"So sorry!" she apologized but it sounded pretty fake. "Didn't see you there."
"We're the only ones walking here, but you're saying you didn't see us?" Kaito countered.
A taller woman that looked similar to the girl stopped and glanced our way.
"Leia? Is there a problem? Why'd you stop?"
"No problem," she sweetly declared and looked back at us. "Just bumped into someone and was apologizing. Sorry."
The woman who had to be her sister rolled her eyes and turned away. "Hurry up. We're going to be late and you don't want to make Papa wait."
"Yup!" She bowed her head at us. "Gotta go. If we see each other again, I owe you a drink," she directed at me and my half-filled drink.
We watched her walk away, and I noticed Finnick was heading our way.
"What happened?" he asked as he reached us.
"She bumped into Brianne on purpose," Kaito explained.
"She looks familiar. Didn't you bump into someone like that at the hotel? Connor was complaining about it."
I was sipping a bit of the half-spilled drink. "Huh?"
"Brianne." Finnick reached for the half-spilled drink. "You shouldn't drink this."
"Why?" I blinked.
"She could have put something into it when she bumped into you," Finnick defended and dumped the remaining drink on the sand.
"Why would she do that?" I genuinely asked.
"Some people drug drinks to get individuals high or wasted so they can kidnap them later, and, well…you can figure out the rest," Kaito explained. "Some put drugs in so they can rape girls or even guys."
I gawked at the two of them and looked at the other cup of alcohol. "Do we have to get rid of this one too?"
"Doesn't look tampered with," Finnick acknowledged and took the cup.
"Here, Brianne." Kaito offered his cup. "Have mine."
"But what if the other cup has a drug in it?"
"Hmm, if it does, we'll just split it between us. If we get horny, at least it's with one another," Finnick concluded.
Kaito and I both gawked at him as he shrugged and reached for my hand.
"You didn't drink a lot of it, right?"
"Nah. Just a gulp or two," I reasoned.
"Guess we'll have to keep an eye out for blondes with blue eyes who love to bump into our Queen," Kaito determined with narrowed eyes as he looked over to where she'd disappeared with who I presumed was her sister.
"Thank goodness we're not here permanently." Finnick sighed. "Or we'd have to find a way to get rid of her."
"She only bumped into me twice," I acknowledged as we began to head back to Finnick's spot.
"One too many for my comfort," Finnick noted.
"If Connor were here, she'd be finished. He'd find a way to get some sort of restraining order," Kaito joked.
"I know it's a joke but I feel like that's something he would do," I reasoned.
"Better than Jax," Finnick replied. "He'd light her hair on fire and say it was the heat's fault with all the hair spray in her hair."
"That's just horrible." I laughed. "Good thing she's not here to listen to that."
"If she were, I'd just say it in her face. I'm not afraid." Finnick winked and drank half of the liquid before offering it back to Kaito.
I enjoyed the drink in one go, finishing it as we reached Finnick's blanket. My feet came to a stop as my eyes grew wide at the stunning imagery painted on the canvas.
"Holy shit," Kaito cursed. "Finnick...did you do that?"
"Yup!" he said with pride and looked back at me. "Couldn't help it. The inspiration was a bit intense so I had to let the brush do what it wanted.”
"Finnick...that's me," I whispered.
"I know," he replied. "You don't realize how mesmerizing you are in the sunset, Brianne. Now with this, you do."
I was overcome with emotion as I moved to hug him tightly. "It's beautiful, Finnick!"
"I'm glad you like it." He chuckled and hugged me back. "I'll hang it in the dorm living room. Just above the television so we'll be able to see it."
"We need a painting for the student council room," I reasoned. "I want one with you guys."
"Picture of all of us. Got it," he declared. "It's funny. A man wanted to buy it."
"Huh?" we both asked as Finnick nodded and pulled out a business card from his shorts pocket.
"Yup. I searched him up and he's one of those really well-known dealers and art specialists. He's basically the guy who gets artists into museums and stuff. He's on vacation and my artwork caught his attention. I said it was a special piece, but I'd