Finding Carly (SEAL Team Hawaii #5)(61)

“Are we ziplining?” she asked.

“Not telling. It’s a surprise,” Jag said with a smile. “But I think you’re gonna like it.”

Things with Jag were also going amazingly well. Yes, she was grateful for all he’d done to help her, but her feelings ran so much deeper. She enjoyed being around him more every day. He was funny, sweet, and even when they weren’t talking, just existing in the same place, she was comfortable and happy.

They still spent their nights cuddled together in his bed, their physical attraction as intense as ever. Their make-out sessions had gotten more intimate…but now that she was ready to take things to the next level, it seemed as if Jag was still holding back. Carly had no idea why.

She was ready for more. Ready to make love with Jag. But every time she tried to get up the nerve to make the first move, as her friends had suggested, something stopped her. Jag didn’t seem to be all that interested in having sex, and it was concerning. With every day that passed, Carly’s desire grew. She didn’t think he’d changed his mind about wanting to be with her, about dating, but in the evenings when they kissed, he backed off first. It was confusing…and frustrating.

“Carly?” he asked.

She realized she’d been staring into space while she was thinking. She turned to look at him. “Yeah?”

“You okay? You seem…introspective today.”

“I guess I am. But I’m good. I mean, sometimes I feel as if I’m on a roller coaster. Some days I feel like my old self, and other days I struggle to do so.”

“I think that’s normal. But I’m extremely proud of you.”

“Thanks. I’m proud of me too.”

Jag lifted their clasped hands and kissed the back of hers, sending goose bumps down Carly’s arm.

She noticed they were driving to the east side of the island, but still hadn’t guessed where they were going. She hadn’t spent a lot of time out here, had no idea what there was to do in the area. The road turned north and Carly could see the ocean.

“It’s so pretty,” she mused.

“I’d never even seen the ocean before I joined the Navy,” Jag said.

Carly stared at him in disbelief. “Seriously?”

“Yup. Not a lot of ocean in Oklahoma.”

“I guess not. But you’re a good swimmer, right?”

He laughed. “I’m a SEAL.”

“Which means you’re a good swimmer,” Carly said. “Sorry, stupid question.”

“No question you ask is stupid,” he reassured her.

“Remind me never to challenge you to a race,” she joked. “I mean, I’m a good swimmer, I can hold my own, but I never made State or anything. I’ve been mediocre my entire life.”

“You are not mediocre,” Jag said forcefully.

“I didn’t mean that in a derogatory way,” Carly soothed. “I just…I’ve been average in everything I’ve done. I think that’s what frustrated my parents. They wanted me to be the best at something, but I never stood out, no matter what activity I tried.”

“That’s not a bad thing,” Jag said.

“I didn’t care so much when I was in high school. I had friends and my life was pretty carefree. As long as I was having fun, I didn’t care if I didn’t win or didn’t have the highest test score. But when I was taking classes at the community college, I started to feel as if nobody really saw me. I was too average.”

“I saw you,” Jag said simply.

The three words shot straight to Carly’s heart. “After Shawn, I didn’t think I wanted to get into another relationship for a very long time. But somehow you snuck under my defenses. Now I can’t imagine not being with you.”

Jag grinned at her and squeezed her hand. “Ditto.” Then he said, “Look, there’s Mokoli’i. Many people call it the Chinaman’s Island, since it looks like a conical hat, but I think the Hawaiian name is much more beautiful.”

Carly stared at the island not too far from shore as they drove past. “There are a ton of small islands around Oahu, aren’t there?” she mused.

“The state recognizes one hundred and thirty-seven islands, give or take a few,” Jag said.

Carly looked at him in surprise. “Really?”

“Yup. But in actuality there are upward of a hundred and fifty or more, if you include the smaller and mostly uninhabited islets, coral reefs, and atolls.”

“Wow, I had no idea.”

Carly listened as Jag went on about how the islands were formed by volcanic activity and were actually the exposed peaks of an undersea mountain range. It was interesting to think that they were all living on the very top of a mountain, and about what it might look like without the ocean there.

Jag slowed down and flipped on his blinker. Looking to their left, Carly saw a sign that welcomed them to the Kualoa Ranch.

“I’ve heard of this place!” Carly said excitedly. “This is the Jurassic Park place, right?”

Jag chuckled. “Yup. It’s actually a nature preserve and cattle ranch, but the Ka’a’awa Valley is where many scenes from the movies were filmed. Along with Hawaii Five-O, that TV show Lost, and others as well. It also had an underground bunker for residents to escape to during World War II.”