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EVERYONE STARED AT ME.

Immediately after I had smashed the ball towards Veronica's head, I began to feel lighter and beyond satisfied-but the way everyone stared at me was like I had done the worst thing ever.

Veronica was still in the water, all whilst crying pathetically that I had to roll my eyes. With gaze darting between Valen and the rest, I wanted to lie that it had been an accident but, their boisterous laughs slashed right through my unspoken words.

Bella and Jess came on either side of me, hands falling on my shoulders. "That was hilarious, especially the way she screamed."

"Yup, you're a savage," Bella added, all between laughs.

"That was amazing!" Walter added, running towards me whilst Jaxon laughed, and Austin spoke, "That's why I like her."

I took it as a joke-even though he had sent a wink my way.

I caught Valen's gaze from few meters away-where he had been standing-and saw amusement flick up in his eyes, all before letting out a fruity laugh and then masking it with a cough when Veronica called him for help.

He helped her out of the water, and parts of her body was covered in mud from where they had met with sand. She marched up towards me, eyes shooting glares as she fumed, all before walking away to clean up herself.

Valen walked towards me, smile plastered when he stopped in front of me. "You really are fucking strange."

I folded my arms over my chest, and refusing to answer him because I was still mad; mad that he had to leave right in the middle of our competition, and when I was almost winning. Couldn't he have pushed her away or something?

"Carla. . . Are you mad?"

I looked at him, rolled my eyes, and then looked away. "Thank goodness you noticed."

He tapped my shoulder. "Why are you mad? I didn't do anything."

"You little-" I cut myself off, and sighed. "We had a competition, where I was winning and you let her pull you away!"

He pinched the bridge of his nose, a sigh falling past his lips. "What was I supposed to do? She has been practically annoying me with her annoying and never ending talks."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Now that the game's cancelled you're buying me ice cream."

"What? No," he retorted. "You're going on a swim with me.

Valen Monroe was known for always starting arguments, and I suppressed a groan. "I'm not going to swim with you."

"That isn't what the bet said."

"Neither of us won!"

A sigh slipped past his lips. "Okay let's do this; you'll have a swim with me and I'll get you ice cream."

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WITH THE SETTING SUN came a sky of fire, the orange gold stretching far and wide-and the beautiful mixture of orange, golden and yellow, glowing brightly on the beach. It was the reflection of dawn, the promise of the rising sun to that comes after the velvety night.

We were all exhausted and evening had graced us with it's presence, making the water cold for anyone who was interested in a swim. Bella had earlier pulled us together in a group sun-kissed picture, and seeing the pic had made me grin-because both Bella and Jess looked beyond happy in the pic, the guys grinned at the pic, and Valen had flashed the camera his famous smirk.

The warmth of the setting sun hit my face and the cool breeze of the night whirled around me-the combination settling me. Soon enough, I collapsed on the ground by Valen, and in few seconds, I felt myself lighten up by just looking at the scene in front of me in a haze.

I sneaked a glance at Valen, and a huge grin broke on my lips when I saw a smile on his face as he stared at the sky-a golden quandary. His eyes were steady to the horizon, face aglow with orange gold.

Warmth filled my chest in an ever-consuming fire as I stared at the sun which was a huge ball of fire, floating low on the horizon.

"It's so relaxing to see the sun set."

Eyes never leaving the sky, he spoke, voice soft-and syllables like a caress. "I agree."

I only hummed as I watched the sea, lost in the rhythmic percussion of waves on sand.

"Aren't you gonna take pics with Bella and Jess?"

"Nah, I already took few pics with them before," I replied nonchalantly, turning to meet his gaze. "Besides, I prefer to watch the sun float low on the horizon."

His eyes were awfully glistening: enthralling and enchanting. "Yeah."

He smiled but it was gone in a flash-and then: "Why are you so stubborn?"

I rose my eyebrows, face morphed into disbelief and confusion. "What have I done now?"

"Like you don't know," he scoffed, "If you don't do what you're supposed to do, I'll stop talking to you."

My eyes went saucer like when I came to realization of what he meant and the urge to yell out 'fine' was thick but I couldn't say it. His face remained impassive, stoic and devoid of any emotion-and when I refused to give him a response, he attempted to get up but I grabbed his hand in time.

"Oh come on, now?"

He gave me a classic look. "I wasn't the one who told you not to do it earlier."

"Valen. . ." I whined.

He wasn't going to listen to me, and he proved it because he rose an eyebrow at me, a bored expression on his face. "I did my part, now do yours."

I guess I was doing it then. Stupid bet.

Valen had done his part in the bet by buying me ice cream but, I had refused to go on a swim with him, and now-I had to. I averted my gaze from his to my legs, and muttered, "Fine," loud enough for him to hear.

Since confronting him was transparent, and he wasn't going to hear the end of it-it was better I had agreed.

Few seconds ensued, and there was no response from him until;

"I'm ready."

His voice came out smugly, and my eyes rose from my legs. When my brain registered with what I was seeing, my eyes went saucer like-immediately.

He was shirtless.

And to make matters more worse, the golden glow of the sunset illuminated every indent on his body made by his muscles, making him look like a fucking Greek god.

Does he really have to flunk his sexiness off to the world? Couldn't he swim with his shirt on?

My mouth was agape, his were curled up in a smirk-and my cheeks had heated up, while his face beheld smugness.

"Oh my God, Valen!"

"What?" he rose an eyebrow, all before he spread out his arms. "Like what you see?"

"No," I replied immediately-but, I wasn't sure anymore. "I don't."

He rolled his eyes, and extended his hands for me to take it. And as soon as I did, the boy in front of me pulled me against his chest playfully, only ending up with me smacking his bare chest-hard.

"Are you going to swim like that?"

My eyes snapped back to his, icy blue boring into the enthralling ocean blue. "What's wrong with swimming like this?"

He looked at me ridiculously, before flicking his head backwards and laughing. "You're insane Carla, where's the fun in swimming like that, huh? Take off your shorts."

The last statement stunned me, and for the first time ever-I flushed a deep crimson-, I was embarrassed and so was Valen because his eyes left mine as he awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

"What the hell?!" I shrieked.

"Sorry, it came out the wrong way."

I let out a groan, eyes still not meeting his-all before I let out a sigh. "Turn around."

I sneaked a glance at him, and saw that he had turned around-his back muscles in full sight. I looked away immediately, and reaching for the button of my shorts, I unclasped it-and took it off; leaving me in just my swimsuit.

I turned to look at Valen, his back still facing me. Before I spoke, my mind ran over the events of the past few weeks, and everything would forever remain an enigma. I was trying to be conscious but deep inside I was scared-because he had already managed to make me break a rule I had set up for myself. Moreover; he seemed like the perfect combination of friendly and disaster.

"I-you can look now."

And when he did, he just smiled lazily. "Wow," he muttered under a hushed breath and then dropped his eyes to my exposed legs.

Everything about him was beyond magnetic; pulling me in and pushing me out-and with the intensity of his gaze, I was suddenly on edge. "Eyes up, Valen!" I snapped, eyes pointed.

"Those are the legs guys would want to be seeing."

My heartbeat increased, and I couldn't even open my mouth to speak-because he had tugged me by the arm, and pulled me into the water.

Getting into the water only resulted in a splash. The water moved around my limbs in swirls, creating a buoyancy and sense of freedom. I agreed to swim with Valen-only because it's my release from the ordinary rules of gravity, a chance to experience weightlessness.

"Isn't this nice?"

His eyes were mischievous when I turned to look at them, the orange glow only tip-toeing on one side of his face. I dropped my gaze, and played with the water. "Yeah," I muttered, then grinned. "It's really nice."

His chuckle was so out of place that I had to raise an eyebrow. "I'm surprised, because you were the one who didn't want to swim."

What a scumbag, I thought, and then rolled before muttering under a hushed breath. "Este tipo está tan loco, primero me suplicó que fuera a nadar con él, ¿ahora esto?"

His eyes widened at my words in amusement, before he raised a perfect eyebrow. "¿En serio? I'm not crazy!"

The words had rolled off his tongue in a timbre of warmth, the melodious sound really distinctly Spanish-and I felt like I could bathe in his accent, and feel it's warmth wash upon my skin.

"You speak Spanish?!"

I was beyond surprised, and he had the audacity to grin. "Obviously."

"Yeah, right," I said, and then rolled my eyes. "Where were you born?"

"Arizona."

I groaned, all before giving my sarcastic response. "Great! You were born where I was born."

"We have a lot of things in common," he said with a small smile, his hands running through his wet hair.

"We don't have anything in common," I said, simply to make it known to him.

He scoffed. "You wish," his eyes were awfully bright as he went on. "We were born in the same state, love punching things, can beat the shit out of people, and would probably make the perfect couple."

He had said that last part to annoy me, and I rolled my eyes. "In. Your. Dreams."

"Hm," he let out a breath, taking a step closer. My eyes had widened whilst his gaze stayed glued to mine, lips curled up in a smirk. "We're doing a lot of things in my dreams, sweetheart."

This is what I agreed to do, instead of doing something else. I fumed at him, breathing in Brownian motion. "How dare you?!"

Before he could process what was happening next, I splashed him multiple times with the water, making sure his beloved hair was really soaked. And when I tried to swim away, he grabbed me by the waist, and pulled me against his wet, bare chest.

"I'll make you pay, sweetheart."

I was left stunned, utterly speechless with the way his words rolled off his tongue huskily, strong enough to have sent shivers running down my spine. I wondered why I didn't notice before but Valen Monroe was an enthralling conundrum no one could ever unravel-and he could be the death of me, one-day.

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Okay, who would agree with me that Valen Monroe is beyond hot.