Keeping Kama

Chapter 10

As Derek faced the ocean from his back lanai, he stretched out his legs and propped them on the outdoor coffee table. With his phone to his ear, he said, “Tyson, I’m sorry to interrupt you on your family thing, but I was wondering if you had a chance to review the PowerPoint information I presented to Kai.” He rubbed the back of his neck then cranked it both ways to release the tension in between his shoulder blades.

“I saw it,” replied Tyson.

Radio silence followed. Derek double checked his connection, bringing his phone back to his ear. “And?” asked Derek.

Clearly annoyed, Tyson scoffed, “You already know what I’m going to say.”

A groan escaped him. Derek shifted forward, placing his feet back on the ground. “You don’t want to invest in the farm,” stated Derek.

“You saw the numbers. We’d be lucky to come out of this thing making one or two percent of our investment. I won’t risk the capital. It’s too tight a margin,” said Tyson.

“I disagree,” said Derek, though the pit forming in his stomach, begged to differ.

With his voice full of irritation, Tyson said, “I don’t have time to go the rounds with you on this. I’ll call you tomorrow morning. We have a lot of things to discuss besides this particular investment.”

Sweat formed on his brow, Derek swiped it away with his free hand. “Okay, until tomorrow.”

Derek ended the call, placing the phone down on the loveseat cushion next to him. Anxiety bubbled through his veins. Only an hour earlier, he promised Leia they’d invest, and he’d take care of the farm. Now he was nothing but a liar. Tyson was right. The margins were too tight, the risk too great. He couldn’t gamble away what they had worked years to build. It wasn’t worth it, no matter how captivating he found Leia.

The picturesque scene before him, Derek welcomed the gentle ocean breeze that cooled him off. Derek breathed in the salty air. Geez, it was beautiful here. He saw why people paid the exorbitant prices to stay here. How was he ever going to leave this view? How was he going to leave Leia? Derek couldn’t stay, and Leia couldn’t leave. Nothing would come of their little rendezvous, and the thought fully depressed him. Loneliness washed over him as he thought of returning to his empty place in Los Angeles.

Shaking off the impending doom, Derek forced himself to gather up his laptop off his coffee table and work on some other assignments until dinner time. In the middle of his work, Leia shot him a text instructing him to wear good walking shoes and comfortable hiking clothes. He wondered where she planned on taking him.

Eventually, the time to leave approached.

After he changed, Derek walked over to Leia’s apartment. Knocking on the door, Derek stepped back, waiting for Leia to answer.

Leia yelled, “Come on in. The door is unlocked.”

Obeying, Derek opened the door and announced, “It’s Derek. Where are you?” Clasping and unclasping his hands, Derek peered around the small tidy living room waiting for further instructions. It had a brown leather sofa facing a TV.

Leia poked her head out doorway behind the wall with the sofa pushed up against it. “I’m in here.” Waving him in, Leia disappeared again. “I have something on the stove, and I don’t want it to burn,” she called out to him.

He walked the rest of the way to the kitchen and lingered in the door frame. Leia flipped the sizzling meat on her skillet.

“Smells good,” commented Derek.

At ease, Derek rested his shoulder against the doorway. He watched as Leia puttered around the kitchen, opening and closing various drawers. Derek admired Leia at home in her own space. She looked relaxed and comfortable. And dang, she was gorgeous. His throat grew tight when he thought of leaving her. He yanked at the collar of his shirt.

Then Leia caught him staring. Heat splashed her cheeks. Leia paused then said, “I hope you like spam.” Picking up her spatula, Leia flashed Derek a smile before returning her attention to her skillet.

A whiff of the meat aroma made his stomach growl. Derek said, “I can’t say I’ve ever eaten spam.”

Leia flipped the meat again with her spatula. “Like ever?” asked Leia.

A single head shake, Derek said, “Nope.”

Leia tsked, “It’s a staple here.” Turning off the burner, Leia reached over and opened the top of her rice cooker. “I hope you like it. I’ve eaten it all my life, so I’m used to the taste.” Next, she opened a pack of what looked like seaweed.

Straightening himself, Derek stepped into the intimate space of the kitchen. “Can I help you with something?” He moved up close to her.

“Umm …” Leia selected two white plates out of her cupboard to the right of her stove. She placed them on the counter. “Nah, I’m almost done. This is the easiest dish to cook.” Picking back up her spatula, Leia said, “I never said I was a good cook, but I thought you needed to try another Hawaiian staple before you return home.” Leia stalled in place.

Boom. Her words splattered right between them, dangling in the air. Words which perfectly punctured whatever may or may not be growing between them.

Derek bypassed the awkward pause. Casually, he twisted, leaning his back against the counter to face her. “You say it’s easy to cook. How do you make it? Or is this another one of those family recipes I have no chance of getting?” A sudden urge to run a hand down the length of her arm overtook him. Derek forced himself to plunge his hand into his pocket.

First, she placed a green sheet down on each plate. Next, Leia scooped out some rice and placed it on top of each sheet. “Spam musubi is only seaweed, rice, and spam. But I promise it’s better than it sounds.” Taking a step to the stove, Leia used a spatula to place a piece of spam on top of each pile of rice.

“And what is spam exactly?” Derek scratched his head. “I feel embarrassed even asking.”

Wrapping the spam and rice with the remaining ends of the seaweed, Leia said, “It’s pork and ham processed together then canned.”

Derek replied, “I can’t wait to try it.” He tried his best to sound enthusiastic, but Derek didn’t like seaweed or the sound of spam. But he’d choke the stuff down if he needed.

As Leia laughed, she slapped him playfully on his arm. “You don’t sound very convincing. If you don’t like it, we can stop and get some shave ice after our hike.”

“Hike? Spill. Where are you taking me?” asked Derek.

Wagging a finger back and forth, Leia said, “Nice try. It’s a surprise. I’m not telling you until after dinner.”

Rubbing his hands together, Derek said, “Fine, dinner first.”

Their gaze caught and Leia smiled as she handed him the plates. Her head motioned to the small two-top table in a breakfast nook. “Can you take those to the table? I’ll fetch the silverware.”

“Sure.” Derek took the plates from her, walking the few steps to the table. After setting them down, Derek twisted back toward Leia. “Do you need me to get anything else for you?”

The drawer squeaked open, and Leia pulled out silverware for them. She held them out to Derek. “Here. Then I’ll get the drinks.”

Derek took the silverware from Leia and walked it to the table, placing it down beside each plate.

Peering into her fridge, Leia ducked around the open fridge door. “What can I offer you to drink? I have more of those fruit sodas you liked. Does kiwi, mango, or papaya soda sound good to you?” asked Leia.

“Um.” Derek paused in place. “How about mango.”

“Good choice.” Leia reached in and pulled out two mango sodas, bringing them to the table. “Are you ready to try some spam?” She set the sodas down on the table and settled into her seat.

Derek sat down across from her. “Are you kidding me? I was born ready.”

Gesturing toward his plate, Leia said, “Then dig in.” She picked up her fork. Derek did the same.

After getting a fork full, Derek said, “There are firsts for everything. It smells good. So, here goes nothing.” Shoving the bite into his mouth, he chewed. Leia hadn’t taken a bite yet and instead was studying him intently. The texture was not his favorite, but it wasn’t terrible. Derek swallowed. “Wow. It’s amazingly simple but so good.” He popped open his soda and took a swig.

A look of relief washed over Leia’s face, and she cut into her food with her fork. “I’m glad. I was nervous. I wasn’t sure how adventurous you were with trying new foods.” She took a bite of her rice and spam.

Another bite later, Derek asked, “So, where is this favorite place of yours?”

Leia bumped her shoulder against his own. “I can’t tell you. Where is the fun in that?” Her eyes twinkled back at him mischievously.

“I’m not a surprise kind of guy.” Derek rubbed his jaw then took another sip of his soda. “I like to know what’s coming, because then I can be prepared.”

Teasingly, she shoved Derek’s arm, Leia said, “Loosen up.” Taking another bite, Leia waited until she swallowed to continue. “I can tell you the place is on my parents’ property.” Pushing up her chin, she added, “Now you have one hint.”

Derek couldn’t resist her cute appeal. He leaned over and kissed her quickly on the temple. “I’ll try to go with the flow.” Derek winked. “But thanks for the hint.”

They finished up their meal. Derek helped wipe down the counters and load the dishwasher. Once the kitchen was clean, Leia said, “Let me go find my shoes and then we can head out.” Leia left the kitchen and disappeared into the back room, which Derek assumed was her bedroom.

Derek went back to the living room, sitting down on the sofa to wait. Glancing around, Derek admired the view of the ocean from her side window. It peeked through various plants and trees, but offered a beauty many would give anything to see. He wondered if he would ever want to live here, permanently. His work certainly kept him on the road a lot so moving his home base from California to Hawaii wouldn’t be too terribly inconvenient. Whoa, what was he even thinking? Moving here for Leia? They’d only just met. He shook off the entire ridiculous idea.

Luckily, a few seconds later, Leia appeared with running shoes on, and her hair tossed up into a messy knot on top of her head. With a hand on her hip, Leia asked, “Are you ready to go to the most beautiful place in the world?”

As he stood, Derek replied, “Absolutely.” He strode next to her, taking the liberty to wrap his arm around her waist. “I don’t know what will be more beautiful, you or the location.” He squeezed her waist.

Her cheeks tinged pink. Dang, Derek loved making her blush.

“Umm … stop.” Leia laughed. “That’s a tad too cheese ball for me.”

“You mean you don’t find my awkward middle school pick up lines endearing?” Derek waggled his eyebrows at her.

“I mean,” Leia’s lips twisted playfully, “no,” she said with a huge grin.

Derek chuckled.

“Alright,” Leia waved him forward. “Let’s go. Before we lose the sunlight.” Then Leia held up a finger. “We need flashlights in case it’s too dark on the way back.” She strode five steps to a hall closet, opening the door. Digging around for a second, she then produced two flashlights. Handing one to Derek, Leia said, “Here. Then we each have one. Better yet let me get a backpack.”

“I don’t mind carrying both,” replied Derek.

Shaking her head, Leia popped back into the closet then produced a backpack. Unzipping it, she held it open. “Here, let’s put them inside. I’ll get two water bottles too.” Leia dropped her flashlight inside, followed by Derek’s.

Leia stepped back into the kitchen, removing two water bottles from the fridge. Once everything was inside, she zipped the backpack closed and swung it over one shoulder.

Derek stopped her, taking the backpack off her shoulder. “Let me carry it,” said Derek. “You cooked me dinner. Now you’re taking me to the most beautiful place in the world, according to you. The least I can do is carry the backpack.”

Halted in place, Leia found his gaze. “Are you sure? It’s pink checkered.”

Adjusting the backpack on his back, Derek replied, “Pink happens to look great on me.”

Leia giggled, holding both her hands up. “I mean, I agree.” She walked to the front door and opened it. Over her shoulder, Leia added. “But then again, you’d look good in anything.” Her gaze slid down his frame. A slight pause, then Leia waved him over. “Come on. We might only have tonight together, and I for one want to make every minute count.”

Leia’s words ricocheted back and forth through him. Derek walked through the open door, hoping secretly they had more than tonight. If Derek was being truly honest, he hoped they had forever.