Finding Kenna (SEAL Team Hawaii #3)(10)

“What, you thought it would suck?” Kenna teased.

“No. But Waikiki isn’t my go-to spot to hang out or for food.”

“I know, but I think the area has gotten a bad rap for whatever reason. There are some amazing places to eat down here. And the business owners are super nice too.”

“I guess I need to get out of my comfort zone a little more,” Aleck said.

“I’d be happy to show you my favorites,” Kenna told him.

“Yes,” Aleck answered immediately.

They smiled at each other.

“So…what brought you to Hawaii?” Aleck asked, wanting to know everything about the woman at his side. He was aware that the clock was ticking and he didn’t have nearly the time he would’ve liked to get to know her better.

“I came here in college with some friends and fell in love with everything about it. The weather, the sunsets, the people, the culture. After I graduated, I got a job in Pittsburgh that I hated. The winters sucked, and I spent most of my days in a cubicle. I made an impulsive decision to quit and move out here. I arrived with three suitcases and huge expectations.” She shrugged. “My life hasn’t turned out how I thought it would. You know, making big bucks at some huge corporation, changing the world in the process…but I’m happy.”

“That’s good,” Aleck told her. “You been working at Duke’s long?”

“I tried to find an accounting job, which was what my major was, and even though I was offered one or two, something kept me from accepting. I couldn’t imagine living here and being stuck in another cubicle, staring at numbers all day. It was one thing to do that in Pennsylvania, where it’s grossly hot in the summer and freezing and gray in the winters, but to do it here in Hawaii, where the weather is literally perfect all the time, just seemed wrong.

“So, while I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do, I took a waitressing job. It was awful, and the pay sucked…but I realized I loved meeting all sorts of different people every day. That job led to another, and after a while, I met someone who put in a good word for me here. It’s been a few years now, and I can’t imagine working anywhere else.”

The enthusiasm and honest enjoyment of her job was clear in her tone. She wasn’t blowing smoke up his ass. She honestly seemed to love what she did. It was somewhat of a revelation for Aleck. He just assumed she was waitressing temporarily while she looked for a “real” job. But it was obvious this was a real job for her.

“What about you?” Kenna asked.

“What about me?” he asked.

“You’re a SEAL. How’d that happen? Were you one of those kids who always dreamed about joining the Navy and becoming a superhero? Or were you forced to join up because you were a troublemaker?”

Aleck chuckled. “Neither, actually. I was an okay student, didn’t get into trouble, and was voted class clown,” he told her. “After high school, I was kind of lost. Didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. Wasn’t really ready for college. I went down to the recruiting office in San Francisco and talked to all the recruiters. The Navy offered me the most money and benefits. So I joined up.”

Kenna smiled. “You totally played them off each other, didn’t you?”

“Yup,” Aleck said without remorse. “I got through boot camp and sat through a recruiting session about the SEALs. I thought it sounded like a challenge, so I signed up.”

“And here you are,” Kenna said.

“Well, it wasn’t quite that easy,” Aleck said with a snort.

“I know. I’m not an expert, but I know about BUD/S.”

“Yeah, Hell Week and BUD/S sucked, but there’s so much more to becoming a SEAL than just that.”

“I figured. So…you’re from San Francisco?” she asked.

“Yup. My parents still have a home there too. They travel a lot, but that’s home base.” He wasn’t about to get into the fact that they were multi-millionaires right now. Or that he had quite the healthy trust fund. He wanted Kenna to like him for who he was, not for how much money he had.

Silence fell between them for a long moment. But it wasn’t awkward. Not really.

“How old are you?” Kenna asked.

“Twenty-nine,” Aleck said without hesitation. “You? Or…am I not supposed to ask that?”

“I’m thirty. I just wanted to make sure you weren’t like twenty-one or forty. I mean, there’s nothing wrong with either, but after Carly’s recent terrible experience with an older man, I’m not sure I want to go there. And twenty-one just seems super young to me.”

“It is,” Aleck agreed. He was curious about her friend’s situation, but Aleck knew he only had a little bit of time to talk to her tonight. He wanted to know more about her, not her friends. “You grew up on the East Coast?”

“Yeah. Richmond, Virginia, actually. I went to Virginia Tech, then got that job in Pittsburgh.”

“Any siblings?”

“Nope. I’m an only child. My parents are divorced but still friends, weirdly. They were one of those couples that had a whole parenting plan. I spent weekends with my dad and was with Mom during the week.”

“That had to suck,” Aleck said.

Kenna shrugged. “Not really. As I said, my parents were friends. They didn’t fight, and I didn’t think much about my situation until I was in middle school and realized it wasn’t really normal. My dad got remarried, and I really like my stepmother. She’s very different from my mom, which is probably why she and my dad’s relationship works so well.”