Then You Look At Me |COMPLETED|

Epilogue 2

Riley and I take our T-shirts off, but our shorts remain. We are yet to attain the level of confidence Sam has. Maybe when we get a bit more boobs and thighs. She plods over to us with a grin, throwing her arms around our necks. "So, can you girls swim?"

Riley shakes her head. "Not even to save my life."

Sam chuckles, grabbing our hands and pulling us along with her. "Then, let me teach youuuu~!"

The sand is warm against our feet as we scamper toward the rushing waves. We play in the sea like three ten-year-old girls and Sam attempts to teach us a few swimming techniques, which almost resulted in Riley drowning herself. We laugh at the ordeal before we notice everyone else joining us on the beach. We climb out of the water and lay onto our backs in the sun as we look up at the sky. The day could not get any better than this. It is like the weather has ensured to be on her best behavior today, so we can have the most amazing time of our lives.

The tranquility is quickly interrupted when a pair of feet rush past us, dust particles surrounding us, and getting into our eyes. I cough, propping up onto my elbows as Sam glares at a giggling Aiden.

"Seriously, Aiden?!" She frowns, and he chuckles, rotating his waists menacingly with no hint of remorse before diving into the sea headway.

Riley laughs and shakes her head, laying back down onto the sand. "Something is wrong with him."

Marco and the boys pass by us—decently—to join Aiden; Alaric carrying a beach ball in his hand. While they swim, play ball, and chat among themselves, we sit upright to watch them. I glance back at where the adults are sitting on the benches while indulging in a conversation. Anthony is sitting on Melissa's lap while my dad and Austin are waving their hands around as they elaborate on something.

"Which one of those boys would you say is the sneakiest among them?" I hear Sam asks, and I pull my gaze in front as Riley squints her eyes wonderingly.

"I'd say Alaric, but Ansel is worse." She titters.

"Yeah, Ansel definitely tops the list. You can never predict him." Sam agrees, and I smile, knowing how true that is.

"But Alex is a professional liar. Can you believe that when they were faking Ansel's death, he actually cried real tears?" Riley hisses, and Sam laughs.

"Those boys are professional liars. Ansel is pretty honest though, but he's a devil under disguise."

I chuckle. "You couldn't put it any better."

"Hey! It's you!" A voice says and I look up, squinting my eyes from the flare of the sun to see who stands there. Realization dawns on my features when I notice that it's that boy at the Hardware—the shop guy who we had asked to show us the clipping of Riley's kidnapping. He is standing with another guy who is staring admiringly at Sam. She pretends not to notice though as she looks between the shop guy and me.

"What a coincidence to see you here." Shop-attendant smiles. "It's quite a small world."

"Hey, you!" Alaric begins moving toward us, the rest of the boys following behind him. "None of these girls here are single so keep it moving."

The young clerk looks in their direction while his friend rubs his neck awkwardly. Alex recognizes the face almost instantly. "Hey, it's the conning cashier guy." He nudges Ansel, who picks up immediately. "Oh yeah, the hardware crook."

I try not to chortle as the shop-attendant laughs. "I am not a crook. My name's Kian, by the way."

"You guys know him," Alaric says and Alex nods, juggling the ball from one hand to the next.