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Dane took a bite of the chicken and potatoes, making sure to get plenty of the rich, creamy sauce. The flavor exploded on his tongue. Alissa might not have had a lot of recipes up her sleeve, but the ones she had were amazing. The wine was a perfect complement.
“This is amazing every single time,” Dane said.
“Thank you! I’m glad you still love it.” Alissa smiled. “I figured you’d be tired of it by now.”
“I don’t think I could ever be tired of it.”
They dug in more earnestly. It had been a long day and they were both hungry.
“What did you think about my article on the luau?” Alissa asked once they had eaten more.
“It was some of the best work you’ve ever done,” Dane said without missing a beat.
It truly was. He was always amazed by her ability to capture the energy of something she had never been to before. But she had outdone herself this time. She had found the perfect people to interview and brought their stories to life. He couldn’t wait until after the luau when she would get to write a long-form piece about it for the magazine. That was where her writing skills really shined. She blended her ability to tell an incredible story with her talent for research, creating pieces that he was proud to be the editor of.
Alissa beamed behind her wine glass.
“Yeah?” she asked.
“Of course. I think everyone is going to love it,” Dane said.
“Great! I’m so excited about the luau. The next promo article should be even better. I’m going to talk to someone who’s made leis for the event for the past five years. She moved here with her husband from Hawaii.” Alissa cut into her chicken and took a bite. Dane waited for her to swallow since he could tell she was bursting to finish her point. “And I’m going to try to talk to as many vendors as possible since they’re bringing so much business to town. Plus, they make it fun. It’ll be great for the community.”
Dane smiled, but he couldn’t bring the same energy to it as Alissa could. It all sounded great—more business in town meant more attention on the paper and magazine, and that meant that both could grow. He could easily get excited about that.
But it wasn’t hitting him as deeply as he felt it should have, even after loving Alissa’s article. Alissa’s enthusiasm usually leaked over to him, whether it was about a dog they passed on their regular walks or a new sandwich at The Crab. For whatever reason this luau wasn’t the same.
Was it because it was a big event? Something social where there was a risk he’d feel out of place? He wasn’t sure. But he wished he could shake the feeling with a little logical thinking.
Maybe that was the crux of the issue—he was out of his element, so he needed some confidence to get him out of his shell. But getting that confidence was the hard part.
He sipped his wine. Then an idea hit him, and a flare of excitement bubbled up in his chest.
* * *
Hannah hauled her surfboard toward the water, tugging up the zipper of her wetsuit. Her dad had told her that she could start work late today, so she figured she’d go out and catch a few waves before her shift at The Crab.
It was a gorgeous day. The sun was bright and warm, a nice contrast to water that still hadn’t fully warmed up from the winter. A lot of other surfers were taking advantage of the perfect conditions, catching waves in groups or alone.
She paddled out onto the water. It felt like it had been ages since she had been out on the water, but her muscle memory took over. Her first few waves were small and easy, just to get herself back into the motion of balancing on the board, feeling the ocean underneath her.
She missed being out on the water like this. So much of her time was spent at The Crab, helping her dad run it day to day and getting into the business end of things when he had a moment to teach her. And she spent her evenings at the piano, not that she could get out on the water then. Getting fresh air, and not just from delivering orders on the patio of The Crab, was making her feel alive again.
She spotted the perfect wave off in the distance and she prepared to hop up on her board.
She caught it right on time, but it was much, much bigger than she anticipated. She wobbled, but caught her balance again, skimming across the wave. Her board caught a slight swell that sent her flying off into the wave beneath her.
The shock of the cold water surrounding her body so suddenly knocked the breath out of her, making her panic. She thrashed around, trying to figure out which was way up. Her swimming skills were strong, but that was when she was calm. Now she wasn’t sure if she could fight her way back to the surface.
When her head came above water for a moment, she gasped for air, the salt water stinging her eyes. Relief filled her, even as she coughed, but it was short lived.
Another wave crashed over her head and she dipped under the water again. This time, she knew which way was up, so she kicked up to the surface, trying to grab her board. It was attached to her ankle, so it hadn’t floated away, to her relief, but grabbing it and hauling her body halfway on it was difficult
She coughed once she got her head out of the water, sputtering and trying to get her bearings. When she finally managed to stay above water for more than a second, she was ridiculously far from shore.
She tried her best to not panic, but it was hard not to in a situation like this. Everyone looked miniature, as if she were looking at a doll’s house. And the combination of her panic and the effort it had taken to swim back to the surface made her limbs feel heavy and tired. How was she going to make it back to shore? What if the waves kept carrying her farther and farther away from shore?
Tears pricked her eyes and her chest ached. Her board was keeping her afloat, but for how long? What if she drowned from her fatigue? She wasn’t usually afraid of the open ocean, but being at this distance made her hyperaware of all the sea creatures passing underneath her in the dark water. It was completely irrational to fear getting attacked by a shark, but the fear still settled in her head.
