The next morning, Elizabeth heard a knock on the suite door around 8am. She opened the door and he quickly turned around.
"Lucas?"
"Um, I'll wait until you maybe put a robe on?"
She looked down. She had her pajamas on but the shorts were pretty short and the tank top was tight and short. Oops.
"One second."
She put a robe on and opened the door again. "So sorry. You can turn around now."
"Um, no problem. I…you…wow."
"Wow, huh?" she teased, enjoying the blush that was showing on his face.
"Yeah, I mean….you know what? Let's start over."
"Deal."
"I'm going hiking to Manoa Falls. Just wondered if you and your sisters wanted to join?"
"I will. They are not hikers but I'd love to."
"I don't want to pull you from any plans that you may have with them."
"You aren't. Today was our day to sleep in."
"Okay. Well, the hike starts at 10am so we should get going within the next thirty minutes or so."
She nodded. "Okay. If you want, you can come in and sit on the couch while I change."
"No, that's okay. I will go wait in the lobby."
About ten minutes later she walked down to where he was sitting.
"I'm so sorry if I made you uncomfortable, Lucas."
"Its just…I…" he sighed. He would just say it. "I think you're beautiful and I like the way you look but..I just broke up with someone."
"Thank you for saying that, Lucas. I don't expect anything from you, okay? Friends."
The way she looked in her skimpy pajamas and now in tight, stretchy pants and an even tighter tank top…they made him feel things that were way more than "friends".
"Right. Friends."
"Unless you don't want to?"
He looked at her closely. The look in her gorgeous eyes was almost a plea for friendship. He wanted to know more about that.
"I do. I'm glad we met, Elizabeth. Really."
"Okay then."
"We should go. Don't want to miss the tour." He hooked his thumb toward the door and led the way.
……
Manoa Falls
"Gosh, it's gorgeous," Elizabeth whispered as they rested and looked at the waterfall. What a wonderful middle point to their hike.
"Yeah it is."
"Thank you for inviting me," she said, looking over at him. He was right next to her but they weren't touching. She would love to sit close enough to touch shoulders again like they had at the fireworks but she knew that might be too much for him right then.
As if he could read her thoughts, he moved left about two inches and leaned back, their shoulders now touching.
"You're welcome. What do you and your sisters have planned this evening?"
"You tell me what you are going to do. I want to see if its the same."
He laughed and nudged her. "Sunset horseback ride."
She was shocked. That wasn't what she and Vi and Julie were planning.
"Same?" he asked.
"No, actually, we were just going to another luau. I'd rather go on the ride, not that I'm trying to invite myself to your evening. I'm not."
"I paid for two and since Janette is not with me, I still have an open spot. You are more than welcome."
"Are you sure you don't mind?"
"Of course not. Its kind of a couples thing so it would be pretty awkward if everyone else was with someone and I wasn't."
"Alright then. I'd love to go."
…..
Later, Girl's suite
"So you are ditching us to go on a horseback ride with the hot guy that you just spent the whole day with?" Julie teased.
"Yep."
"Okay then. Do you agree that you are dating him now?"
"Nope. Just friends. We agreed. He just broke up with someone that he was going to propose to. He is definitely not ready to get involved with anyone else right now."
Elizabeth moved to the bathroom to straighten her hair and put on makeup. For a horse ride. Why was she doing that? Not a date, so no need to go to extra lengths to look good.
She came back out and pulled on her boots that she had just purchased for way too much money. Tennis shoes and flip flops were not appropriate for horse riding.
"I'm off. Enjoy the luau," Elizabeth said as she walked out the door. She headed down the long hallways toward the other side of the resort where Lucas' room was and knocked.
"One minute," he said from inside.
He opened the door and this time it was her turn to be slightly but wonderfully uncomfortable. The man's jeans sat low on his hips, perfectly. His long legs…phew. Holy moly. At least he was wearing a shirt. A well-fitted white shirt but still fabric covered him and that was good.
"Elizabeth?" he asked, smirking.
"You hush."
He laughed and pulled his door closed, sliding his wallet and door key into his pocket of those jeans. "Anything you want to share?"
"Fishing for compliments, Lucas?"
"Nope."
"Fine. Yes, you look good. We aren't in middle school. I can admit you look good." She smacked his arm and they started walking again.
"So we can agree that we both are attracted to each other and still be just friends," he confirmed.
"Yes, exactly."
He nodded and then smiled. "Is it the shirt? Or the jeans?"
"Stop."
She rolled her eyes and dragged him to his rental car by the arm.
"Both," she said quietly.
"What was that?"
"You asked if it was the jeans or the shirt."
"Oh. Both?"
"Mm."
He went to reach behind her to open the door for her, but she thought he was going for a hug so she wrapped her arms around him, making him freeze. Then he reciprocated for a moment before stepping back.
"Oh sorry. I thought…"
"I was opening your door for you."
She blushed and stepped aside so he could get the door. "That's embarrassing."
"Nah. A hug is good. I just wasn't ready. Maybe we should try it again."
He opened his arms and stepped closer, ready this time.
She enjoyed every moment of the embrace. It had been a long time since she'd hugged a man, except her dad. That didn't count. Somehow, it always made her feel cherished, safe.
"This might be harder than I thought," she mused in her mind.
"Why hard?"
"Huh? Did I say that out loud?"
He laughed, opened her door for her and she slipped in, her face even hotter than it was just a moment ago.
"Good Lord," she muttered. First she hugs him when he was just opening a door and now she basically admits she has feelings for him.
"Its okay, Elizabeth. You can tell me or not. Whichever."
"Might as well have full disclosure now."
He backed out of the parking spot and eased onto the main road as he waited for her admission.
"We already agreed we are attracted to each other."
"Right."
"Well, lets just say its probably good you live 582.3 miles away from me."
"582.3 miles?"
"Yeah. I sort of looked it up."
He looked at her again and then back to the road. "That's not that far."
"Nine hours by car," she blurted.
"Less than two hours by plane," he said.
"You looked it up too?" They both had a laugh about that.
"I've never been there so I was just checking how long it would take if I…maybe…had a person to visit in that city."
…..
Late that night
Julie rolled over and looked at Elizabeth who had just walked in the suite. "How was your non-date?"
"Perfect."
"He leaves tomorrow?"
"Yeah."
"You alright?"
"Of course. I'll just miss him. That's all."
Elizabeth took a shower to get the smell of horse off herself and then brushed her teeth before climbing into bed. The ride had been wonderful, arriving at the bluff just in time to watch the sunset over the water. They watched it, standing close to each other but not touching. She had wanted to grab his hand or his arm or something. She wanted that connection but she knew that if she pushed the issue at all, it would make tomorrow that much harder.
After the ride, he drove them to a coffee shop and they drank decaf and talked for a few hours until they decided it was time to turn in.
Her phone buzzed. She turned it over and smiled.
Luke: Night friend
Beth: Night. C U soon
…..
Next morning
"Why don't you invite him to have breakfast with us?" Vi suggested.
"He's probably busy."
"Beth, he's leaving today. You should spend as much time as you can with him."
She picked up her phone as it started to ring. "Hello?"
"Hey. It's Luke. Do you and the girls want to have breakfast?"
"Yes we do. Plumeria?"
"Sure. See you in thirty?"
"See you."
Lucas knew that this would be the last meal they would share on Oahu. The last meal together for who knew how long. His flight was at noon so he packed his things, added them to his rental car and then walked over to Plumeria to meet Elizabeth and her sisters.
As he walked into the restaurant, he found them right away. They were all dressed in casual clothes but Elizabeth's beauty stood out the most. Her chestnut curls resting on her shoulders, her well defined arms showcased by her sleeveless dress. She was lovely. Plain and simple.
"Hey, ladies. I'm glad we could do this."
"So are we," Julie said, giving him a side hug. "It was great to meet you."
"You too, Julie. Congratulations on baby number 3."
"Thanks."
Vi gave him an awkward side hug too, not feeling comfortable hugging a man other than Charles.
Elizabeth vowed to herself not to cry. He could tell though. She could see it in his eyes. She wondered if he felt anything for her at this point or if it was all one-sided.
He opened his arms and smiled so she hugged him, trying to commit his cologne or body wash to memory. Spicy and very masculine. Pure Lucas.
"I'm going to miss you, Beth," he told her quietly, looking down at her.
Crap. Tears started falling. "Me too."
She squeezed his waist and then sat down to wipe her cheeks.
"What time is your flight?" Julie asked him as they all took their seats.
"Noon. When do you guys fly home?"
"Two more days. I'm ready to see my babies."
Elizabeth sniffled and sipped her glass of water.
Lucas reached and put his arm on the back of her chair, reminding her that he cared, that he was nearby.
Elizabeth was wondering what she had gotten herself into. She had one hundred percent fallen hard for Lucas and honestly, they hadn't even given their last names to each other.
"What's your last name?" she blurted.
"Bouchard," he said with a wink.
"French?"
"Oui."
Oh good grief. The hot, tall, amazingly kind man who looks good in anything and makes her feel special also speaks a sexy language like French?
He saw the spark in her eye and winked at her. "Your turn."
"Thatcher."
Their eyes held for a moment and then the waitress came up to see what they wanted. All four got the buffet so they all walked up to where the food was.
Lucas put a generous portion of eggs and sausage on his plate and watched as Elizabeth took some grapes and toast.
"Not hungry?"
She looked up at him and then at her plate. "I guess not."
"Hey, we will keep in touch. I promise."
"I hope so." Losing his friendship was not at all what she wanted.
"We will. You mean too much to me to just throw this friendship away."
She put a small scoop of eggs on her plate and smiled back at him and then headed to their table.
They ate quietly, Lucas keeping his arm on her chair. When it was time to leave, he asked her to walk with him to the checkout desk and then the car rental to turn his car in.
"How are you getting to the airport?" she wondered. "I can take you."
"I was going to get an uber but…"
"I'll take you. Why spend the money on an uber?"
"Thank you, Beth."
"Happy to."
About an hour later, she pulled up to the curb at the airport. She reached over to hug him and they held on for a long minute.
"Text me when you land, okay? Please?"
He nodded, kissed her temple and cheek. "I will. Bye, Beth."
"Bye."