Day 2 (I)

"She's a beautiful girl. A tough one, for sure, but it's so worth it."

...

"What are you wearing?" Sasha barges in my room with Emily following next.

"Shorts and a top..." I say while packing sunscreen, sunglasses and phone in my slim bag.

"No, you're not wearing that. It is burning outside." She makes a beeline towards my bag and starts going through my clothes, scattering them on the bed. I flinch at the mess she is creating.

All the guys except Rudy have left for Calangute beach after complaining about how long we take to dress up. Rudy stayed because of the extra sleep he would get.

"Wear this." She hands me a blue printed bikini with shoulder straps that join and tie at the back.

"But-"

"Bup bup bup bup." She passes it to me.

I look at Emily but she just shrugs and smiles at me.

I sigh and go to the washroom to get changed. I stare at myself in the mirror and cringe at the stretch marks on my thighs. I run my fingers through my hair and smile to shake that thought away. There's no need for me to agonize over something that I can't change. With that thought in mind, I exit the washroom.

"See? I told you she will look pretty," Sasha says, nudging Emily's shoulder.

"So do you both," I tell them.

They really do. Sasha is wearing a dark green high neck bikini set that compliments her skin and Emily is wearing giant hoops with a black bikini.

"Ladies, let's" - after entering the room, Rudy's eyes widen - "Damn," he whistles.

"Boo bear, you look gorgeous," he says with a soft voice, his eyes are fixed on Sasha who lets stray strands fall in front of her face as she looks down and scoffs.

He tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear and bites his bottom lip. Sasha gives him a hard stare and coughs. "Nevermind. Let's go."

Emily grabs my arm and whispers eagerly, "So much tension."

"I know right," I grin and whisper back.

...

Crashing against the shore, small waves wash the debris on the land. Soothing, a gentle sea breeze rustles through my hair. Empty crisp wrappers, chocolate wrappers and ice cream papers scatter the sand. Young children stumble onto the moist sand with small buckets and spades in their hands, they are shouting and talking in excitement. People are smothering themselves with thick white sunscreen to protect themselves from the heavy radiation.

Damp sand is forced between my toes. I don't think there is anything more relaxing and soothing than watching the calm waves of the sea from a sun lounge on Calangute beach.

Sasha and Zubair are busy making a sandcastle. As soon as we arrived on the beach, Sasha ran to help Zubair in making a castle. Rudy kicks over their castle and completely destroys it. Sasha flows into a rage, pulls his hair, strikes him with her fist and trips him, making him fall face-first into the mud. Emily and I chuckle on seeing Zubair horror-stricken.

I spot Ayan talking to Cole outside a seafront shop. He is shirtless, with his shirt tied to his pants. His back muscles flex when he runs his hand in his hair. Cole says something to him which makes him look in my direction. Our eyes meet for a moment. His lips curl into a smile - I am sure he's mocking me - and then he winks at me. I feel my cheeks grow red and look away.

"You have a little drool over here." Emily points at her chin and smirks.

"Shut up." I shake my head at her but still run my hand over my chin.

"Liked the view?" she teases.

"No." I glare at her.

"Sure you didn't." She smirks.

Ayan comes up to us and asks Emily, "May I excuse her for a moment?"

"Of course. She is all yours." She grins at him.

"Excuse me? I am nobody's. I am my own individual who doesn't belong to any human being and never will. I-"

"We get the point, sunflower." He grabs my hand and takes me near the sandcastles.

My gaze falls on Rudy, covered in sand, assembling a sandcastle for Sasha and Zubair.

"Naira," Ayan says with a husky voice, and I ignore the weird tightening in my stomach at the way my name falls from his lips.

"Hmm," I say distractedly while I smile cheerfully at Rudy and give him a thumbs up. He sticks his tongue out at me in return.

"You look great, baby." Ayan lifts my hand and kisses it.

I raise my eyebrow and glance at the slight scar on his forehead that I caused. I did make him sleep on the floor last night but in the morning, when I found him in the same bed as me, I had thrown him off the bed and his head had hit the desk.

I have never apologised in my life as much as I did this morning.

"You're only saying that to impress me."

He tugs at my hand and pulls me closer to him. He twirls my hair and gazes into my eyes.

"I don't need some words to impress you. I find you really pretty everyday. I will find you pretty on your bad days. I will find you pretty even if you have just woken up. I will find you pretty even if you have not slept for days. I will find you pretty even if you're wearing shaggy clothes. Heck, I'll find you pretty if you have been living in a dumpster. So, don't be stupid, sunflower. Understood?"

I nod and push him away.

"Aunty." A child pulls my hand and says.

Aunty? I'm not old enough to be called that!

I bend down to face him. "Yeah?"

"This is a present from Rudy." He grins and throws sand on my body. He runs away laughing before I can catch him.

"Ayan there's sand inside my bikini. Oh my God, it's touching my skin," I cry.

"I would love to help." He grins.