Page 47 of Come Fly with Me

“Looky, looky,” he says, as he strolls up, an air of cockiness about him and I smirk, shaking my head. He flashes a keycard with the words Club Level printed on it and he opens his mouth in mock surprise as he winks at me. “Breakfast is on me. Or should I say it’s on Lelani at the front desk.”

“Oh, you smooth talker. You convinced the old lady at reception to give you club access.”

“You gotta go for the old ladies. They’re the ones who give in. The young ones actually expect you to sleep with them.”

I scrub a hand down my face as we enter the elevator, pressing the button for the club level.

It’s a small outdoor space with a few tables under an overhang and a few more out in the open. It overlooks the ocean, and you can smell the sea air, clean and salty. I close my eyes and breathe in, trying to memorize exactly how I feel, how everything smells, how this could be my new normal.

“Let’s eat,” Jake announces, cutting through my calm, but still making me smile. He’s already filling a plate with food from a small buffet as I walk over and begin to make a cup of coffee. I add a bagel, some cream cheese and some fresh fruit to my plate and grab my coffee, making my way to where Jake is now sitting.

“What is that?” I ask, pointing at a bowl that steams in front of him. It’s hot and Jake has something that looks like soup.

“Miso soup.”

“You’re eating soup for breakfast?” My nose wrinkles up at the idea; the brown broth steaming hotter than the already humid air.

“Yeah, why not? It’s free.”

“It’s soup in the tropics.”

He shrugs his shoulders and begins shoveling it in, not caring in the least about the fact that his mouth is going to be burnt and raw.

We spend the next half hour chatting while Jake eats a variety of breakfast offerings like spam musubi and malasadas, and even a second bowl of miso soup. My adventure starts and ends with POG juice. And when he’s good and filled up, we head out.

“So, what’s the plan?” he asks, as we wait for our Uber.

“I was thinking we could do some hiking and then I know of this secluded spot where some of the locals go to do some cliff jumping. You game?”

“Absolutely.”

I give the driver the location and in just a few short minutes we’re driving along the beautiful oceanside, the blue sky clear and cloudless as it floats over the water.

“So, you think you’re up for hiking Ehukai Pillbox? It can be pretty intense.”

He looks over at me, his eyes turned down as he purses his lips and gives me a look that screams arrogance. It’s like he’s taking my words as a challenge.

“You’re pretty intense, but I’m still here, aren’t I?” he says, and his words cause a shiver to run down my spine, goosebumps rising up on my skin. This whole fucking thing between us has been intense from day one.

Before things can go any further, the car drops us off at the base of the mountain, with both of us climbing out of the car and looking up.

“You ready?” he asks, a hand extended, and I nod my head, slipping my hand into his. We begin our hike.

An hour later we’ve reached the top, the view below is far more stunning than I remember, but maybe it’s the company.

“This is great,” he says, his arm slung around my shoulders, our skin sticky with sweat. “But did you see that guy back there?” Jake tosses a thumb behind us, giving a quick glance over his shoulder, and I look in that direction.

There’s a man standing several feet away from us, and he looks like this hike was the most difficult thing he’s done in a year.

“I’ve never seen someone sweat like that,” I say, my eyes glued to the sweaty man as he pants awkwardly, leaning up against a railing.

“I think he has some kind of fever, and his body is trying to expel it from his body. His shirt is all pitted out. He’s gonna have to throw that thing away immediately. Hopefully, he has a change of clothes in his car.”

“I bet he smells horrible. Like your car after picking up White Castle hamburgers.”

“Like what?” Jake asks, his voice rising a little, a confused look on his face.

“White Castle?”

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