A/N: I'm trying really hard to write and edit and do everything as fast as I can, but the fact is, it's been super, super, super, super difficult for me to balance all of it. Just know that even if it takes a long time, I'm actively trying and working my ass off to put the best possible product out there for you all to enjoy. These characters and the stories I write with them mean a whole lot to me. Seriously. It's why I work really, really hard for this to be good; they deserve the best I have to offer. So I suppose that's all to say, please be patient with me. This isn't easy. Especially not during the World Cup hahaha! Thanks for reading. And honestly, nothing makes me want to write more than getting reviews, so keep that in mind.
Disclaimer: I don't own "Chuck" and I'm not making any money writing this.
Reports on the hurricane varied. Ellie, Morgan, and Awesome were texting him about the damage being terrible on certain islands, but when he turned on Hawaii's news stations, there were no deaths and in spite of some flooding and downed trees and power lines, only a few structures really close to the beach sustained the kind of damage that meant a big loss for the owners.
The streets had debris, fallen signs and trees, but by the end of the first day post-hurricane, they'd mostly cleaned it up, at least in his area. He was able to take a Lyft to a city market that was in full swing the next morning, as if nothing had ever happened.
In spite of knowing how it might look, he thought he'd stock up on baked goods, fruits, and other delicious goodies, then catch a ride to the Scuba Shack. He knew they were probably still prepping to go back into business and would appreciate a gift basket of sorts. It was going to be obvious he was still trying to win their favor, even if he thought he'd gotten it when he fixed Alexei's antenna.
But he also didn't really mind everyone seeing him trying to impress. He genuinely liked them. More than that, though, Sarah seemed to love those people—they were almost like a little family, and he decided not to think too hard on Sarah's real family, where they were, what they were doing, if she had any even. He wanted anyone Sarah held in high regard to like him.
And he spent the night before tossing and turning in his bed, thinking about the scuba instructor, unable to fall asleep because his brain kept asking him what he was going to do. Ellie made some good points when he spoke to her on the phone. But this felt so different—it was an insane situation; meeting this incredible woman during a vacation to somewhere thousands of miles across an entire freaking ocean. And he had known her for only twelve days or so now and he was in pretty deep.
Especially after going through a hurricane with her. Those moments they spent draped over one another, reading her Shakespeare plays together. The way he felt watching her eyes light up when she talked about her favorite comedy. How she called William Shakespeare "Bill" like he was her old friend or something. It had all felt so intimate. It had felt like they were two people who'd known each other for longer than twelve days.
And as he rolled back and forth thinking about everything last night, the flashes of real intimacy, deep connection, even just how good it felt to be around her, how much she made him laugh, the sound of her laugh, his brain reminded him that he was leaving Hawaii in ten days. He'd be here for only ten more days before he got onto his flight back to Los Angeles.
What in the hell would he do then?
What would they do?
So he was tired as he finally left the market and made his way along the sidewalk, shouldering his sack of Scuba Shack treats.
It was then that he heard someone say his name.
He turned, frowning. It was a female voice, but not Sarah's…
That was when he saw someone waving at him. It took him just a moment, but he finally recognized Liz. Sarah's coworker Gina's girlfriend. It had been a few days since that night at the bar when he met her and it was really only the red hair that clued him in on who she was. The club had been a lot darker and she looked different. She was in hole-y capris, a button-up flannel, and combat boots. She'd worn a clubbing outfit that night at the club.
"Sup, Chuck!" she said as she ambled over, hand up in a wave still.
"Hey! Liz, right?"
"Good work!" She pointed at him, then came in to give him a tight hug. He gave her a one-armed hug back. "Fancy meeting you out and about. What's up? How's it goin'?"
"Great! Going great. Um, the weather the past few days was…"
"Ehh…" She stuck her hand out and waggled her palm back and forth, squinting her eyes.
He laughed. "Yeah, I mean…not the greatest weather, I'd say."
"This is the one time you can get away with weather talk with me, just by the way," she said in her voice that seemed to always drip with dry wit. "Since technically there was a hurricane. And that's kinda a big deal."
Chuck wrinkled his nose and nodded, chuckling. "Little bit. But you survived."
"As did you, good sir. Your hotel or whatever still good?"
"Is it standing?" he clarified. "Oh yeah. All there. How about you? Your place okay?"
"She's sturdy." She made a fist and nodded.
"And the Shack? I, uh, I forgot to text Sarah and ask how everything was down there. Their boats okay? Have you heard?"
"Yeah, the boats survived. They all went down yesterday afternoon to pull 'em back to the dock and check for damage. A few minor things, but no big damages. Just some repair here and there. Gina was expecting worse. She was wooorried all night when the hurricane was really pounding on the island."
"Man, I get that. It was scary."
"First storm, huh?"
"Uh…that magnitude, yeah."
"Sorry about the timing. Your vacation. That sucks."
He chuckled and shrugged. "I've always had really good timing. But um, I was fine. Had people calling me making sure I was being safe. Like I was gonna stand out on the beach flying a kite or something." He rolled his eyes. "But I was good."
Liz laughed. "Good, good." Then her eyes dropped to his bag. "So what's all this? Havin' a fiesta at the hotel without inviting me?"
"Oh, you're invited, but it isn't a fiesta, really. I was just gonna bring some things to the Scuba Shack. Food and whatnot. I'm sure everything was kind of nerve-wracking for them all and they've been working on the boats and the hurricane must've been a hit for their business."
"I think it was, but they're survivors. Hey, this is really nice of you, though. You don't have to buy anyone's love over there, dude. You know that, right?" She smirked. "They all like you. I mean, I do too, but technically I'm not part of the crew. I'm just a girlfriend."
"I count you as part of the crew," he said with a kind shrug.
She pointed at him. "I like you, Chuck. But I gotta ask. What, ahh, what're you planning?" She narrowed her eyes, smirking some more. "Get in with the Shack fam and win over our Blondie?" She laughed at his flat look. "You don't have to admit it, I get it. I did a bit of that too in the beginning. I understand. You headin' over now?"
"Yeah, I was gonna call a Lyft and—You wanna hop in? Are you going over there?"
"I am going over there, but I've got my car. Why don't you just hop in with me? Save you some Lyft fare."
Chuck held out his hand, meaning to say something about not wanting to impose but she just grabbed him by his arm and walked him along with her, so he shut his mouth and laughed, shrugging. "Okay, then."
They strolled along the sidewalk and she finally let go of his arm once he seemed like he wasn't going to resist anymore, then she shifted her messenger bag on her shoulder and stuck her hands in her pockets. "So you're a computer guy. Gina told me you fixed Alexei's toy at the Shack."
He chuckled. "The antenna hadn't been mounted properly. It wasn't a big thing, but he seemed to appreciate it. Sarah, not so much. Mostly because I was on the roof and it was kind of raining."
"Awww what a mama bear," she drawled, making him laugh.
"And yeah, you can call me a computer guy. Mostly a game and app programmer. Well, I mean…I was, 'til I started my own brand. Now I mostly have engineers and other folks who do that sort of thing under my direction."
"Oooh, so you're a boss man, huh? That's pretty radical."
Chuck nodded. "I enjoy it. I mean, it's hard. It's a balance. I want to be everyone's friend, but then I also want them to work hard. I think it really comes down to hiring the right people."
"Smart guy." Liz shrugged. "I don't think I'll ever be much of the leader type. Gina's the dominant one—such a damn leader, brimming with confidence. I told her I see her as president of the United States when she's like…fifty-five. First black lesbian president in our country's history. In any country's history."
He thrust his hands out in a shrug. "And why not? I can see her as a president, for sure. Honestly, I don't know any of you at all, but I'd feel safe with any of you scuba instructors leading the country."
"I'm not a scuba instructor." She held up her hands. "I work for REI. I do their Hawaii trips and stuff like that. No scuba diving included. Thank God. That shit freaks me out. Gina drags me out on the boat and I get those little snorkel thingies—you know, the little tube that pokes out of the water? I just float around on top while she goes down with a tank. Because heeeelllll no."
Chuck rocked forward with laughter. "Really? You don't like scuba diving?"
"The inky black darkness beneath is really cool to watch on TV but you're never gonna find my ass poking around down there. Nope. I have bad claustrophobia. And you know. I mean…you went down, right? You can feel the water pushing against you…I hate it." She shivered, then pointed. "I'm parked in that lot over there."
He followed her towards the lot. "Yeah, I get you. They tell you how much of a wimp I was the day I went? That was when I met Sarah. And Alexei."
"I mean, I know Sarah chose to date you based on that experience, so it couldn't have been all that bad."
"I'm still not one hundred percent sure there wasn't pity involved when she agreed to go to dinner with me that night." Liz cackled and led him to a Land Rover Defender. It fit her personality like a glove. There was hiking stuff piled in the back, too. A hiker dating a scuba diver. It just…made sense. A goddess of the sea getting with a goddess of the land. Or maybe he was a little high off the Hawaiian air. Either way, that made way more sense than a game developer dating a scuba diver.
"I didn't see pity in her face that night at the club." Liz raised her eyebrows as she swung into the driver's seat. He hopped into the passenger's seat and put his giant bag on his lap. "That is not what pity looks like."
Chuck laughed. And he felt like he was probably blushing, too. "No, I just…was so terrified. I don't really…do well with the ocean, especially being on a boat in the open ocean. So I was quietly flipping the fuck out. Sarah took me under her wing and managed to persuade me into the water. She held my hand underwater for almost the entire time we were down there which was so nice of her. I would'a been done for if she hadn't. But yeah, it took a lot of persuading to get me in the water. Embarrassing amounts."
Liz shrugged as she started the car. "Hey, at least you did it. I still haven't. Like I said…bobbing around on the surface with a little snorkel. That's it."
He grinned. "You're making me feel a lot better."
And he meant it. She actually was. "Hey, we all have our things. Gina's afraid of heights. I have yet to get her up into those mountains with me. Gotta go on the big hikes with my coworkers. And getting her off this island? Well, I don't even try unless I have to. Her in a plane? HA! I basically have to drug her and carry her onto the plane over my shoulder like Tarzan."
Chuck cracked up at the image. "I like you, Liz. You get better with each passing moment."
She snorted. "I like you, too. You're pretty cool for a straight guy." Then she smirked at him. "Anyway, us bad-ass-scuba-diver daters need to stick together. Those girls are powerhouses. Like dating a firecracker sometimes. I've got Gina. You've got Sarah…"
"Oh, yeah…I…Well, I mean…I wouldn't go that far. I mean I haven't got her. We're just…I mean, I'm a tourist. I'm here on vacation. A little vacay," he said in a dopey voice, but he just got a side-eye for it. "This isn't, like, a…um…I dunno."
"What?" she prompted.
"What if we left it at 'I dunno'?" he tried lamely.
That made her laugh. "Ohhh, I really do like you a lot, curly top." He made a face at that, but she ignored it. "I'll let you have the whole 'we're just having fun' thing, because it's pretty cute how you're both doing it so friggin' hard. But I also happen to know she's let you stay in her house for more than, like, an hour. Which is unheard of, at least not since I've known that Hot Blond Mystery. That's my nickname for her. HBM. Don't tell her. She'll murder me and bury me in her garden to make her beets grow faster."
Chuck laughed. "HBM. Nice. I like it. But um…you were saying…? About the, uh, the staying…in her house?"
His attempt at nonchalance didn't work and she gave him an amused look for trying.
"I shouldn't say too much because I don't want to stick my nose where it doesn't belong…"
"Stick it. I don't mind. I'm not running away. I mean, I have to go back to LA in a little over a week. But I'm not running. It'll be more like…depressed…sauntering…towards a flight gate." He shook his head. "Ignore me."
Liz laughed. "Chuck, she genuinely likes you. When we said we'd never met any other guys we meant it. I mean, they met all forty of Gina's girlfriends, because that's just how Gina rolls. 'Til she met me." She gave off a haughty, cute laugh and winked at him. "But Sarah's more, um, private. About a lot, come to think of it. But really about guys she sees or whatever. HBM. That's how she rolls."
"Huh." He stayed quiet for a few moments, then smiled. "I'm really glad I got into this car."
"Me, too. The wind is doing glorious things to those curls, you cutie."
He blushed and laughed, throwing his head back. "I get what Gina sees in you."
"Aw, thanks. And I get why our Blondie is so interested in you. You're a good, Chuckster. Comfortable to be around. I feel like I could take you up into the mountains, we could pop some brewskies open around a fire, and share some real life, personal, deep shit together." She nudged his shoulder.
"Hey, I'm here for ten more days." He shrugged. "I'm not saying no to a day hike."
"Would you say no to a two day hike with an REI pro? If I provide the gear?"
"Nope. I would not. Heights don't bother me." He put his hand flat on top of his head. "As you can see."
"That's a deal!" She put her hand up for a high five.
They pulled up to the Shack parking lot a few minutes later, discussing hiking trails and camping. He told Liz about the trip he took up into the mountains near San Bernardino with some high school friends, about the lizard that pooped on his friend Arthur's forehead while he was sleeping, making her eyes tear up she'd laughed so hard.
As they hopped out of the Jeep, Gina opened the door and stepped outside.
"Whaaaaaat?" she drawled, sauntering over. "I knew you were bringing your camera, Liz, but I don't remember you saying anything about a six-foot-somethin' tourist with brown eyes and curls."
"Uh, you forgot to mention the slick leather jacket, babe," Liz said in her dry chirp, smacking Chuck on the arm that wasn't holding the bag of goodies, before moving in to kiss her girlfriend.
"That is slick, Chuck. Damn!" Gina exclaimed, one arm around Liz, reaching out with her other hand to grab his shoulder and squeeze it.
"You think so?" he asked, pulling at the lapel and then thrusting his free arm out to the side. "I really like this bomber jacket effect here with the overlap under the zipper." He demonstrated for them, making them chuckle. "I'm, uh, really glad to see the Scuba Shack is in one piece," he said then, gesturing to the building.
"Oh, it's a sturdy ol' thing," Gina said. "Glad you're still in one piece, kid."
"I am." He grinned. "I was well taken care of." He realized how that sounded and wondered if Sarah had told her coworkers they'd spent the hurricane together. "I mean, I was totally fine. No biggie. I can now check that off on my Bucket List."
Liz tilted her head and made a face. "You know a Bucket List is s'posed to be stuff you wanna do, right?"
"Uh, good point." He laughed, readjusting the bag in his hand as his fingers slipped a bit.
"Oh, hey, Chuckster brought you guys a spread of treatsies," Liz said then, pointing to the bag.
"You did what? What's in there?"
"Just snacks and stuff. Some fruit and fresh grapeleaves and, you know, farmer's market stuff I thought everyone might enjoy." He smiled. "You guys have really gone through the ringer the past few days. I mean, I'm sure it was stressful. Sarah was worried. She told me. I mean, it seemed that way." He needed to shut up. "This is just…you know. You've all been workin' hard."
"Why are you so cute?" Gina asked immediately.
"I know, right?" Liz agreed, and they both just stood there peering at him.
Chuck blushed and cleared his throat, and then Liz snorted and gave Gina a bit of a push towards the Shack. The scuba instructor giggled over her shoulder at him. "Come inside. You don't have to get so red, there, Chuck. We're just teasing you." She led him into the Shack, holding the door for him. "Not that you aren't cute, 'cause you are." She snorted at the look he sent her. "Seriously, though, this is really nice of you. We've had worse storms before, and those weren't even hurricanes. Just big rainstorms that got kind of floody. We were lucky it was mostly wind and not a big storm surge. Other islands got it so much worse."
"Yeah, I read about the big island. Poor folks."
"You chose the right one to vacation on," Gina said, unceremoniously swiping her arm across a counter in the break room she'd led him to, dumping restaurant jam packets, hot sauce packets, and other miscellaneous items into the large trash bin beside it. "Ta daaaaa! Now let's see what you got us…"
He laughed as Gina and Liz both started digging in the bag, taking food out with oooooh's and aaaaah's.
And as they laid everything out, talking to each other, he only half paid attention, glancing over his shoulder. He'd sort of hoped Sarah would've been here. And he wondered where she was…maybe down by the boats? Helping the guys with repairs or something?
"Baked goooooooods! Chuck, you're the beeeeeest!"
"Uh oh," Gina drawled as Liz picked up a croissant and sniffed it with a loud aaaaaahhhh. "Carbs, especially bread, are like her crack."
"Croissant is a helluva drug!"
He laughed and helped them empty the bags.
There was a sudden slam of the door down the hallway. "Gina?" Chuck heard Alexei's voice carry.
"Yeah, Boss?"
"Do we have any more of that marine sealant?"
"Duty calls," Gina murmured, smirking at Chuck and hurrying out of the room. "Yeah, I think under the counter in the front."
Because Liz was following and Chuck saw everything was out on the counter, Chuck tucked the empty bag under the counter and fell in line behind her, heading out to the main lobby of the Shack.
"Ah! You're right!" Alexei said, popping up from where he'd been bending over to look inside some cupboards. He stood to his full height and beamed, seeing for the first time that Liz and Chuck were also there. "Hey! Hello, you two! Splendid surprise!"
"Chuck brought us food!" Gina chirped.
"I brought myself," Liz drawled lamely with a shrug.
That made Chuck laugh.
"Well, that's nice!" Alexei exclaimed sincerely. "We're almost done with the Sunrise Tequila. She got the worst of it." He turned to specifically address Chuck. "Started leaking a bit today, was sitting lower in the water. Thankfully Sarah noticed. Come on out, everybody! We're just about through."
Chuck followed everyone outside and down the staircase that led out onto the docks where the Shack usually kept its boats moored. He spotted Kai on the deck of the boat, and Zeki was straddling the railing, rope in hand. He looked up and saw them approaching first.
"Aw, rad! It's Hollywoooood!" He let go of the rope with one hand and waved exuberantly. "Hey, Hollywood!"
"Hiya, Zeki!" Chuck said, grinning and waving back. Sarah wasn't visible, so she was either belowdeck or…the rope Zeki was holding onto was attached to her and she was underwater. He could see the rope moving around as if it was attached to something…someone.
Chuck eyed the name on the back of the boat again. It really was called the Sunrise Tequila. Interesting. He decided to speak up. "Hey, Alexei. Isn't it called a Tequila Sunrise?"
Liz turned and gave him a wide-eyed look, pressing her lips tightly together and making a subtle swipe at her neck with her hand, a hint he should shut his mouth no doubt. Too late for that, he thought to himself, gulping.
Alexei turned to look at him as though he'd said something very stupid. "But my boat is called the Sunrise Tequila, Charles."
"Fair enough, sir," Chuck said, sticking his hands in his pockets and clearing his throat.
Gina leaned forward and narrowed her eyes to squint at the hull of the boat—at least as much of it that was showing. "So is she taking in enough to sink? Are we going to have to pull her out of the water and do a genuine repair?"
Alexei frowned and scratched the back of his head. "I don't think it's as drastic as that. We'll know for sure when Sarah finishes trying to do a few touch-ups. She's inspecting it now."
So Sarah was in the water. Her boss hurried back up onto the boat and stood beside Kai and Zeki, propping his elbows on the railing and leaning over to peer down. The water was still and clear and Chuck wondered if they could see what she was doing under there.
And then the water bubbled up and a blonde head popped out of it, a snorkel and goggles attached to her face. She wasn't wearing a tank which meant she'd held her breath the entire time he'd been standing there. Water burst from the end of the snorkel and she took it out of her mouth. "I think we're good with the repairs on the inside. We just need to get the water out of the boat. She isn't sinking anymore," she called up.
"Thank shit," Gina remarked. She glanced at Chuck and Liz. "Yet another expense from this stupid hurricane that we probably could do without."
He watched as Kai and Zeki both reached down to help Sarah climb back up on deck. She shed the goggles and snorkel and handed them to Alexei, grabbing a towel and starting to dab herself dry. Chuck made a valiant and successful attempt not to stare at her black bikini with gold trim. Sure, she had long legs. And yes, her shoulders and biceps were ripped. But also, was that a classic Air Force plane flying over them? It looked straight out of World War II. Maybe there was an air show or something going on…
"Chuck!"
The nerd gulped and dropped his gaze back to the Sunrise Tequila where Sarah was now standing at the railing by the gangplank, thankfully wrapped up in the towel as she peered down at him, pleasant surprise in her face.
"Hi." He waved. "Uh. Good job fixing the boat," he said, suddenly all-too aware that he hadn't seen her for a day or two and feeling that awkwardness start to creep up in him. Why was her skin glistening like that? Why were her eyes so blue on sunny days when she stood close to the water? Why was he currently losing his damn mind?
"I didn't really do anything," she said, giggling a little.
Alexei swept past her with the wet toolbox she'd had in hand when she was under there. And he wiggled the caulk he had in his other hand. "Now, that's not true. You did plenty. The good news is we shouldn't have to do anymore, save wiping up the water below."
Kai followed him, patting her on the shoulder as he passed her, grabbing everything out of Alexei's hands and trekking up to the Shack. He winked at Chuck as he moved past him.
As Chuck looked up at the deck again, he saw that she'd left to grab something near the wheel, and then she finally reappeared again, squeezing her ponytail of the water as she walked gracefully down to the dock in her flip-flops.
She'd almost reached his side when Zeki, who'd trotted after her, froze in the middle of the gangplank and snapped his fingers. "Ah, yeah! My slippers!" He trotted back up as Chuck furrowed his brow at the guy. Sarah had a hand on his arm, standing next to him, when Zeki came back, wearing flip-flops this time.
"Slippers?" Chuck asked.
"Yeah, Hollywood. Slippers." He wiggled his toes in them, then pointed to Sarah's feet. "Slippers. You weird mainlanders with your closed-toe shoes." He scoffed and shook his head, grinning.
Chuck watched him go, Alexei, Gina, and Liz following in his wake.
"Slippers?" he asked Sarah under his breath.
She smirked. "I'm still not used to that. Hawaiians and their rubber slippers."
"They're flip-flops."
"That's what I say," she chirped with a shrug. And then she turned to look up at him. "What'd you come all the way down here for? I thought today was gonna be an exploring day. Isn't that what you said?"
Chuck shrugged. "I'm…exploring. This counts as exploring, I think. Went to the farmer's market, met Liz there, and sat in her Jeep while we went through the hurricane-ravaged streets to get here." Sarah gave him a droll look and he chuckled. "Gotta say, it's pretty cool that you went full Bob the Builder on the interestingly named Sunrise Tequila to save it from sinking."
She laughed and he saw her eyes drift down his body and back up again—he wasn't even sure if she realized she was doing it, or that he'd caught her doing it. But it made the sun feel warmer. "Does Bob the Builder do it for ya?"
Chuck burst into laughter and shook his head. "That's just awful."
"That hammer and hard-hat combo? The overalls?"
"I'm walking away from you," he said, still laughing. She cracked up and chased after him, wrapping her hands around his arm and holding on to slow him down a little.
"That's funny…considering you drove all the way across town to be closer to me."
He felt himself blush and tried to play it off. "I didn't drive. I took a Lyft to the farmer's market and then Liz drove me here. Shows how much you know," he teased, and he got a laugh and a light smack to his shoulder for that. "Anyway, I had a reason for stopping by, and then Liz made it even easier for me by offering me a ride."
Sarah turned to him as they walked up the steps side by side and she raised her eyebrow in question. He just grinned in response and led her to the door of the Shack, opening it and gesturing for her go in first.
"Chuck brought me organic gummy worms!" Zeki belted, as soon as they walked in. He held the bag up in his hand, a neon worm hanging from his fingers, and then he dropped it into his mouth and grinned as he chewed. "You're the raddest, man. Thanks!"
Sarah walked through the lobby towards the break room, and sent Chuck a questioning look over her shoulder as she went. He slowly followed her, Zeki on his heels.
"You go to the farmer's market over by City Hall?" the Hawaiian asked him.
"Yeah. Yeah, that one. A woman sells candy she makes herself there. I thought someone might like those."
"Uh, yeah…Me!"
Chuck laughed as he walked into the break room to find everyone else munching on what he brought. Alexei bit into an apple and pointed at him. "You're a sweetheart, Charles. Really. What was all this for, anyway?"
"Sucking up," Kai teased as he grabbed a croissant. He got a hard look from Liz and Chuck was pretty sure that was because the older man took one of the croissants, not because he was teasing him. "I mean, I'm not mad. It's really working."
"No, I'm not—I'm not…sucking up. I just…ahem. You've all been working so hard to get the Scuba Shack back up and running—with the boats and everything else—I thought you'd appreciate some free grub. Nutrients, protein…energy… That's all it is."
He was careful not to look at Sarah, not wanting it to seem like he was trying to impress her or, warm the cockles of her heart, or anything else like that. And therefore, he didn't want her to think he was looking at her to gauge her reaction.
It was silly. And her words from the other day when they were locked away in her house to wait out the hurricane came back to him. She'd told him to chill out with overthinking stuff, hadn't she? He really needed to hold himself to that.
"Such a nice gesture," Liz said then, sending him a particular look and a thumbs up. As if to say she had his back. And then she began slicing the salami he'd bought with a knife that…well, he had no idea where she'd gotten it from, and part of him wondered if she'd pulled it out of her pocket or something. Her sleeve, maybe? It looked…illegal-ish.
Inwardly shrugging, he gave her a thumbs up back.
Sarah slipped past him then, reaching up to squeeze his bicep with a quiet smile as she went, and he watched her reach around Kai to grab some dried fruit, palming it before sliding in with her other hand to throw some nuts in her mouth.
He didn't miss the subtle nudge Gina gave her with her elbow, or the way the two women looked at one another with smiles he didn't quite understand. Was that a good exchange? Good for him, rather? He was pretty sure it was. He didn't detect any blushes or anything. Crap.
Stop. Over. Analyzing.
He nodded at himself resolutely and cleared his throat. Alexei turned and looked at him, then snapped his fingers as though an idea had just occurred to him. "Ah! Charles! I almost forgot. Come with me, I need some help with something on my computer." He grabbed a banana chip from Zeki's fingers with a mischievous giggle, eliciting a "Hey!" from his employee, then dashed away, grabbing Chuck by his shoulder and taking him along.
Chuck stole one last look over his shoulder to see Sarah was peering after him with an indecipherable look. Was it curiosity? Worry? Or something else?
Shaking his head, he followed Alexei into the other room as they slid in behind the front counter where the computers were.
"Now, you know about this technology business. I got an email from someone called 'Apple Support', saying I need to contact them with my personal information immediately because someone's illegally hacked into my cellphone account. Nothing's different on my phone…" Alexei pulled up the email and Chuck recognized a phishing email immediately. "Is this legitimate? I almost called Apple support to ask."
"Yeah, whatever you do, don't do anything this email tells you to do." He leaned down and pointed to the email address. "You can tell by the address they used. Just random letters and numbers. That's definitely not Apple Support. They're trying to get you to give them personal info they can use to steal from you."
"Hm, I thought as much." Alexei reached down and deleted the email immediately. "Thank you, Charles. I appreciate it."
"Sure, no worries. I mean, worse comes to worst, call the Apple Support number and talk to them about it. Usually email isn't how they'll contact you or communicate about something like this."
"Good to know, good to know…"
Chuck felt Alexei's hand clamp onto his shoulder then as he tried to move away to join the others.
"One more thing, young man."
Something about his tone made a bit of a shiver go through him, and he swallowed hard, slowly looking into the other man's face. There was a serious look in his regal features. "Y-yes?"
"She's a good girl. She's got her life on a good trajectory now. And she's happy. She also likes you very much. You know that, right? I mean, you have to know that." He narrowed his eyes.
Not knowing where this was going, Chuck just nodded. He did know. His crippling lack of self-esteem most likely had a hand in the fact that he'd been so terrible at dating for all these years. It got in his way every time, and he knew it was one of his biggest flaws. Even so, he could see and feel that Sarah genuinely liked him, liked being around him. She'd also told him outright more than once so that helped an awful lot. He nodded at Alexei again.
"Good. But you live in Los Angeles, and that's very far away from our little paradise here. I overheard Sarah say this morning you would be leaving in a little over a week?"
"A-About that, sir. Yes. Uh, ten days or so."
"Stop being so formal, Charles."
That was really hard to do, he scoffed inwardly, considering Alexei was squeezing his shoulder so hard he'd probably lose feeling in that arm soon. The look on the other man's face was insanely intimidating, too. "Uh. O-Okay."
"Don't throw off that good trajectory. Don't ruin this peace she's found. And do not hurt her. I've taken it upon myself to protect that girl. From anything. Anyone. Do I need to protect her from you?"
Chuck gulped and shook his head, eyes wide. "No, no I'd never—That is to say, I don't want to hurt her."
But he understood the implication. He'd be leaving. She'd be here. If things became deep enough, they were both getting hurt. And then he realized with a start that he was already pretty damn deep, damn it. Shit.
"I'm not saying this for the reason you think, Charles. I'm just saying that if you plan on doing…something about this, do it right. I'm in your corner. Just so long as you don't break anything. See what I mean?" Chuck didn't quite get it. But he nodded. "Just…think on it, hm? She's important. More important than you could even begin to understand."
"I'm…I mean, she feels important. I mean that I'm beginning to understand, I think."
"You aren't." Alexei finally let go of his shoulder and clapped him on the back. "But that's okay. Maybe you will someday. In the meantime, Charles…have fun."
"Hah…yeah. Fun." He grinned broadly and nodded, clearing his throat.
"Good talk," Alexei said with a grin of his own. It looked genuine but it was terrifying at the same time.
"Really—Really good. Yeeeah. I'm gonna go…go and eat some carbs."
"Good idea!"
Chuck inched out from behind the counter and stole one last look at the older man. Was it just him or was there a thread of I'll be watching in the look the man gave back to him?
Jesus Christ.
}o{
"You've been sort of quiet," Sarah said as they walked towards the parking lot behind the Scuba Shack where her car awaited. They'd decided to take a long walk since most of the Shack business was taken care of, and Alexei had waved them off as if he hadn't given Chuck an ultimatum and one hundred other things to stress over and analyze 'til he was completely insane with it.
And she was right, he had been quiet. He'd been lost in his head.
He couldn't quite figure out a lot of Alexei's meanings behind what he'd said. But he thought he understood at least one thing. And it felt like an important thing. He was leaving in about ten days. And in that time, he planned to continue seeing Sarah as much as he could. He wanted to continue getting to know her. But at the end of that time, he'd be climbing on a plane and leaving this place for quite some time. Sarah would remain here. When he left, he had to do it the right way.
What was the right way? He didn't know.
Sarah seemed pretty adamant about just…enjoying this. And he thought the right way for now was to go with that. To go with what Sarah wanted. Because he would get into trouble if he tried to get too deep. And maybe bringing the Shack crew all of that food to impress them was what caused Alexei to feel the need to intercede. Maybe he thought Chuck was trying to get too deep too quickly with Sarah. And he most likely knew Sarah way better than Chuck could in just the last almost two weeks of knowing her.
"Hey…I said you've been sort of quiet and you responded with more quiet." Sarah nudged him with her fist. "You okay?"
"Hm? Yes! Yeah, of course." He shook his head and cleared his throat, furrowing his brow and waving aside her concern. "I'm totally good. I get all caught up in my head. You know how it is."
"Yeah, but are you okay?" she asked again, this time asking more slowly, looking up at him through her eyelashes.
Chuck smiled at her. "I'm okay. I promise."
"Hm. Interesting." She wrapped her hands around his arm and pushed herself close to him, propping her chin on his shoulder as they walked. "Beeeecause Alexei dragged you away to ask for help and I have a feeling it was about the phishing email he already asked the rest of us about, which means he dragged you away for a completely different reason."
Chuck had no idea how to respond to that. So he just made a dubious face and drawled, "Whaaaaaaaaaaaat? No."
Really convincing, cool guy, way to go…
"Chuck."
"I, um…s'good. It's all good."
"Is it, though? Because Gina kind of hinted to me that she caught the last bit of a 'don't hurt her' style conversation that's usually reserved by an overbearing dad for his daughter's new boyfriend. Sort of a terrible romcom trope and I need to apologize if that's what that was." She looked really embarrassed as she winced, leading him to her car and leaning against the driver's door, facing him and looking up into his eyes.
It didn't even occur to him to try to lie. He wouldn't disrespect her like that. So he cleared his throat and winced back, tilting his head. "It was a little more complicated than that."
She looked nervous and angry all at once. "I'm gonna murder 'im."
"No, no. Don't do that. I already had to go through a hurricane. I'd prefer not to see my fave person on the island go to prison for murder because of me. That'd be a really terrible ending to what's so far been a fantastic vacation."
Sarah giggled quietly. "All right, fine. I don't wanna ruin your vacation."
That made him smile. "It-It's okay, though. He obviously cares about you a lot."
"Yeah, he's sort of slipped into my life as sort of a, um…protector. Of sorts. Not that I need one but…well, he seems to feel responsible for my well-being. And there's nothing I can really do to stop him from feeling that way, so…" She shrugged and then she cleared her throat, tucking some hair that came loose from her wet ponytail behind her ear. "What, um…what did he say to you? Out of curiosity?"
Chuck widened his eyes and stuck his hands in his pockets. "Uh…"
Her fingers wrapped around his forearm. He pulled his hand out of his pocket and slipped it into hers, letting her tug him a little closer. "Hey. Tell me. It's okay."
"You're not gonna tell him I told you, right? I don't want him sicking his MI6 buddies on me because I don't know how to keep my mouth shut." Sarah gave him a look—her brow furrowed, lips pressed together, head tilted—and he felt properly chastised. And still, there was almost a bit of discomfort in the way she dropped her gaze a bit. He chuckled and nodded. "Message received. Um, it was just some slightly confusing advice. Maybe advice? Or maybe a warning? A threat?" She widened her eyes. "Or probably just advice. Heh." He squirmed uncomfortably. "I'm sure it was just advice…er…about how you're important—special—and how I need to understand that. And, well…you know, I'm leaving in, like, a little over a week or so. He just wanted to make sure I wasn't going to…hurt you, I guess."
"Huh?" She made another face, pulling her chin back.
"Yeah, something about how I need to do this right. Which…I've been trying to figure out what 'right' is. I mean, what is the right way? I…don't know yet…what that means. At least, what it means to him. I don't even really know what it means to me, honestly. I've been trying to do the thing you said, just like…trying not to overthink…And now I'm confused and, full disclosure, slightly scared. He was super sweet about it, but somehow that made it scarier? I dunno how, it just did." He scratched his head, realizing belatedly he was maybe being too honest, or saying too much here.
Sarah dropped her gaze down and to the side, nibbling on the inside of her cheek thoughtfully. He didn't know what was going through her head, and he had a feeling she wasn't going to share whatever it was with him. "Uh…I'm sorry…about him. He means well but he overstepped here. It isn't his business, and maybe that's why I've never brought any guys around the Shack before." She huffed then looked right into his eyes, sincerity in her face. "This is me apologizing for him."
"No, no. You don't have to apologize for him. No apologies necessary, not from you, or from him. He's protecting you. I'm glad you've got someone like that. I've got Ellie, and uh…Morgan, too. Part of me thinks Ellie's got a secret Hit List of women who've broken up with me."
She giggled. But then she sobered up significantly and frowned off to the side thoughtfully. Slowly, she lifted her blue eyes back up to look into his. "You aren't gonna let what Alexei said put you all up in your head again, are you? Please don't second guess yourself or, um, well…what we've talked about before. We can just have fun and let this…happen how it's happening. You're only here for a few more days and I'd like to make 'em all count, you know? Enjoy it." She wrinkled her nose a little. "No overanalyzing, no second guessing. Just us…having fun, making the most of our time together." She gestured between them and then she gave him a meaningful look. "Are you good with that? I mean, maybe—if you can—just put what he said out of your head entirely. He's got…a lot of ideas about…things that, uh, are maybe a little stuck in the past."
Chuck felt like she meant more than just that his ideas were antiquated. But he didn't know what else. "Stuck in the past?"
"Um." She clammed up a bit, then sighed. "You know, he's from a different generation. He knows I've done this virtually by myself since I was a teenager practically."
"Fending off boys?" he teased, and he deserved the flat look she gave him, but he also felt a spike of satisfaction when she twisted her lips to the side to try to hide her amusement.
"Life," she drawled, giving him a gentle shove. "But he still has that old-fashioned mentality, you know? Like he knows how men think and is looking out for me." She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "He means well, I guess. I just don't appreciate the whole thing. I'm really just trying to live my life and I like this. I like you. Please don't let what he said get you all confused, don't let it freak you out." She looked both wincing and hopeful all at once.
Chuck nodded resolutely, eagerly. "You're right. I'm gonna just…schyoomp…" He mimicked picking Alexei's words out of his head and tossed them away. "There. Done."
Sarah giggled. "You're a dork."
"Yes." He wasn't even going to try to deny it.
"And thanks." She squeezed his hand. "I mean, for not avoiding the subject only to secretly stew over it and let it drive you crazy." He winced at how easily she'd pegged him with that. "And for being honest and candid with me instead. It's no wonder I like being around you so much. I get tired of the same shit dudes give me, over and over again."
He shrugged. "You're easy to be honest with. I mean, you've yet to scream and run away when I am honest with you, so that's really helped to, uh, continue this honesty streak of mine."
She snorted. "Nah." Shaking her head, she leaned up to hug him tightly, her arms around his shoulders. "I think this is just who you are, Chuck."
"You're more than entitled to that opinion."
Laughing, she pulled out of the hug and turned a little to put her hand on the door of her convertible. "Well, I think I'll be heading home. I need a shower and possibly a nap. I'm fuckin' beat." She paused, giving him a look. "You're probably regretting your super nice gesture after the stunt Alexei pulled," she said with a roll of her eyes, "But it was really sweet of you to bring us food today. Nobody'd admit it probably but it boosted morale and… Well, today of all days, we needed that. Honestly, I really think the hurricane spooked all of us. We made it, but…Damn, it could've really ended all of this if those boats didn't make it. Or the Scuba Shack." She put her hand on his chest and looked into his eyes. "You showing up like this and bringing us food had an uplifting effect on the place. So…seriously, thank you."
"Sure. No problem. I'm glad it helped." He smiled, feeling the heat rising from his collar, knowing his cheeks were most likely pink.
"Don't let their teasing get to you, either. I know you were just being genuinely nice, and they know it, too. But, uh…just between us…" She moved up onto her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his ear, lowering her voice. "If you did do it to win favor with me, it was pretty freaking effective. For the record."
As she pressed a slow kiss to the spot right beneath his temple, a shiver went through him. "The record thanks you," he muttered, repeating words she'd said to him on their long first date, during that first glorious twenty-four hours they'd spent together.
She laughed, her eyes sparkling as she pulled back. He slipped his hand down to her hip and squeezed. "Well, I'm gonna call a Lyft and get back to the hotel, I guess. Weird to say after a hurricane just hit the other day, but I've spent a lot of time in the sun the last two days and it's made me a little exhausted."
Chuck stepped back to put some space between them and take his phone out, let her go home, shower, and nap like she said. He, for one, couldn't wait for a nap of his own.
But she tightened her grip around his hand and bit her lip, giving him a shy look through her lashes. "Come back with me instead?"
"Oh. You don't have to drop me off. That's okay. It's kind of in the opposite direction, isn't it?"
"No, you bozo. I mean, come back to my place with me. You don't have to. I know you're exhausted. And I don't mind driving you back, but—"
"I'm good with this plan," he said steadily, even though he was still in a bit of a panic after Alexei's anti-pep talk. He didn't know how to take it, and he didn't know what to do. But he knew that at the end of this trip, he would have to do something. He just didn't know what or how.
He sought to block that quandary out of his mind, though. And the quiet, thoughtful way Sarah had taken the news that Alexei had said those things, like something else was going on in that brilliant brain of hers. What was going on there?
None of it mattered, he told himself as he got into her car. She wanted to spend time with him, make these last nine days count. He was going to her place—for what, he didn't know. But it didn't really matter for what, because it meant more time with her.
}o{
The room was darker than it'd been when he'd taken it upon himself to lie down draped over her couch, the TV on low volume. He'd obviously fallen asleep while she was in the shower washing her Bob the Builder But In the Ocean afternoon off. And the sun was now almost set outside.
That wasn't the only thing different from when he'd fallen asleep on her couch, he realized as he glanced down.
At some point while he napped, Sarah must've come in and seen him there, decided he looked very comfortable, and climbed down to join him. She was splayed out on top of him, half on his chest, half wedged between him and the back of the couch, and it couldn't have been all that comfortable for her, but from what he could tell, her breathing was even, her eyes shut. He felt the calm rise and fall of her chest against his, how still her feet were tucked between his, her fingers curled around his hip.
She was almost a little too warm draped over him like this, like a too-thick blanket when the heater was on too high in the winter. But he didn't care because nothing in any of his romantic relationships had ever made him melt so fully.
He could just imagine her wondering if she should wake him up or just go nap in her own bed, before just deciding to climb onto him. It wasn't nearly as comfortable as her mattress would be, he assumed, but she chose this intimacy over comfort, then proceeded to fall asleep herself. He didn't know what time it was or how long he'd been asleep or how long she'd been lying here, but he wasn't going to move for anything.
Instead, he let Alexei back into his thoughts. The more he thought about it, the more he came to the conclusion that he couldn't just let things…be. He couldn't let things continue like this. She told him to push it out of his mind, forget it, and focus on just enjoying this. He couldn't do that. Yes, he loved spending time with her, he loved how easy it was to talk to her and be a goof and let her see him as his genuine self, but he hated the idea of just walking out of here in nine days like, "Thanks, this was fun, bye" and have that be it. The end.
Did he have to talk to her about it? Did he have to broach that subject?
Should he continue being fully transparent with her or would that freak her out?
Also, why had Alexei felt like he was somehow being cryptic with the Sarah being important thing? Like he thought it wouldn't be totally evident to the younger man. Chuck knew she was important. She was special. He'd never met anyone in his life who was more incredible, or so different from any other person he'd ever met. So perfectly…perfect for him.
That was it, wasn't it? Maybe she wasn't perfect, but he wanted the chance to find those imperfections for himself, then continue being crazy about her in spite of them…or maybe because of them. Anyway, whether she was perfect in general or not, she was perfect for him. He didn't need to know more to know that with everything fiber in his being.
He was in quite a quandary with this woman.
He'd never felt so inherently comfortable with another person in his entire life, and then she also gave him so much discomfort and nerves and worry at the same time because he didn't want to fuck up.
Like Alexei said, he needed to do this right.
But how in the hell could he do that when he had his home and entire career, a business he created from scratch that was finally bringing in big profits and allowing for him to do what he'd always wanted to do, in Los Angeles? While her home and career was here, in Kauai? Not just the Scuba Shack, but the other people there. They were like a family. Her chosen family. But they'd end up being a five hour plane flight away from one another. Across the God damn Pacific Ocean.
And holy crap, he still couldn't figure out what "right" even meant.
He unconsciously slipped his hands up her body and rounded her torso with his arms, shifting her up a bit and hugging her tight, pressing his lips to her blond hair at the top of her head. He felt her breath hitch against his chest, and then she let out a big yawn against his collarbone, squeezing him back and nuzzling her face into his neck.
"Good nap," she mumbled. "Really good nap."
Chuck let out a sniff of amusement at how cute she was. "How long of a nap was it, out of curiosity? I'm too lazy to find my phone in my pocket somewhere and I forgot to put my watch on today."
She let out a soft groan of reluctance, but planted one hand on his shoulder, the other on his chest, pushing herself up with a cat-like arch of her back to look over the couch at a clock somewhere, he assumed. "About an hour and a half. No wonder I feel so good now."
Sarah turned her gaze back down to him, then mischievously shifted her weight so that she was more on top of him, their hips aligned in a way that woke him up completely. He sent her a look, his eyebrow raised, but she pretended to ignore it.
"Are you hungry?" she asked him.
"Mmm I'm always hungry," he grumbled, chuckling when she snorted at him. "But I could wait a few hours for sure."
"Oh. Good. We can have something delivered in a few hours." Then she bit her lip, oh so slowly rubbing one of her hands up and down his chest, before slipping her fingers under the hem of his shirt and lightly teasing his abs with her fingernails. "And in the meantime…"
In the meantime, he could get this mess of thoughts and emotions out of his damn head. Catching onto her hint, he grabbed her and pulled her down, shifting on the couch so that she was fully wedged between him and the back, both of them on their sides as they tangled themselves together and kissed.
He'd revisit Alexei's intense advice and his own intense emotions later.
Right now, he had an appetite to build up.
A/N: Thanks for reading! I'm still working on this thing. And a lot of other things. Please review. It's seriously encouraging. Thanks!
-SC