Pretend like my life with Sean didn’t exist.
Checking the address again, I type it into the map, memorizing it turn by turn so I can leave my phone here. I don’t want any distractions or any other messages coming through that might ruin my night.
Sean has taken enough from me. It stops here.
It takes me about ten minutes to walk to Kai’s house, and it’s exactly what I pictured. He honestly didn’t even need to give me his address. Only a quick turn-by-turn, and I would have found it on the street.
Surfboards line the side of the deep green wooden-sided house with its silver corrugated metal roof and it’s quintessential Hawaii, or at least what I picture when I think of this area.
The wrap-around front porch with its white railing and the glass French doors, another surfboard tucked into the corner. The sound of the waves lapping in the background adds to it, and I smile when I see Kai open the front door.
“Hey, you made it,” he says. “You’re the first one here.” He tilts his head to the side, calling me up to the porch and into the house.
“Your house is so cute. Better than that lime green and bubblegum pink thing I live in,” I joke, letting out a giggle that seems to do something to Kai.
His eyes widen a little, his lips pursed as he takes in a deep breath, pausing momentarily before he speaks again. Shaking his head, he smiles, letting his eyes fall closed for a second.
“Yeah, but that place is epic fucking Maui nostalgia. I’m glad you rented it so a developer couldn’t come tear it down and build a bunch of vacation rentals,” Kai admits, and I haven’t been here very long, but I’ve come to notice how the locals are protective of the land and the history.
His house is just as cute on the inside as it is on the outside, and not at all what I would expect a bachelor like Kai to be living in.
It’s clean and not over-cluttered, everything in soft muted grays and whites, an open floor plan with an amazing view out the back of the ocean through massive floor-to-ceiling windows.
“Wow, that view,” I say, stepping toward the windows. The porch from the front extends all the way around, and again, there are more surfboards, which makes me laugh.
“What’s so funny?” Kai questions, his brows knitted together.
“You think you have enough surfboards?”
“You can never have too many.” He shrugs casually, and I love the air of confidence and calm that he exudes.
“You have a roommate?” I ask, trying to remember if he told me this before.
“I do. Eli. You met him at Nate and Sage’s,” he clarifies for me, and I nod, jogging my memory. “I used to live here with Miles, but after he moved in with Daze, Eli needed a place to live, so.”
“It feels perfect for you,” I reply, motioning out to the water.
“Yeah, epic, right? Just step out the door and I’m out on my board in seconds.”
“Bro!” a voice calls out, not really interrupting us, but I suddenly feel disappointed that we aren’t alone anymore.
“Back here, Miles!” Kai shouts in response, and a few seconds later, Miles and Daisy are with us.
“You want the beer in the fridge or out on the deck?” Miles asks as Kai leans in and pecks Daisy on the cheek.
“Fridge for now. Eli ran out to get ice,” Kai tells him.
“And I brought coconut cake,” Daisy chimes in, smiling brightly as she sets it down on the table. Turning to me, she says, “Hey, Quinn. So glad you’re here. Although, I hope Kai is being a gentleman and not the douche that he always is.”
“Daze, you hurt me,” Kai replies playfully, a hand over his heart. “I’m nothing but a gentleman, and for your information, this friendship with Quinn is working out amazingly.”
He slings an arm around my shoulders, pulling me into him, and like every time he’s this close to me, I’m blanketed in his wonderful smell of coconut and the ocean.
And every time he’s this close to me, I’m reminded of what he looks like shirtless and the way his body moves on a surfboard, and how the warmth of his body comforts me.
Sometimes, risks are worth taking.
“Had any other friends over?” Miles questions pointedly, brows going up.
