It was a routine day on the North Shore, everyone had received their assignments, having been given the rundown about the tourist season for the summer. Every year the summer was always chaotic, especially with folks from Europe visiting for the first time.
Laka was assigned to one of the towers with Will and Kainalu, who was usually stationed with Hina. But Hina was stationed with Em, giving them "girl time".
The morning and early afternoon passed without incident, with just a couple of tourists needing bandaids or extra sunscreen, the usual.
The ocean was also quite calm for the day, allowing some new surfers to catch waves for the first time. They would do their usual, paddle out, catch a few waves, take a break, circle back, and do it over again.
Some clouds had rolled in by mid-afternoon, and the wind picked up only a bit, but nothing too dramatic.
Not too far off from the tower, Laka noticed two girls pulling surfboards behind them. One of them had electric blue and teal streaks through her hair, a bright pink bikini, and a few traditional tattoos on her right arm and lower right leg. Not too far behind her, was another girl with fair skin covered in freckles, flushed cheeks, and curly brown hair. She wore a pale blue swimsuit, light enough to be white, decorated with blue patterns. She seemed to struggle more with the surfboard, clearly not accustomed to holding it.
"Looks like we got a newbie over there," Will remarked with a wry grin.
"Yep, looks like it. Keep an eye on the brunette maybe."
"Eh, give her a chance. Sometimes they surprise you."
For a bit, things appeared to be going smoothly as the blue-haired girl was instructing the brunette on how to surf. She seemed to be an expert, and Laka figured the blue-haired girl to be Samoan based on her tattoos.
The brunette seemed confident in catching a small wave, and the blue-haired girl encouraged it, and Laka barely caught the name.
"You've got this, Maja! Just one wave!" The blue-haired girl encouraged.
"All right, all right!" Maja laughed.
She paddled out as a small wave came crashing towards her, but as she got closer, the wave suddenly grew in size, catching her off guard.
"Wait! Maja!" The blue-haired girl called out.
Laka swore it seemed the wave intentionally came down on Maja, knocking her off the board, and causing her to shriek as she went under. The blue-haired girl got off her board and dove in after her, but the waves became more aggressive and began to churn. Maja didn't come back up, but the blue-haired girl did, breaking the surface and waving her hand frantically as she clung to her board, calling for attention.
Without thinking, Laka bounded towards them, grabbing his board and paddling out.
"Hey! Over here! She's stuck!" The girl exclaimed.
"What do you mean she's stuck?" Laka asked, and she attempted to dive back in to show him, but Laka pulled her back.
"I don't wanna pull you both out!" He scolded. He waved his hand for Will and Kainalu to come immediately, and one of them radioed EMS as Laka dove back under the waves and saw Maja struggling as her foot was caught between two rocks. Her eyes were wide with panic, and she was running out of air. He gestured for her to attempt to relax as he attempted to free her foot, but she soon became limp in the water; he was able to pull her foot free. Holding her close, they surfaced, but she didn't respond to the air, remaining limp in his grip.
Luckily, Will and Kainalu had pulled up, Will pulling up the blue haired girl onto his board, while Kainalu helped Laka with Maja in his arms.
As they got to shore, Maja was still not responding. As he and Kainalu performed CPR, managing to get Maja's lungs to clear; Laka gently turned Maja onto her side, allowing her to expel all the water she'd swallowed. Will held the blue-haired girl back as she screamed Maja's name.
"Hey! Hey! Easy! EMS is on their way to help her. What's your name? Are you her friend?" Will asked, attempting to distract her.
"It's Kalani, and no, she's my cousin!"
"Really? You guys are cousins?" Kainalu questioned, glancing at her. Meanwhile, Maja's eyes cracked open, turning to Laka, struggling to focus on him.
"Hey, hey, you're gonna be okay." He assured softly, seeing her eyes were a bright green that seemed to lock in on him as he placed an oxygen mask over her face, gently pushing her wet curls from her forehead and cheek.
He observed her freckles that covered her flushed cheeks, over her shoulders, and arms, and a few moles on her stomach. And peeking from underneath her top, he spied a star tattoo on the bottom of her sternum.
She tried to speak, but he assured her that she was going to be okay just as the ambulance pulled up.
Laka helped get Maja onto the stretcher, and Kalani hopped into the ambulance with her, and they drove off to the hospital.
After the girls were gone, it was back to the tower as usual. While Will and Kainalu brushed off the rescue for the remainder of the shift, for whatever reason, Laka could not get Maja out of his head.
For all the years of casual dates and the occasional hookup, Laka never got attached or committed, much to Will's annoyance and detriment, and had received too many lectures from Cap and Em.
After their shift was over, Laka went home to his tutu and found himself unable to sleep, wondering how Maja was. He knew she was in good hands, but he had to know.
He called in sick the next day, citing a horrible migraine that kicked in. Cap didn't sound entirely convinced, but didn't attempt to argue; just told him to get better.
Laka made his way to the local hospital, and even though he didn't know Maja's last name, he mentioned Kalani, her blue-haired cousin. One of the nurses agreed to take him to visit her, recognizing him as one of the lifeguards.
"What brings you here?" The nurse inquired, knowing that lifeguards rarely, if ever, came to visit patients in the hospital. Laka didn't disagree, having been visited by the people he rescued usually.
"I know, it's out of the ordinary," he conceded, as he followed her down the hallway, and briefly passed by Jarrah, Cap's wife, who appeared surprised but said nothing.
"Mm, she's right here." The nurse said, bringing him into one of the rooms, with Maja on the bed nearest the window. Kalani was nowhere in sight as he made his way in.
The heart monitor beeped softly in the background as Laka noticed that Maja was asleep. He contemplated on whether he should stay and was just about to turn around and leave, deciding to come back later, but he stopped at hearing the bedsheets stir.
He didn't catch what she mumbled as she woke up, rubbing her eyes. But she did a double take when her bright green eyes locked on him.
"You-you're the lifeguard—" She managed to say, sitting up slightly, though grimacing and holding her chest, sucking in a sharp breath from the pain. He hurried to her side, taking a seat on the edge of the bed.
"Hey, easy there, I'm sure you're going to be sore for a while," he assured, helping her lean back as he adjusted the hospital bed.
"Why… why are you here?" He shrugged.
"It's not something I do, but, I wanted to come check on you, that's all." She blinked in surprise, and he noticed how red her cheeks still were even a day later.
"Oh, uh… you didn't have to do that…" she said, feeling suddenly bashful.
"I didn't, but I wanted to. You were pretty brave for facing those waves." She scoffed.
"More like idiotic. That's what I get for attempting to surf before going back home."
"Where is home?"
"Oslo, Norway." Laka blinked in surprise, having been curious about her accent but unable to place it.
"What're you doing here on the North Shore?"
"Business trip with my cousin." She said simply, "Just visiting."
"How're you two cousins?"
"It's… a long story," Maja sighed.
"No judgment from me, just curious."
"Hm." There was an awkward silence as both were unsure of what to say next. He studied her for a moment and then remembered the tattoo he saw.
"I uh, I hope you don't mind me asking, but I was curious about the tattoo on your chest." This time, Laka saw her visibly blush, and damn it was cute.
"Oh, it's… it's uh, Polaris, the North Star. I'm an astronomer, and the North Star has always been culturally and historically relevant for travel. Y'know, before technology and GPS."
"If it's your passion, why not tattoo it over your heart?"
"I… don't know. I just liked the placement." She explained, "Do you have tattoos? It's a stupid question, but I wasn't exactly in a good state of mind." He chuckled.
"Nah, don't worry about it. But, I do have one, right here." He gestured to his right side with a grin and saw the curious look in her eyes. Studying her closely, he lifted his shirt to show her, and she instinctively reached out, her fingers gently grazing the inked skin, sending electricity through him.
"It's beautiful," she smiled.
"Thank you. But, I'd say you steal the show. You definitely did yesterday, for me anyway." She struggled to hide her smile, curling up into the bed.
"Are you flirting with me, lifeguard?" She quipped.
"It's Laka, and depends… if you're into it." She gave him a wry smile, narrowing her eyes as she studied him closely.
"What would you think I'd be into?" Laka pursed his lips, wondering what he could offer her.
"How about… I treat you to poke and ice cream? After you get discharged of course." She quirked a brow.
"Not going to offer personal surfing lessons?" He chuckled.
"As tempting as that is, I'd better let you have a break from the waves for a bit."
She hummed as she considered his offer, as it was incredibly tempting. Why ignore the attention he had come to give her? After all, he never came to just casually check on his rescues.
"Hmm, I'll take you up on that. Though you'll be hard-pressed to convince Kalani. Might just have to charm your way through that."
"Easy peasy. By the way, where're you two staying? I can pick you up there when you're out." She smiled and reached for her phone, handing it to him. He happily plugged in his contact, and she did the same for him.
"Oh, and where is your cousin?"
"Right here, actually." Kalani announced from just behind the partially drawn curtain, startling the both of them.
"Kalani! Geez, I didn't even hear you come in." Maja exclaimed.
"Oh, I'm quiet when I need to, had to hear the whole thing, y'know? Had to know why the lifeguard came all the way here to see you."
"Honest intentions, I swear." He assured, holding his hands up. Kalani just rolled her eyes, though didn't hold back her smile.
"Easy lifeguard, I'm just teasing. I am thankful for what you did, though."
"Of course, just doing my job."
"And then some."
"Oh, leave him be 'Lani. He's sweet."
"I know, I know."
With that, Laka stood and made his way towards the door, bidding the girls goodbye.
A few days later, Laka received a text from Maja that she was out of the hospital and heading back to her Air BNB with Kalani. Laka didn't realize how wide he was grinning until Will noticed, as did Em.
"What's with the grin, mate?"
"Huh? Oh, uh, nothing, nothing, dumb video." Laka attempted.
"I dunno, Cap told me that Jarrah saw you at the hospital the other day. What's that about?"
"Uh, visiting a friend."
"A friend?" Em countered, unimpressed. Laka paused, as he was unsure of what they would say if he told them about Maja.
"Let's just go to the tower brah, not in the mood." He finally said, ending the conversation and leaving the guard shack in irritation.
Will and Em eyed each other, both having known Laka for years now. They were gonna figure this out.
Luckily, the day after Maja was discharged was Laka's day off, and he had full intention of taking advantage of the day.
He pulled up to the Air BNB where the girls were staying, and Maja stepped out the door in a stunning blue sundress that hugged her curves. She bid Kalani goodbye, and Laka helped her into his truck.
"Thank you, for this." She said.
"Of course, you already look much better than the other day." She managed a smile as she buckled in, and he drove her to a local poke shop where he inquired more about her background, and asked endless questions about Norway, given he'd never been there before, and she was happy to share.
He was enamored with the passion in her voice, and listening to her gush about her heritage and for studying the stars. He now understood the phrase "stars in their eyes", for the first time.
"You have a good heart, you know that?" He remarked, and she blushed.
"Thank you." She grinned, pulling her curly hair into a ponytail, "Now, I'm curious about your life here and being a lifeguard." He naturally indulged her, and felt comfortable bragging just a bit, as he could tell she was focused, though now that he realized it, he didn't know if she was really paying attention to what he was saying, or if she was admiring his body. Either way, he wasn't complaining.
After they finished, he paid for both of them, and then took her to a local ice cream shop, and then drove her to a more secluded section of the North Shore, prioritizing his alone time with her.
Even after they finished eating, they sat on the bed of his truck overlooking the beach, talking endlessly, each word they said coming naturally, as if they'd known each other for years.
The sun began to set, and Laka scooted closer to her, and she didn't protest. He wondered how much she was comfortable with, considering they only knew each other for a few days, yet there was an undeniable connection.
Maja had already taken the risk of surfing for the first time on the roughest beach in Hawai'i, and now here she was on a date with the lifeguard who saved her life. Was she ready to take another risk with him? Just by studying his body language, he was itching for something.
"Laka?"
"Hm?"
"Kiss me."
Those two words were all he needed to hear. In one swift motion, he pulled her onto his lap and began kissing her feverishly, as if it was his last night on earth. His hands roamed her body, the straps of her sundress slipping off her shoulders, inviting him to delicately pull it off with her help.
Once it was off, he realized she wasn't wearing a bra, not that he was complaining. He marveled at them, ensuring to press a kiss over every square inch of her freckled skin, and coming to a stop over the North Star on her chest, pressing a warm kiss over it, causing her to moan softly in response.
She then pulled off his shirt, admiring his sculpted body, her hand grazing over the tattoo on the right side of his waist, and he felt that rush of electricity run through him just from her touch. Barely suppressing a low growl, he pulled her closer, kissing her deeply, running his hands everywhere over her body.
He became aware of the tightness in his shorts, and it seemed she had as well, as she positioned herself carefully so she was sitting right on his bulge, grinding against him in a calculated manner.
"Fuck," he groaned into her neck, biting and sucking on it intently.
It finally became too much for him. He went to the cab of his truck, and retrieved a condom and a blanket, rejoining her in the bed, helping her get comfortable.
Just a few days ago Maja nearly lost her life to the unforgiving waves, and now, she was having sex with the very lifeguard who pulled her to safety and was enamored with her.
Each thrust was focused and intense, pushing deep into her, and kissing her to the point she almost forgot how to breathe. He paid attention to every part of her, pressing kisses everywhere like they were brushstrokes, and she was the masterpiece. She couldn't stop moaning his name as she inched closer and closer to climax, feeling him touch a part of her no man had ever discovered.
It was something deep and meaningful, nothing like the other girls he'd slept with before. She had healed something within him, something he couldn't explain. She was utterly magnetic and as selfish as it was to say, but he didn't want her to leave. He wanted her in every way possible. Was it rushed? Yes, he wouldn't deny that. But he wouldn't deny the connection he felt, and he knew she felt it too.
For the first time, he climaxed with her, both feeling a satisfying release of their tension.
He brought her in for another deep kiss, hugging her close.
"I wanna stay here," she mumbled, snuggling against him, and resting her head on his chest. He prayed she didn't hear his heart rate pick up.
"Then stay…" he replied, running his fingers through her soft curls.
Then stay…