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Three
DAKOTA
The descent was a little bumpy, but the views were outright spectacular. I saw fluffy white clouds and yellow sand beaches. The turquoise waters were broken by swirling, colorful reefs, and dotted with little white sailboats here and there.
Of course our landing approach also included the big city itself: Honolulu. Its streets and avenues seemed almost cast against the lush green mountains like an oversized throw-net, punctuated by rectangular hotels and skyscrapers that, oddly enough, didn’t seem out of place in such a paradise.
For any Minnesota girl slogging her way through mid-December, a trip to Hawaii was a no-brainer. But afreetrip to Hawaii, to do a special favor for one of my brother’s closest friends?
Well that was an instant and enthusiastic YES.
It didn’t hurt of course that I was getting over a breakup. Or that my personal life had been in a bit of a rut lately, even with all the success I’d been having at work. Getting away for a couple of weeks would definitely clear my head. It might even help soak some much-needed vitamin-D into my sun-starved skin as well, as long as I located some sunscreen and aloe plants straight away.
I’d told my parents I was taking off on a last-minute vacation, the details of which I’d fill in later. I realized trading a free trip to Hawaii for a ‘favor’ might not sit well with them, especially when I couldn’t yet explain what that favor was. All I knew was that Jace had asked me to be his date for an extremely fancy,veryimportant military dinner. Beyond that, the only other detail he promised was that it would be strictly platonic.
Besides, of all Tyler’s wacky friends my father always had a soft spot for Jace. The two bonded on levels that rivaled his relationship with my brother, and I didn’t want to mess that up.
Any explanation I might’ve owed Tyler himself was preempted by the fact he was thousands of miles away. My brother was an incredible hockey player who rocked the collegiate circuit and fell just short of going pro, but being a coach turned out to be his true calling. For the past several years he’d been criss-crossing the country with various triple-A teams.
No, everyone could learn all about my tripafterI’d taken it. Between helping out at my dad’s shop and freezing my ass off through sub-zero temperatures, for once I was finally doing something for me.
“Dakota!”
I was just through the arrival gate, and the voice reached me before I even recognized the face. I scanned the crowd twice and suddenly there he was, standing a full head taller than anyone else in the crowd.
HOLY.
SHIT.
“Jace?”
I could barely believe my eyes. Gone was the lithe, almost skinny version of my brother’s best friend. Standing in his place was a hulking, well-muscled giant in a tight green shirt and camouflage cargo pants.
“Right here!’”
We ran to each other, and he swept me up in a spinning bear hug. I dropped my carry-on and marveled at how impossiblyhardhis body felt. He wasn’t just big, he was enormous! I could barely get my arms around him!
“How was your flight?”
He put me down in a daze, still blinking up at him in disbelief.
“M—My flight?”
“Yes.”
“Jace… forget about my flight! Just look at you!”
“Look at me?”
“Yes!” I cried, taking a step back. “What the hellhappenedto you!?”
He laughed at my dismay, and his laughter was deep and resonant. His childhood face had matured into the strong cheekbones and angular jaw of a man, and an astonishingly good-looking one at that. He sported a well-trimmed beard that was a hundred-percent brand new. The smile beneath it however, was exactly the same.
“The Army happened to me,” he answered. He dropped his gaze to his massive arms and chest, as if discovering those things for the first time. “I guess it’s been a while, huh? You haven’t seen me since… well…”
“Since you were some skinny beanpole punk, running around with Tyler,” I jumped in. “Short-sheeting my bed. Stretching plastic wrap over the toilet bowl—”
“Oh man,” he swore, “your mother wassomad at that one!”
