Sea of Strangers

Chapter 5

"Let me know when she's ready, okay?" He said from the other side of the room. I saw myself in the mirror admiring my make-up artist's work. I was wearing a floral dress and my hair was braided into a bun, a thread of hair was loose on either side of my ears.

"We're nicely done, " said the makeup artist as we walked towards the other side of the room where Gabe had been and found him in one of the corners, his gazes were averted from his phone to me and our eyes met. From the look on his face, he seemed awestruck, mouth slightly parted.

"Wow, you look, I don't know what to say, " he said, searching for words.

"You've got a fine girlfriend here sir, " said the make-up artist, and my face reddened.

"That would be wonderful if it's true but unfortunately, she's just my model, " Gabe teased, I knitted my brows and gave him a piercing looked but the boy just laughed.

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"One, two, three, " he commanded as the camera flashed, I sat on a chair with one hand rested on my chin against the table, looking far away to the glimmering blue sea as Gabe told me to do so. He took a few shots before we moved on to the second part of shooting which means I was required to wear a swimsuit. I skimmed my eyes around the dressing room as my wardrobe organizer handed me a black one-piece with slits on the upper front part and both sides.

"This looks good on you, " she said before I changed into my swimsuit.

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The sun was warm against my skin and the saltwater felt cold against my bare feet. I smiled as the camera flashed on my face. "Am I doing okay?" I asked him because I won't know if I was appearing awkward to the camera.

"You're doing perfect, " he uttered those words like it was a normal thing to say. I blushed hard.

The sun was setting when we finished taking shots. I was now wearing a tank top and denim shorts as I sipped on a cup of my chamomile tea.

"We'll definitely win the contest, " he sat across from me as his eyes skimming through the pictures.

"You're not sure, " there were only a few people on the beach as I roamed my eyes around. I could feel the festival vibe with lanterns hanging on the walls, casting off lights as the night took over.

"Hey, we still haven't taken a picture together, that's unfair to my part, "

"How is that unfair to you?" I arched a brow.

"Oh come on, let's take a picture, I won't bite, " he said and I chuckled. 'the audacity of this guy' I said to my mind.

"Whatever." I sighed in defeat, making his face beamed. He extended his arm to one side, giving a clearer view of us as we both smiled at the camera.

To be continued.