The Maui Effect (Man-Made Trilogy #1)

Incoming

‘Iwa

Why someone would want to surf in gloves, booties and a hood, ‘Iwa would never know. But apparently a whole slew of them did. She was happily swaddled in fleece on the boat. It was strange to think that this was the same ocean as hers, with its ice water, kelp and abundance of seagulls. The cliffs were sand colored rather than black lava, and everything seemed bigger, even the waves.

Dane was easy to spot, with his mint green board. Her eyes seemed to automatically find him in the crowd of black wetsuits. He looked so comfortable, so completely at home, as if it were all so easy. Another day at the office. He hadn’t been kidding.

Now Yeti pulled him back out, after riding the wave of the day. She pointed her camera toward him and he gave a shaka and a high-octane smile. They came to the boat.

“Unbelievable. How big do you think that was?” he said, as he sat up a few feet from the boat, pulled off his hood and hooted.

“Easy forty-foot face,” Jeff said.

Hilton leaned off the rail. “Glad you came out of that thing alive, mate, is all I have to say.”

“For a second I thought I was going down.”

“No one on the boat was breathing for a good minute,” Jeff said.

“Any good shots?” Dane asked.

“Good shots for sure, but I don’t think it’ll be an XXL contender.”

Dane and Yeti switched places, and Yeti hopped onto the boat.

Hilton tossed Dane a sandwich. “Eat.”

Dane unwrapped it, took a few bites, then turned his bloodshot eyes on ‘Iwa. He gave her a playful smile. “Time to put on that wetsuit, you’re up.”

After witnessing that last set almost take out a few jet skis, she wasn’t so sure she wanted to be anywhere near where the wave broke. On the other hand, she’d be with Dane, who looked to be the most competent person in the water. She slipped into the thick wetsuit, pulled on the booties and climbed onto the jet ski behind Dane.

“Hang on tight, and don’t forget to breathe,” Dane said.

They circled around and putted toward the break, where a few other skis hovered. Everyone out there was spaced out evenly, as though according to some unspoken law. She clung like an ‘opih i to Dane’s waist, which was hard as a plank, and rested her head on his shoulder. His body heat passed through her, warming her up from the inside.

“Shouldn’t we be outside further?” she had to ask, nervous about another cleanup set.

He put a hand on her knee and squeezed. “I got you.”

There was a lull, placid water belying the real state of the ocean. But eventually, on schedule, another set appeared. All eyes were on the horizon, including ‘Iwa’s. The skis all began the rush out.

“Here we go,” Dane said.

She waited for him to drive them farther out, but they remained floating where they were. Her heart feather dusted the inside of her rib cage where Dane could probably feel it against his back. When the peak of the wave hurled up and steepened, a bald man dropped in. A second later he was screaming down the face, straight toward where ‘Iwa and Dane sat. The roar was constant. From sea level, the wave took on a distorted mass as it hurled up over them. ‘Iwa closed her eyes for a moment, too afraid to look. But space and time had warped, she realized, because when the wave finally spit him out onto its shoulder, he was still a good twenty feet away.

“Yeah!” Dane yelled.

‘Iwa wiped the spray from her face, unsure whether she was laughing or crying. Either way, she was glad for the salt water on her skin. Being in the thick of it made her feel of the ocean. It also gave her a peek into Dane’s world. She hugged him closer and readied for more.

They sat and watched, moving a little farther in or out depending on the size of the sets, until she could no longer feel her toes, even in the booties. The wind had kicked in, too, roughing up the waves. From there, conditions deteriorated fast.

“A Hawai’i girl, through and through,” Dane said, when she finally asked to go back to the boat.

That evening, the wind had cleared away any leftover clouds, and twilight went on forever. They gathered at a joint called Half Moon Bay Brewing Co., which had a sweet open-air deck. A man in a cowboy hat was playing guitar—a vintage Martin that had ‘Iwa swooning—and singing covers. They sat next to heat lamps, gulping down freshly brewed beer. The atmosphere was reminiscent of the night she’d met Dane at Uncle’s, with surfers of all shapes and sizes milling about. But this time, ‘Iwa understood what the fuss was all about. That powerful wave energy had transferred into her, and she still felt lightheaded.

She sat with Dane on one side, and Yeti on the other. Dane kept at least one body part touching her at all times. Shoulder to arm, thigh to thigh, hand to knee. Electricity was building between them, causing little sparks in their field. ‘Iwa wondered if Dane felt it, too.

Yeti intrigued her. Beneath all that hair, he was handsome, with a strong nose, and yellow-gold eyes that seemed to notice everything, even the unseeable. It was impossible to tell how old he was, but she guessed at least forty. He was the only one drinking water.

Word was going round that soon after they had gone in, a great white shark had cleared the few remaining guys in the lineup. A ski operator had spotted the shark—which was longer than his ski and sled combined—cruising by one of the two paddle surfers out there, then swinging around for another pass. The man blasted in and plucked them out of the water.

Now, at the table, the group shared shark stories.

“I got the shark vibe a couple times today, but then I always get it at Mavericks, so what am I supposed to do?” Kama said.

Dane shrugged. “They’re always out there.”

“I always thank the sharks before I get in the water, for watching out for me,” Yeti said, without a hint of sarcasm.

It was a very Hawaiian thing to say, and it made her like him even more.

Hope had just shown up and squeezed in across the table. “The first time I ever came out here, I saw a two-foot fin in the channel. It’s mostly why I stay on the ski.”

“And here we all thought it was because of the waves,” Dane said.

Hope gave him the finger.

“What about your story, Yeti?” Hope asked, then said to ‘Iwa, “Yeti has the best one of all.”

Yeti took off his jacket, pulled up his sleeve and revealed a jagged scar running almost the length of his forearm. The skin around it was puckered and purple. Smaller scars branched off from the main one. “This was my fault, I reckon, I don’t blame the shark. I was surfing a river mouth in Mexico, and there had been bloody weeks of heavy rain. The water was murky and I knew I shouldn’t go out. River mouths are notorious for sharks, but the waves were firing, as good as I’d seen it. So I went out,” he said, pausing, looking down at his arm.

He then continued in the most nonchalant way. “I was with Doc Randall, a surfer friend from San Francisco who rips, but likes to keep his surfing on the down-low. We’d only been out about twenty minutes, when something slammed my board from the side and knocked me into the water. I knew right away what was happening, but it was so murky I couldn’t see anything. I rolled into a ball and then felt this tremendous pressure on my arm. I kicked and punched as hard as I could with my other arm. It was just Doc and me out, and a Mexican kid. ‘Tiburón!’ he started screaming.

“It was the wildest thing. I was outside my body, looking down at this shark holding my bloody arm in its mouth. It had a round nose. A bull shark with fishy breath. I wasn’t so much afraid as I was intrigued. In awe even, to be witnessing my own death, you know? The fear of dying is so elemental, so ingrained, but this was so different from how I had imagined it to be.

“Then I snapped back to the thrashing shark, somehow shoved the nose of my board into its nose, and it disappeared back into the murk. Doc had ridden a wave in and wasn’t around, and I could hear people screaming on the beach—the break isn’t that far out. I was in this bloom of red water, and I lay on my board and tried to limp in, but instead, I passed out.

“Lucky for me, a bloke on the beach had a paddleboard, and Doc snagged it and came out to get me. If it had been anyone else there that day other than him, I wouldn’t be here telling this story. He knew exactly what to do, made a tourniquet with his leash and got me to shore.”

Dane rubbed his own forearm in the place where Yeti’s scar was. “Doc is a legend,” he said.

“He’s my guardian angel, is what he is,” Yeti said.

Maui took top honors in Hawai’i for shark attacks, and yet ‘Iwa had never met anyone who had lived to tell. Plenty of near misses and sharks stealing fish, but no actual bites.

“Did the shark come back around?” she asked.

“I was lights out, but Doc said it bumped the paddleboard a couple times, and he kicked it in the snout. He was certain his foot was going straight into its mouth, but it must have had enough, because we made it in without further incident.”

“You’re lucky,” ‘Iwa said.

Yeti put his jacket back on, then flexed his left hand. “I have some nerve damage, but the fact that it works at all is a miracle. I came back from that trip a changed man and never take any day for granted.”

His gaze then went to three women walking toward their table. Two brunettes and a knockout blonde. To ‘Iwa, they all looked like supermodels—long hair, middle part, tight jeans, leather boots.

“,” Hope said under her breath.

Dane turned to see what she was talking about, then quickly looked down into his beer, jaw tensing. The two brunettes sat at a nearby table, but not the blonde.

She came over to the table, stopped behind Dane and put a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, guys. Hey, Dane.”

Everyone at the table said a lukewarm hello.

“Big day out at Mavs, huh?” she said with a forced smile.

Yeti nodded.

Kama said, “Yep.”

She pushed back her hair. “Congratulations on your win in Maui, Dane. We were all rooting for you back here.”

On Maui. ‘Iwa wanted to correct her. You were on an island, not in one.

“Thanks, Sunny,” Dane said, unenthusiastically.

Sunny smelled like clean sheets, sun-dried and dusted with lemon balm scented oil. She wore silver bracelets all the way up her delicate arms, and a long chain with a sunrise shell pendant nestled between full breasts.

“I didn’t realize you were back. Are you home for a while? Wingnut would love to see you. You should stop by and say hi one of these days. He misses you,” she said.

‘Iwa couldn’t help but wonder how many Sunnys there were out there in the world. Women who Dane had hooked up with, dated or even loved. The thought made her throat constrict.

“I won’t be around long, but give him a hug for me,” Dane said.

“Another big surf trip?”

An awkward pause.

Dane looked over at Kama. “Secret mission. Sorry, I can’t talk about it.”

This was news to ‘Iwa and she glanced at Dane. His face gave away nothing.

Sunny took a step back. “Well, you know where to find us. Key’s still in the same spot. Take care of each other on your mission wherever it is.”

‘Iwa watched her walk away, a sticky feeling in her mouth.

Dane turned. “Sorry about that. Sunny is my ex-girlfriend and Wingnut is our dog—was. He’s hers now. We split last year.”

Some of the color had drained from his face.

“I guessed that. It’s fine,” ‘Iwa said.

“Cool dog, too. He surfs,” Hope said, seemingly to lighten the atmosphere.

Of course he did.

“Speaking of dogs, did you know Mavericks was named after a dog?” Dane said.

‘Iwa was still trying to take in the prior interaction, but welcomed the change in subject. “I did not.”

“It’s true. Sometime in the sixties, this white German shepherd used to try and follow three surfers out when they paddled out. The dog belonged to one of the guy’s roommates, but he knew a good thing when he saw it, I guess.”

Kama nodded. “Dogs are way smarter than people.”

“You got that right,” Yeti said.

‘Iwa laughed. She liked these guys. Her mother always said that you could tell a lot about a man from two things: the company he keeps and how he treats animals. Dane was winning in those two departments. And as much as she hated to admit it, her mom would have liked him. A lot.

Later that night at the house, Dane walked ‘Iwa to her room, stopped at the door and put his hands on her shoulders. Tentatively, he leaned down and kissed her lightly. She had been waiting all day for this moment and now that it was here, she wanted to savor it.

But Dane broke away, but stayed close enough so their noses were almost touching. “I hope you enjoyed it out there today. Not everyone has the guts to do what you did. It can be intimidating, I know.”

Being in such close proximity caused a flurry of leaves to fall across her skin, or so it felt.

“Do you know, really?” she asked, looking up into his eyes.

“Even now, the waves intimidate me. How could they not?” His hand still cupped the back of her head. “Look, I know today was all about the waves, but I promise, tomorrow will be all about you. We can do whatever you want,” he said, voice scraping across her skin.

“This is your town, Dane, I have no idea where to go and what to do. You pick something you think I would like.”

He thought for a few moments, then said with a straight face, “How about we go to the mall?”

‘Iwa was dumbstruck, then noticed the smile in his eyes, the tease in his voice. She laughed. “What’s a mall?”

“Oh right, I forgot you’re a forest nymph. Would you rather see some wildlife, then? The California kind?”

“I would love to.”

“It’s settled then. These guys will probably dawn patrol Mavericks again, so we’ll have the place to ourselves in the morning.”

‘Iwa felt like she should take a step back, relieve the tension between them, but she was unable to. It seemed like Dane was having trouble doing the same, because he moved in again and his stubble rubbed rough on her cheek as he spoke softly in her ear. “We can take it slow.”

Her mind flashed to a long, slow morning under the covers with him, those strong hands slowly making their way over her entire body.

“I would love to come in and tuck you in, but if I do, I worry I’d never leave,” he said, eyelids at half mast, but a hunger in them nevertheless.

A few times on the way back from dinner, Dane’s head had fallen to the side, and he’d jerked awake. ‘Iwa was exhausted, too.

Against her body’s wishes, she said, “It was a huge day for you. Get some rest and I’ll see you in the morning.”

He remained rooted in place, hair askew, bloodshot eyes—sexy as hell. ‘Iwa willed him to kiss her, just as he leaned in, mouth catching hers. His hand moved to her sacrum, where it made smooth circles.

“Unless...you want to sleep in my room? I have a king-size bed and promise I would be a perfect gentleman. In fact, I can guarantee I’ll be out the minute my head hits the pillow. But it would be nice to have you near me.”

‘Iwa felt her heart go thump. It was such a sweet and honest thing to say, and it took her less than a heartbeat to answer. “How can I say no to that?”

He rested his forehead against hers. “You can’t.”