“It’s 1pm,” he answered, never moving his eyes from the set.
“Oh. I didn’t mean to sleep so late,” she said, rolling herself out of the bed. “Ow,” she cried, grabbing onto her head as she walked toward the bathroom.
Now getting Jon’s attention, he looked at her and asked, “Where did you go last night? I looked for you at the bar down there when you hadn’t come to the room at 1am. I was worried about you last night.”
Startled to know that he had been looking for her, and also surprised by the fact, she searched her head for an answer, and it hurt to think. “Oh? Well…um…I went for a walk on the beach. I guess I didn’t realize I had walked so long.”
“Well, don’t stay out so late like that. You may think it’s safe around here, but they have crime here, too. OK?” He looked straight at her waiting for a response.
“OK,” she said, still a bit startled at his sudden concern. Did he know about her adventure with Nick? But he turned back to the TV once satisfied with his answer, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
She slipped into the bathroom and into the shower. The warm water felt good as it trickled down her bare body. She closed her eyes and thought about the night before, how Nick kissed her with such urgent passion! That was the kind of passion a woman only experiences once in her life, if ever at all. And she felt fortunate that he had shared it with her.
With her face in the spray of the shower head and her eyes closed, she smiled at the thought of what it might have been like to have been with Nick totally on that beach last night. Just the thought of him excited her. She wanted him even more than ever now after that forbidden taste the prior evening.
She opened her eyes and caught her breath, shocked at herself for no longer feeling guilty over her feelings for this young man.
Shaking those thoughts out of her head, she quickly finished her shower then dried off. She fixed her hair and makeup then emerged into the bedroom in her terry cloth robe to get dressed. Jon had turned off the TV and was sitting by the table waiting for her. He impatiently tapped a pencil on the wood, drumming out an annoying beat.
“I thought you drowned in there!” he barked.
“Don’t shout,” she begged, reaching in her bag for a bottle of Tylenol.
“What’s wrong? Your head hurt? Do you have a hangover?” he snickered. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen you with a hangover,” he began to tease. She noticed the corners of his mouth rise in pleasure at her pain.
“Stop it, Jon. You’ve seen me drink before.”
“But I’ve never seen you wake up with a hangover!” Now he was full-out laughing, which was making her angry.
“Well, take a good look,” she said with attitude. This seemed to stifle his mockery of her situation.
“Well, I thought maybe we could take in some sights today. What do you think?”
She stopped in her tracks and stared at Jon. “You want to go sight seeing?” she asked, unbelieving her own ears. “Who are you? And what have you done with my husband?”
“Yeah, yeah,” he dismissed her sarcasm. “Well, I figured we are in Maui after all. I guess I should see more than the golf courses.”
It suddenly hit her. He was more concerned that HE see the sights than her. He was not concerned at all that she had sat at the hotel with nothing to do for the past 2 days. It was always all about him. Well, at least HE thought she had nothing to do. She was passing her time very pleasurably.
“Sure. What do you have in mind?” she asked, still disappointed in his selfishness.
“Don’t you have those tour books?”
“I thought you wanted to go somewhere in particular.” Now she was a bit miffed at that comment. He had all morning to find somewhere to go but now it was up to her…as usual. “Well. It’s really too late to start out for the Hana Highway. That is an all day adventure. And we have to be back by 6 for the Luau tonight. Let me see if I can find something on this side of the island.” Caryn now sat at the table riffling through papers and books she had collected about the island.
“Oh, that’s right. What else can you find?”
“Oh. There’s an aquarium on this side of the island in Ma’alaea Harbor Village. Why don’t we go there? Plus we can enjoy the view as we drive down the coastline.”
“Alright. Sounds good to me. Let’s go. You ready?”
“Well, I’d like to grab something to eat. But I can do that on the way. I think there’s a McDonald’s up the road.”
“Great. Grab your stuff and I’ll call down for the car.”
Caryn grabbed a light jacket and the maps she had. They walked to the lobby and found their car waiting for them.
They began driving south on the highway. As they passed the Lahaina exit, Caryn thought about yesterday’s activities. But her reverie was interrupted by Jon.
“You’re awful quiet today. How’s your hangover?”
“Much better, thanks. I guess I’m just tired today.” She continued to look out the window at the ocean. Parts of the shoreline were far away from the highway with hotels and resorts hiding its beauty. But other places were wide open exposing the natural beauty for which Maui was so well known. The windows on the car were open and she inhaled the scents of the island…the ocean, the flowers, scents she couldn’t place. But it all smelt so good and so tropical. And every breath reminded her of Nick.
After about 20 minutes driving, they came upon the village. As they turned off the road, they were taken in by the beauty of the bay. The waves crashed softly along the shoreline and the water was so blue. It was like a post card.
Jon purchased two tickets for the Maui Ocean Center and they entered to start their tour. They moved silently from tank to tank, only occasionally commenting on one of the fish or displays.
Then Caryn came upon the Jelly Fish tank. It was a large tank and lit with luminescent light. The Jelly Fish seemed to glow inside the water. She became mesmerized with their movements, sleek and smooth within the water.
Jon came beside her to see what was so interesting. Then he turned and looked at her. She looked different in that light. “You know,” he began in a soft voice. “You are as beautiful today as the day I married you.”
Breaking her concentration, she turned and looked at him. Did he really mean what he said? Or was he just trying to be nice. She couldn’t decipher his intentions. But she decided she would believe that he meant it. At least that’s what she wanted to believe. So she smiled at Jon and gave him a light peck on the cheek. Then she moved along to the next tank.
He didn’t really seem interested in the fish. She was certain he would have rather been on the golf course. But green fees were expensive and he had promised to keep it down. He was entitled to one more day of golf of which he had not revealed which day that would be.
They wandered outside to find a massive shark display. There were 4 rather large sharks in the huge tank swimming around and then they would shoot through a tube wish lead out to another tank indoors. She watched the sharks, then remembered about the tattoo on Nick’s left arm of a great white. She smiled as she watched them swim to and fro.
“They are so…so dangerous,” Caryn comments, staring at the sharks. “Yet still they beckon one to come. Like they’re not dangerous at all…” she trailed off. Although Jon thought her comments were about the sharks, she was really still thinking about Nick and how dangerous he could be to a woman like her. Now she knew that she had to stay clear of him for the rest of the trip. Once back in LA, she was sure she would be fine and could work on their marriage properly.
“It’s 4:30. What do you say we head back?” Jon suggested.
Caryn jumped from his voice as it startled her. “Oh, yeah. I guess so.” She followed him to the car. They were both silent all the way back. Caryn wondered if Jon was doing some thinking, too, or if he was reveling in the silence.
They only stayed at the hotel for a while…just long enough to change clothes for the Luau. That night they had reservations in Lahaina at the “Old Lahaina Luau.” She was looking forward to this since they arrived at the island. The brochures had called it Hawaii’s oldest and most authentic luau.
They jumped in the car again and drove back to Lahaina. Jon parked the car and they walked over the luau. They were greeted in the Hawaiian tradition with a kiss on the cheek and a flower lei. Their package included a picture of the two of them. They were lined up with the water in the background. The sunset glowed off the water in beautiful hues of orange and red creating a spectacular background. ‘At least one good picture of us from this vacation,’ she thought.
Now directed to the bar for cocktails, Caryn decided she would stick with sodas tonight. She did not want to have another hangover in the morning. Jon ordered a gin and tonic when they heard the horns of cockle shells blowing. This was the summoning of the crowd for the imu presentation.
The crowd gathered around the pit as the men unearthed the Kalua Pua’a from it’s underground oven. The pork had been cooking all day long and now smelled delicious!
As they watched the men work, Caryn felt eyes upon her. She looked up. On the other side of the crowd was none other than Nick and his girlfriend. She stood there stunned. Was he following her? Or was it just a cruel coincidence that he was there? She didn’t think she had told him about their plans. Or did she last night and didn’t remember? No, she was sure she didn’t say anything about it!
He smiled at her trying to get her attention, but she looked away from him, refusing to look or smile back. She didn’t want to encourage him anymore.
Fortunately, at that time they were instructed to be seated. And luckily, all the seats were reserved. Since she had reserved hers several months ago, Jon and her were close to the stage for the after dinner show.
They were called by table to go through the buffet line. As Jon and Caryn walked up to get their food, she could see Nick out of the corner of her eye a few tables away. She walked quickly to avoid any contact. And luckily they were in line when she walked back to her table. She sighed relief when she finally sat down and began to eat dinner.
Just as they were finishing eating, a shadow appeared from behind her. Without looking, she knew who it was. She turned and looked up at Nick standing behind them.
“How are you, Caryn?” he said pleasantly, extending his hand.
Jon instantly turned around to see who was addressing his wife. When he saw the young man, he felt relieved. After all, he was way too young to be putting moves on his wife. So Jon stood up to meet the young man.
Caryn had shook Nick’s hand and said ‘fine.’ Nick immediately moved his hand over to Jon’s. “Hello. You must be Jon. I’ve heard about you. My name is Nick. Your wife and I met at the pool the other day. She was very kind to a lost soul that day,” he added, looking down at Caryn. She felt uneasy by his strong and steady stare. She was beginning to wonder if he was some kind of stalker.
“Oh, Nick. Nice to meet you,” Jon said, finally able to fit a word in, shaking his hand. “I’d ask you sit but…” he added pointing to the crowded table.
“No. I’m sitting over there,” Nick said looking over to his own table and pointing for the others to see.
“Is your girlfriend with you tonight?” Caryn asked. She knew full well she was there since she had seen them during the imu presentation. But she thought it might keep Nick under control here.
“Yeah. She’s sitting over there,” Nick said, turning toward his table again. Jon and Caryn looked over and waved at her but she crossed her arms and looked away, giving the impression that she was totally bored with the luau and the company she had been thrown into.
Jon just looked at Caryn, pursing his lips, after witnessing the young girl’s attitude.
Nick turned back, embarrassed. “Well, she’s not too into these things. I kinda had to drag her here.”
Caryn suddenly felt sorry for Nick’s situation. It was much worse than hers. At least Jon did things with her. Well, at least sometimes.
“So did you have fun today? We found a great volleyball game on the beach that we got in on,” Nick said.
“Caryn had stayed out kinda late last night. So we got a late start today,” Jon snipped.
“Oh did she?” Nick said, lifting his eyebrow toward her.
“But we found a great aquarium down the road,” she said, trying to save the conversation. “You should go see it. They have sharks there,” she said, pointing to his shark tattoo on his arm.
“Really?” Nick’s eyes lit up. “But I’d rather be diving with the sharks. That’s what my dad and I like to do back home in Florida.”
“That sounds rather dangerous,” Jon commented.
“Well, we don’t always dive with the sharks. I LOVE to go scuba diving. Have for years. Have you ever tried it?”
“No…my hobby is on the golf course. I don’t go in the water.”
“You’d never believe he was a native Californian, would you?” Caryn chuckled.
“I did my share of surfing when I was young. It’s just that my priorities have changed,” Jon said rather bluntly, as if her joking was annoying him, and Nick picked up on the friction between them.
Nick turned to Caryn and asked, “What about you Caryn? You ever go scuba diving or snorkling?”
Jon interjected quickly, “Caryn? She’d never do something like that!”
“Well…um…I’ve thought about it. Always wanted to try it, but have never had the chance,” she answered rather defiantly of Jon’s answering for her.
Nick quickly responded, “Well, Maui is the perfect place to learn if you ever want to. The waters here are the clearest and bluest you’ll ever find. Especially here on Maui. That why we picked Maui for our vacation. I plan to go out tomorrow. Would you like to join us?”
Caryn did not answer, but instead looked over at Jon. She had noticed that Nick had added the ‘us’ in the question so she assumed it would be with Nick and his girlfriend and she would be safe.
“What are you looking at me for?” Jon asked.
“Well, I didn’t know what we were doing tomorrow.”
“Oh, I didn’t tell you?” Here it came. She knew she was expecting too much for him to be with her two days in a row. “I met some guys on the golf course yesterday and they are playing one of the masters courses tomorrow. They needed another guy for a foursome. So I’m going with them tomorrow.”
Jon said those words as if it didn’t matter and nothing was wrong with it. Caryn’s face showed the disappointment and Nick saw it. He knew how deeply it hurt her, and he wanted to fix it all so badly for her.
Nick looked at her. “Well? Whattaya say?”
“I…I guess so. I’ve never done it before though,” she finally answered.
“That’s OK. I’ll call in the morning and order a full lesson for you before we go out. Then you’ll be ready. OK?”
“Alright. What time should I be ready?”
“Meet us in the lobby at 7am. Wear your swim suit with a dark tee shirt and shorts over it. Oh, and rubber sole sandals or pool shoes if you got em.
“Alright. I’ll see you at seven then.”
Jon had been analyzing the young man’s face. Then he mentioned, “You looked really familiar. Do I know you from somewhere? Your face. I know I’ve seen it before.”
Nick smiled. “Yeah. You probably have. How old is your daughter?”
“That’s it!” Jon said triumphantly. “You’re one of those Backstreet Boys. I knew I had seen your face. It’s on my daughter’s wall.”
Caryn’s mouth dropped open as her stare slowly moved from Jon to Nick. How could she not have noticed? She had seen that same poster on her daughter’s wall a thousand times. Why didn’t he say anything? Now she was more confused than ever. What could a young, FAMOUS, RICH, and the most sexy man on earth she’d ever seen, want with her?
Nick just winked at her and said, “See ya tomorrow.” Then he turned and walked back to his table.
Caryn sat down, still stunned from this revelation.
“I knew it,” Jon kept saying, as though he was congratulating himself on figuring it all out. Then he turned to her and said, “So you’ve been making friends with the rich and famous. How about that.”
It all made sense now. The way Nick beckoned people. The way he carried himself. The way people jumped when he needed something. All because they knew he was important!
While the show started, Caryn dug into her dessert, a mango tart decorated with chocolate. Thoughts of tomorrow filled her head. Why had she accepted his invitation? Especially with the way she was feeling about him. The only relief was in the fact that his girlfriend would be there. But after seeing her actions tonight, perhaps that wouldn’t make it very pleasurable either. She would just stay under the water a lot.
The Polynesian Review was enjoyable and one of the girls had pulled Jon up to learn the hula. But soon the evening was over and it was time to go back to the hotel. As they stood and turned to leave, she noticed that Nick and his girlfriend were already gone. Apparently, she had found the show too boring for her taste.
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