𝕒𝕕𝕚𝕖𝕦 - 𝕡𝕖𝕕𝕣𝕠 𝕡𝕒𝕤𝕔𝕒𝕝

𝕖𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥

the group of four sat under the midmorning sun, quiet and tranquil as the car played music softly from closeby, yet not loud enough for them to neglect the rushing sound of the river flow. 

pedro looked up at the sky through his dark sunglasses, watching the clouds go by as he tried to keep his mind off of cass, who was splayed next to him on the rock, her head on pierre's lap. the relationship between the younger two was enigmatic to him, amazed at their willpower and ability to stay just friends, as cass had described it. the thing is, though, that they weren't all over each other as they were that last summer. they were friendlier, no stolen kisses or handholding or slight grapple on hips, just them being normal, yet still extremely close. 

he cringed slightly at his thoughts and reprimanded himself for thinking of them like that. who the fuck was he to analyze the relationship between the two, even more, to determine whether they were friends or not?

cass sighed, getting up from her place and removing the oversized button-up shirt she had on  and stepping in front of the group. "i'm going back in, anyone coming with?"

at this bold announcement, pedro sat up and got away with raking his eyes over her body, which was comprised of simple yet bold lines that held the shape of her lightly curved hips and straight back, a silhouette curved in all the right places.

"i'll go" he suddenly found himself saying. cass held out her hand for him to hold, and he grasped him as she pulled him up, letting go and stepping into the river, pedro following shortly behind her. 

cass sank into the water, dipping her head in and resurfacing, pushing her hair out of her face and realizing that pedro was looking directly down at her, contemplative and stoic. it amazed him how she mastered the art of looking flawless as she stepped out of the river, her now wet face and darkened hair accentuating her blue eyes. once he snapped out of it shortly after, he splashed some water in her direction, making both of them crack a smile, cass bursting into a fit of laughter as she tried to counter his attack. 

pierre and hélo sat back and watched the two, childishly splashing and chasing each other in the rushing river.

pierre sighed, hélo entertained beside him at the oblivious attraction between the two. "20 euros ils vont se baiser à la fin de l'été." 

"je la connais trop bien," pierre says nonchalantly. "20 euros dit la fin de la semaine prochaine."

hélo nods curtly, holding her hand out for him to shake. he does, nodding curtly back "d'accord" the two break into a fit of laughter as they bet on something dumb, but they know cass too well. she's gonna get what she wants.

throughout the rest of the day, cass lost the count (which was way more than she could count with her fingers) of how many times she'd caught pedro looking at her. whether it be a glance through his peripheral or a candid stare, she couldn't help but notice his eyes on her. it was when she started noticing that she felt his searing gaze on her, a lot. she didn't mind it though, a small smirk threatening to break when she turned her head to look at him unconcerned, and she found him rapidly turning his stare to something or someone else around them. she liked being adored.

later that night they all sat at the dinner table, accompanied by cass's aunt and uncle and some friends of theirs, filling the atmosphere with airy laughs and casual banter as cass, hélo, pierre and pedro kept to themselves, talking about the day they had and other miscellaneous topics. 

"so, guys," called aunt astrid to them, trying to connect with the more isolated youth (yes, youth included pedro, even at his 40 years of age). "where did you guys run off to today?"