The picturesque swimming hole is deeper than I thought it would be when I got in. It seems to go on forever, and I get a feeling that I’m swimming over a bottomless pit. My anxiety kicks in, and I flounder back over to the rocks while everyone looks at me like I’m a moron. Panting, I settle on the nearby rocks as Salina splashes around.
I still haven’t seen Bran. But Eric is splashing around with that model woman and playing games with the other tourists like his feet aren’t dangling over a pit leading to Earth’s core. I take a moment to study him in the gorgeous blue pool as his hair drips with water and he laughs with the others. Some guys are cliff jumping now, as if I don’t have enough anxiety that we’re all going to die at this waterfall, and I see Eric climb out to join them.
If I had a hard time talking and staring in the wine shop, I’m glad I’m sitting on a rock and can be still. My legs may fall right out from under me at the sight of him. He’s the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen. He has a six-pack, and I find myself counting, then shaking my head when I realize it’s an eight-pack. Holy smokes. Does he do sit-ups all day at his job as an advertising drone? Water beads on his skin and he shakes his hair like a dog when he climbs out of the water onto the rocks across from me. His butt looks like you could put a coaster down and rest your drink on it.
As I watch, Eric reaches the top of a cliff and follows another guy off into the water, making a huge splash and screaming when he comes up. The look of joy on his face makes me feel happy, and I think about that for a moment. He was kind of a jerk to me yesterday, but do I want him to have fun?
“What do you think they call those things on their side?” Salina asks next to me. I’ve been so busy staring at Eric that I didn’t hear her sit next to me.
“Call what?” I ask, shaking my head and thinking how glad I am that I have sunglasses on and can’t be caught staring.
“Those things on the sides of guys that aren’t ab muscles but draw the eye straight to their chiseled abs. It looks like a V. I don’t know about you, but it’s the best part of a guy.”
“Love gutters,” Skippy says from the other side of me, and I startle because I didn’t hear him come over either. His sunglasses are pulled down, and he’s looking at Eric. Hopefully, Eric doesn’t look over and see us staring at him.
“I’m sorry?” Salina and I ask in unison.
“Those are called love gutters,” he chuckles, using his middle finger to slide his sunglasses back on his face before walking away to talk to some other paying customers.
“Well, that’s something I’m kind of sorry I just learned,” Salina mutters. “I don’t know what I’ll do with that knowledge.”
We both burst into giggles and start saying the words “love gutters” over and over until we’re laughing so hard that we can’t breathe. We laugh until Skippy tells us it’s time to get on our dune buggies and go to another waterfall.
Dripping wet, I climb in next to Eric. He looks at me with a smile like he’s had the most refreshing swim of his life, and I burst into laughter at the love gutters information from Skippy. “What’s so funny?” he asks, furrowing his brow. “Are you laughing at me?”
“It’s an inside joke.”
“Is it at my expense?” he asks as his face starts to get red. Did I make him mad?
Suddenly, I’m just as angry, and I have an overwhelming urge to unload my frustration with this guy. I’m frustrated because I can’t have an inside joke with Salina, but it’s fine for him to laugh at me when I fall. I can’t hold it back. I unload.
“Like when you laughed at my expense yesterday when you pushed me into a condom display? That wasn’t nice either, Eric. Don’t you think I was embarrassed? And you just stood there laughing at me like it was the funniest thing you’ve ever seen. Excuse me if I have an inside joke with my girlfriend without doing something as sinister as making someone fall!”
He stares at me, and I can’t help but look into those damn green eyes. My Lord, he’s even man pretty when his nostrils flare in annoyance at me. “That was different!”
“How? Enlighten me, Super Pecker.”
Eric starts laughing, and spittle comes out of his mouth and lands on my cheek. Oddly, I’m not disgusted by it. Weird.
“That’s the irony, Cora. I wasn’t laughing because you fell or because your friend kept calling my friend a bear, although that was reason enough to laugh,” he says, dropping his voice and looking away. “I just…It’s because…”
“Because why? Because you think it’s appropriate to laugh at women and not help them pick up large-sized condoms?”
“I named them,” he murmurs, and I have to turn my ear toward him to hear.
“You what?”
He huffs and slaps his still-wet legs. “I named them, Cora. I told you that I work in advertising. My first client on the job was the condom company that wanted to launch a large condom line. They kept throwing around names, but of course, Magnum was already taken. I threw out Super Pecker as a joke, and the room got quiet. They loved it, and they named the damn things Super Peckers.”
“That is ironic,” I say, nodding. “That’s super ironic because I asked Salina what moron would name a condom Super Peckers. I can now say that I know that moron.”
He straightens up and blinks. “I wouldn’t say I’m a moron for that name. The brand has done quite well, and the company thinks it’s because of the name.”
“I stand corrected,” I say, facing forward as Shari hops in the buggy and we start moving through the forest to the next waterfall.
“I laughed so hard yesterday because I nudged a pretty woman into a display of condoms that I personally named. It was ironic, and it struck me as funny,” he says, not meeting my eyes. “And I’m sorry, Cora. I realize now that you may have had reason to take it as me laughing at you. I should have explained then. I also shouldn’t have called you a hayseed. I don’t think that at all. I was just so damn tired from the jet lag, and that made me grouchy.”
“Aw, was wittle Eric sweepy and in need of wittle nap?” I ask, but I immediately regret my words and cringe. Why am I being so mean to a guy that’s apologizing to me? I was jet-lagged and exhausted too. Maybe I wasn’t at my best either.
Wait. Did he call me pretty?
Before I can ask for clarification, we arrive at another waterfall that’s even more beautiful than the last. This one is taller and has an even higher cliff for jumping. It’s also set up for lunch for all of us with long picnic tables and locals in chef hats tending slow cookers and grills. The scent of chicken fills my nostrils as soon as Shari parks the buggy, and I realize that I’m quite hungry since my eating schedule is off. I didn’t eat anything this morning, and I get in line with the others as Hawaiian music plays and a chef comes up the line giving out leis.
I load up my plate with something called Huli Huli Chicken, and the chefs explain what’s in it as we dip it onto our plates. I see roasted sweet potatoes, grilled pineapple rings, and shrimp tacos. There are some Hawaiian spices and cooking ways that are explained to us as we go through the line. All of the food looks amazing, and my mouth waters.
I sit next to Salina and gingerly place my colorful, food-filled plate on the table. Surprisingly, Eric plops down across from me, and I give a confused look around to look for Bran or Jenna near us. Why is he sitting next to me when it’s not required? Bran is still in line, and Jenna’s at the end of the table waving hysterically to try to get Eric’s attention.
“Uh, I think Jenna wants your attention,” I say, nodding in Jenna’s direction. Eric looks at her, waves, then immediately unrolls his napkin and looks at his plate. “Don’t you want to sit with her?” I ask, looking down at Jenna and seeing her frown back at me like I did something to cause this. “You looked like you two were having fun at the other waterfall.”
“She’s got her friends. I heard them going through the food line. She kept asking her friends what she should get and if it would make her fat. Her friends were also really judgmental of the food and said it looked and smelled weird. I don’t want her to judge what I’m eating. I’d also like to enjoy a traditional Hawaiian meal without someone complaining that it’s not a plain salad. I didn’t come here to eat the same stuff I eat back home.”
I look at his plate, and it looks as loaded as mine. “Well, here’s to enjoying an oversized plate of amazing food,” I say, holding up my drink glass for Salina and Eric to clink. They both hold up their own glasses, and Eric smiles at me like he’s relieved that we’re going to enjoy a meal together. I also realize that this is the first real smile I’ve seen Eric give me, and I freeze for a moment to take it in. His teeth are perfectly white, and I wonder if he’s had veneers because they look so perfect. His eyes wrinkle, and he looks boyish and full of life when he smiles. My heart does a funny little jump like it momentarily stopped and is restarting itself.
We tuck into our food and all sigh in unison as the tastes of the spices hit our tongues. “This is delicious,” Salina says beside me as Bran sits down next to Eric. “They don’t have food like this in Indiana. If it’s not steak and potatoes seasoned only with sour cream and chives, it’s wrong. I need to learn how to make this so I can make it at home.”
“What kind of food do you eat in Illinois, Cora?” Eric asks, and I’m not sure if he’s poking fun at me or genuinely curious.
“We eat a lot of meat and potatoes, the same as Salina’s area. When my family goes out to eat, we go places like chain restaurants or to a Chinese buffet if we want to get really crazy. However, the Chinese food is probably not traditional. It’s fried to Midwestern tastes. Same for our Mexican food. The typical eater in my area doesn’t like a lot of spice, so this is fun for me. I could probably use a little more spice in my food,” I say, wiping my hands on the napkin in my lap. “What about Seattle?”
“I eat a lot of sushi. We also have a good-sized Vietnamese community, so I like to go out for Pho.”
“I’ve never tried that,” I say, shaking my head. “I guess you’d recommend it if you go out for it a lot?”
“If you ever come to Seattle, I’ll take you out for Pho,” he says, not looking at me. Did he just invite me to stay in touch with him, or is he just being polite? Since he’s not looking at me, and we didn’t exactly meet under the best circumstances, I assume it’s the latter.
Once I finish my plate, I hit the dessert table even though I’m full to the point that I may explode. Bran goes through the line with me as we load up on coconut pie, pineapple cake, and some desserts that look like puddings. “You know he’s sorry, right?” Bran mutters as he slices a piece of pie and puts it on his plate.
“Who? Why?” I ask, articulate as ever.
“Eric,” he says and looks around to make sure Eric isn’t standing right behind him. “He felt terrible about yesterday. He told me that after the meet and greet. He was horrified when you walked into the meet and greet and said he should have helped you clean up the rubbers. He was so jet-lagged and said he forgot his manners.”
“He already told me that he named the condoms. I get it.”
Bran nods and gives me a weak smile before returning to his seat. I look at Eric and see him drinking a cup of tea and taking bites of a dessert in front of him. When he sees me looking at him, he gives me a weak smile, and I turn around like I just got caught checking him out.
How could I have been so wrong about him? Is he really that annoying?