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Darkness has swallowed the whole of my lanai, ushering a wave of exhaustion. A hundred bucks says the minute my head hits the pillow, I’ll be out like a firepit at a lu?au. Kragen’s captured my attention for sure. There’s something inside urging me to give him a chance. It’s not like he’s sticking around the islands for any great length of time. I can scratch that itch and send him on back home in a few days. No muss, no fuss.
Ok kiddo. Where are you staying? I’ll come meet you tomorrow, if you’d be up for that.
His reply is fast and ever so eager.
I’m in Honolulu. There’s a coffee place around the corner… Paradise Brews or some shit like that?? What time?
A slight cough rises from my lungs as I shoot back a suggestion.
Yeah I’m familiar. That place is rank. We’ll be meeting for lunch at a restaurant called The Palace on Lewers Street. Be there at noon sharp.
Does ‘Banana Boy’ have a dinner jacket? They’re required for entry. If you don’t just let me know your size and we’ll meet outside beforehand.
CHAPTER FOUR
KRAGEN
Meeting a complete stranger is never easy. It doesn’t matter if they’re an influential, charismatic person who brings an instant sense of comfortability or not. Grindr being the squalid app that it is, there’s another element I’m always worried about as well. Safety in dating and hooking up has become a major problem since the turn of our electronic century. And because everyone’s hidden behind a screen, the allure of stretching the truth is most apparent.
Of course my curiosity has gotten the best of me all last night up until now. As I lie around waiting to get ready for my meet up with Eddie, I find myself scrubbing the recesses of the internet for a clue of who this guy is. So far, I haven’t found much. The name‘Eddie’is incredibly common. This coming from somebody who’s a professionally paid sleuth. So there isn’t any telling which of these Facebook profiles are his. Especially without knowing what he looks like. I’m uncertain if this is classified as ironic, but he didn’t ask for a face pic of me even once.
I study Eddie’s last correspondence to me last night, prior to falling asleep. And after a nice wank session because I couldn’t hold it in another hour.
No worries on the dinner jacket. I’ll bring a size 38 in something snappy that you can take home to remember your Island Fuckdaddy by.
I love his sense of humor. He sounds almost like a Southerner who moved to the islands to escape the toxic hell that is the bible belt. And according to all my research, there’s not a menu listed on The Palace’s website. At least not something with prices. That’s when I stumbled across their Yelp listing, where someone complained about the cheapest item being an order of two spring rolls for $24.
Grindr has many safety features in place for a reason. I even searched with the keywords‘dog named Beautiful in Hawaii’just in case he’s one of those extra gays who set up a social media account for their pet.It happens, don’t judge me.But to no avail of course. Usually when hooking up, I at least have a detail the person has forgotten to conceal from the background of an image. His profile picture is the vaguest of them all. A fucking volcano.
A knock on my hotel room door makes me wonder if it’s Tessa, Tuti, or Candace. It certainly is not the hot front desk guy who has to double as a bellhop. I’m honestly surprised he doesn’t have to scrub toilets and change sheets in a grimy place such as The Tiki Tavern. When I open the door, my suspicions are confirmed.
“Hi Mimi,” I greet Candace as she finishes shooting off an email to someone on her phone.
She briefly looks up from her device long enough to catch my nervous stare. “Sweetheart, we’re heading down for lunch in a minute.”
I nod, all the while trying to mask my anxiety. They don’t know I’m about to meet some rando from Grindr who isn’t even a resident of this particular island. Come to think of it, I don’t even know which one he’s on.
“I know,” I reply, grabbing my tummy with a grimace. “I have a horrible stomach ache and I’m gonna be meeting with a friend who happens to be here at the same time.”
“You have a friend?” Candace says with a raised brow.Shit I’m such a terrible fucking liar.I haven’t had a close friend since middle school, and she knows this.
“Yes I have friends, Mimi,” I bite back. “I don’t tell you guyseverything.”
Perhaps that was a bit more Freudian than I intended. Fuck. Kragen, you need to take a few law classes or some shit like that.
She peers over my shoulder, suspiciously scanning the room in case I’d be so stupid to invite‘Fuckdaddy’to the hotel room which they’re paying for. “Okay alright,” she responds. “You aren’t my twelve-year-old little Moonbeam anymore and I can respect that.”
You’d better.“Have a good lunch,” I hastily slam the door shut, almost as awkwardly as it seems.
A few minutes later has me sneaking down into the grungy lobby, hoping to abscond without bumping into the three close women in my life, and Tessa’s new groom, Craig.I know it’s weird his name sounds close to mine.
Lewers Street is literally four blocks around the corner I’m about to come upon. I might not have informed any family that I’m about to score some island dick. But I’m not the completely stupid kid many people take me for, either. I’ve granted location access to my friend Carrie, so she’ll know everywhere my phone goes until I turn it off manually.
I’m grateful to have someone keeping an eye on me. Because Eddie could wind up being some psychopath longing for my flesh, then later collecting each femur in a closet with a pile of others. Though Carrie doesn’t live in Grand Junction anymore, we’ve kept in good contact since relocating to Cold Springs, Nevada. And because most of the people in my life are older, she’s no exception.
Carrie was one of my high school teachers long before we became friends after graduation. She’s always been the protective sort. Even in school when the Fruita hicks would bully me during lunch, because the ugly fucking birthmark on my forehead paints a target of vulnerability or some shit. Suffice it to say, she is the first person I texted with a screenshot of my Grindr conversation with Eddie.
Quickly approaching The Palace has these butterflies fluttering about even more than just moments ago. I usually have a photograph to go off of, but I have absolutely no idea who or what to expect.Am I gonna have to look over my shoulder and be prepared to dodge a sketchy dude with a chloroform soaked rag?Leaning up against the brick exterior has me retrieving Grindr on my phone, only to see he’s messaged me a status update ten minutes ago.
