he’d be heard over the screaming and laughing voices around him.
“Kona? I can barely hear you.” In her vivid imagination, Keira could see the crowd, faces similar to Kona’s kin, as they slapped his back and shoved footballs and Sharpies into his hand, begging for autographs. Kona’s voice was a faint blip among the hundreds of voices.
“Sorry. There are so many people here. Hundreds. We’re gonna be a while.”
That small excitement Keira felt when she saw Kona’s number buzzing her phone fell a little when she realized he wouldn’t be back anytime soon. “How long is a while?”
“Baby, this crowd is insane. They want to give me a parade. Can you believe that?” Keira wanted to snatch him through the phone, just to shake the amusement out of his voice. “How ridiculous is that?”
“Very.”
“Keira?” The crackle on her phone mixed with the rumble of voices on the other line and Keira leaned back on the sofa, waited for Kona’s voice to come through. “The connection is lousy out here. Are you alright? Did they touch you?”
“I’m fine. Mark and Leann were with me. We ran for it.” She heard his voice, speaking low, talking to someone Keira couldn’t hear and then Kona’s laughter, though to Keira’s ears it sounded forced. It sounded like he was moving and the loud refrain of the crowd started to dim.
“Did you say Mark Burke is with you?”
“Yes, Kona.” Of course he’d focus on that. Keira knew Kona was grateful to Mark for watching over her and Ransom all those years before he had come back into their lives, he’d told her that much. He had even thanked Mark personally when Mark had called Keira from South Sudan a few months back. But Keira knew that Kona still couldn’t quite let go of his annoyance that it was Mark and not him who had taken care of them for years, who had been there for them when no one else was.
“Yeah. It was stupid.” Keira couldn’t keep the humor from her voice as she remembered the look on the photographers’ faces when they caught her kissing her best
friend. “Those idiots snapped a bunch of pictures of me kissing Mark. They immediately started asking me if I was cheating on you.” Keira’s laugh was light, with a touch of annoyance, but Kona didn’t join her in her amusement. He didn’t, in fact say anything at all. “Kona?” A few more steps and Kona’s breath panting on the other line, as though he was jogging and Keira could barely hear the crowd anymore. “Did you get away from the crowd?”
“Why the hell were you kissing him?”
Is he for real?
“Are you serious right now?” Keira stood up, walked toward the balcony, needing to move to keep her irritation at bay. “I’m sitting here twiddling my thumbs waiting around for you while you play hometown hero and you’re worried about me kissing my best friend? My gay best friend who I have not seen in six months!”
More silence greeted her, made the sound of Kona’s breath seem distant. Then, she heard the voices returning, heard several of those voices calling after Kona as he walked into the crowd again. “I’m sorry, baby. I’m being… stupid. I just wanna make sure you’re okay.”
“Oh I’m sure you do.”
He released a heavy sigh and Keira didn’t hear his footsteps anymore. “Don’t do that, Keira. Please. I’m trying to get to you, but this crowd… baby, they’re just really happy to see me.”
“Where’s Ransom?” Keira didn’t care that her question sounded clipped, harsh. She didn’t think Kona was making much of an effort if he could slip away from the crowd to ask about her kissing Mark, but then returned when she called him out for being ridiculous. “Are you watching him?”
“He’s fine. Everyone loves him. He’s eating this shit up, all the attention.”
“Must be genetic.”
When Kona grunted, a sound Keira recognized as him trying to quell his anger, she sat on a balcony chair with her feet bouncing, the sparks of her own temper starting to catch.
“I’ll get there as soon as I can,” Kona said, obviously annoyed, frustrated by Keira’s attitude. “Just hang on. Okay?” He didn’t wait for her to answer. The line went dead and Keira stared down at her phone, gripped it so tightly that the case cracked.
Kona was no expert on weddings, but he guessed it wasn’t generally considered a good sign when the bride was annoyed with the groom. Even after he apologized to her. Even after he apologized to her best friend for thinking that their friendly kiss had meant anything at all.
He’d tried to get a smile from her, during the rehearsal, before that when he and Ransom had finally returned from the Red Raiders’ field. It had taken them two hours, but eventually, they made it back to Turtle Bay.
That’s when that bitter whip from Cold Shoulder Keira settled over Kona’s skin and had yet to relinquish its grip. She’d spent much of their wedding rehearsal with Leann and Mark, giving Kona the feeling that she was in a foul mood and he didn’t want to irritate her further. He might be a big linebacker, but Keira was fiercer, had a harsher tongue when pushed. Kona being AWOL, leaving her on her own had done the pushing that day.
Kona understood where Keira’s frustration came from. She was out of her element on the island, blindsided by the media, surrounded by his family and fans, uncomfortable while Kona let the attention distract him and then he got snippy with her for one kiss on the cheek with her best friend. He kept quiet while the annoyingly flirty wedding planner had them going over their roles and responsibilities during the ceremony. Even then, Keira kept her answers to clipped responses that Kona swore he could feel biting into his chest. She’d let her fingers rest in his as they went over their vows, but Kona was doing the hand holding.
“You’re being childish,” he’d told her, frustrated by her cool attitude and as soon as the words left his mouth and he heard Ransom’s low groan Kona knew how big a fuck up he’d made.
“Yep, that’s me. Selfish, childish, attention seeking asshole.” She pulled her hands away from his and for the first time in years, Kona saw the brutal temper of the girl that had him panting around campus like a punk, sixteen years ago. “Oh wait,” Keira said, stepping so close to him so that her insult whispered low, stayed private. “That’s you, Hale. Not me.”
He hated when she called him Hale.
He’d excused away her attitude to his family by promising the excitement and busyness of the day had Keira feeling tired and worn out. Most everyone bought it and Keira did at least pretend to be in better sprits when they left the resort for the luau being held at the Polynesian Cultural Center.
Keira smiled as she and Kona passed out bridesmaid and groomsmen gifts, happily welcomed kisses and hugs from the family when they came. But when they were alone, standing back from their guests, Keira’s cool attitude remained frustratingly persistent.
“She is so pissed right now,” Ransom said as he sidled next to his father with a slight scowl on his face.
Kona moved his head, not hiding his frown or sarcasm when he looked at his son. “You think?”
“She gave me the silent treatment for an hour straight after we got here and I didn’t do shit!”
“Boy, you and that mouth.” He sighed when Ransom shook his head, looking irritated. “You were an accessory to my neglect.” Kona waved his hand, let a long breath move from him, feeling the spark of a tension headache throbbing at the back of his head.
“Tell me about it. I was gonna talk to her about inviting…”
“No. Not yet,” Kona interrupted, whipping his wide eyes to Ransom. “Do it tomorrow, before the ceremony, but not until I talk to her tonight.” Ransom frowned, finally nodding when Kona stared at him.
His son moved his gaze across the marble floor, watching Keira as she leaned against the bar, barely looking at Leann as she spoke. “Go talk to her,” Ransom said as he waved to his cousin Lakei who had called to him, spinning a football between his hands. “She wants you to grovel.” The boy stood up, stretched, smirking at Kona when he wouldn’t stop watching Keira with her head next to Mark’s, their conversation looking serious. “Dad, you know Mark is gay, right?” Kona nodded, unamused, pulled another swig from his beer. “You know he and his partner Johnny have been together for almost twenty years?” Another nod and Ransom stood in front of him, blocking his view of Keira, suddenly serious. “Mark’s a good man, Dad. He’s been there for us…”
“I know he has,” Kona snapped, making Ransom’s eyebrow curve up as though the boy was surprised by his father’s attitude. He stood, took Ransom’s shoulder, and softened his voice. “It’s stupid for me to act like a jealous asshole about Mark Burke. I appreciate what he’s done for you both, I do. But it still stings a little, yeah? He was there and I wasn’t.”
“Dad, you didn’t know about us.”
“Yeah, I didn’t know about you. But I loved your mother, even then. That should have been enough. I should have gone after her. I should have tried harder.”
“Isn’t that what you’re doing now? Despite the craziness today, you’re still trying.” Ransom shrugged, patted Kona’s arm when the man fell silent. “Keep trying, Dad. Mom respects persistence.” Ransom nodded again to Lakei when he called him out to the beach for a pick-up game. Before he left, Ransom pulled on Kona’s shoulder, pushing him toward the end of the bar where Keira sat with Mark. “Go be all annoying and persistent, but you know, none of that parental affection. I wanna keep my dinner down.”
But Nya kept Kona away from Keira for the remainder of the dinner. The room was filled with their family, so many people enjoying a good time that Kona hadn’t noticed initially how the wedding planner kept asking him questions—the last minute details, his preferences in music, where exactly he wanted the flowers placed down the aisle. Every query that wasn’t interrupted by some distant cousin wanting a picture or some family acquaintance telling Kona about a great investment opportunity, kept him away from Keira and it grated on his damn nerves.
He also thought Nya was being a little obvious, trying to keep his attention. Kona wasn’t stupid. He’d been around enough gro
upies over the years that he could spot them a hundred feet away. He didn’t think Nya was a groupie, she’d been nothing but professional, if not a little excited all week, but as he made his way back from the bathroom toward the bar she stopped him in the hallway, supposedly wondering about where to park the Mustang Kona had rented to drive him and Keira to the private beach in Oahu for their honeymoon, and her intentions became very clear.
Nya smiled suggestively at him, licking her bottom lip as she moved her eyes down his body. The vibe was there, pulsing like a swollen finger, immediately telling Kona the girl’s professional demeanor was all an act.
“Is there anything else I can do for you, Mr. Hale?” Nya made a point of brushing away invisible lint from his shoulder. When she left her hand on his chest, Kona moved his gaze to her fingers, then narrowed his eyes at her slowly.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
Her smile was almost sneering and Kona’s body tensed, his fists curling when the girl kept her hand on his chest and took a step forward. “Like you don’t know.”
He didn’t have time for the bullshit.
He was marrying Keira the next afternoon. They had planned not to see each other that night, to keep the anticipation of the wedding night greater. Tomorrow would be a cluster of activity and stress and Kona needed to talk to her before they both got caught up in the wedding chaos. He needed to apologize for not coming getting back to her soon that today. He also had to speak to her about Ransom’s surprise guest, but Nya stayed where she stood, keeping him away from Keira, her eyes intense as she stared up at Kona.
“That haloe can’t give you what you need, Kona.”
Grunting, he pulled her wrist from his chest and dropped her hand from him like it was infected. “That haloe is my breath. My life. She has been since I was a kid. She always will be.” Kona felt his stomach drop, like the heavy weight of his heart had moved down and sat like a rock in his gut when he looked over Nya’s head and saw Keira watching them, the muscles in her face tight and her nostrils widening as she exhaled.
