My palms are icy cold as my hands carry two mounting bowls of shaved ice across the wooden pavilion of Aoki's Shave Ice shop. I tread my feet carefully as I make my way over to the picnic table waiting for me, making sure not to drop the sugary treat already melting in front of me. Lelani's smile is beaming as she catches sight of me heading her way, and she jumps up from her seat, hurrying over to me and excitedly snatching one of the plastic bowls from my hold.

She doesn't hesitate as she shovels a huge bite into her mouth, humming to herself with delight as she tastes the pineapple and coffee-flavored combo. "You know, I really do like you, Lani, but I'm really starting to question your palate preferences."

"Whatever," she giggles, carelessly scooping another bite and cutting her eyes to the bowl in my hands with judgment. "Like you have room to talk. Cherry, really? How more basic could you get, Maverick?"

"Well, excuse me," I chime back teasingly, raising my palms in defense. "I didn't know being team cherry would be such a crime."

"We'll consider this time a misdemeanor, alright? Next time, I'm not sure if you'll get off so easily." Lelani sassily pivots on her foot, walking her way back over to the wooden built table where our friends are waiting.

A burnt and blistered Murphy sits on the top surface of the table, throwing his head back and making the curls on the top of his head bounce as he laughs like a fool at something Alana just said. Delk sits on the seat beside her, the two of them chuckling together as he launches a spoonful of shaved ice at Murphy's face. The sun is beginning to set in the sky, blanketing us all in a warm, golden color. I take a seat on the bench opposite my friends, patting on the empty spot beside me for Lelani to join. Happily, she swings her legs across the wooden plank, her thighs brushing against mine as she scoots up next to me.

My eyes skim over her golden, tan shoulders and the strings of her emerald green bikini peeking out of the collar of her shirt. She catches me ogling, and throws me a challenging smirk as she whispers over to me, "You're staring."

"No, I'm not," I lie, biting back my smile and drawing my fingers to the laces of her bathing suit. "Your strings are just tangled."

"Mhmm," she hums, completely unconvinced. "I'm sure."

I try to conjure up a witty comeback, but before I can get it out, Delk speaks up, asking, "So Lelani, Dawson here tells me you've been gracious enough to offer his sorry ass surfing lessons."

"Oh, is that what he tells you now?" She giggles, cutting her gaze over to me playfully.

"There wasn't no offering to it," Murphy voices, "Dawson damn near tricked this poor thing into teaching him. Sneaky little bastard."

I chuckle at the comment, feeling my cheeks becoming flushed with embarrassment as my friends remind me of my pathetic attempt to hang out with Lelani when I first met her. She nudges my arm, bouncing off of my friends' teasing, "I mean in your defense, Brodie, for an 11-year-old, you've caught on pretty fast."

"That's right," Delk smiles, tilting his head over to me, "I almost forgot about you committing identity fraud just to get Lelani, here, to talk to you. What was the name you came up with again?"

"Maverick," Lelani laughs, answering the question for me.

"Shit," Murphy hoots, "He's slicker than pig snot on a radiator."

"Shut up," I chuckle, heat rising to my neck and face. I take a bite against my shaved ice, hoping to cool my hot skin. "I hate you guys," I mumble through a full mouth.

Alana leans over the table, sharing her take on the matter, "Don't let Lelani fool you, Brodie's not the only sneaky one on this island."

"Share more," Delk nods, prying her for further explanation to the statement.

Lelani's eyes go wide, panic taking over her whole expression as her best friend speaks the words. My heart quickens in my chest because now I'm suddenly aware of the weight of Alana's comment. Murphy and Delk may know about Lelani and surf lessons, but they have no clue about the secret we've been so desperate to keep away from them, and that's the truth about our boss being her Dad. The thing about a secret is that the more people that come to know about it, the less of a secret it becomes. I'm not sure about the details of Lelani's past relationship with that Jason dude, but whatever lies in the history of their relationship has her terrified for her Dad to find out about ours. I'm too consumed in the sense of euphoria that comes up when I spend time with her, and I'm not ready to risk giving that up for the sake of my friend's somehow finding out about the truth, so I quickly invent a response to put an end to their piqued curiosity.

"Should I tell them?" I ask over to the nervous girl beside me. She gulps at the question, but I don't wait for her to respond as I fib, "Lani here knows about some fucking incredible mermaid pools on the island, and has been keeping their locations all to herself."

She lets go of the tension held in her shoulders, a look of reassurance crossing her face. Alana looks just as relieved, mouthing a subtle 'thanks' over to me for covering the tracks of her oblivious remark. I know I have my friends convinced when Murphy whines out, "Come on, now! We ain't going to tell anybody about 'em."

"Yeah," Delk agrees, bobbing his head ardently. "We'll keep it between the five of us. How can we ever experience the true fucking brilliance of the island if we don't know where to find it's hidden treasures?"

Lelani's fingers trail to my leg underneath the table, grazing them against my skin tenderly. Her eyes are bright again, sending a brisk glance my way before she sighs back to my friends, "Fine, I'll show them to you guys on one condition."

"What?"

"You all give Alana and me a tour of those dorms of yours."

"Oh, yes," Alana sings out, "I like the way you think, chicka."

The boys hop up from the picnic table eagerly, tossing their empty plastic bowls into the garbage cans behind them. "What are we waiting for ladies?" Murphy hollers, skipping off towards the car, "Mi casa, tu casa!"

Delk and Alana follow after him, leaving Lelani and me alone at the table. The evening sun reflects off of her dark eyes as she turns to me, making them glow a golden brown. I smirk over to her, interested in her peculiar and specific suggestion. "A tour of our dorms, huh? Lani, are you trying to get me alone in a room with you?"

Her teeth bite against her bottom lip as she tries to stifle her rising smile. "Don't get cocky, Maverick," she blushes, keeping her eyes locked on mine as she slowly sucks off the shaved ice from her spoon. The sight has me shifting in my seat, and she giggles, noticing my fidgeting. "Tell me, Brodie, do you share your room with anyone?"

The question comes out casual, but I know her curiosity has a deeper meaning behind it. "Maybe. Maybe not," I grin. "What would you think if I told you that I didn't?"

"I'd think that it would be a pretty lucky circumstance."

"Yeah? How so?"

She gathers from her seat, chucking her trash into the bin and starting her way towards the parking lot. Her head darts back to me as she hushes out, "Because then I have a higher probability of you kissing me again."

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The moon is out by the time we finally reach our barracks, and the night is covered in darkness as we make our way through the doors leading into the lobby. A dim, yellow luminescence glows from the ceiling lights lining down the hallway and Delk leads us down the long corridor, directing the five of us back to his and Murphy's room at the end. I intertwine my fingers with Lelani's, tugging her close to me as we trail far behind the rest of them.

"Is your room this way, too?"

I shake my head, "No, it's at the other end."

"Oh," she breathes out, forcing her stare to the backs of the three silhouettes ahead of us.

In the distance, Delk is already working on unlocking the door to his dorm, but I halt Lelani and myself, directing my attention back to her.

"You wanna see it?" I ask, feeling my pulse quicken as I take in her soft features.

"Yes," she hurries out, her smile rising to her face and making her dimples show. Her grip tightens, clutching tighter onto my hand.

"Hey guys," I call out to my friends, "I'm gonna show Lelani my room real quick, alright?"

All three of their heads turn as I holler out the words, a look of amusement crossing each of their expressions.

"Have fun," Alana exclaims, giving her best friend and me a devious look.

"Not too much fun, now," Murphy hollers all too loudly, "We don't need no additional offspring-"

Delk wraps him into a chokehold, dragging him into the dorm room with him before he has a chance to yell out any further crude comments. "Shut the hell up, Murph."

"Come on," I chuckle, guiding Lelani to my room. We reach my door at the very end of the hallway, and both of our breathing is heavy as I click it open and motion her inside.

Her steps are steady as she carries herself past my bathroom and into the main living area, and she glances her eyes around the space, quietly taking in its minimalistic features. The solid oak door snaps shut behind me, making me aware of the fact that the two of us now have complete privacy. While I'm thankful for the seclusion we're being granted, for some reason my heart races excitedly and nervously at the unknown occasion of having a moment of Lelani all to myself. She trails her fingertips against the cotton fabric of my navy comforter, advancing towards the rock posters taped against the walls above my bed.

"Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana, Eagles," she reads the band names out loud as she glazes over them. "You're an old soul, aren't you?"

"They're classics," I defend.

"You and my Dad would get along, well," she chuckles. Her laughter quickly diminishes as she lets the thought soak in, and we both fall silent as we come to the realization that, that will never happen.

"I doubt that," I joke, trying to make the conversation light-hearted again. "Your Dad is on my ass at work. Pretty sure he hates me."

She plops down onto my twin-sized mattress, laughing, "Yeah, well if it makes you feel any better he's on my ass too. Don't take it personally."

I make my way over to the bed, sitting on the spot next to her and reclining back onto my elbows. Lelani's black curls spill over her shoulders as she lays back beside me, and her head tilts over my way as she asks, "What's Michigan like?"

"Cold," I chuckle, reflecting on the memories of the freezing, snowy winters back home.

"I wanna know what cold feels like. You know, I've never seen snow in real life."

"Seriously?" I say surprised. "Well, if it counts, you're not missing much."

"No, but I am," she says seriously, "I wanna build a snowman and make a snow angel. I wanna see a snowflake up close, too. I love paradise, but I want to experience it all, you know?"

"Then I guess we'll just have to escape to Michigan for a little while then, won't we?" I suggest, trailing my hands to her hair and letting my fingers play in it.

"Hey," she warns me, inching closer toward me, "don't get my hopes up now, Maverick!"

"No, I'm dead-ass, Lelani. We'll hop on a plane right now and we'll go build you a goddamn snowman. We'll make the best one the world has ever seen."

"We've got to find a plump carrot for its nose," she plays back, "and some nice black buttons, and a striped scarf. It needs to be striped."

"Striped," I repeat. "You've got it. He'll be the most fashion-forward snowman out there."

"She," she corrects me, "With all that power, it's got to be a girl. What will her name be?"

I ponder on the question for a moment, thinking about it deeply before finally blurting back, "Snow-angela."

Lelani busts out into a fit of giggles, declaring, "Snow-angela! The best goddamn, fashion-forward snowwomen the world has ever seen."

⚠️

Her smile is radiating as her laughter fills my ears, and my stare gets caught on it as it brightens and takes over her entire face. She draws her hand to my neck, gliding her thumb against the stubble barely rising off of my jaw.

The feeling of her touch on me has my lungs crying out for oxygen, and my chest heaves for the air she so effortlessly steals from me. I watch carefully as her tongue glides against her lips, wetting the pink-tinted skin.

"You're staring again," she quips out.

This time, I don't try to hide it. "You make it hard not to."

The palm of her hand finds its way to the nape of my neck, and she pulls against me, drawing every part of her body closer to mine. Lelani's skin is warm as it brushes against mine, once again reminding me that the girl in my arms burns with pure fire. Tension tugs our mouths to one another's and I can't stop myself from colliding my lips onto her's, the muscle beneath my swim trunks becoming harder. She kisses back harder, matching my craving to feel and taste more of her. My hands slip down her curves, sliding down onto the small of her back and feeling every movement of her hips as she slowly begins rocking them into me. Hoisting her leg over me, Lelani climbs on top of me, straddling me and pushing us both back down onto the mattress. Her velvety lips continue brushing against mine, and her tongue tangles with mine as our kiss becomes hungrier.

I clutch onto the hems of her shorts, slipping my fingers against the back of her thighs, just beneath the denim fabric, and moving her ass against my hard-on. She gasps as my erection presses into her, and I draw my mouth to her neck, sucking against her skin and causing pleasurable moans to leave her throat. "Brodie," she whimpers, rocking against me harder, "I want to feel you."

She doesn't have to explain further for me to know what to do next. I clutch my hands against her waist, tossing her body off of me and clambering back over her in one swift movement. I tear her tank top off of her torso, revealing the string bikini hiding underneath that barely clings to her breasts and her hands do the same with my shirt, making my chest bare. Her nipples poke through the nylon material, making my penis grow harder. My chest falls back against hers and the sensation of her skin against mine feels like tingles from an electric current. She arches her neck back, silently begging to feel more of my mouth there, so I follow her cues, kissing and licking her hot skin.

"You want me to touch you?" My voice comes out husky as I ask the question.

"Yes," she nods fervently, an adorable grin pulling against her lips.

"Show me where," I insist.

She takes a hold of my hand, her delicate fingers gripping onto it, and leading me to the button of her shorts. I'm quick to unfasten them, and she hoists her hips off of the bed, helping me as I begin to yank them off of her. I lock my eyes onto her, sending her a devilish smirk as I draw my mouth down to the strings holding her bathing suit bottoms together.

Small giggles leave her as my teeth bite town against the green material, tugging against it and untying the loosely knotted bows. When both sides are free, I heave the bathing suit bottoms away and I can't help but find myself gulping at the sight of her bare sex. She opens up her legs for me, enticing me further as she allows me to see more of her wet core.

Lelani draws herself up on her elbows, nodding to my tent-pitched pants. Once again, I follow her signals, sliding my shorts away from my hips and freeing my hardened cock from the restrictions of my bright yellow clothing. Her chest heaves as she takes in my nakedness, and I stay watching her as she slowly lies back, keeping her gaze stuck on me as she brings her fingers down to her swollen lips. She starts in slow movements, brushing two fingers against her clit and gradually quickening them as she becomes slicker.

Guiding myself naturally, I bring my fingers down near hers, adding more sensation as I skim over her sex. A deep groan leaves her throat, and her head falls back onto the pillow, riding the wave of increased pleasure as I slip a finger into her. She looks so fucking beautiful and mesmerizing as her body sways to the satisfaction of my touch, her finger continuing small circles against her clit as I push in and out of her. Never have I found myself wanting to feel every square inch of somebody, the way that I do with Lelani. I grip onto my length with my free hand, needing to soothe the ache that comes from watching her beginning to unfold in front of me. Falling in sync with the movements of my finger inside of her, I stroke my cock, groaning as I start to drown in the mere thought of her hypnotizing body.

"Oh my god, Brodie," she cries out quietly, cutting her eyes to my hand moving against my erection. "That feels so good."

Already, I can feel my climax growing, and I don't want to lose the feeling of it just yet so I jerk harder, quicking both of my hands' movements. Lelani's legs start to quiver, and I can't bear the alluring image any longer, so I force my hand off of myself, knowing that if I don't now, I'm going to come. "Oh, fuck," I growl out, panting.

Her sex clenches around my finger, and she muffles her sounds, biting onto the back of her hand as she scoots away from me. "Oh my god," she giggles breathlessly.

I drop back down onto her, resting my head against the soft skin of her stomach and desperately trying to catch my breath. Lelani tugs me up further against her body, pulling me up until my hard-on rests against her wet sex. My heart feels as though is going to beat out of my chest, and her breaths are shaky as I press against her, longing to know what it feels like to be inside of her.

"D-do you have a condom?" She whispers with a quivering voice.

I draw my head back, looking down on her sincerely. "Lani, we don't have to do this tonight if you don't want to. I'm serious, there's no rush at all."

"No, please. I want to. Do you want to?"

I laugh light-heartedly at the question, "Of course, I want to."

"Okay, then," she smiles, running her fingers against the buzzed hair on the back of my head. "Please, Brodie. I just want to feel you. All of you."

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