“That”—Ruka points to his sister—“is a Nariko question.”
“Oh, it is not. You like to chase too,” Nariko chastises her brother.
Ruka glares at her from across the fire. “Please, like I’d ever let my little sister go off alone to the forty-eight.”
“You’re not from here?” I ask, wanting to know everything about her.
“No. My parents immigrated to Hawaii when my mom was pregnant with Ruka.”
“Hawaii? And you wanted to come here?”
“Don’t be rude, Jazz,” I warn him, wanting him to tread carefully with how he speaks to my mate.
“I didn’t mean to be rude. I mean, why Oklahoma when you had beautiful beaches in Hawaii?”
“Well,” Ruka sits up in his chair, hiccuping. From what I can tell, he’s two beers in.
Millie and Jess giggle when they realize Ruka is already drunk.
“Nari has always loved storms. In Hawaii, she monitored everything, even the volcanoes. Hurricanes too. Nothing was safe from Nari’s mind. When she was little, she would stand outside in the pouring rain and wind.”
I can’t help it. I stare at Nariko, imagining how happy she must have been as a child.
“No matter what our parents tried, she always went back to weather. She hated dance, cheerleading, chess club, track and field, swimming, and softball. Our parents tried everything.”
“Chess? I bet I could beat you at chess,” I challenge.
“I bet you could too. I didn’t stick around long enough to learn. I only wanted to learn about weather,” she laughs.
Fuck, even her laugh is a sound I’m addicted to.
Do it again. Make her laugh.
“Why weather?” I ask her and only her.
“Well—” Ruka speaks, and I interrupt him.
“Sorry, Ruka. I love that you know everything about your sister, but I’m asking her. I want to learn about herfromher.”
“Oh, I’ll drink to that!” Jess lifts her drink in the air.
“Here, here!” Reina joins, clinking their cans together.
“Here, here!” Jazz and Westin cheer in unison.
Ruka hiccups mid-mock, trying to take another drink of his beer, only to find out it’s empty. “Aw, man.” He flips the can over, trying to get one more drop, but alas, ain’t nothing left. “What was…” Another hiccup. “What was the question?”
Everyone bursts out laughing except Millie, who is focused on Jess’s hair. She scoops her fingers into a small silver can, a hair product from the smell of it, and uses it to twist the hair near the scalp.
“Keep still,” she warns her wife, pecking a kiss onto her cheek.
“Yes, ma’am,” Jess smiles, settling between Millie’s thighs to get more comfortable.
I’m jealous.
I want Nariko to be that comfortable with me.
Everyone begins their own side conversations with one another. Ruka is asleep in the chair, his body angled in a funky way that he will regret tomorrow. Half of his body is bent over the arm of the chair, his head hanging, and one leg is thrown over the other side. I’ll carry him in later.
