Page 12

Fuck my life.

How the hell do I end up with the one guy on the island that I’m not supposed to be with? And he’s a guy who is so damn perfect that it makes me sick. He has literally consumed my every thought since he admitted to me who he is and why we can’t be together.

You always want what you can’t have.

I look at his message again, wondering if I should reply. I’ve typed out a million different messages back, none of them are what I should be doing, but rather what I want to do.

I let out a hard sigh, dropping my phone next to me on the bed. Pushing my palms against my eyes, I try to rid Flynn from my memory, but holy shit, if he’s not seared into my brain like a fucking core memory now.

A beam of moonlight shines through my bedroom window and I listen to the chirping of the crickets in the night, a breeze blowing through the open window. The smell of the ocean fills the room and again I sigh hard, the smell reminding me of Flynn. The ocean is forever ruined by him.

That’s a little dramatic, but I’m feeling dramatic tonight, which is why I can’t possibly text him. I’ll say all the things I want to say, and I’ll find myself sneaking out of the house and into his bed.

Grabbing for my phone, I look at his message again. It’s final and not at all like the Flynn I met on the beach. It’s him telling me he’s keeping me at arm’s length, and I really should take that as a hint, but it’s so damn hard.

“Go to sleep,” I mutter to myself, knowing I have to be up soon to train. But the room feels like it’s closing in on me, like there isn’t enough air to breathe. And I hate that I still want him.

I must fall asleep because the next thing I know, my phone alarm is playing, startling me awake. It feels like I’ve slept for ten minutes, and there’s a possibility I did.

When I walk out into the kitchen, Daisy is already at the table, a pot of coffee brewed and ready for us. Grabbing a cup, I sit down across from her, again with the hard sigh. It feels like it’s become my thing now, hard sighing at the mess I’ve created.

I want to tell her, but I find myself shying away from admitting it. Not that I don’t trust Daisy because I do. I trust her with everything in me, having been friends for so long. It’s just that the more people that know, the easier it is for the gossip to get out. It can be something simple like her telling Miles or Kai or Nate that Flynn was over at our house or that I was out surfing with him.

Simple.

Unassuming.

But it could blow up in my face. It could blow up in Flynn’s too, causing problems for not only him but Jade. I never want to be the reason someone isn’t able to compete, and following through on my feelings for Flynn could lead to that.

“Hey, good morning,” Daisy says, whipping her dark hair up into a messy pile on top of her head. “Heard there’s double overhead at Mā’alaea Bay, but I don’t think we have time for that today.”

“Yeah, probably not. I’ve got work today and surf school later. I was thinking I’d go for a run this morning and then maybe you and I can just go out.” It’s more of a suggestion than anything. Even though Daisy is up, that doesn’t mean she’s down for helping me. I don’t ever want her or Sloane to feel like they have to help me train.

“Of course. No other place I’d rather be,” she says sweetly. “I’m really glad you changed your mind about Maui Pipe. Not that I want to keep bringing Mitch up, and as much as he would have been disappointed in you, I want you to do this for yourself. So you know how much of a badass you are.”

“Thanks.” The word comes out quietly, my head still all messed up from this shit with Flynn, but I need to get it back together. Anyway, my focus should be on Maui Pipe.

“What’s the plan today?” It’s Sloane’s groggy voice that comes from behind us, and she flops down in a chair, tucking her legs underneath her.

“Why are you up so early?” I ask. Sloane’s head now resting on the table.

“Maui Pipe,” she mutters. “Training. You think I’m going to let you go out without any help?”

I smile at her when she looks up at me, her lids still heavy with sleep and I wonder how late she was up studying.

Sloane is the most self-driven person I know, going to school, working, helping me train, helping with the surf school, all while knowing she has the world completely against her. It’s been that way her whole life and she just keeps fighting back.

“I’m going to go for a run and then why don’t we just hit the beach here. I have to be at work by nine,” I tell them, and Daisy nods.

“I have class and then my shift at Orchid Bay,” Sloane adds. “I’m so fucking tired.” Her words come out absentmindedly as if she doesn’t even realize she’s said them.

Reaching over, I rest a hand on her head, pushing her hair back, her head still resting on the table. I want to tell her that it will all be worth it, but she doesn’t need to hear that again. Right now, it feels like a long and hopeless road.

“I’m bartending tonight,” Daisy says, shrugging, and I know this is not something she wants to keep doing. We’re all just out here trying to make it work.

I get up from the table, putting back the rest of my coffee, and heading to my room to get ready for my run.

I get in a three-mile run, and the girls and I surf for about two hours before we all have to go our separate ways.

Heading over to The Pipe Dream to start my shift, I walk up and find Nate under Mitch’s old SUV, his feet sticking out from under it. I laugh when I hear the music playing, his toes wiggling to the beat, and it’s funny to see him so happy. Even funnier to see him attempting to fix that old thing. He is not the mechanical type, leaning more toward art and surfing.

“Nate!” I call out, but he doesn’t emerge from under the car, and I roll my eyes. He’s clearly caught up in what he’s doing, that or he’s trapped under there.

I yell out again, and when he doesn’t respond, I grab him by his ankles, pulling him out from under the car.

But instead of Nate, I’m met with Flynn. Sliding between my open legs, I’m now hovering over him. He’s on his back, an old skateboard underneath him, and when the shock leaves his face, he’s smiling.

“Alana,” he purrs, that damn accent making my panties wet almost immediately. And this was not at all what I expected was going to happen when I yanked on his ankles.

Here I am, basically straddling him standing up and if I were to sit down, I’d be lined up perfectly with his dick. An image I know all too well and something my body has been missing despite it not even being that long since we last had sex.

“Can I help you with something?” he now asks, swiping the back of his hand over his forehead. I step to the side, almost embarrassed by how this played out.

He stands up now, shirtless, his hands covered in grease, and a dirty towel thrown over his shoulder, and holy shit, he looks so damn good. All tanned skin and rippled abs, and pale blue eyes with dark lashes that hardly seem real. He has these lush, full lips that are so disarmingly perfect and my mind flashes to all the times they were on my body. Why the hell does he have to look so good, and be so fucking off-limits?

“Um, no. I’m sorry,” I splutter out, caught off guard. “I thought it was Nate under there.” I swallow hard, trying not to ogle him and his broad shoulders and chiseled abs.

There has never been a guy on this island who has made a pair of boardshorts look as good as Flynn does. It’s only a matter of time before women are throwing themselves at him, desperate to see what lies below the tie that barely holds the shorts on his hips. They’re slung so low that it should be illegal, or maybe not. But I’m willing to fight off anyone who tries to get near him.

Go ahead and fucking try.

Something rages inside me at the idea of Flynn with another woman, and as much as it shouldn’t matter because we aren’t a couple, it does. Heat blooms, filling every inch of my body, and I love the feeling, the spark of desire, wanting more of it even if I know it’s wrong.

“It’s good to see you,” Flynn now says, stepping closer to me. “You get any training in today?”

“I did,” I reply, nodding, but I don’t want to talk about surfing. I want to talk about us, about making this thing that happened something real, something more than just a fling.

There’s a tension that fills the space, sending my heart racing, and I wonder if he can feel it too. Wetting my lips, his gaze falls there almost instantly, and a spike of lust finds its way between my legs.

Get yourself under control!

“You working on Sage’s car?” I now ask, trying to keep the conversation going, but also away from me asking him if he wants to sneak off into the cottage.

“Yeah, it’s been acting up. My dad is a mechanic, so I told Nate I’d take a look at it.”

“It’s older than dirt,” I joke. “It belonged to Mitch, Sage’s dad, and she can’t bear to get rid of it. I get it, though. It’s kinda her only real connection she has left of him besides the shop.” I toss a hand over my shoulder in the direction of The Pipe Dream.

“It’s a classic,” Flynn says, looking back at it. “Should be able to get it running better.” He crosses his arms over his broad chest, and my stupid brain just will not let it go. He’s talking about old cars and I’m thinking about him naked.

“There you are,” I hear Nate’s voice say. “You are here.” Rife with annoyance that I’m late, he comes over to where Flynn and I are standing. “Your shift started ten minutes ago.” Hitting me with a jab of his elbow in the side, he smiles.

He likes to act all grumpy, but we both know the truth. Underneath it all, he’s the sweetest guy I know. Even if I did force him to become my friend. He wouldn’t get rid of me now. We’re stuck together forever.

“Yeah, yeah,” I mutter back, playfully glaring at him. “I’ll be in there before the tour bus comes through, don’t worry.”

“I need you in there. Sage is at class, and you know how I suck at small talk and fake smiling at tourists,” Nate says, and Flynn lets out a laugh.

“Mate, I can help you out with the tourists if you want. I don’t have much else going on today,” Flynn adds, and fuck my life again. I can’t seem to get away from him, and there’s no way Nate is going to turn down free help.

“Actually, I was just going to see if you’d be interested in helping out this afternoon. We run this surf school thing, where the local schools bus in kids for an after-school program. We could always use the help.” Nate waits for Flynn to answer, and a part of me wants to beg him to be there, but I also know that spending more time with Flynn is exactly what I don’t need.

“Of course. I’m in. Just tell me when and where, and I’ll be there,” Flynn replies, sounding genuinely excited. “You going to be there too?” he now adds, directing his question at me.

The good news is that Nate is so oblivious, a typical guy, that he has no idea that I’m about to piss myself with excitement at Flynn saying yes to Nate’s question.

“She will,” Nate replies for me when my brain fails to answer, too caught up in seeing Flynn out on the water again. Watching him move his board through the water, his cutback and his muscles tensing with each shift of his body.

Fuck my life.

“I gotta get back,” Nate now says, glancing back at the shop. “Oh, and we have Keiki Chaos this weekend too. You up for that?” He looks at Flynn, a confused look on Flynn’s face, and I let out a small giggle.

All of us here on the island know what he’s talking about, but if you’re not a local, it’s basically unknown.

“We do a surf competition for kids. It’s sponsored by The Pipe Dream. It’s something Mitch started a long time ago, almost like a little Maui Pipe,” I clarify. “It’s to get kids on the island involved, get them training and understanding what it’s like to compete. We always do it a couple of weekends or so before Pipe to get the locals excited about it.”

“Sounds sweet,” Flynn says. “You need help with that?”

It’s like music to Nate’s ears the second Flynn offers, and I can’t help but smile. I recruited Daisy and Sloane to help, and Sage and Nate will be there, along with Tanner, Kai and Miles, and a bunch of the guys who do our hotel surf lessons.

“Fuck yeah,” Nate says, a smile on his face. “I’ll chat with you about it later. I really gotta get back.”

He jogs toward the back door of The Pipe Dream, leaving Flynn and me alone, and as soon as Nate disappears behind the door, the tension returns.

I step toward Flynn, my heart racing, and I pull my bottom lip between my teeth, trying to control my need to reach out and touch him. I want to run my fingers over his bare skin, feel the warmth of his body pressed against mine.

“You gotta stop that, Alana,” Flynn growls, his blue eyes narrowed, his gaze harsh and wanting.

“Stop what?” My words are quiet and breathy, as my thighs squeeze together at just the hint of his accent, at the possessive bite I hear.

“Biting that lip,” he hisses, his hand reaching out to grab my hip, his fingers digging in, pulling me to him.

“Like this,” I murmur back, mimicking my actions from before. Flynn’s thumb reaches up, plucking my bottom lip from my teeth before running along it.

“Fuck my life,” he mutters, shaking his head, and I can’t help but laugh.

“I’ve been saying that all day today.”