Page 61 of Pallas & Kawehi

He was gone before she could thank him for being so thoughtful, and she pulled down the straps of her swimsuit. Even in the near darkness of twilight she could see the difference of her skin under the swimsuit strap and the skin around it.

Kawehi got to her feet and stepped away from the picnic table before Domenico appeared in the doorway of the cabin.

"Are you okay?"

She laughed a little at herself. "I really should have known better, but I turned myself into a lobster."

He lifted his hand and she saw the bottle with green gel in it. "I can put this on for you."

Kawehi bit into her bottom lip. "Oh, I'm going to need that, but I think I should shower first and make sure I have all the sand and surf off."

Domenico nodded. "I'll get your bag and walk you over."

For a moment she thought about stopping him and going to get her bag herself, but she held back, and in a moment, he returned with her bag in one hand and a concerned look on his face.

"I'll walk you over to the showers."

She felt into step beside him. "You don't have to."

"I just want to make sure you get there safely and back. I'm sorry you burned."

"It was my fault." She leaned into him, bumping her shoulder against him, hissing when she felt the pain. "I'm born and raised here in Hawaii, and I let himself burn like a marshmallow."

He chuckled. "Between lobster and marshmallow, it's a lot of food."

"Well, when I think of burning from the sun I think of food."

The shower building was just up ahead.

He chuckled. "I'm not okay with you hurting, but I started liking the burnt marshmallows in my family because someone had to eat them."

Domenico stopped just outside the showers, and she turned to look at him, smiling because she couldn't do anything else no matter the pain she felt in her shoulders.

"I barely toasted mine at all. I liked to feel the outside of the marshmallow against my tongue, just a little stiff, but that's all."

She started to walk inside and stopped short, her nose scrunching up a little.

Turning back to Domenico she winced. "That's not how I meant that to come out."

He was smiling ear to ear. "I didn't think so, but you can say anything to me. I don't mind."

"But... yeah, okay." She shook her head and sighed. "I'm just a mess, aren't I?" Kawehi was just passed the open doorway, ready to turn into the bathroom when she heard his voice.

"I like you just the way you are."

PALLAS

He didn't move far away, finding a bench along the side of the building so that he could be there when she came back out.

He didn't even spend all the time alone.

Another couple, both about the same age as Heath Derringer, another one of the men on his team, came by and the husband sat down beside him to wait as his wife went inside.

The man gave him a little nod. "Waiting for your wife?"

Pallas paused for a moment and then answered him. "Girlfriend."

The older gentleman folded his arms across his chest. "Had to think about that for a minute, hmm?"

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