by Debra Dunbar
I should have known the swank resort would have roped off a section of the beach for watersports. Kai led me to a large rectangle, vacant except for a man at one end teaching a snorkeling class. They looked up, the man waving at Kai before his eyes settled on me with interest. “We’ll be out in thirty,” he called.
Kai waved dismissively. “Don’t worry. I’ve just got only one for now. We’ll work at this end of the water.”
She tossed her board into the gentle surf. I groaned in relief, dropping mine with unseemly haste at the water’s edge and stretching to get feeling back into my numb arms. What was I supposed to do now? Should I get in? Wait for instruction? Go grab a Mai Tai and sun myself by the pool?
“We’re going to work on getting on and off the board here, where it’s shallow enough to stand and there aren’t any waves. Once you get a feel for the board, we’ll move out into calm surf.”
I looked at the item in question, bobbing gently in the water. “And if I’m still here next Monday?”
She barked a short laugh. “Not happening. You’ve got two days of paddleboarding, and then we’re moving onto surfing lessons. Now tighten those bikini straps and wade on in there, girl. Time’s a wasting.”
I walked in, pushing the board until both it and the water reached my waist. Might as well get going and get this whole thing over with. I was going to fucking kill Irix when I saw him next. Paddleboard lessons were one thing, surfing was another. Surfing? Riiiiight. Couldn’t I just go hike in the rainforest instead?
“Grab the board with a hand on either side, and ease yourself onto it. Be careful to distribute your weight evenly.”
I did as instructed, but the board wasn’t cooperating. Each time I went to ‘ease’ myself onto it, the damned thing flipped over on its side.
“Weight evenly distributed.” Kai shouted like my high school soccer coach. “You’re too far forward.”
Actually, forget the soccer coach, this woman was beginning to remind me a lot of Irix. I glared at the board and this time tried to keep my weight farther back.
“Too much! That’s too far!”
Too late. The board shot upright then came down on my head with a reverberating ‘thunk’.
“Here, let me show you.” Kai waded in, the picture of grace in the water. Grasping her board, she slid onto it like a snake across sand. “See?”
No, I didn’t see. The woman was fucking weightless. How had she done that?
“Can you show me again?”
Kai slipped off the side and repeated her motions. I placed my palm flat on top of the water and pushed, sending a surge of energy into it. The water responded, jerking upward under Kai’s board and flipping it over. I hid a smile as Kai surfaced, spitting water and smoothing her wet hair back from a very shocked face.
I know it was petty of me, but I was a tad frustrated at my ineptitude. Kai looked down at the board, perplexed, then shot me a suspicious glance.
“Sorry,” I told her meekly, ashamed of my impulsive action. To my surprise, she threw back her head and laughed, her dark eyes still laughing as they met mine.
“You do realize that now this is war?”
“Yeah, yeah. Paybacks are hell, and all that.” I grinned. Okay, maybe a week of water sport lessons with this woman wouldn’t be so bad after all.
Half an hour later, I was managing to climb onto the board without falling off the other side or tipping the damned thing over. By the end of the lesson, I could actually kneel and stand on it with a reasonable amount of stability. Kai kept me in the roped-off area, forcing me to do what seemed like calisthenics on the board, supposedly to improve my balance.
Deflated and exhausted, I dragged my board out of the water and tried to haul it up with arms that felt like limp noodles. I was part elf, damn it. I was genetically predisposed toward speed and dexterity. Something like this should have been a cakewalk. Why had it taken me so long to ‘get it’? I had a dreadful premonition that I wouldn’t be acceptable at paddleboarding by the end of the week, let alone this surfing thing.
It didn’t help that I could sense Kai’s disappointment. She’d expected better of me. I’d expected better of me. I know I should have taken some pride in what I’d accomplished, but I was too much of a perfectionist to do so.
“Here. I’ll carry the boards, and you take the paddles.”
I dropped my board in relief, feeling even more inadequate by the fact that Kai could manage two of these heavy boards while the paddles would probably be a stretch for me.
“You should wear a rashie tomorrow.”
I jerked when she ran a finger along the side of my ribs, feeling like I’d been jolted with some rather erotic electricity. Looking down, I saw my abraded skin. Road rash, or, rather, board rash.
“I didn’t bring one.” My voice came out weak and breathless. Her hand stayed against my skin, and I dreaded the moment she took it away.
“I... I, uh, have one I can loan you.” Her eyes darted to my breasts and lingered, her fingers still warm on my ribs. “It might... you’re bigger than I am there, so it might be... tight.”
And now I couldn’t breathe at all. I stood there like a total idiot, wide-eyed and wanting her hand to follow her eyes. Instead, she jerked it away as if scalded.
“I’ll bring it tomorrow. The shirt, I mean. Tomorrow.” She spun about, grabbing up both boards as if they weighed nothing and practically jogging across the sand. I ran, trying to keep up with her long-legged stride and accidently knocked a woman over with one of my paddles.
“Wait! Kai, wait!” I broke into a run, and she hesitated until I caught up, being quite obvious in her attempts to not look at me.
Darn it all. What had happened? I’d kept the pheromones locked down. In fact, I’d been concentrating far too much on that stupid paddleboard to even think about sex. I didn’t want things to be awkward given we had a whole week of lessons ahead of us, but I couldn’t help my reactions to her today. Had I lost the slight control I had over my succubus side along with my elven dexterity? Maybe around Kai, I was destined to be clumsy and horny? We’d had such a great morning, in spite of my ineptitude in the water. Why had things turned so shitty?
Things were about to get shittier. My phone beeped as we walked into the surf shack, and I couldn’t hide my obvious disappointment at Irix’s text.
Running late. Explore sugarcane tomorrow? Be back for dinner.
I guess I could work on my senior thesis, but I was in Maui for goodness sake. And I really wanted to spend as much time with Irix as possible. Maybe I’d just put on a sexy bikini and get drunk by the pool bar or bake to a crisp on a lounge chair by the ocean.
“Everything okay?” Kai’s voice was full of concern. I glanced up. She was watching me, looking directly at me for the first time since our moment on the beach.
I forced down the hurt and plastered a smile on my face. “My boyfriend and I were going to go look at the sugarcane fields this afternoon, but he had something come up.”
Kai regarded me with sympathy and curiosity as she stacked the boards neatly against the wall. “Most tourists don’t have the sugarcane fields on their must-see list.”
“Most tourists probably aren’t in the middle of writing a thesis on soil composition and its effects on downy mildew in hop rhizomes.”
She laughed. It was a beautiful sound. I caught my breath, once again feeling a surge of attraction.
“Uhh, no, you’re right about that one. I’ve got no idea what that even is.” She turned to put the oars on a shelf, and I saw a sudden, nervous tension in her shoulders. “If you want, I can drive you out. I don’t have any lessons until late this afternoon.”
There was that thesis, and I probably should take advantage of the next few hours and find someone or two for quickie sex. But this was my vacation, and there would be enough time for all three activities if we hurried. Plus, to be quite honest with myself, I wanted to spend time with Kai. I liked her. Probably liked her more than I should if today
were any indication. Still, it was nice to meet someone that I could see as a possible friend.
More than a friend that sexy voice inside me suggested. Uh no. I know I’d contemplated doing my paddleboard instructor when I’d first entered the shack, but I refused to go there. I wasn’t usually attracted to women, but that wasn’t my hard line in the sand — the fact that I liked her was. I couldn’t do that to someone I liked. I couldn’t do that to someone I really hoped would become a friend.
“I hate to impose....” But I actually did want to impose. I’d been looking forward to seeing the fields, and the idea of working on my thesis, even on the porch with a cold drink in hand, wasn’t all that exciting.
“Not at all.” She smiled with genuine warmth. “Tell you what; you go change, and I’ll meet you at the lobby entrance in ten. I’ve got a blue Jeep.”
“Deal.”
Chapter 4
I skipped up the stairs into the hotel, dumping the wet swimsuit in the sink and struggling to get khakis and a shirt over damp skin. I was out the door and walking out of the lobby just as Kai pulled up. Her Jeep was the real deal — oversized tires, dirt-stained fenders and faded upholstery. The top wasn’t just folded down; it was completely missing. Kai was in a pair of cargo pants and a tank top, her damp braid thrown over her shoulder. We headed out of the resort and through the town of Lahaina. Then back the way I’d come from the airport, beach on my right this time, and scrubby desert on my left.
“Sooo, how are you enjoying your vacation in Maui so far?” Kai seemed tense and nervous, her hands restless on the steering wheel. I settled back in my seat, determined to recover the light banter and camaraderie we’d had earlier.
“I haven’t been here twenty-four hours yet, but so far so good.” I looked past her and saw the brownish green of the bushes dotting the red lava rock of the mountains. “It’s not really what I expected, landscape-wise. I know Maui is a volcanic island and all, but the brochures show this lush green with flowers and orchids, not something that looks like a scene from a western. No offense,” I added hastily, realizing I sounded like I was criticizing her home. Sheesh, what was it with my demon half lately?
Instead of taking offense, she laughed, relaxing her hands. “Well, it is practically a desert in this section. We’ve got a variety of microclimates all over the island. Most of those pictures are from east Maui, where the rainforests are.”
I perked up. Not that I didn’t enjoy desert flora as much as I did other varieties, but I hadn’t seen many rainforest plants.
“Like the Iao Valley the limo guy mentioned?”
“Yeah, although there are some amazing places along Hana Highway and in Haleakala National Park. Red ginger, African tulips, rose apple trees, tropical almonds. There are some pretty sights in Upcountry too. The Jacaranda trees are beginning to bloom this time of year. Nothing but purple flowers all over. It’s gorgeous.”
None of those plants were familiar to me. I caught my breath, thinking I might have another best friend in Kai. “I thought you didn’t know anything about this botany stuff,” I teased.
She shot me a shy smile, a pink tone to her cheeks. “Yeah, well, I’ll bet non-botanists know oaks and maples back on the mainland. These are our oaks and maples.”
It made sense. Still, I felt Kai was holding out on me. “So, besides Haleakai National Park and the road to Hana, are there other spots I should see?”
Nyalla had highlighted all the top tourist locales in the metric ton of brochures she’d given me, but I wanted to see what a resident, besides the tour-pushing limo guy, would say. The truly breathtaking places were often off the beaten path.
“Well there’s Haleakai crater. That’s kind of cool if you’re into volcanoes and geology. Everyone goes up for sunrise, but it’s freezing up there, and with the traffic, it’ll take you an hour and a half to get there only to shiver in the cold with thousands of other tourists packed in beside you.”
No thanks. “The crater sounds cool. There’s no chance of eruption, is there? I mean, the volcano is dormant?” The limo guy had said so, but I trusted Kai more than him.
“Since before the sixteenth century, although don’t tell my grandfather that. He swears his ancestors saw it erupt in the late seventeen hundreds. Haleakai is considered dormant. Maunaloa, Kilauea, and Loihi, which is underwater, are the only truly active volcanoes on the islands.” She shot me a mischievous glance. “Pele keeps to Kilauea. Thankfully she’s not extended her affections to the other islands in many centuries.”
That damned Pele woman again. She seemed to be the hot topic of every conversation. Hopefully she’d remain in Kilauea for the next thousand years or so.
“If you really want a spectacular sight, head to La Perouse Bay to watch the sunset. It’s on the west side of Maui, down south. Make sure you stay a few hours after dark. The stars from there are brilliant, since there’s no light pollution. A couple chairs, a bottle of wine, and you’ve got yourself the perfect romantic date.”
I should have thought about Irix, but instead her words, the tone of her voice, had me envisioning Kai in a chair beside me, sharing wine and snuggling under a blanket as we watched the stars. I glanced at her, feeling a jolt of electricity surge through me. Beautiful, strong, funny. The no-women thing was only a preference, and I was beginning to think Kai might be the exception to my most flexible of rules. There was a moment of silence where the possibility of things to come lingered in the air between us. Then Kai broke the silence with a running commentary on the scenery.
“See those smokestacks in the distance?”
I looked and nodded.
“That’s Maui Sugar’s factory. It was built in the late 1800s and turns all the cane produced here into raw sugar and molasses. Anything that needs to be refined further is shipped off to California, then back for fine, white sugar.”
“So, cane is a major industry here?”
Kai shook her head, taking a left at a streetlight. “Tourism is the major industry, followed closely by agriculture in general, then the military. Don’t forget, we’re a giant rock of lava in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. There’s only so much we can grow. We need to import a lot of stuff.”
I looked out the window. The strip malls, parking areas, and patchy desert grass had been replaced with tall, closely planted stalks — some bent under the weight of their top-heavy leaves.
“That’s the cane?” I couldn’t help but be excited. I’d never seen sugarcane before my drive to the resort and was intrigued to examine it up close.
“Yep.” She pulled the car over to the side of the two-lane road and yanked the parking break. “These are the young plants on the left. They’re only a year old and will be dug up and replanted further apart once the older cane is harvested. It takes two years for cane to fully mature.”
To the left stood massive stalks, thick, waxy, and almost ten feet tall. The lower parts of the cane were bare, but the top few feet were topped with broad, brown leaves that drooped in the sun. Kai had been right. These things had grown so close together that there wouldn’t be any way to walk between the rows. I’d always thought cornfields were tough to walk through, but this would be impossible.
“They need to step up their water routine,” I commented. “Or are you all having a drought?”
She shot me a wry glance and got out of the car. “There’s the rub. It takes two-thousand gallons of water to produce one pound of sugarcane. They’re very thirsty plants. And they’re planted in central Maui where rain is rare.”
I hopped out of the car and joined her on the side of the road. “Well, that was a bonehead move on someone’s part. How the heck haven’t they gone out of business?”
“Because there’s seventy-four miles of aqueduct running from the rainforests in East Maui to these fields as irrigation.” She shot a disgusted look at the plants. “Let’s just say someone with more arrogance than sense made a devil’s deal long ago, and now a huge percentage of the island’s water goes to supp
orting these plants.”
I touched one of the canes, feeling the concentration of sugar through the waxy, fibrous exterior. Every plant had a right to live, but not in a forced environment such as this. And certainly not at the expense of other ecosystems. I’d seen firsthand what the control and redirection of natural water sources had done to the land in Louisiana. This was another example. These situations tore at my sense of ethics and divided my loyalties. So many humans, and we needed to be able to feed them all, but there had to be a better way.
Kai watched my face. “Ninety percent of our natural streams are stagnant due to the redirection of water. And rainfall is an issue. We have dry periods followed by heavy flooding. Every year, the impact of this irrigation line becomes harder and harder to bear.” It was as if she could read my thoughts.
I winced. Dry periods followed by heavy flooding were not something to lightly brush off. Soil erosion on a volcanic rock island was a serious problem. It’s not like they had much topsoil to lose. But it wasn’t my responsibility to solve the world’s environmental problems. The citizens of this island needed to take a stand and use the power of their votes if they wanted things to change. Although it broke my heart to see portions of this beautiful world fall to man’s folly, Mother Nature was far more powerful than any of us. History had shown she would rebound, although we might not be here to see it.
We. The humans. Of which I kept forgetting, I wasn’t one.
“Where were they burning earlier today?” It was my reason for coming out here. Might as well satisfy my curiosity and go back to the resort. This whole thing was beginning to depress me beyond words.
Kai wrinkled her nose. “They burn in the morning, about forty acres each day. I’m not sure which section they were doing this morning, but I can show you a field that’s been scorched.”
