|| Coral ||

Killing is a crime and you definitely don't kill your best friend— was what I kept telling myself as I paced around the room.

"Coral, it's not that big a deal—" Ara tried to say.

"Really? It's not? He's my fucking ex-boyfriend, Ara! I still haven't forgiven him for what he has done, and... and you want me to waltz with him like we are some happy couple." I couldn't even begin to wrap my head around the fact that how could Ara suggest something like that to me.

Ara sighed. "It's not exactly a couple dance. Just a formal dance between the maid of honor and the best man."

"Still, to be that close to him after all this time... I can't do that. It suffocates me to even be in the same room as him, let alone practicing a dance with him."

"You leave me no choice," Ara mumbled, and I eyed her suspiciously. "Why is Wyatt still affecting you? Don't tell me you still haven't moved on from—"

Oh, I know what she's doing.

"Don't you dare turn this on me," I instantly fired back. She knew exactly what I felt for Wyatt, which brought me to the question— what exactly was she scheming?

Ara raised her hands in surrender. "Fine, I won't force you. I guess I'll just have an imperfect wedding where two of my most important people don't dance together." She heaved a sigh dramatically, her tone begging for sympathy. "Ah, it's gonna be such a pain to hear people badmouth. Thank goodness, the guest list's short."

I knew she was trying to emotionally blackmail me, and I wasn't going to fall for it.

After a silent minute, Ara placed a hand on my shoulder, understanding that her blackmails wouldn't work. "Hey, is it gonna be so bad to dance with Wyatt?" she asked with a soft expression.

"You know—"

"I know. That's why I'm saying, whatever he is, he's not a bad person. He may have hurt you in the past, but you know him better than anyone else. He made you happy for so long, there's so much he has done for you. He isn't like people's typical ex. He won't grab you and claim you as his like some possessive sicko. He is Wyatt. He'd never do anything to make you uncomfortable. He knows to respect your boundaries."

"I—"

I was speechless after hearing Ara's words. She was right, and it hurt to admit that.

Even if he seemed cold on the surface now, he still had a warm heart. I knew that... still...

I was afraid to fall weak in front of him, even though I had moved on. He had no space in my life anymore. It would be fine, right? To spend the next couple of weeks rehearsing?

"Okay, fine. I'll dance with him."

Ara squealed and pulled me into a hug. "The choreographer's studio is two blocks away. Today's dance lessons start at seven," she informed and pulled apart from the hug. "Now, then let's go have some fun at the beach!" she exclaimed.

I grinned in response and went to pack my things. It would be a nice way to take my mind off Wyatt.

Once we were ready, I headed to the elevator, but Ara started knocking on Wyatt's door.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Calling for our ride," she simply said with a cheeky grin.

"You're fucking kidding me—"

Just then, Wyatt opened the door and asked, "What's up, Ara?"

"Hey, Wyatt. Can you drive us to the beach?" Ara cheerfully asked him while I restrained myself from strangling her right there.

"Uh, don't you have your car?" Wyatt inquired.

"I left it at home," she answered proudly.

"Then why do you even own one?" I grumbled.

She shot me a flat look and turned to Wyatt with a puppy look. "Pretty, please?"

Wyatt sighed. "Alright. Lemme go change." Saying so, he went back inside.

Ara turned around with a big grin, not being fazed by the death glare I was shooting her. Rather she squealed, "It's gonna be so much fun!"

"Yeah, it'll be more fun if you were swept away by the waves at the beach," I retorted.

"Aww, then the wedding will be canceled." She fake-pouted.

I frowned. "Trust me, nothing is going to make me happier at this point."

"How mean."

The two of us bickered for a few minutes until Wyatt came out dressed in a pair of cream-colored pants and a light blue shirt with shades tucked in the front pocket.

It made my heart skip a beat. But that should be okay, right? Handsome men always make women skip their heartbeats. I was no different.

"Shall we go?" he asked.

"Yep!" Ara cheered and marched towards the elevator.

I was about to follow her, but I felt a tug at my backpack. "Give it to me," Wyatt said, and I hated how it made my heart flutter again. Why did he always have to be such a gentleman?

"No, it's fine." I gave him a tight-lipped smile and walked ahead.

He didn't insist anymore and followed us into the elevator. It was fairly awkward. But if I thought that was awkward, it became worse as I stood near his car with two options: front seat beside Wyatt or the back seat with Ara.

Sitting in the back would be my ideal choice, but that would make Wyatt look like our driver, and that would look bad for him. But sitting in the front...

Oh, fuck it.

I got into the backseat beside Ara, who smiled awkwardly and said, "Since Coral isn't taking it, I'm calling shotgun." She got out and climbed into the passenger seat for which Wyatt shot her a grateful smile and started driving.

Before the atmosphere could get awkward again, Ara jumped in once again to rescue. The ride was mostly peaceful, except for me fidgeting every time I felt Wyatt's eyes on me through the rearview. We stopped at a few shops to buy a few necessary things for the beach.

Once we arrived at the beach, I jumped out of the car to get some air. The beach was, as expected for June, crowded.

We set up everything at our spot, then Ara and I went to the restroom to get changed. I took off my hoodie and cargo shorts to reveal my hot pink two-piece bikini inside that was fairly exposing.

Just to make it clear, I didn't dress up for Wyatt. I always dressed up like this. That's just how I felt confident.

Ara let out a 'woo-hoo' when she saw me and muttered, "Single women have such privilege."

I teased, "Call off your wedding and let's find some hot boys to get laid."

"Well, you don't need to wish for all that. You can just ask Wyatt if he's up for it—" My cheeks heated up, and I slapped her arm.

"S-shut up," I sputtered and stormed out of the restroom while muttering curses, only to bump into Wyatt himself. "Ah, sorry."

"Hot..." I heard him murmur and looked up at him with wide eyes. He got flustered and spoke up abruptly, "The sun! I mean, it's hot, really hot. Did you apply sunscreen? You get tanned easily."

"You're acting strange, but yeah, I applied sunscreen back at the hotel."

"Oh, that's great."

I noticed that he hadn't changed out of his clothes. "Aren't you gonna swim?" I asked.

"No, I've got some important mail to check out."

"You brought your work here?" I asked incredulously.

"There's nothing else for me to do here."

"Well, can't you just have fun with us?"

"Will you like that, though?" he asked in a serious tone.

"Why does my opinion matter to you now after all this time?" I questioned, and he averted his eyes. I instantly regretted bringing that up.

I really could write a book titled 'How To Make Things Awkward 101'.

Thankfully, Ara came out of the restroom. "We're gonna go swimming. Have fun working," I said and marched towards the sea.

Ara sensed the tension between us but didn't say anything, rather tried to cheer me up by splashing water at me. I let myself get carried away and started playing with her.

When we got out of the water after a couple of hours, two guys approached us.

"Hey, pretty ladies, would ya' be interested in some volleyball? We need two players," the blonde one asked.

"Sure," I replied without hesitation.

"Ah, I'm sorry. I'm not feeling well from being under the sun for so long. I'm gonna take some rest," Ara said and went towards our picnic mat where Wyatt was sitting and typing on his laptop.

The other brunette guy put an arm around my shoulder. "We can't play volleyball with three people. How about we play something else?" he asked with a smug smirk, his hand traveling from my shoulder to waist.

Wow. I was only joking about getting laid, but it seems God already granted it. However, I hadn't been serious.

I was about to brush off his arm when someone else did it for me.

"My friend over there told me you were looking for a player. I'm interested," Wyatt said with an air of intimidation, flashing a cold smile.

The two guys shivered while I wondered how the fuck did Wyatt get here so fast.

"Fuck, sorry. We didn't know she had a boyfriend," the brunette said and quickly walked away with his blonde friend.

"Thanks for your help, but I didn't need that. I'm strong," I said.

"Yeah, I know that, but you're also a creep magnet."

I chuckled. "You're right about that. However, creeps usually didn't bother me when you were with me—" I froze.

Shit, I brought up the past again.

"Uh, yeah."

I looked away towards the sea and saw people surfing, immediately finding my escape. "I'm gonna go surfing." With that, I rushed towards someone who was lending surfing boards.

I grabbed one and made my way into the ocean. Once I was stable within the waves, I glanced at the shore to find Wyatt looking at my way with what seemed like a smile.

It reminded me of the past again. He always used to look over me just like that, whether I was doing shots after shots at the bar, singing off-key at the karaoke, dancing on the couch, playing his guitar, reading a book, sleeping next to him like a log, or literally anything.

Until he stopped...

Until he stopped looking at me altogether.

But why was Wyatt looking at me like that again?

Before I could get more lost in my thoughts, I heard someone scream, "Look behind!"

When I did, there was a big wave behind me. "Shit." I wasn't able to react quick enough and got plunged into the water.

That's what I got for losing focus in the middle of the sea and thinking about the former love of my life.

Soon, I drowned deeper into the water while my consciousness got dimmer before it went all dark.

★★★