Aloha, Baby (A Short Story Serial - Part 5)

Blue eyes, dimples, and a hot surfer's body means trouble, right? There's only one way for Katie to find out...

Losing seventy pounds was sure something to celebrate, but at the same time it created problems Katie never expected to deal with. Like, what to do when the hot-bodied surfer, Jack, turned out to be the DJ at her roommate's favorite dance club. Katie was positive he had ‘Trouble’ stamped on his butt. Didn't he?

If you want to catch up, check out the previously-published sections. Here's a link to Part 1 Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4...

Let's see...last week Katie was on the dance floor between her very blind date (Dan) and a sorta pissed-off DJ (Jack)...

 If it came to a fight, I’d put my money on Jack. I tried to catch his eye. “It’s nothing.”

“Nobody asked for your help,” Dan snarled.

Jack didn’t look intimidated. He shrugged and wrapped an arm around my waist. “Looks to me like she said she doesn’t want to dance…with you.” He gave the last words just a little more weight and pulled me to the back of the dance floor. I was too scared to turn around to see how Dan had responded.

“He’ll be out here with someone else before the song is over,” Jack spoke softly, right in my ear. “I’ve seen those two douche bags in here before.”

When we were nearly to the back wall, Jack turned so he was facing me. “Will you dance with me?”

I reached for his shoulders, nerves keeping my fingers pressed together like a doll’s hands. He put his arms around my waist and pulled me close. “Wait,” I said and took a step away. I slipped off my shoes and came back to him. This time I clasped my hands behind his neck, figuring if this was going to be my one chance I was going to make the most of it.

“Thank you for the rose.” I angled my head so I could talk right into his ear. He smelled good, like suntan oil and aftershave, and his white polo jersey made his skin look really tan.

He smiled, which made little jitters run through the middle of my body. It was warmer on the dance floor than in the rest of the club, and my skin was gummy all over. Jack didn’t seem to mind as I felt his calloused fingers play with the bare skin on my back. Moving to the beat felt good, like there was a layer of energy linking us together. I tried to remind myself he was trouble. No one was listening.

It didn’t seem like much time passed before Jack stepped back. He smiled just enough to show off his dimples. The look in his eyes raised my body temperature even further. “Gotta go start the next song. Come see me, okay?”

“Yeah. Thanks.” I walked off the dance floor carrying my shoes in my hand with a three-mile grin. One of the women who’d been sitting by the DJ booth walked past, knocking into me with her shoulder.

“Excuse me.”

The woman glared at me as she moved away. I almost laughed. This was a night of firsts, what with men nearly fighting over me and women trying to start brawls. I decided I might need to go out to clubs more often.

When I got to the table, Meli shoved my purse into my arms. “We’re going.”

“Oh, is it…really? What time is it?”

“About one-thirty. Let’s go before the line gets too long at The Wave. My cousin’s not working tonight.”

I really didn’t have to think hard to make my decision. Dave and Dan were talking to a couple of women on the lanai. By the way her eyes kept darting toward the guys, it was obvious Meli was eager to get out there to defend her claim. I tucked the stem of the rose into my little clutch purse, letting the blossom show. “You know, I think I’m just going to stay here.”

“Oh, are you sure?” Meli looked over at the brothers, uncertainty in her voice.

“Yeah.” I gave Meli a hug. “I’ll take a cab home.”

Dan didn’t come over to say goodnight. I watched them leave and, carrying my shoes and the rose, walked over to the DJ booth.

Jack glanced up from his work and saw me coming. I could tell he was smiling because the creases at the corners of his eyes got as deep as his dimples. When I got to the door, he was holding a record with the edges against the palms of his hands. After setting it on one of the two turntables in front of him, he let me in. “Hey, Shave Ice. Howzit?”

“They were going to go to The Wave.” I joined him in the booth, perching on a barstool in the back corner so I’d be out of his way. I wrapped my toes around one of the cross rungs and suppressed a grin when I noticed him checking out my toenail polish.

A long desk ran along the wall facing the dance floor. The turntables were on the center of the desk, with a mixing board off to the right and a rack of electronic gear on the left. Lights on the various boxes flashed in time to the beat. All around us were shelves holding record albums with a few rows of CDs mixed in. Jack waved to a waitress through the glass. After a minute she stuck her head through the door.

“Hey, like, I got paying customers out here.” She sounded grumpy but I could tell from her grin that she was just giving him a hard time. She was also very carefully checking me out.

Jack eased himself between the two of us. “My friend here is thirsty.”

With my cheeks flaming, I ordered a diet soda. As far as I was concerned, I was cut off for the night.

The waitress had a cocky smile on her face as she left, and I’m pretty sure I saw him roll his eyes as he closed the door behind her.

“So how’d you and your friend get hooked up with those two?” Jack pulled a couple albums out of the racks, checked their titles, and put them back.

I let my shoes go and they thudded on the ground. “Meli works with the blond one.”

“She should be careful.”

“Heck, no matter where they go she’ll have a cousin who’ll help her out.” I tried to ignore the women who were still sitting by the door to the DJ booth. “What about you? How many phone numbers have you collected tonight?”

“There’s only one number I want, and you haven’t given it to me yet.” He handed me a piece of paper and a pen.

“For sure.” I laughed and wrote it down. This was definitely a night of firsts.

The waitress came in with my soda. She might have winked at him, but didn’t have anything sarcastic to say.

He found the album he was looking for and brought it over to the turntables. “You’re not driving tonight, are you?”

“Taking a cab. I live in Kahala.”

“I can drive you. Kalani and I have an apartment in Nuuanu. It’s not out of the way.”

“Kalani’s your roommate? What’s up with him, anyway? He never even looks at me.” I

frowned into my soda.

“Ouch. Guess I’m just the leftovers.”

“Shut up,” I laughed. “It’s just weird, is all. All the times I’ve seen him on the beach, and he never even says hello.”

Jack paused to lift one album off the turntable and set another one on. He held a set of headphones up to one hear and spun the new album with his fingertips until he had it where he wanted it. With practiced hands, he mixed one thumping dance song into the next. “It’s because you remind him of his ex-girlfriend,” he said when he was done. “She really pissed him off, and he’s afraid of what he might say if he opens his mouth around you.”

“He’s trippin’.”

“He can’t help himself. It was love.” Jack gave an exaggerated eye roll and clasped his hands in front of his heart, which made me laugh. “So you’ll let me give you a ride home?”

“Um…I guess. Sure.”

Jack reached over and brushed his knuckles down my cheek. As I blushed and ducked my head, I heard Hula Girl laughing somewhere in the back of my mind. 

Katie's in trouble now....I think Jack's got an agenda, don't you? Jump HERE to keep reading...
Mahalo,
Liv