Page 22 of Beauty and the Beach

Makoa was just beginning to feel a little lonely when his phone buzzed.

When can I see you again? Ana texted.

Is now too soon?

LOL, I'll call you later.

Makoa pumped his fist in the air and then called Hani to come pick him up in the resort van. If he was going to have a steady girlfriend, he was going to have to save money where ever he could.

Chapter Nine

Don had every right to yell at her. Ana was distracted. She missed her cues. Her fishtail wasn’t fitting right, probably because she was a little bloated from that huge meal she had a Dakitchen.

No regrets.

For any of it.

She was distracted because she kept thinking about that moment when Makoa said that he loved her. It replayed over and over in her mind. All she wanted to do was seek him out and spend more time with him so she could be sure it was real. People didn’t fall in love that fast, did they?

“What is wrong with you?” Maud hissed, pulling herself up and out of the tank. “You’ve missed your cues three times. Don is gong ballistic and I’m sick of listening to him.”

“Sorry. I’m not myself.”

“I don’t care who you are. Just be Eros so we can get this over with and go home.”

Ana got her head back in the game and the dress rehearsal went a little better after that. They still had a long way to go and Ana didn’t know how she was going to ask for the night of the wedding off. The Monday Makoa mentioned was four days before opening night. Maybe she could skip that rehearsal? Maybe pigs would fly. She didn't want to miss the wedding, but she had a job to do. She signed a contract. Still, the thought of turning Makoa down was making her miserable. Ana didn't want to disappoint him. If worse came to worse, she could rush over there after rehearsal, if Don let them out before midnight that night. It didn't look like they were going home anytime soon tonight. Crap! What was she going to do?

Don made them run through the program twice more and by the end of it, it was close to two a.m. Everyone was tired and bitchy.

“I want everyone here by noon tomorrow. We’re going to have the sets, lights and music all coordinated. This will get done.”

Ana felt sorry for the tech crew, but it was a relief to peel off the fin and toss it in her locker. She was done with practicing in the mornings. She just needed to run through the show with the rest of the cast a few more times. Her breathing was spot on and so was her swimming strength.

All she wanted to do was crawl into bed, preferably with Makoa. But she forced herself to call for an Uber. As she was waiting, she texted him.

Are you still up?

---