that had left my ponytail, putting them behind my ear before he whispered, "Go have fun. I think Kaito could use your company."
I agreed with his comment as we both looked over to see Kaito was waiting for me. He wasn't looking our way, but at the ocean, his hands in his pockets while his gaze seemed far away.
"Yes," I finally replied and rose up. "Enjoy the serenity of the view."
"I will," he replied. "Don't forget you have a date with Connor and Jax in an hour.”
"Oh, right!" I hadn't even realized how fast time had gone.
I'd spent breakfast with the four of them before Kaito, Finnick, and I decided the beach would be fun to visit since it wasn't super hot today. Jax and Connor wanted to go shopping and check out a night club tonight.
Finnick and Kaito weren't really into the dancing scene, but I totally wanted to check it out, especially because of the idea of getting to see Connor dance.
I knew Jax could dance.
The mere thought excited me a little too much, but the remainder of the day was set with us switching over at seven in the evening.
The sun was setting, which was the perfect view to end a thrilling afternoon of beach fun, which had included swimming, picture taking, sightseeing, eating ice cream, and lunch on the beach. We ended it off with a nice walk.
Finnick always thrived when he drew landscapes at the peak of inspiration, and that was why I wasn't worried about leaving him to let his creative brush strokes roll on the blank canvas he’d retrieved magically with his supplies.
"I'll be back then," I assured him.
"Alright, Red." He watched me with a smile as I walked over to Kaito's side. Kaito noticed my approach, and his lips curled up as he offered his hand out to me. He glanced back to wave to Finnick, who returned the gesture before focusing on the canvas with his pencil in hand.
"Want to keep walking or watch the sunset from here?" Kaito inquired.
"Hmm. Why don't we go..." I began while my eyes searched the remaining part of the beach. "over there? Where the big rock is," I encouraged.
"Okay." He grinned and squeezed my hand as we began to make our way there.
When we arrived, it seemed like one of those perfect gem spots that no one realized was so special. The waters didn't reach the middle of the large onyx rock, and the surface was smooth enough for us to sit on and relax.
We got comfortable as Kaito stretched out his arms.
"Today was nice," he whispered.
"I can't believe the vacation is already half over. We're going to be starting school soon."
"I'm surprised our 'sponsor' increased our staying time by an extra month."
"Making it so we arrive a few days before school. How considerate of him," I said in annoyance while shaking my head. "I don't feel good about Connor's biological dad at all. Feels all too random. When he met his mom, that was a coincidence, but his dad suddenly sponsoring this trip after we survived the showdown of our exam that was tampered with by Elijah or his twin? Who knows."
Connor had gone into detail about when he'd met his mother during his last trip. Everything from the hotel where he now had a key to the best seven figure suite to how he took me there first because he felt the need to tell someone but was afraid of being fully connected to the place.
The others didn't mind his secrecy, assuring him that they knew he'd share with them when the time was right. Since everything after the exam had become a constant movement of change leading to our "gifted" vacation, it only made sense that he was only telling the others now.
"Well, Professor Phoenix, Miss Electra, and Raphael have been making sure we're safe behind the scenes. He can't really do anything without being watched," I acknowledged as I took in the vast beauty of the sunset upon the horizon.
"True, but it's just frustrating since we can't rely on them to protect us if anything random happens," Kaito reasoned.
"I don't think we need to rely on them," I defended. "We're powerful enough to defend ourselves. This isn't a battle against a mafia boss or something. If he tries to make a move, we merely have to defend ourselves long enough for him to be caught in the act. Easy way to get an enemy caught, especially when you're out of the