Page 12 of The Wrong Sister
I turn and Griffin is propped on his elbows, looking good enough to eat, watching me. I want to dip my tongue into those twin dimples at the base of his back. Instead, I wave my phone, tossing it back in my bag. “Catherine.” The warmth that was on his face slides off. Hmm. That sucks and I don’t want to deal with it. I’m not letting whatever this bullshit is muck up my weekend. I stand up, shaking out my towel.
“Are you leaving?”
I pull on my caftan and roll my towel back up. “I think I’m done here. I’ll walk home now.”
“We’re going the same way, why don’t we walk together?”
I smile, feeling that it doesn’t reach my eyes. I’m not mad at him, I simply don’t want to wait around for him to figure his shit out. “Sure, Griff.”
“Do you want to grab some coffee on the way?”
Fuck, he’s confusing. “Why don’t you come up to my place? I can make us some, then you’re only across the street from home.” I start walking, sure that he will follow me, even if I don’t understand why.
9
griffin
Why did I say yes? This is such a bad idea. I thought itcouldbe bad as soon as I realized it was Mina walking towards the lagoon. And I knewfor sureit was going to be bad the moment she pulled off that caftan. I was not fucking ready for grown up Mina in a bikini. It looked sort of retro. The black bottoms hit high on her waist and the top was black and white checked. All I know is that her waist was tiny and her ass looked like a fucking peach emoji. Even being knocked onto my back on the sand was hot. I tower over her and she laid me out before she even knew it was me!
When I first recognized her, I should have quietly gotten out of the water and walked back home. Every moment afterward got me in more and more trouble. Touching her soft skin to spread on sunscreen, noticing how much of her back my hands can cover, playing around in the water… I was having a lot of fun with her, being silly and playful, letting loose in a way I haven’t in a long, long time. And then suddenly my body woke up to the fact that I had Minain my arms. I was carrying her around, that ass right next to my face, her stormy eyes flashing at me, her breasts pressed against my chest. Bodies close. Pushing each other’s buttons. How could I not be affected?
I was sure Mina was going to give me shit the moment she realized how turned on I was. I was mentally preparing myself for it, trying to come up with a defense. But she didn’t say anything. She let me walk away and acted like it didn’t happen. I think that’s what did me in. She may be fiery, but she refused to cross that line and make a joke out of how I was feeling about her. When she said she was leaving, my only thought was to stay with her a little longer. She walked off, leaving me behind like she knew I would follow. Her confidence is such a fucking turn-on. She makes me forget myself. Forget what’s necessary. What’s the opposite of a box check?
We walk the two miles back, in our own little bubble except for the guy I keep spotting walking behind us. It’s not strange to have someone taking our exact route but it’s almost like he’s making an effort not to be seen or get too close. But random dude is easy to dismiss with Mina next to me.
We talk comfortably about living in Kaka‘ako and what it has been like being back on the island after being away, living in major metropolitan areas. Even growing up close, I never realized how much we have in common. We’re very different people but those intersections of commonality are enticing. We both enjoyed the city life, spending our free time at museums and attending concerts. We like a lot of the same music and have even seen some of the same shows, albeit in different parts of the country. We’ve both fought the strangeness that comes from having the ‘aina—this land—solidly in your heart while also trying to reconcile it with that part of yourself that loved being someone else, somewhere else. Catherine doesn’t understand that feeling. She has never wanted to leave here. She’s a quiet soul with aspirations to match, happy at the University of Hawai‘i and happy in her condo in Honolulu. She’s never understood why we left, even if she was supportive. I would be ticking so many boxes, if there were boxes I could tick on a list that was safe.
Mina’s apartment is very her. It’s clean and open with black, white, and grey making up the majority of everything and bold, unexpected uses of color. She has an array of artwork on her walls and I recognize several of Rafferty’s pieces. I have a couple myself. I’m looking at the artwork when I fumble and drop my sunglasses. I crouch down to grab them and start to stand up as Mina barrels around the corner. We collide. Why do we always fucking collide?
I put my hands up in front of me, instinctually, and now her tits are pressed against my palms in a way that would be incredible if it wasn’t accidental and awkward. To make matters worse, she doesn’t jump away after hitting me. She stops cold and I freeze too, trying desperately not to curl my fingers down to squeeze or move my hands over her skin. I pull back slowly, staring at the hard peaks of her nipples, before moving my focus up to her face. Her eyes are wide with surprise. And, hey, why not? For the second time today, let’s bring back my cock’s immediate reaction to contact with her body. Awesome. She’s looking at my crotch, I’m trying not to look her in the eyes and then we both hear the scrape of keys in the lock.
I jump up and drop on the couch, trying to look casual. Snatching a throw pillow, I hold it in my lap. Fuck! Why didn’t I go home? I don’t think there’s any way I could make more of a mess of this. I’ve never had such a hard time getting my body and mind to align. Mina turns on her heel and runs back towards her bedroom. The door opens and in walk Catherine and Rafferty. Seriously? Fuck. Me. I shouldn’t have joked. This is by far worse.
“Griff!” My brother is grinning at me and I have the urge to punch him. “What are you doing here?”
“I ran into Mina at the beach. She offered to make coffee, but I think she went back to change first.” Could I sound like more of an awkward robot? I can feel my cheeks growing red and the last thing I need to do is give Raff a reason to start digging. He eyes the pillow in my lap and grins wider. Stupidly perceptive asshole. “What are you two doing here, together?” I scramble to distract him. “I thought you didn’t hang out.”
Catherine answers first, touching our cheeks together in greeting and then leaning against the wall. “Mina and I talked about getting together tonight. I was coming to get food at Arvo and thought I’d pop in and ask her if she wanted to join. I texted but she didn’t respond.” I point to her bag in the entryway. “That answers that question, she didn’t hear her phone.”
“Was that you letting yourself in?” I ask Catherine.
“No, that was Raff. He was coming down the hall when I got out of the elevator.” I narrow my eyes at him. Mina seemed confused earlier when I assumed Raff would have spent the night after their date last night. She didn’t use the word boyfriend. I thought for sure I’d misread things and they’re not together. But if not, then why does he have a key to her place? If they’re friends with benefits, I may implode from all the anger and confusion I’m suppressing. I don’t know why the thought of them having no-strings sex makes me even more furious than the idea of them dating.
Mina comes out wrapped in a silky robe and I look everywhere but her. Of course, Raff notices, and that grin gets wider. I hope he gets cheek cramps and premature wrinkles.
“Rafferty Simms, I don’t think this is what the key was for.”
“Sorry Meens, but you didn’t respond so I thought that meant you were out. I was going to leave this,” he waves a bag, “and Catherine wanted to leave you a note. We were surprised to see Griffin sitting there when we came in.”
I’m still stuck on the key part. Why does Raff have a key to Mina’s apartment? What exactly are they to each other? And why do I care this much? I shouldn’t. How do I stop caring? Mina goes over to Raff and, heaven help me, I notice she isn’t wearing anything under that robe and I swear my salivary glands go into overdrive. I need to get out of here. Her every move is getting to me and now our siblings are here too. I don’t need an audience for my meltdown. Especially not when Catherine and I still haven’t talked about last night or what we are. Shit, I’m looking at her ass again! She has a magnetic pull.
“Raff, what’d you bring me?”
“Nothin’ much. I was over at Hungry Ear this morning and spied this.” He pulls a record out of the bag and Mina squeals, jumping up into his arms. Seeing Rafferty’s arms around her body wakes something primal in me. I can feel my blood roaring in my ears and my temperature seems to be rising. Fuck this. I stand up, intending to leave when I see which album Rafferty is holding.
“Is that Munya?”
Mina turns towards me and her full-watt smile warms me from the inside out, calming the rising storm of panic within my ribcage. “Can you believe it? Especially after we were just talking about this album on our walk!” She turns back to Raff and hugs him again. Lucky bastard. “Thank you, Raff! Will you start the kettle for some coffee while I put this on?” She takes the record over to her player and Raff goes to make coffee, like he’s done it hundreds of times. They seem cozy, familiar. Their actions are intimate. Catherine is watching me and suddenly it’s all too much.
