Aloha, Baby! (3 chapter sample and a link to get the rest FREE!)

Chapter 2

Exhausted from my sob-fest, I fall into a deep sleep. Without the protective guard that I keep perpetually staked around my heart, I dream of him. The dream is so vivid and feels so real that even once I awaken, I have to convince myself that it hadn't really happened.

Except that it had all happened––just a few weeks prior. It had been real...to me, anyway. I had believed myself to be in love, or else I never would have behaved with such wild abandon. I thought he had loved me too. I had been willing to bet my heart on it.

When Thomas Drake had breezed into our island hotel, my immediate reaction had been distaste. Maybe I should start trusting my gut. He had dirty blond hair and a strong jawline. I found him to be incredibly handsome despite the pompous way he carried himself.

I was covering the front desk when he arrived to check in. I can remember every last detail of my first sighting of him. There was a balmy breeze blowing through the open concept lobby, bringing with it the faint scent of hibiscus, suntan lotion, and pineapple. He had an air of arrogance about him that only certain men from the mainland seem to display. The rakish look and suggestive wink he gave me as I worked the computer and handed him his key made me crinkle my nose in distaste.

People have always told me I am physically beautiful. Men are often quick to proposition me, based on looks alone. I have learned over time that this means nothing. True beauty resides on the inside, so someone who wants to be with me based simply on a first impression of my physical attributes (rather than getting to know me) holds no interest.

An immediate turndown of any of these superficial advances usually results in the admirer quickly moving on to the next beautiful woman that crosses his path. Thomas Drake was not so easily dissuaded.

That night at the hotel's luau, I noticed him watching every move I made during my traditional hula dance. I slowly swayed my arms and hips to the music. My movements told a story of fish swimming smoothly and synchronized in the sea as he sat motionless, mesmerized.

I was used to this type of reaction and tried to quietly exit behind the stage after Honi's beautiful ukulele song, but before the show's finale of Kai's dazzling and dangerous fire-throwing routine. Thomas was too smart for that and was waiting for me to emerge.

Attempting to brush past him, I stopped short when he called my name. He butchered it, of course. It came out like 'Laylaynee,' but I couldn't help being slightly impressed that he had remembered it at all. I hadn't mentioned my name to him at the front desk and in the show the announcer had failed to use our names again, despite several requests to do so. We were introduced simply as 'the lovely trio.' Thomas must have taken note when he saw it on my nametag at the front desk.

I turned to correct his pronunciation of my name and was more affected than I probably should have been by the pleading look in his eyes when he asked me to join him for a walk on the beach. Trying to hold firm because I knew where this was headed, I said that I should get going and tried to leave again.

"Please." The quietly spoken word surprised me so much that I acquiesced, still fully intending to bolt as soon as he started getting handsy.

He didn't try to grope me, though. He just wanted to talk and ask questions and learn about me. When I answered, he seemed truly interested in everything I had to say. We sat on the white sandy beach listening to the surf roll in for hours, but it felt like only minutes as we laughed and talked, getting to know each other. I kept waiting for him to try to kiss me, but it didn't happen. He was the perfect gentleman.

I felt completely shocked when the sun started to come up over the horizon. Tom had turned out to be sweet, humble, and funny––the complete opposite of the pompous jerk that I had assumed him to be.

It was a little disheartening to realize that I had been so quick to jump to an incorrect snap judgment about him. How many times had people done that to me––assuming that I was a pretty, but empty-headed shell of a person? And now I had done the same thing.

When I admitted to Tom that I had guessed he would be an arrogant jerk, he confirmed that he had believed me to be a beautiful, but bubble-headed bimbo. We both laughed about how wrong our initial conclusions had been and vowed not to be so quick to judge others in the future.

"I have to get going, or I'll be late for work," I finally decided.

"Sorry I kept you up all night," he replied sheepishly.

I informed him that it was well worth it, gave him a swift peck on the cheek, and ran off beaming from ear to ear because I had just enjoyed the absolute best night of my life.

*** I would love to hear what you think! Please VOTE / COMMENT / FOLLOW. Thank you! ***