*Lokela

Half a dozen tourists were wandering around lost and confused in the small shop, bumping into one another and creating a line behind the counter.

"Divide and conquer," whispered Ray, standing on tip-toes at his shoulder. The scent of her hair and warm skin floated by for a second and then she made a bee-line for the counter. "Hi! Thanks for waiting, we had a small issue out back, but everything is in order and I'm ready to listen."

Her first customers, a slightly sunburned couple in their twenties, possibly on their honey-moon immediately asked about booking a mini tour for two. Ray nodded and started explaining romantic possibilities. Which Lokela wasn't sure they actually offered, but they could probably fake it.

He smiled at a mom with two young boys. "Can I help you find something?"

"We need some snorkeling gear for tomorrow..."

Paying attention with one ear, he led her to the youth sizes and pulled out the masks. Ray's voice piped cheerily through the store as she gushed about the beauty of different beaches. The person behind the couple was leaning on the counter, listening, too. She had them transfixed and would probably make a killer sale. Lokela shook his head.

All right. Maybe he wasn't the only person who had noticed her complete and utter charm. He adjusted the strap on one of the kid's heads. Bleach blonde, haole, permanently happy—she was everything that got on his nerves in a girl. And he was sun-struck. Like star-struck, but she was burning bright, so close he was scorched to the bone and blinded.

His chest constricted with the realization. He clamped his teeth together hard to keep from gasping for air. She had smashed her way into every aspect of his life—his home, his work, his school, his head, but worst of all, his best friend's heart.

He couldn't keep his friend and have the girl. Not that it was up to him. Ray wasn't interested, she wanted Zach. She was ready to learn how to surf just to impress him as if there was anything she needed to do to get a guy besides being herself.

There wasn't even anyone he could tell, to complain to about his situation. His brother wouldn't understand, for obvious reasons he couldn't tell his best friend. The guys at the house were out of the question.

Yep. His only recourse would be maudlin poetry and a trip to the beach as soon as he could arrange it. There would be other girls out on the sand. Distractions. He needed distractions.

He finished helping the mom and her boys and sent them to the counter to check-out. Ray flashed him a smile and then asked the family about their plans.

That smile nearly brought him to his knees. He hurried to the back. The fridge had an ice dispenser and he filled a glass.

Ray waltzed to the door and hung on the frame, leaning almost sideways. Her hair brushed the floor. "We make a sick team, if you ask me."

Lokela grunted and turned to face the desk, away from her.

"Are we..." she said, doubt thick in her voice, "still on for the surfing lessons? I thought we handled the customer overload pretty well."

"Yeah. Lessons are still on." His voice was about to break. He couldn't risk chatting. "I'm gonna check the emails."

"Sure. I'm gonna check the counter. For stuff. In case people come in."

He waited for the sounds of her steps in the shop and allowed himself to take a deep breath. He dropped his head in his hands. "I'm screwed. So screwed."

***

*Ray

"We are allowed to surf with sunglasses, right? Because my eyes are super sensitive. My opthamologist once said usually people who have light colored eyes are more sensitive, but I have dark brown eyes, so I guess I'm that unfortunate exception to the rule, you know what I mean?"

Lokela blinked at her. No matter what she said or did he wouldn't crack a smile that morning. And she had been trying since they met in the kitchen at they left the house at five fifty. Which was only twenty minutes ago, but this guy was hard as old leather, studded with nails. It took her only five seconds to make Doug smile when he went in the kitchen.

Saturday, five fifty-five am and she handed Doug a cup of coffee. Huge smile.

Ray: coffee cup for Lokela. Grimace.

Ray: I have new surf board wax. Shrug.

Ray: My own personal Jedi surfing Master, are you ready for a padawan? Scowl.

When Doug walked walked in and noticed Lokela, he had glared at him, as if there was something going on that Ray didn't know about. Hmmm.

Ray: humdingerly, sunrises here are gorgeous. Scoff.

And now, they were at the beach with their boards, the sand was glittering in the soft morning light, hardly a tourist to be seen this early and gentle waves were rolling in. How anyone could be sour on a day like today was beyond her comprehension. And yet, Lokela managed it perfectly well.

"When we're done, I hope you'll let me get you a Best Smoothie in the World," she said.

"Yes to the sunglasses. No to the smoothie. I'm meeting up with Zach for a run."

"You run on an empty stomach?"

"Do you ever stop asking questions?"

"Are you ever in a good mood?

"Are you planning on moving out of the house and getting a new job any time soon?"

"Yes. I am. Today." Ray dropped her board and stomped through the sand, heading for the strip of green between the beach's edge and the sidewalk.

Well, she tried to stomp, but it was impossible in the sand. Her feet simply sunk instead of smacking in a satisfactory fashion. This made it worse. After the progress she thought she had made in becoming his friend, confessing she needed his help and how much she liked Zach. The way he had saved her from those jerks who didn't want to hear no from a woman.

He had agreed to teach her to surf. If she was such a burden and a pain in the ass he should have—

"Stop," he said, grabbing her hand. "Stop. I didn't mean it like that."

"Lokela." She willed the prickling in her eyes to not turn into full blown tears. Even with the sunglasses on, he might see. "There's really only one way for me to understand what you said."

"But I didn't mean it." He tilted his head, still holding her hand, and pressed his lips together.

"That's kind of your problem, isn't it? On this island, this whole island, I have exactly zero family members. You have your whole family. If you get into trouble, need help or a place to go, you can go to any of them. That's what I need."

"I'm not following you on this. But I'm sorry for what I said."

He was still holding her hand. She wrapped her other hand around his and took a deep breath.

"I don't care if you are in a bad mood or need time to yourself. I have other friends I can hang out with. What I need is family here. People I can trust and count on, no matter what. I haven't told any of my other friends here, but it is so hard to be on my own, sometimes I could lay down and cry. So choose and just let me know. Friends, family or nothing at all and I will leave you alone." The memory of her sister Beth sitting in the sand on this beach, waiting for her, from only a few days ago filled her heart and mind. Ray had to be strong in case Beth needed her, but without anyone to lean on when she struggled through the days, worrying, it was too hard.

"Ray, I..." He dropped his gaze, but his grip tightened. His hand was hot as the sand, large and comforting. Although, her heart was giving off little flutters. "If family is what you want me to be, it's like I said. Cousins. And I will be here, no matter what you need from me. I have issues. I tend to push people away, but...I promise to not push you. You can trust me, and if you need a place to go, my room is just down the hall."

She cracked a smile, the tears in her eyes clearing up. "All right. You don't have to smile at me, but don't be a jerk for no reason, deal?"

A half smile stole onto his lips.

Ha. Finally. Victory was hers. "Can we surf?"

"All right. Let's get out there, but easy and slow." He turned to pull her towards the boards, lying haphazardly where they fell.

She nudged him with an elbow. "Isn't that the Hawaiian philosophy in a nutshell?" He was still holding onto her hand and didn't seem to want to let go. "Cousins, right?"

Him letting her go was the last thing she wanted, but it seemed odd.

"Cousins," he said. They reached the boards and both let go at the same time. "Except if you need money or for me to write your papers. I have limits."

Ray laughed. "I can respect that. So. What's the first thing to know about surfing?"

"The first rule is to watch for sharks."

***

Two hours later, she collapsed on her towel, too tired to rinse off right away. Lokela stood over her, breathing slowly, sea water streaming from his brown skin like a Hawaiian god come to taunt her in her weakness.

"It wasn't the worst first time I've ever seen. Really, Ray. You should be satisfied with your progress."

"You telling me lies doesn't make me feel better. I'm going to look like an idiot, a klutz, a landlubber disaster on Saturday."

"No. Well, maybe a little," he said. "Are you all right? Speaking of Zach, I'm supposed to meet him to go jogging around Diamond Head in five minutes."

"Go. Be swift and graceful. Leave me here."

"Don't stay in the sun. You're so pale, you've probably already got a burn."

She sat up and shooed him off. "I'll reapply my sunscreen, it's level 2350, and go in few minutes."

He nodded and jogged away, as if they hadn't spent the last two hours battling the waves of Waikiki. She recollapsed, pulling the towel over her face to block the sun from her eyes. Crisscrossing her arms over her face to hold the towel in place, she closed her eyes in the darkness and rested.

Just a couple of minutes.

"Ray! Ray, is that you?" a voice shouted. Someone shook her.

"Wha—" There was a heavy cloth of her head and she pulled it off. No. She tried to pull it off, but her arms had fallen asleep with the rest of her and she rolled out of the towel, disoriented. Everything ached and her skin stung like she had been rubbed down with sand.

"Ray, what were you thinking?" Lokela helped her stand, furious. "You've been here in the sun for at least forty minutes. Are you crazy?"

"Forty minutes? Dang, you run fast. Diamond Head would take me two days. So it's..." Her watch said nine twenty. "It's still early in the morning. Do I have classes today?"

"Get home and get cleaned up. You look pink. If it turns into a bad burn, you need to get to a doctor's, all right?"

She finally got her arms to cooperate and she nodded at Lokela. Best Smoothie. Shower. Home and class. Somewhat in that order... Heading for her bike, she glanced over her shoulder at Lokela who was taking the boards back to the shop. Six-pack, slim waist, black hair gleaming. She stumbled on the curb.

Focus, Ray. On Saturday, you have a date with the boy of your dreams. Checking out your roommates isn't cool, even if you would never go there.

By the time she got home she was aching as if she had a fever. She crashed in her room and slept. Luckily, the only class she would miss was geology, and she was dropping it anyway. At lunch-time she could barely move. Her arms hurt so bad, she had to hold them out from her body. She maneuvered down the stairs carefully and reached the kitchen.

Seven of her eight roommates were having lunch. Miller, Felipe, Doug, Casey, Travis, Trevor, and Lokela. They froze in the middle of whatever bite or drink they were taking and stared at her.

"Guys," she said, swallowing hard, arms in the air. "My armpits got sunburned and I can't move and I really need someone to put some cream on me."