My eyes narrowed slightly as I watched Liam. The same irritating smile was still plastered on his face.

"What kind of bet?" I asked, suspiciously.

"Don't worry, it's not gonna kill you," Liam chuckled at my suspicion. "If I win against you in a race from the shore to that buoy and back," Liam pointed at the bright orange buoy in the distance that bobbed up and down in the water, "you have to accept my follow request on Instagram."

I scoffed, "You should be careful what deals you make."

"You're confident that you'd win?" Liam raised an amused eyebrow.

"Of course, I can swim well," I boasted.

"Okay then, do we have a deal?" he held out a hand, his lips curling up.

My eyes travelled to the buoy that Liam had pointed to. It was not too far from shore, and there was a good chance I could still touch the ground from there. Even if I couldn't, we wouldn't be staying there long.

"Yes," I nodded, confidently, taking his hand in mind to shake. I was sure I could beat Liam since I was smaller and quicker.

A victorious smirk spread over Liam's lips, "Great, let's go."

I placed my stomach back on the surfboard as we began paddling back to shore, my arms pushing back against the water.

I was more than confident in my abilities. If I won, I wouldn't have to see Liam's face on my newsfeed and I could get in his face about losing to me. I didn't really understand why Liam was so motivated, it was just a follow request.

"I didn't know you could surf," Liam turned around to stare at me.

"That's cause I don't, I'm supposed to learn today," I explained. "I'm not surprised you know how to surf." I rolled my eyes, though I couldn't help but feel impressed. I hadn't even stood up on my board, and it amazed me that Avery and Liam could ride a wave.

"Of course, I did it competitively a while ago," a dimpled smile spread over Liam's face. Without even realizing it, I returned it.

My feet made contact with the ground as we reached the shore, and I set Avery's surfboard down onto the sand, away from the tide.

Liam did the same next to me. My eyes studied his board, not at all subtly. It was aesthetically pleasing, consisting of different shades of blue blended together into an ombré from dark to light. I didn't need to be a pro surfer to know his board was expensive, and in great condition.

It was also the same board that was in the Instagram photo I saw on Avery's phone. The one where Liam was butt naked, without swim shorts on. My nose crinkled at the thought of it, and I shook away any warmth that creeped onto my cheeks.

"You ready?" Liam's voice snapped me out of my thoughts and I turned back to him, nodding.

We headed back into the ocean, the shells and sand prickling my feet as I walked. I stopped at the same time Liam did, the water was almost waist deep as the waves pushed against me. The buoy was about thirty meters away from us.

"One," I started, glancing over at Liam. He had an expectant eyebrow raised at me. "Two... three!"

I sucked in a deep breath, and my legs exploded as they began kicking as hard as my feet could move. My vision was a blur underwater as my arms pushed against the water, synchronized with my feet.

I had no clue where Liam was, whether he was behind me or in front. But, I was confident I was quicker than him. I rounded the buoy, circling back around to return to shore. I willed my legs to kick faster and my arms to move faster as they pushed against the water.

By the time my feet touched the prickly ground on the shoreline, my lungs were burning, as if they were on fire.

I gave one last kick and broke through the surface of the water, taking in a deep breath of fresh air.

The cocky tone in Liam's voice was clear when he spoke, "Finally back?"

I swiped my hands over my face, moving the hair that had been draped over my eyes, obstructing my vision. Liam stood above me with his arms crossed, his wet shorts clinging onto him.

"How?" I asked, incredulously.

"Of course I'd win," he scoffed, a smirk spreading over his lips.

"Excuse me?" I sputtered, standing up.

"Please, why are you even surprised?" he said, teasingly. The smirk only grew wider.

I opened my mouth and then shut it again when nothing came out, not knowing what to say. All I knew was that I'd have to follow Liam on Instagram. My face flushed from the thought of losing to Liam.

"Did really you think you'd win?" he rubbed it in, walking closer towards me. He leaned in, challenging me. I stayed rooted in my spot, narrowing my eyes at him.

"Did you cut corners?" I ignored his question.

"I have more class than that," he raised an eyebrow, though he was definitely still amused.

"Do you?" I said doubtfully. My eyebrows matched his when they also shot up.

My irritation slowly dissipated as I stared into his dark eyes. Those eyes that I'd known for so long. The pools of honey within them were accentuated in the bright afternoon sun. His wet hair sprawled over his forehead, dripping with water at the tips. Droplets trailed down the apex of his nose, face and chest.

I swallowed hard from the sight of him, the familiar bubbly feeling taking over my gut.

Liam ran a hand over his hair as his eyes moved from mine and down to my lips. His hand found my waist and he pulled me in, closing the little gap we had between us. With his eyes on mine and his breath staggered, he leaned his head in. The brush of his lips were just a whisper away.

He was so close and I didn't want to move. But, I couldn't do this, not to myself, Mother and Father.

I turned my head to the side at the last second and broke away from his hold, ignoring Liam's dejected expression.

"I... I should go find Avery," I managed to force out of my mouth. I swallowed down any regret that began creeping into the pit of my stomach.

His shoulders drooped in disappointment, but within a second, he had recovered with a smirk, "You can't go yet."

What now? I rolled my eyes, but kept quiet, knowing that he'd elaborate.

"Remember the deal, you gotta accept my follow request," he reminded me. His tone made it seem as though I was an idiot, or mentally challenged.

"Fine," I grumbled.

With that, Liam and I began making our way over to our bags and towels, picking up our surfboards on the way. The warm sun immediately warmed cold body like a warm blanket, the yellow sand tickling my feet as we walked. The sand sparkled under the direct sunlight.

I secretly hoped that Liam's things were across the beach from mine and Avery's. That way, I had time to book it and leave before Liam caught up to me with his phone.

My stomach only dropped in discontent when Liam headed straight for where both Avery and my bag sat. Except now, there were two other bags next to ours.

"Gotta thank Avery for moving our things," Liam cackled, to which my nose crinkled. Avery was really testing me with Liam.

"Yeah, I'll thank her," I frowned, stabbing my board into the sand.

Liam did the same before digging his phone out from his Adidas drawstring bag. I watched as his wet hair fell over his face, his fingers flying over the screen.

"Done," he glanced back up at me. "Your turn."

With a flat expression, I fished my own phone out from my bag and clicked onto Instagram, accepting his follow request. The first photo my eyes landed on as I checked his profile was the one where he'd mooned the camera with his surfboard.

"See, was that so hard?" he teased, nudging me with his arm.

"Absolutely the hardest," I deadpanned, to which he chuckled.

"That's what she said," Liam simpered. I rolled my eyes, suppressing a smile. I failed miserably as my shoulders began to shake with laughter. Liam let out a laugh along with me, clearly proud of his joke. We tossed our phones back into our bags.

"That's horrible," I told him, shaking my head.

"And yet, you laughed," his eyes glistened as he picked his surfboard up again.

"I was laughing at you, not with you," I shot back.

He shook his head, smiling as he placed the leash attached to his board over his ankle, "Let's get back out there."

He left me before I could get a word in to protest, jogging back towards the ocean. The sun had barely had the time to dry the water off of my body and now we were running back in.

"Crap," I cursed under my breath as I reluctantly followed. I skipped over towels and picnic baskets before finally making it back to the shoreline, following Liam close behind.

The cold water pricked at my legs as I stepped in, hopping back onto my board on my stomach. As I got deeper in, the cold water was slightly more bearable.

"Liam, wait!" I called after him. Thankfully, he stopped, turning around expectantly. His arms hung over his board, which floated effortlessly over the ocean. "I can't surf, remember."

"Okay, I can teach you," he shrugged.

"I'm fine, thanks," I shook my head, stiffly.

"What's wrong?" Liam asked, his brows furrowing.

"Nothing. I just don't need you to teach me," I answered simply, avoiding his eyes.

If I were really to learn how to surf, I'd do it myself. Maybe with some tips from Avery, if I really needed it.

"Oh," was all Liam said, his lips curled down the slightest bit.

I felt a pang of guilt for saying it, but it was the truth. I needed to do these things myself.

A smile spread over Liam's face, "Well, regardless you can watch how it's done." He crawled onto his board and began paddling his way deeper into the ocean.

I watched him, involuntarily studying his every move. My eyes trailed down to his strong arms that pushed against the water. Even when he wasn't trying, my stomach still performed backflips from the sight of him.

My hand flew over to my mouth, lightly brushing against it as I remembered just how close Liam's lips were to mine. I wondered what it would feel like, even though deep down, I knew I couldn't know.

I'd walked away from two close calls, if there was a third I didn't know if I could bring myself to avoid it.

Liam stood up on his board as a small wave approached him, his balance was perfect. He was far out into the ocean and his body seemed ant sized compared to usual.

He rode the wave smoothly, adding in a maneuver that looked much like a flip as he moved from the shoulder to the curl.

Much to my surprise, within the next second, he tipped over on his board, plummeting into the ocean.

I scoffed, shaking my head, recalling how he'd boasted about being a competitive surfer at one point. Not that I would perform better, but I had higher hopes for Liam.

I scanned the vast ocean for a few moments, watching as the crests of larger waves crash onto shore.

After some time, my brows furrowed, panic finally rising in my throat. It had been over ten seconds and Liam was still nowhere to be seen. I swallowed hard, feeling the pace of my heart increase significantly.

His board broke through the surface of the water. Dread filled my stomach as I watched as his board continue to float aimlessly, rocked by the waves.

Liam was still nowhere to be seen.

★★★

𝐻𝑖 𝑔𝑢𝑦𝑠! 𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑘𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐼 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑔 ℎ𝑜𝑝𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑒𝑛𝑗𝑜𝑦𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟! 𝑃𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑣𝑜𝑡𝑒, 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑖𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑑𝑖𝑑!

𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑑𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑔𝑢𝑦𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝐿𝑖𝑎𝑚?

~𝑆𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑡𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠𝐼𝑛𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑆𝑎𝑙𝑡