Page 12 of Beneath the Surface

“Oh?Oh.Um, that sounds good, then.”

Kannon blushed again, and Nisha wanted to pin the man against the nearest wall and kiss him senseless. Instead they made their way outside, and Nisha looked around. Not far from them there stood a small stage that had been set up for coconut demonstrations for the guests and anyone else on the beach.

“Ever open a coconut before?” Nisha asked.

“Um, can’t say that I have. If I want coconut milk, I could buy coconut milk.”

Nisha shook his head as he rested his hand on the small of Kannon’s back and urged him along. “Come on. Looks like they’re about to start a demonstration. One of the islanders is going to show the crowd how to open a coconut with just a simple rock.”

Kannon jumped and quickly turned to look at Nisha. “Really? Aren’t those things incredibly hard to open?”

“There’s a trick to it. Did you know coconuts have a ‘face’?” Nisha guided Kannon along. He was pleased to see Kannon didn’t shy away from his touch.

“What do you mean a ‘face’?”

“You’ll see.”

A native of the island walked up on the stage and began his spiel. The small crowd was at once engrossed. Whoever the guy the resort had hired was good. He was young and muscular with plenty of charisma.

He cracked jokes and quickly had the crowd engaged in his demonstration. He went on to tell that several months ago they had a visitor at the resort who tried to open a coconut with a lawnmower. A lawnmower. The crowd roared with laughter. Nisha shook his head. Humans did the craziest things.

The temptation to keep his hand on the small of Kannon’s back was great, but he resisted. He didn’t want to scare Kannon off. Nisha wasn’t human, and he really didn’t understand them, but he’d seen enough with Brooke and Brett to know humans were touchy about this thing called consent. Or so Brett kept telling him. He didn’t get that either, but then, humans were funny.

“Ah, I see. It does have a face. And the nose is the softest part, huh?” Grinning, Kannon elbowed to Nisha. “I didn’t know that.”

There was a lot Kannon didn’t know, but that would change soon enough. Kannon watched the demonstration, and Nisha watched Kannon. His mate was totally engaged in the show. Wonderment crossed his face as he watched the guy up on the stage.

The demonstration ended, and the crowd broke up. They’d been out in the hot sun for a while, and Nisha wondered if Kannon was thirsty. “Ever have fresh coconut juice?”

“Depends on what you mean by fresh.”

“Straight from the coconut.”

“That’s fresh, all right. In that case, can’t say that I have.”

“We need to fix that.” The demonstrator was cleaning up after his presentation. “Come with me, I have an idea.” Nisha grabbed Kannon’s hand and started toward the front of the stage.

Kannon trailed behind him. “What are you doing?”

“Getting you something to drink.”

Nisha and Kannon approached the man who’d just finished the presentation. Nisha cleared his throat. The man was looking at something under the stage.

“Excuse me.” Nisha tapped the man on his back. “My name is Nisha, and this is my, um, friend, Kannon. May we have one of the coconuts there behind you? My friend has never had it straight from the source.”

“Oh, well, those are only for the demonstration.” He straightened and turned around to Nisha. His eyes widened, and he gulped loudly. “Oh! I did not… Oh goddess, I had no idea… Please, forgive me. Of course you may have a coconut.” His eyes dropped down to their joined hands. “Oh, you… him. Please, take as many as you want.”

From the corner of his eye, he saw Kannon looking between him and the islander. “Only need the one, my friend. No need to worry.”

A couple minutes later, Kannon had managed to crack open a coconut. “Ha! Look at that baby crack. I did it!”

Kannon’s cackle of delight tickled Nisha. “Indeed you did.”

Soon Kannon was drinking coconut juice.

“Good?”

“You better believe it. Jeez, I had no idea how different it would taste, which is kind of stupid now that I think about it. I mean… it is fresh. Nothing beats fresh.” Kannon took another sip. “I swear, this is the best thing I’ve ever tasted. Thank you.”

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