Page 29 of Catch a Wave

“Great. I’m going to get changed. You might want to change too.” His eyes take me in and I realize as an afterthought that I’m still in my pajamas. “Meet me in the side yard in ten.”

He leaves me holding a dish towel. My thoughts swirl as I watch him retreat down the hallway.

Growing up, there were trails through the hills around our home—ruts and clearings forged by repeated footfalls. Being with Bodhi is like walking a well-worn path. The sights and smells, the scenery, every root and branch of our connection has been etched into my subconscious. We travel too easily down the way we’ve always gone. Looking at his lips doesn’t make me wonder what he tastes like or what his mouth would feel like against mine. I already know. When I studied his mouth at breakfast, I remembered what it felt like to be held in his arms, to be the object of his joy and desire. I might have even craved him again.

I know just what I need.

Sanity is a mere phone call away.

Slipping into my bedroom, I lift my cell from my bedside table.

“Kalaine! What is wrong?” The scratchy, shrill tone of voice is not what I expected when I dialed Leilani.

“What? Why do you think something’s wrong?”

“Do you know what time it is?”

“Sure. It’s …” I pull my phone away from my face, and then it hits me. “Oh! I’m so sorry. Were you still sleeping? Go back to sleep. It’s nine here. That’s … seven in Oahu?”

“It’s fine. I should get up and take a run anyway.”

“A run, on a day you’ll be surfing?”

“Yeah. Running gets my adrenaline pumped out so I can focus—or something like that. Besides, this guy, Rip, is heading out for a quick run. I might join him.”

“Rip Tanaka? Aka Rip Curl?”

“You know him?”

“I’ve seen him around. He’s the one with the tattoo of a rooster on his bicep, right?”

“Yeah. That tattoo. It’s so …”

I giggle. “Have you seen him do that thing where he flexes a bunch of times? Flexing makes the rooster strut!”

We both laugh.

I grab a pair of shorts and a tank out of a drawer in the dresser and start to get dressed. “Are you, like … seeing him?”

Leilani’s never too serious about any given man. I don’t picture her with Rip, but maybe I don’t know him well enough.

“We’re going on a run. That’s it. For now. He’s cute, though. But I don’t know if I can date another surfer—especially one with a strutting rooster on his arm.”

“Shut the front door. You can so. You know you love surfers most of all.”

“I love you most of all. Now, what has you calling and waking me from my beauty sleep this early in the morning?”

I question myself. Should I really bring Bodhi up to Leilani? She already has a rap sheet on him a mile long. But who else will I talk to if not her?

“It’s Bodhi.”

“Is he giving you trouble?” She sounds all fierce and protective. My smile is instantaneous.

“Not at all. I wish he were. It would make things far simpler if he were being a jerk or anything besides what he’s doing.”

“What’s he doing?”

“Basically, giving me the space I asked for, like I told you. Then, this morning, Kai was at work, and …”

---