by Scott, S. L.
“Both.” I stand up, my anxiety over the first day of school showing by the full bowl of cereal on the table. “I’ve lost my appetite.” Walking into the kitchen, I grab a bottle of water from the fridge.
After looking at her watch, she announces, “Time to go, hot stuff.”
Dropping the bottle inside my back pack, I swing it onto my shoulder and stand near the door, waiting on her.
I hear a huff as she grabs her backpack from the floor next to the table. “Hey, there isn’t maid service here. Bowl. Sink.”
“Remind me to find a cleaning service soon then because this cleaning stuff you’re obsessed with sucks.”
She giggles. “Call Ms. Chart to come for a visit. I’m sure she’d be happy to help you interview housekeepers.”
That gives me an idea. “I could ask her to move in here with us. We have the extra bedroom.”
Mallory looks at me, eyes narrows, frown on her face.
“I’m just playing with ya,” I say, teasing. “Why would she leave Hawaii or even New York for the cold and snow of Colorado?”
“Why indeed.”
I take the bowl to the sink and we leave.
While walking to school, I can tell Mallory is lost in thought. I stay quiet and let her think. One thing I’ve learned about her is when she’s ready to talk, she will.
She kisses me in front of the English building before disappearing inside after a quick goodbye. I walk down to the Psychology building and find the auditorium of my first class.
Shifting uncomfortably in my chair, I look around, feeling much older than most of the other students. Maybe I’m feeling the toll life has taken, aged by experience. Makes me feel lucky that most of my credits transferred and I tested out of the other basics or I’d be with a bunch of eighteen-year-olds instead of kids who can at least buy beer.
Thankfully my morning passes by uneventfully. School is just how I remember. I meet Mallory for lunch at a deli near campus. When I walk in, I see her sitting in a corner. Tossing my bag across the seat, I slide in. “Hey there.”
“Hi,” she says, smiling. “How were your first classes?”
“So far so good. No surprises.”
“That’s good. Are they interesting?”
“Yeah, I like them.”
“What about girls?”
“What about girls?” I ask.
She briefly glances out the window then back to me. By the way she’s fidgeting, I think she’s nervous. “Any girls you find interesting?”
“Only one,” I say, reaching across the table and taking hold of her hand, stilling it. “You’re the only girl I’ve got eyes for.”
“Sorry,” she says, looking at our hands.
“For what?”
“For, you know, being ridiculous.”
“I like when you’re ridiculous. Means you think I’m hot.”
That makes her laugh. “I do think you’re hot.”
“Good. Because I think you’re really hot.”
“Okay, silly boy, let’s get back to your day and classes.”
I lean back in the booth. “They’re going to be a lot of work. I can tell.”
“Well, knowing you, you’ll get straight A’s.” She slips out of the booth and stands. “We should go up and order our food. We don’t have a ton of time.”
We go through the line then sit back down.
“Sooo,” she starts, looking down at her sandwich. I set mine down because I can tell whatever she’s about to say is important. “I wanted to talk to about some things I’ve been thinking about.”
“Alright.” I clasp my hands together under the table and lean forward to listen.
“I know you just got here and all, but I was wondering what you thought about—”
“The food?”
“No, um,” she says, chuckling. “What do you think of Colorado since you’ve been here?”
I sit back, my heart starts racing, and I brace myself, suddenly nervous for some reason. I drag my sweating palms up and down my thighs as my eyes travel to her left hand to make sure her ring is still there. It is.
“I’m applying for the graduate program here, but I’d also like to apply to the University of Hawaii. They have a great program and it would be warm and I don’t know where we could live or anything, but I’m sure we could figure that out. Sunny and Zach are staying there after graduation and I could work on campus or maybe even at Big Kehones to make mone—”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait a minute. Back up.” I hold up my hands, stopping her. “Let me get this straight. You might be moving to Hawaii?”
“Well, I wouldn’t do anything without talking to you. It’s a big decision that we have to make together now.” She wiggles her ring finger at me. “I’m happy to stay here if you prefer. I know—”
“That’s not what I’m saying. It’s probably not the best idea for me to change again, but I want to go back to Hawaii. My car is there.”
“You only want to go back for your car?”
“No, but I’d have a car. We could live at the house.”
“That brings me to part two of what I’ve been thinking about—the wedding.”
“Did you pick a date?”
“I picked a location. I want to get married in Hawaii. We said after my graduation, so I was thinking this summer. June, if that’s not too soon.”
I get up and slide across the booth next to her. Wrapping my arm around her shoulder, I say, “June sounds perfect. I thought I was gonna have to wait until after my graduation, which is a lot longer than June.” I kiss her and she kisses me back not caring that we’re in public.
“You’re not mad?”
“Why would I be mad?”
“Moving here and then maybe, possibly moving again.” She crinkles her nose in worry. “You have an apartment with stuff now.”
“I’m in my major now, but the classes I’m taking this semester will transfer. I’d go back to Hawaii in a heartbeat. And I can sell the furniture and other stuff we don’t want. June, huh?”
She looks down shyly, twisting the ring around her finger. “I’m ready to be married, to be tied to you permanently.”
“You can’t say things like that to me in public. Words like that make me want to bend you over this table and have my way with you.”
Her green eyes lock on mine, all tempting lust and challenging. “I like your wicked ways. So what’s stopping you?”
“Hot damn, woman,” I say, lifting up to adjust my jeans, hoping to find some extra room for my erection. “I’m trying to be a gentleman. I’m trying to control the primal urges that tell me to fuck you right here and now.”
“Well, if you ever want to not ‘control’ those urges, you know where to find me,” she says, knowing she owns my ass.
She’s just about to take a bite of her sandwich when I ask, “How much time do you have until your next class?”
Setting her food down, she looks at her phone to check. “Forty-five minutes.”
I grab the food, toss it on the tray and dump it in the garbage bin before grabbing both of our backpacks, her hand, and pull her out the door.
“Evan?”
“Yep?” I answer, trying to figure out how I can shorten the ten minute walk back to the apartment.
“Are you taking me home to have sex? In the middle of the day?”
“No, I’m taking you home to fuck in the middle of the day.”
“It’s the first day of classes,” she says, double-timing to keep up with my pace.
“We’re setting a precedence. This is how all first days should be,” I reply proudly.
* * *
Laying next to me, her eyes heavy, her body covered in a light layer of sweat. “Holy fuck, babe.”
“I promised a solid fuck.”
Mallory rolls on top of me, wiggling her sweet ass as she straddles my middle. I hold her by the hips, looking up at my sexy girl. Leaning forward, she drops her arms on either side of my head. Her hair tickles my ears a
nd she looks into my eyes. “You sure did and you delivered. Since the day you asked if I needed a ride from the airport with all your cocky attitude and swagger, you’ve delivered on your promises.” Leaning all the way down, she plants her lips on my mouth, her tongue finding mine, and with sensual caresses, her body begins slowly rocking against me, seeking more.
I roll her over so I’m on top, my body recovering and reacting. “We’re gonna miss our classes if we do this, but I’m game if you are.”
A smile slides onto her face and she sighs. “I could spend an eternity in bed with you and never get enough.”
“You have my soul wrapped around your finger, so I’m counting on longer.” I kiss her again.
We’re only twenty minutes late to our next classes… I have no regrets.
77
Mallory
He’s so happy. The heaviness lifted from his eyes replaced with pure joy. Evan’s complexion already looks more golden and we just landed in Oahu.
“I missed you,” he says, gingerly rubbing his dashboard and placing a kiss there.
“Are you seriously kissing your car?”
“Don’t be jealous, baby, you own my heart.” He laughs, then reaches across the console and rubs my thigh. “Always, remember?”
“I’ll try not to be jealous of the car as long as you don’t forget who delivers the goods.” I lean my head back and look out the window at the beach and ocean beyond, remembering the very first time I sat next to him in this car.
“No worries there. I love your goods,” he says with a wink.
The wind blows through our hair, the scent of Hawaiian flowers fill the air, and the ocean captures my attention as we drive toward what I now call the Ashford compound.
After parking in the driveway, we walk down the path to his guesthouse, but stop when we see Ms. Chart running toward us. “Mallory!” She wraps her arms around me and I embrace her back, smiling from ear-to-ear. When she leans back, she holds my arms out and says, “You are just as beautiful as ever. Now, let me see that ring.”
Evan clears his throat... loudly.
“You should probably say hi to him before he gets even more jealous,” I say, giggling.
Turning to him like a doting mother, she cups his face and smiles. “Evan, I’ve missed you so much.” She looks him over. “You look too skinny. I’m going to cook for you tonight. Okay?”
I see him smile, a bit embarrassed and hugs her again. “I missed you too, Ms. Chart.”
An hour later, I’m lying on the bed, the time change catching up with me, when Sunny and Zach barge in. Startled, I jump and yell, “What the—”
“Happy Spring Break!” Sunny squeals and jumps on the bed, tackling me down into the covers.
Evan walks out from the bathroom. “Zach. Dude. How goes it?”
“Shhh! Look,” Zach replies.
Both Sunny and I look up to find the guys watching us, sort of mesmerized.
“Shit, don’t stop on our account,” Zach says, sounding disappointed we’re not goofing around on the bed any longer.
We both grab a pillow and throw it at them. “Pervs,” I shout.
“It’s been too long, brother,” Evan says, turning to Zach and they do their boy club handshake as if nothing happened.
I’m just glad I was dressed. Sunny and I fall back on the bed in a fit of giggles. “I missed you, Mal.”
“I missed you, too. What do you have planned for us?”
“More like what are your plans? Do you even have time to do anything other than wedding stuff?”
“I hope so.”
“Do I get to come along with you? I wanna eat cake and try fancy food. Oh, oh, and what about the dresses? You said I could be a bridesmaid, and I’m totally holding you to that.”
I throw a pillow over her face and roll off the bed. Evan grabs me by the hand and tucks me under his arm. After a quick kiss on the head, he says, “We’re hitting the waves. What’re you gonna do?”
“I’m taking Mallory with me. We’re going shopping and then heading to Big Kehones.” Sunny says, climbing off the bed and scrunching up her face. “This bed smells of sex by the way. Gross.”
Bursting out laughing, I poke Evan in the ribs. “Guess we’ve been busted.”
“Geez, Mallory, you guys couldn’t survive a few hours.” She rolls her eyes, and adds, “Didn’t you just land like three hours ago?”
Smiling up at Evan, I answer for us both, “We’re on vacation. We had to celebrate.”
Shaking her head, she flops down on the couch. “I don’t know how you two have time for school with all the celebrating you do.”
“And on that note, go have fun, babe. We’ll see you later.” I push Evan toward the door with Zach.
“I’m going. I’m going,” he says. “Don’t miss me too much.” He leans back quickly and kisses me before I smack him on the ass. “Later.”
Sunny and I go to a bridal store in Waikiki and I try on a few dresses. Normally I appreciate the challenge of the hunt. But today, shopping for my dress is different, this is special and I feel the importance of finding the right dress.
Sunny smiles when I come out dressed in a flowing chiffon layered white gown. “Oh my God, Mallory.” She clasps her hand over her heart. “You look so beautiful and it’s very beachy.”
“I kind of like it.”
“Then that’s not the dress. You should love the dress you wear on your wedding day not just kind of like it.” As I spin in front of the mirror, taking in all angles, she asks, “So everything’s still good with you and Evan since you moved in together?”
In the reflection of the mirror, my eyes meet hers. “Better than good. I wasn’t sure how this whole living together thing would go, but now I can’t imagine living without him.”
“You won’t ever have to imagine that. That’s the beauty of marrying young. You have your whole lives to spend together.”
“Don’t make me cry, okay? I’ve become quite sentimental and cry easily these days.”
Glassy tears fill her eyes, but she looks away and wipes them. “Well, we can’t have the bride crying or anything.”
Turning back to look at the dress, I spot tears filling my own eyes despite my best efforts. The sales lady is there with a tissue ready in hand, probably used to seeing a lot of tears in here. A good laugh shared by all lightens the mood.
After I try on a few more dresses, we head over to visit Johnny and Alana at Big Kehones.
“You look great, Mallory,” Johnny says, taking me in. “Life’s treating you good.”
“Thanks,” I return the compliment while hugging him. “You don’t look so bad yourself.”
When we part, he says, “You remember Lorelei.”
“Yes, from the booth at the surf contest.”
“It’s good to see you again,” she says with a little wave, sitting on a barstool.
“Likewise,” I say, smiling between the pair.
Lorelei looks at me, her gaze dropping down to my hand and I’m sure the ring. “Evan Ashford, huh?” she asks.
“Yep. Evan Ashford.”
“Johnny tells me he’s a good guy and not to listen to the rumors.”
I laugh. “I was told something very similar when I first started working here. I discovered he’s right. They’re only rumors, not who he really is… okay, maybe there’s a little truth to some of the rumors, but in my book, he’s a keeper.”
After chatting with them for awhile, Lorelei takes off and Sunny goes to get her paycheck from the office. I lean over the bar and ask in a hushed tone, “How are things between you and Sunny?”
Johnny looks over his shoulder and says, “We’re good. I’m happy with Lorelei and Sunny’s happy with Zach. I realized what I had with Sunny was a crush. What I have with Lorelei is much more.”
“That’s good.” Johnny’s gaze drifts over my shoulder to somebody entering the restaurant.
And then I hear, “Mallory?”
I spin on my barstool and s
ee Noah standing there. My mouth drops open, too stunned to speak. My pounding heart brings me back to the reality that Noah is standing there waiting for me to say something.
“I didn’t know you were back on the island,” he says, walking toward me, hesitant but moving closer, his posse heading behind him to grab a table on the other side of the restaurant.
“Noah,” I start to say, “I don’t think it’s such a go—Oh! Um…” He squeezes me tight, effectively trapping me in his grip and lifts me completely off the stool. Wriggling, I tell him to put me down after the awkward embrace. “I don’t have anything to say to you. Not after what happened.”
“You’re not still mad, are you?”
“Mad? What would I possibly have to be mad at? Hmmm… let me think here.” I roll my eyes. “Would it be that you kissed me without my permission and probably would’ve done more if you hadn’t been stopped?”
“How’s your hand? That was one helluva slap,” he says, mocking.
I stand up, crossing my arms over my chest. I’m trying to think of a witty comeback when I’m cut off by Johnny, “Noah, go join your friends. Mallory just stopped by to say hi. Don’t ruin her visit. No one’s looking for trouble or wants to deal with your shit today.” Johnny walks around the bar and stands next to me.
“Look who’s finally grown a pair,” Noah says, eyeing him before looking back at me. “C’mon, give me a minute to explain. Let’s settle this.”
“Settle this? This was settled a long time ago at the luau. You showed your true colors. I just feel stupid for falling for your lies.”
Noah crosses his arms defensively. “Mallory, don’t be such a bitch.”
My hand tingles with anticipation, but I resist this time. “I should slap you, asshole, but you’re not worth the trouble,” I say, waving my left hand in front of him shooing him away like an irritating gnat.
“What the fuck is that?” I’m about to sit down when he grabs my wrist, spinning me around to face him. With my hand held up high, he asks, “Is that a wedding ring?”
Normally, I would deck him for grabbing me like that and sounding so disgusted by my engagement. But seeing the look of disbelief on his face is sort of fun. His distress playing out before my eyes is quite amusing. I smile, proud as I turn my hand to let the light hit the perfect and large diamond. “It’s an engagement ring.”
