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“I like hiking,” I clarify, worried I might not be enough for Ethan. I’m not a surfer, I’ve never dived with sharks. He’s got such adventurous hobbies. “I like being outside.”
He smirks.
Was that a dumb thing to say?
He must think I’m so immature. The room is claustrophobic, filled with talk of missions, war, and all the horrible cases on their heavy dockets. The Uniform Military Code of Justice covers how criminal acts committed by enlisted men are prosecuted. The laws are similar to civilian courts, but there’s lots of extra rules that can get soldiers into trouble. So much is at stake and I don’t want Ethan to get in trouble.
Ethan touches my arm. His fingers fire electricity, pins and needles all through me.
“I have to mingle,” he says.
I nod. “Better you move away from me while you have the chance.”
He grins again with a wolfish upturn of his full mouth that makes me scared he’ll devour me right here in front of all his men.
“I’ll meet you in the Starbucks parking lot at seven.”
I nod, unable to speak for fear of betraying the lust flooding through me in front of everyone. I watch him walk into the crowd and can’t take my eyes off his ass. The sensation of desire overcomes my fear momentarily, and I step forward. I want to be closer to him, even if I have to share his company. A look from Ethan halts me. I sit alone and fake politeness for the rest of the night.
I sleep in fits and wake up at dawn. I hover impatiently over the Lyft app, time not moving forward normally. Eons later I finally call the ride and there he is waiting for me to arrive.
Sparks fire through me as I walk, forcing myself not to hurtle at him. In dark cargos, he’s even sexier than in uniform. A tight tee in tech sport fabric highlights his muscular pecs.
I trail my finger along a scar ingrained deep into the muscle, reveling every moment of being able to touch him.
“You never explained this,” I whisper.
“Rope burn,” he shrugs it off.
As we walk to the car after grabbing coffee, I insist on all the deets. He explains without the slightest swagger how he saved two lives, endangering his own without a thought.
“That’s an amazing story,” I say, I’ve never removed my finger from tracing that scar. “You’re a hero.”
“I was just a guy doing what anyone would do.”
“I don’t think just anyone would do that.”
Abashed, he puts me into the car. As we drive he explains how beautiful the spot we’re heading to is.
“I can’t wait,” I say. “For a lot of things.”
“You’re sure, Riley?”
“Cross my heart,” I assure him.
I’m sure now. Ethan is not just handsome in an ‘I’d hit that’ kind of way, he’s beautiful, sexy, and to top it off, he’s heroic. I’m ready to let him in deeper. My body jitters a bit when I admit this to myself.
“You okay?” he asks.
“Fan-fucking-tastic. Let’s hike.”
We drive up the Pali and stop in Nu’uanu to walk to the Lulumahu Falls.
“You’re going to find this waterfall impressive,” Ethan says, when we leave the car and begin trekking. Ethan takes the lead into the greenery, and I follow behind him carefully walking along a muddy trail.
“It’s already impressive around here,” I say, gazing at his ass. He tosses a smirk back. “I’ve spent too much time in shopping malls.”
“You’re about to find new things that will blow your mind.”
