Second Shot K.O.K (The Brooklyn Bears: Season 1)

3. College

THREE

COLLEGE

Nalani

“ I can’t believe we’re being invited to our first house party,” Sofia whispers as we walk out of the sorority house, following Lauren and Noelle.

“We’ve been to house parties,” I remind her.

“Not ones on Athlete Row.” I frown, and she relays, “It’s the hockey team, not football. You specifically said no football.”

“I’m losing on a technicality?” I ask.

“Good lesson to learn here and not in the court of law.” She giggles.

When Lauren and Noelle turn on flashlights, I stop.

“Pledge week’s over, right?” I ask because, although they didn’t haze hard, there were some shenanigans involving a scavenger hunt I don’t particularly want to relive.

Noelle laughs. “The hockey house is behind ours.”

“So convenient.” Lauren giggles.

Noelle looks back at us. “Which is code for Lauren’s sneaky link lives there.”

Lauren smacks her arm. “Really?”

Noelle giggles. “What? They’re our littles, our ride or dies; they’ll take it to the grave.”

Lauren turns, shining her flashlight right under her chin and making a deranged face. Sofia screams and jumps at me, causing me to spill my drink.

“Girl, relax.” I laugh as I help steady her.

Noelle throws her arm around Sofia and tries to keep a straight face. “You’re safe with us, babe. Mama’s got you.”

“I’m reliving past trauma here. This is no laughing matter.” Sofia pouts.

“Were you …?” Lauren asks with concern in her voice.

“No, no, no,” she replies. “I was eight when my cousins took me snipe hunting, and I’ll never be the same.”

“What’s a snipe?” Noelle asks.

Sofia begins, “It’s?—”

“It’s a flightless bird,” Lauren quickly cuts her off, “nearly extinct, that’s worth a lot of money to, um … bird watchers who want to save the snipes.”

“Why do they want them hunted?” Noelle asks.

When I see Lauren and Sofia faltering, I decide to chime in with my knowledge of the elusive snipe. “They’re trying to get them off the endangered species list by putting them in natural-ish environments that enhances the likelihood of them breeding.”

“We should do a fundraiser,” Noelle states.

“We most definitely should.” Lauren laughs as she lifts the latch to the gate and pushes it open.

Stepping in, I look up and see strings of lights hanging diagonally across the yard. Music plays softer than it does at the frat parties we’ve attended. I also notice there’s no beer pong table set up. Instead, there’s a massive Jenga puzzle, shuffleboard, and a giant chess game. There’s also an outdoor Tiki bar. On top of it is a giant rooster, with a sign around its neck that says, “ KOK’s BAR .”

“What the hell?” I ask then hear a low chuckle from behind me. My spine straightens, the fine hairs on the back of my neck stand up, and … my nipples stiffen.

“Aloha.”

I whirl around and place my hands on my hips. “What is going on here?”

He nods toward the bar, takes my hand, and pulls me behind him. “Let’s get you a drink.”

“Hey, Nalani,” one of the guys says as we pass by.

“Joel. He’s right wing,” Koa explains.

I swear I’m at a loss for words for the second time tonight.

“Welcome, Nalani,” the guy I saw Koa talking to after he deposited me back with the girls says.

“That’s Dash—team’s center and co-captain.”

“What the hell?” I mumble.

“What’s up, girl?” a guy with a girl on each leg asks.

“Hey, Nalani,” they say in unison.

“Tiny—he’s goalie. The girls? I haven’t got a clue.” Koa chuckles.

Gaping at them, I feel a tug at my hand.

“Watch your step.”

I glance down and step up onto the wooden platform.

“Have a seat. Let me make you a drink.” He pulls out a tall, wooden slatted chair with a cushion on it. As I sit, he walks around the bar.

“Why are you at the ice hockey house?” I ask, watching him set a paper plate on the bar, tear open a packet of instant hot cocoa, and pour it onto the plate.

“Got taken out my last game at Baldwin, lost my football scholarship to Texas.” He pulls a paper towel off the roll, dips it in a cup of something, and then rims a plastic martini glass.

“I’m sorry. That’s horrible but still doesn’t explain”—I wave my hand about—“this.”

“Academic scholarship that I turned down was offered back. I took it.” He pours vanilla vodka into a cup of ice, looks up, and winks at me. “And she’s thinking, all this and he’s smart, too .”

I was totally thinking that but shake my head. “Still not sold.”

He grabs a bottle of coffee liquor in one hand and chocolate liquor in another, tipping them both into the cup with ice and vanilla vodka. “Got into a pissing match with Dash over hogging the squat rack; ended up being friends. He dared me to try out for the team during walk-on tryouts.” He places an empty cup on top of the one filled with alcohol and shakes it before pouring it into the martini glass. “I made the team.”

He pushes the drink over to me as I stare at those deep dimples. Water pools in my mouth because, since he left me at the concert, all I’ve done is try not to think about him, like fully tried, and here he is again, all gorgeous and dimpled.

“What’s this?”

“Your favorite drink.” His lips quip.

“And what’s that?”

“Tall, dark, and handsome.” He leans forward, resting his elbows on the bar, fingers steepled. “Blond was never your color.”

Joey’s blond.

“No?”

He’s so close and looking at me with obvious intent, but that’s not what’s causing my reservations to crumble.

Even before the summer his dad taught me how to surf, I knew who Koa was. The town he lives in—and my grandmother lives in—Kihei, embodies everything I love about my island. The sense of community, the strength of family, the way people help one another without expecting anything in return but knowing they’ll receive it when needed. They don’t want to be paid for kindness because they don’t hold money above community. It’s vastly different than the way people who live in the bigger cities and tourist traps behave. I can honestly say I don’t think one friend I’ve ever had wanted to be my friend because of who I am as a person. It was all about who I was .

Koa’s different.

My grandmother was sick the summer before I learned to surf. When I visited and asked what I could do to help, Koa had already done things for her, like taking care of the landscaping and trimming the grass. But that wasn’t all. He brought her fresh flowers every few days when it was too difficult for her to go get them herself. I distinctly remember her mentioning he’d slept on her couch when there’d been a terrible storm and my mother couldn’t get to her.

He pushes off the bar and stands tall, so freaking tall. “Tell me I’m wrong.”

I shake my head and take a sip.

He lifts his chin. “Go find your first date.”

I nearly choke on my drink. Seconds ago, he was giving me not just hook-up vibes, but something more along the lines of what he’d offered before. Something steady.

“Someone to keep me warm on cold nights.”

“At least make the effort to act out your bad girl bit.” He smirks.

I slide off my chair and hold up my glass. “When this is gone, you gonna make me another when I come back?”

“Of course I will.”

I slam the whole damn drink then set the glass on the bar and climb back in the chair.

Eyes dancing, he asks, “What can I get for you?”

“Something tall, dark, and handsome.”

Making me another, he asks, “You know what you’re getting into?”

“You’ve given me a pretty good idea.”

“Nalani, I gave you the entire blueprint.” He rims the glass. “You’re mine and no one else’s.” He glances up at me. “Don’t break my heart again.”

“I didn’t!” I protest.

He lifts a shoulder. “Not knowingly.” He pours the drink then slides a full glass back to me. “I’ll never break yours. I’ll protect it.”

I could tell him I’ve heard that before, but if I’m honest with myself, I haven’t. I just assumed that’s the way it went.

“You better.” I lean forward. “That’s the expectation when you get naked and share your body with someone.”

He shakes his head. “Not gonna lie to you. I’ve been naked and sweaty with a few women. None asked for that, and I never offered it to them. I’m offering it to you because it’s not just your body I want you to share with me. I want more.” He steps back. “Doesn’t work for you, at any time, you can tag out.”

“Same goes for you, but could you do so before you get naked and sweaty with someone else?”

“I’m not that guy.”

I look up at the sign and giggle. “You think they know that?”

“In my defense, I didn’t put that damn thing up.”

“Let me guess, one of your hookups did.”

He scrubs a hand over his insanely handsome face. “Actually, it was Tiny.”