Page 117 of One Touch

We laughed together. “I’ll probably give it a miss. Maybe when Scout’s left home. If he ever leaves home.”

A few moments later, we arrived at the tiki bar. “The Coconut Cove,” proclaimed a hand-carved wooden sign, swinging gently in the balmy evening breeze.

“Whoop whoop!” shouted Elara, who—given that she wasn’t drinking—seemed drunk on life.

Thatched roofs and bamboo walls gave the place an authentic Polynesian feel, while colorful string lights twinkled overhead. The rhythmic sound of ukulele music drifted through the air, mingling with the crash of nearby waves.

Inside, the bar was a riot of colors and textures. Intricate tiki masks adorned the walls, their expressions ranging from comical to fierce. Plush wicker chairs with bright floral cushions surrounded low tables made from polished driftwood.

The bartenders, dressed in Hawaiian shirts and floral leis, worked behind a long bar topped with smooth, polished bamboo. Not one of the waiters looked even half as hot as Ethan did in his Hawaiian shirt.

“I feel like I’m about to bump into Kapena!” Connie said, her eyes taking in the sight.

Elara clapped her hands in delight. “I knew you’d all love it! Wait until you try the signature drink—the Blue Lagoon Breeze. It comes in a real coconut!”

As our group settled in, the bartender approached with a tray of welcome drinks—small glasses filled with a pale pink liquid and garnished with orchid blossoms.

“Ladies, welcome to The Coconut Cove,” he said with a warm smile.

Jenna whooped and said, “Let’s get the party started, shall we?”

***

I know it’s hard to say exactly what too much drink is, but by my second drink at The Coconut Cove, I definitely felt as though I was at least on the edge of too much.

The trouble was, Elara kept insisting that we play drinking games. Which is all well and good, but she wasn’t drinking. Which meant that she was a brutal taskmistress when it came to the pace.

After an hour or so, I decided I needed a break from alcohol, so I found myself alone with my best friend, while the rest of the girls wrestled their way to the bar. It didn’t take her long to get onto the subject she’d clearly been wanting to discuss all night long.

“You have secrets and I want to know them,” Elara demanded, grinning like the cat who got the cream. “What’s the deal with you and Tall, Dark, and Brooding? I saw you by the bathroom!”

“You did?” My cheeks burned. “I thought we were safe!”

“Honey, right now I need to go to the bathroom every five minutes, so believe me when I say you are never safe there.”

I bit my lip, fighting a silly grin. The drinks had loosened my tongue, and the words tumbled out in a giddy rush. “Oh, El, I’m in so deep. I can’t stop thinking about him. His smile, his laugh, the way he looks at me like I’m the only woman in the world. . . . I’m fighting so hard not to feel anything, but it’s so difficult.”

“So, just let yourself feel it!”

“We relaxed the rules.”

“What does relaxed mean?”

“It’s kind of complicated,” I sighed. “We’re forgetting some of them. Like, we’re allowed to go on dates and stuff, but we’re keeping others like, ‘No saying I love you.’”

“That is complicated. Don’t you just want to throw them all out?”

“I don’t know. I really don’t know. He doesn’t want anything more than a physical relationship.”

Elara scoffed. “Are you blind? That man looks at you like you hung the moon.”

“He’s attracted to me. I know that much.” I took a sip of water.

“What’s stopping you from just letting go?”

“It’s just so messy. Sometimes I worry that it’s just a rebound thing and that one day I’m going to wake up and realize that Ethan isn’t the person I think he is. Maybe I’m not seeing his flaws because I just want to feel something—anything—after what Vlad did to me.”

“That’s reasonable.”

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