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“
Who is this friend we’re staying with again?”

“
Maka. I stay with him, he stays with me.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I’ve known him since before…” He shrugged his shoulders again.

“
Maka?
Maka
?” She gaped at him.

He nodded and smiled. “Yeah, he’s going to love that I brought you along.”

“
Oh?” She started to tug her hand free. “You did tell him?”

He chuckled. “Yes, he knows I’m bringing someone.”

“
Someone?” She frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. “Really, Cole. How many—?”

Just then the flight attendants started their spiel on safety, and Wendy silently listened. She even pulled out the little pamphlet and followed along. When they were done, she double checked her seat belt and glanced over to make sure his was on. He laughed at her and took her hand again as the plane started to move.

At six o’clock that evening, Hawaiian time, they finally landed on Oahu. After picking up their luggage, they walked out to find Maka standing next to his old Jeep, four surfboards strapped to the roof.

“
Aloha,
Kaikua`ana
.” The short, dark-skinned man walked over and hugged Cole. Then his dark eyes zeroed in on Wendy and his white teeth flashed in one of his signature smiles. “So, this is your
wahine.”
 

Cole chuckled. “Yes, Wendy is my woman.” He pulled her close to his side. “Don’t get any ideas,” he warned his friend, who just smiled and took Wendy’s hand up to his lips.

“
Aloha, Ka makani `olu`.” He smiled as he placed a kiss on her hand.

“
Did you just call her perfect wind?” Cole frowned over at his friend.

“
You can pick out your own nickname for her. This one’s taken.” He took Wendy’s arm and walked her towards his Jeep as she chuckled and glanced back at Cole. “Oh, Cole…” Maka glanced back. “Make sure to grab the lady’s luggage.” He smiled and continued walking as Cole laughed.

“
Kakahiaka, my home, is on the other side of O’ahu. Not too far from the North Shore.” Maka smiled over at Wendy, who was sitting in the front seat of the Jeep, as Cole held on to the top rails in the back seat. “You will enjoy your time here.”

“
Thank you for letting us stay.” Wendy smiled and glanced back at him.

“
It’s no problem. Cole and I go way back. Although, I have to say, he’s never brought a woman here before.” Maka glanced at him in the rear-view mirror.

“
Shut up,” Cole warned his friend as he held on when they went flying around a corner. “Haven’t you learned to drive yet?”

Maka just laughed.

Maka chatted about the island and the landscape for the entire forty-minute trip. The road split the island in half and went right down the middle of the land. They saw homes, small villages, and field after field of farmland, but when they came to the turn where they would start traveling along the shoreline, he watched closely for Wendy’s reaction.

She gasped and turned in her seat to face the water. Her blue eyes got bigger as a smile spread on her face.

“
Beautiful, isn’t it?” He leaned closer so he could tangle his hands in her hair.

She nodded. “I never imagined.” She glanced back at him and he smiled at her and felt a piece of his heart drift to the front seat.

W
endy stood back as Cole and Maka unloaded the luggage from the Jeep. She couldn’t believe her eyes. Maka’s house was gorgeous. It was a three-story wall made of glass. Well, at least that’s what it looked like from where she was standing.
 

There were long balconies along the entire front of the house, which faced the beautiful beach and the crystal clear waters. The surf was crashing on the shore, and when she glanced down the beach, she could see a large area of rocks that secluded the beach from any other homes. Not that she could see any at the moment.

“
What do you think?” Maka stopped next to her.
 

“
It’s so beautiful.” She smiled over at him.
 

“
I can’t believe we’re staying here.”
 

“
Well, not here.” He smiled and then nodded. She followed his eyes and saw the dark roof of a house just up the rocky pathway. “Maka’s guest house. We’ve got that one all to ourselves.”
 

She couldn’t have been more shocked and pleased if he’d told her they were moving there.

“
It’s a little hike, but the view…” He whistled.
 

“
I’ve stocked the kitchen, but you’re welcome to join us tomorrow night for dinner around seven,” Maka said, setting her bags down on the coral driveway. “You can have use of the Jeep while you’re here.” He nodded and tossed the keys to Cole. “Your boards are where they always are.” He nodded to the garage and then turned to her. “If you wish, I can give you lessons.” His smile spread when he heard Cole mutter under his breath, “Or not.”
 

She smiled and shook his hand. “Thank you.” Then she bent down and picked up her luggage and followed Cole up the narrow stone path. Halfway up the hill, he stopped and nodded towards the water. “Dolphins.”

She turned and watched the pod swimming close to the shoreline. From up here, the water looked so clear. There were large dark rocks directly below them, and she watched the waves crash for a minute before jogging to catch up with Cole.

When they made it to the top of the hill, Cole stopped and gave her a chance to look around. The guesthouse was a soft yellow cottage with a large front porch. Large brown flowerpots sat on every corner of the porch, and there was a dark brown wicker sofa covered with pillows and cushions. There was a small yard that led to the cliff, and she smiled when she saw the large hammock hanging between two palm trees.

“
It’s wonderful.” She set her bag down on the porch and took a deep breath. He was right; the view was spectacular. The house was angled to look down the beach, so the entire North Shore was spread out in front of them. “This is his guesthouse?”
 

Cole chuckled. “Maka’s family is pretty big. Hence the larger house down there.” He nodded down the hill. “Besides, he likes to roll out of bed and into the water. Or so he always says.” He chuckled as he picked up her bag and opened the unlocked sliding door.

“
Has he always lived here?” She followed him into the house and stopped dead in her tracks. “Oh my!” She blinked a few times and smiled.
 

“
Like it?” He chuckled and set the bags down by the door.
 

“
Wow.” She shook her head. “This is his guesthouse?”
 

He nodded and took her hand. “Come on.” The place had looked like a small cottage from the outside, but when they stepped in, the vaulted wood ceilings gave it a much bigger look. The house was one big room with the kitchen in the middle, and a sitting area with two over-sized white leather sofas off to one side. An open eating area sat along a glass wall that overlooked a small swimming pool.

Cole gave a tour of the place. There were two smaller bedrooms towards the back, and the master bedroom overlooked the lawn and ocean. A king-sized four-poster bed sat facing the wall of windows.

“
I’ll say it again. This is his guesthouse?”
 

Cole chuckled. “Maka is always having guests. I’ve stayed here myself more than two dozen times.” He fell back onto the bed and crossed his arms behind his head. “So, what do you want to do first?” he asked as he wiggled his eyebrows.

She smiled and walked slowly towards him. “I was thinking about getting out of some of these clothes,” she flirted.

“
Oh?” His eyes heated as he watched her move closer.
 

She nodded slowly. “Mmm, stripping down,” she sighed as she pulled her shirt up slowly.

“
Yeah?” He leaned up on his elbows, his eyes watching her every move.
 

She stopped at the foot of the bed and pulled her shirt off all the way, exposing her cream-colored swimsuit she’d worn under her outfit. “Yeah, and then jumping in that pool.” She chuckled as he pulled her down to the bed and covered her mouth with his.

Later—much later—they relaxed in the pool with drinks he’d made for her. She had to admit, when he’d started to throw stuff together, she’d had her doubts. But after tasting the sweet drink, she was thinking of adding it to the Boardwalk’s menu.

When they got hungry, Cole jumped out of the pool and disappeared into the house for a while. He came back out and put some chicken on the grill, then rushed back in and brought out a salad and more drinks.

“
I could get used to being served like this.” She held up her glass for him to refill as she lounged in one of the cushioned chairs.
 

He smiled at her. “My sister told me that you haven’t taken a real vacation since you started working for her over three years ago.”

She shrugged her shoulders. “I didn’t really have any place to go. Besides, I’m too busy earning money to pay for Willow’s college.” She took another sip to shut herself up. She didn’t want to think about her real life. Not while she was enjoying watching the sun set over the water.

He sat next to her and ran his hand over her hip. “What’s she going to school for?”

She sighed. “This year?” She shook her head. “Marine biology.”

His eyebrows shot up.

“
Yeah, I know.”
 

“
What?” he asked, continuing to run his hand over her skin.
 

She shook her head. “It’s just… A lot of people don’t believe it’s a good field of study.”

“
I’m not one of them. I make my living on the water. I know how important careers like that are.” He sighed. “Actually, at one point, I was pretty interested in it myself.”
 

Her eyebrows shot up. “Really?” She sat up a little and set her drink down.

“
Sure,” he smiled. “Before…”
 

She chuckled. “Before you started selling men’s underwear?”

He smiled. “Hey, those things don’t sell themselves.”

She laughed. “So, when does this competition start?”

“
Tomorrow morning.”
 

“
Shouldn’t you be out practicing?”
 

He chuckled. “You don’t really practice. Besides, since I’ve won the World Surf League championship for the last two years, I’m not really in this particular competition to win.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “I doubt that. You’re in everything to win.”

He chuckled and nodded. “Okay, maybe I am, but…” He sighed a little and looked off at the sun as it sank lower. “It just gets old, trying to keep up. I surf because I love it.” He glanced back at her. “You’ll see. Tomorrow, I’ll hit the water and have a dozen guys trying to knock me out.”

“
Literally?” She sat up a little and frowned.
 

He chuckled. “No, well…” He tilted his head. “There was this guy once in Australia…” He shook his head and got up to flip the chicken.

She followed him and stood next to him. “I thought surfing was dangerous enough on its own. Now you’re telling me guys try to knock you off your board?”

He shook his head as he set the spatula down, took her hips in his hands, and pulled her close. “No, just one surfer in particular. I guess he didn’t like that he came in second at WSL for two years.”

“
What’s his name?”
 

He smiled. “Why? Are you going to go and beat him up?”

She chuckled. “Maybe.”

***

He never would have guessed that “maybe”
would mean so much to him
. Sure, Deyon was an ass, but he would have paid anything to see Wendy tell the surfer off.
 

That night, after hanging out on the hammock after dinner, he carried Wendy into bed and spent as much time as he could showing her how much her words had meant to him.

The next morning, when the sun came up, he was stoked. He woke early and, since Wendy was still sleeping, left her a note that he’d meet her down at the beach. He left directions on how to get to the competition, which was only a short walk down the beach from Maka’s place.

After grabbing a quick bowl of cereal, a banana, and a bottled water, he went down to Maka’s garage. His friend was already pulling the boards out.

“
Morning.” He smiled over at him. “Ready?”
 

Cole laughed. “I was born ready.”

“
Where’s Ka makani `olu `olu?”
 

“
Sleeping in.” He frowned at his friend’s nickname for Wendy, and then it dawned on him. “Oh, I get it. Wind… Wendy…” He shook his head and chuckled.
 

Maka just looked at him like he was crazy.

“
Sorry, I guess I was a little jet-lagged yesterday.” He picked out his board for the day, and Maka grabbed his backup board.
 

By the time they made it down the beach, there was a light trail of sweat dripping down his bare back. He was aching to get into the water, especially after seeing the waves kicking up.

“
Look.” Maka nodded towards the shore. “Your friend.”
 

Cole glanced in the direction and groaned. Deyon was walking towards them, a hot blonde on either arm.

“
Maka.” He nodded towards Maka, then stopped right in front of them and looked at Cole. “Cole.” Just the way the man said his name set off his nerves.
 

“
Deyon.” He held out his hand, only for it to be ignored, like usual.
 

“
I didn’t think you were going to make it, what with all your injuries.” He chuckled.