𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐒 ━━ SARAH CAMERON

28

UNDER THE WARM, golden rays of the setting sun. Sarah found herself sitting on the soft sand beside Topper.

The gentle breeze whispered through her hair as she gazed out at the sparkling azure waves crashing against the shore. It was a picture-perfect beach day, the kind that poets and dreamers write about.

But as beautiful as the scene was, Sarah was barely paying attention to it. Instead, her eyes were drawn to a figure in the distance, riding the waves with effortless grace. Kaden. She could not take her eyes off him. She found herself mesmerized by the way he rode the waves so perfectly as if he commanded them.

He had captured her attention completely. He was like a beacon in the sea, his vibrant energy contagious and impossible to ignore. Sarah could see several other girls on the beach, watching him with equal interest and she couldn't blame them.

With each wave Kaden caught, Sarah's heart skipped a beat. The way he effortlessly maneuvered through the water, his body flowing in perfect sync with the ocean, held her captive. Her breath hitched when she saw him genuinely smile at JJ over something he'd shout to him. H had a radiant expression that reflected pure joy and passion on. It was a smile that reached his eyes, making them twinkle with an inner fire. It was the first time she was seeing it.

As she watched him surf alongside his friends, she couldn't help but feel a sense of longing wash over her like she did so many times before. This time, she yearned to be out there with him, gliding across the water's surface, feeling the rush of adrenaline coursing through her veins. It was something she had always wanted to try, an experience she could only imagine in her wildest dreams.

"What are you looking so hard at?" Topper asked from beside her, snapping her attention back to him.

Sarah shook her head, "nothing."

"You were practically eye-fucking that Pogue from here, Sarah." Topper commented, a scowl on his face as he rolled his eyes.

"His name is Kaden," the words left her mouth before she could stop them. She cleared her throat, "and he's really great at that. That's why I'm looking."

"She's right, Top." One of their friends, Hazel cut in, biting her lip as she stared at the same direction Sarah previously was. "And he looks fucking hot too. Maybe you could learn a thing or two."

"That guy beat me up!" Topper exclaimed, baffled at the two girls. "He broke my arm! Have you two forgotten that? Maybe you should take into consideration that he's a fucking savage and a pogue before drooling over him."

"Who gives a shit whether he's a pogue or not?" Hazel huffed, "it's the looks and the d that counts. And all of them are hot as hell. It's not fair."

"The d loathes us," Rafe decided to comment, smirking Hazel with a hint of mockery in his tone, "so good luck getting him."

"He hates you guys because of your childish need to pick fights with him and his friends," Sarah said, crossing her legs as she kept her eyes on Kaden who was now nearing the shore along with JJ, John B, Kiara and Pope. "He doesn't hate the rest of us."

"I heard he and Kiara are a thing," Hazel took a bite of the sandwich in her hand, "or at least, they're into each other. I mean, it's kind of obvious. Isn't it? Look how close they are."

"They're not into each other," Sarah was quick to say with a shake of her head, "he's not interested in her. They're just friends."

"How do you know that?" Topper asked, his brows furrowing in suspicion as he clenched his jaw.

"Wild guess," the blonde shrugged as Hazel chuckled. Topper, again, rolled his eyes before he decided to talk to Rafe about something Sarah couldn't care less about.