Page 12 of Deck the Palms (An Annabeth Albert Christmas)
Twelve
For those families new to our school and the base community, a suggestion to get out and explore, especially as we head into December. The waves should be epic!
NOLAN
I awoke to a dark room and Merry pushing on my shoulder. True to his word, he’d left the bathroom light on for me, but the outside lighting seemed like the middle of the night.
“Wake up,” he whispered.
“It’s still dark,” I moaned and tried to roll back over, but Merry wouldn’t let me. I was all warm and snuggly and sleepy from a middle of the night slow make-out session that had led to grinding off together. Two stupendous orgasms had rendered me near comatose, but Merry was determined.
“It won’t be dark much longer, and I want to show you something.”
Well, now I was intrigued. If Merry wanted to share something, I wanted to see it, even if it meant leaving the soft bed for a chilly pre-dawn morning. I pulled on fresh clothes and followed him and Barney in tiptoeing down the stairs. He paused in the kitchen to grab Barney’s leash, a thermos, and a small bag of food.
“Is that coffee?” I asked hopefully.
“Yep, and banana bread for first breakfast if you hurry.”
“First breakfast? As in, we’re having multiple? I’m in.” And also charmed. So very charmed by this scruffy surfer leading me into the dark yard. “Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.” He headed to his car, Barney close behind, and I followed. We drove farther north, the sky gradually lightening as we zipped along.
“This is pretty.”
“You haven’t seen anything yet.” Chuckling, Merry fiddled with the stereo, putting on a playlist with easy island vibes.
“Should we have brought the boys?” Much as I liked this alone time, I didn’t want to leave them out.
“They’ve seen this spot before.” Merry waved his right hand as he drove on. “Dad’s taking them back out surfing, then we’re all meeting back up in Haleiwa for second breakfast. And maybe I wanted you all to myself for a little while.”
“Okay.” I preened in my seat, liking that declaration far more than I should have. “Thank you.”
“Are you always so willing to try new things, or is that more vacation mode?” he asked carefully.
“Hmm.” I gave the question the attention it deserved. “I’ve always been an optimist. And I’m a creature of habit, but I also enjoy spontaneity. The thing about theater is you give your all to a particular show for months at a time, then take a deep breath and tackle something new. And in the city, I’ll have a beloved takeout spot, but inevitably, a new place opens up, and suddenly, there is a new favorite. Also, living alone as an extrovert means being willing to try things out of necessity.”
“Well said.” Merry nodded. “I guess I’m more the habit type. Same breakfast foods, same island, same orders at my favorite spots. But I like how you seem to tackle everything with the gusto. Like now, considering you didn’t want to get up early.”
“Oh, I’m up now.” I gestured at the gorgeous dawn enveloping us. “This is more than worth waking early for. And you.”
“And me.” The tips of Merry’s ears turned pink. “I love early morning trips. No traffic and anything feels possible.”
“Indeed.” I looked around us, deep blue ocean, shadows of palm trees, other foliage ruffled by a passing breeze. “And everything feels extra beautiful.”
“Exactly.” Merry kept going past several smaller and smaller and then downright teeny towns, and then?—
“Oh my gosh, we just literally ran out of road.” I stared at the barrier in front of us before Merry turned into a small parking area.
“We did. This is the northernmost tip of the highway. No more road.” He parked the car. “And there’s something about this view in the morning.”
The sky was streaked with blue and pink, the world awakening, and all I could do was nod. The beach below us was rocky and deadly-looking, churning sea and jagged cliffs and all. Merry hopped out of the car, taking Barney and the coffee with him, leaving me to follow. The wind slapped me as soon as I opened my door, and it was so gusty I had to think about each step on the uneven earth.
“I should have brought a jacket. It’s so windy.”
“Here.” Merry fetched a plaid throw from the back of the car. He wrapped it along with himself around me. “I’ll keep you warm.”
“Okay.” I gave a happy wriggle against him. “I see now why you love it so much up on North Shore.”
“Yeah, I’ll never leave Oahu.” There was a warning in his tone not to ask or dream of such a thing.
“I know.” I matched his solemn tone, letting him hold me anyway. I was nothing if not reckless. He dropped a kiss against my neck, and it truly felt like we were the only two people on the island.
I could have stood there gazing at the ocean for hours, but eventually, Merry plied me with coffee and banana bread. We sat in the hatchback, and I couldn’t help my near-orgasmic noises at the sweet bread with a subtle tang.
“Oh, this bread is good,” I moaned.
“Told you it was worth getting up for.” Merry’s voice was smug before turning more thoughtful. “My mom made it fresh last night. She likes you.”
“Moms often do.” I shrugged. “I’ve had several short-term boyfriends whose mothers messaged me long after the guy moved on.”
“That’s both sweet and sad.” Merry pulled me closer. “I can’t take the role forever, but I like the only-for-the-holidays idea. I wanna do last night again.”
“Me too.” I leaned in for a kiss. It started light, almost chaste, but then he deepened it. Or maybe I did. It didn’t matter because we were kissing like the world might end any second. We kissed and kissed and watched the ocean until the sunrise turned into a bright morning and my heart was as full as I could remember.
“I don’t want to go back,” I said laughingly, but I was also serious. New York seemed like a distant memory and Merry the most important discovery I’d ever made.
“We have to. We’re almost out of coffee.” Merry chuckled along with me. “And I’ll get you real breakfast in Haleiwa, and then we can watch the morning surfers some before your real favorite activity.”
“More sex?” I asked hopefully.
“That too.” His cheeks were pink again. “But I meant shopping. Haleiwa is full of touristy shops. You’ll love all the kitsch, I’m betting.”
“I’m sure I will.” And I was also sure I was falling for him, fast and hard, and the rocks below our fling were even more treacherous than this strip of beach, but heck if I could stop it.