Chapter 83 Sunset

Chapter 83 Sunset
It's now four in the afternoon, and Antonio, Carlo, Dante, and I have just arrived at the beach. Before we go here, I've taken a couple of hours of nap since I was still a bit dizzy from last night. When I wake up, I already feel so much better. Because of that, Antonio decided to take us to the beach, and now we're here.

Since it's the autumn season and not vacation season, the beach is not as crowded at this time of the year. I'm glad about it, though. I hate it when the beach is too crowded. Too many people in the same place at the same time somehow makes the atmosphere hotter and more uncomfortable. I can't really blame it on them, though. That's probably because I hate being in crowded places.

Sitting on the daybed, we order some beverages to watch the sunset with. Not wanting what happened yesterday to repeat itself, I ordered a lime squash instead of anything with alcohol. As for the men, they all ordered some beer. As we wait for our drinks to arrive, I observe our surroundings. Just like the weather forecast showed, the weather until sunset will be sunny with a bit of clouds, and that's great.

What should I do now? I can't just sit here until sunset. It'll be boring as hell. All the time we're on the way here, since we're leaving in the same car, Dante, Carlo, and Antonio have been talking about mafia shit. I don't even bother to listen to them and watch the road instead. I know that Dante and Carlo were doing it to get new information from Antonio, but I don't want them to keep talking about business. I've had enough of it.

An idea appears in my mind. Right. How could I forget about it? I should take some photos with Antonio now. It's our routine whenever we go on dates. Other than that, it'll convince Antonio that we'll be a couple that lasts a long time.

"Let's take some pictures. Maybe just maybe, I'll make another scrapbook for you," I say.

"Now that you mention it, sure. Let's go," Antonio says. He gets on his feet, and I do the same. He immediately stops me and nudges me back to sit. What is he doing? Oh. Seems like he's going to take a picture of me.

"Stay there. You look perfect. Stay still," Antonio says as he takes out his phone.

With the camera on his phone being pointed at my way, he begins taking pictures of me. Sitting on the daybed, I do a relaxed pose with my hand on my side, propping myself up. I keep smiling at the camera until Antonio puts his phone away from his face.

"How about another pose?" Antonio asks. Nope. Definitely not here while I'm sitting. It's so much better to take pictures with the sea as the background. Even better, while the sun is setting. I'll do the sunset pictures later. For now, let's take some pics so I can rest a bit from the men's mafia talk.

"Not here. Let's go near the water," I say as I take off my sandals. Once I'm barefoot, I get on my feet and smile widely at Antonio. I quickly take his hand and pull him towards the shoreline. Giggling, we keep running until I feel the wet sand beneath me.

"You're definitely feeling better now, huh?" Antonio asks.

"Yeah. Absolutely. Now take my pictures," I say.

I move a bit further from Antonio and begin striking some poses. Being a good photographer, Antonio takes my pictures from every possible angle. Once I'm done, I pull him closer to me and whip out my own phone. It's time to take happy pictures of us.

Smiling and grinning at the camera, Antonio and I take some selfies together. Antonio pulls me into him by my waist and kisses me on the cheek. With his lips still on my cheek, I take another picture of us. Staring at our pictures, I can't help but smile. A bittersweet smile. We look so much like a real couple. Too bad we aren't. We're just pretending to be one without the other knowing about one another's plan.

"Look at us. We look so good together, don't we?" Antonio says.

"Yeah. We do," I say.

Antonio gives me another kiss on top of my head. I can only smile at him without saying a word. I guess it's official. Now we're finally being all lovey-dovey in public. I hate doing PDA. Even though no one really cares if someone else kisses in public, I just feel like it's strange to do that when there are many people around.

"Send them to me later. I want them in my phone, too," Antonio says.

"Okay," I say.

"Let's go back," Antonio says. He grabs my hand, leading me towards our seat.

Walking side-by-side with Antonio, I look at Dante as we're heading towards him. Now that we have Antonio around, Dante is hiding his emotions with his usual cold expression while taking a swig of his beer. However, as Antonio and I get closer to him, his mask is not perfect. I can see the hint of jealousy in his eyes. It's not surprising. Ever since the night of Antonio's birthday, he's been quite expressive about his feelings towards me. It's such an improvement after all the time he denied staying too close to me. It's good to know that he actually likes me and isn't hiding it anymore.

On the table, my drink's already there. I take a seat next to Dante and start drinking the cold, sweet-and-sour beverage. On my other side, Antonio takes a couple of sips from his own beer bottle. Once he's done, he puts down the bottle and turns to Dante and Carlo. Just as I expected, he begins to talk about business with them again. Well, it shouldn't be difficult to tune them out, right? I'll let Dante and Carlo do their job while I enjoy the view in front of me.

An hour has passed, and the sun is beginning to set. I quickly pull Antonio up by his hand from his seat. He only chuckles at me, knowing what I want to do. Before I can pull him away from our seat, Antonio stops me and turns to Dante and Carlo.

"Can any of you take pictures of Ale and me for a bit?" Antonio asks.

"Sure. I'll do it," Dante says as he gets on his feet.

The three of us walk towards the water. Once we're close enough to the water, we stop walking. Antonio and I turn around as Dante takes a few steps away from us. Once he's a good distance away from Antonio and me, he starts taking pictures. We do nothing unusual, just normal couple poses where we're holding each other's hands and do a side hug.

"One more, Dante," Antonio says.

Antonio pulls me closer to him, making me face him. He leans down towards me. Before I can dodge his kiss, his lips already land on my lips. I kiss him back for a few seconds and then stop myself. I turn to Dante, and he gives Antonio and me a thumbs- up. Thank goodness it's finally over. Kissing Antonio in front of Dante is strange. It kinda makes me sick. We're not even official yet, but again, I feel like I'm cheating right in front of his face. I should stop thinking about this. He knows I'm just acting, right?

"Thank you. You can go back now," Antonio says. Dante only nods as he hands Antonio his phone back. He then leaves Antonio and me by the water.

"Okay. Where do you want to take your pics?" Antonio asks.

"Uh, here. Make sure the sun is hidden behind me," I say.

"Alright. 1,2,3," Antonio says.

Antonio continues to take more pictures of me, focused on the task in his hand. My eyes widen as rain suddenly pours over us, soaking me in rainwater instantly. Hand in hand, Antonio and I run towards our seating area. However, it seems like the place isn't safe either, as Dante and Carlo run towards the cafe and bar behind them. Antonio and I follow them into the cafe and stay inside as the rain continues to fall over us.

My light dress is now heavy with water. Soaked from the rain, water begins to drip down from my dress and hair. Antonio seems to be in the same state as I am. He wrings his shirt and water pours onto the floor.

"Fuck. Where did the rain come from? That was quick," Antonio says, chuckling at our condition. I smile at him and stare at myself and my wet dress.

This happened twice. Twice! What the hell is wrong with the sky? It gave us no warning and ambushed us with heavy rain. Now I feel cold from wearing a wet dress, and the rain hasn't stopped yet. In fact, it's getting even heavier than before. How can we go back now?

"Let's go. Here's an umbrella for you two," Dante says, holding out a big umbrella, enough for two people to stand under it.

"Wait a minute. I need to pay for the drinks first," Antonio says, pulling out his wallet from his pocket. Dante waves his hand to Antonio,

"Don't worry. I've paid for them," Dante says.

"Oh. Thank you. I'll pay you back later," Antonio says, putting his wallet back into his pants pocket.

"It's unnecessary. You don't have to," Dante says.

"Well, I insist. I'll transfer the money to you anyway, even if you refuse," Antonio says.

"Alright. Thanks. Let's leave now," Dante says.

Antonio takes the umbrella, and we follow Carlo and him outside. The sound of thousands of water drops falling onto the umbrella and the ground is deafening. Once we're in the car, we do not waste time going back to the villa. Now that the heater is on, I feel a bit warmer, but still uncomfortable because my wet dress is sticking to my skin.

"Hang in there. We'll be back soon," Antonio says. I only nod at him.

We'd better arrive at the villa soon, or else I'll catch a cold and get sick again. Honestly, I don't mind getting sick. If I'm sick, I might be able to go back home earlier than we've scheduled. And once we're back, I'll have Dante to take care of me like he always does. I'll definitely ask for bedtime stories again. I'll lie there with my head on his chest as he tells me a bedtime story and then fall asleep right in his arms.