chapter ten

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       The beach was one of my favorite places. It was the sound of the waves that always calmed me, yes, but what I loved more than that was the way the water looked—endlessly blue, stretching to the horizon like it could swallow the world whole. The way the sunlight danced across the surface, making it sparkle like thousands of little diamonds, was mesmerizing. There was something hypnotic in the way the waves crashed against the shore, as if the ocean was calling, trying to pull me into its vastness.


The dry sand was soft under my fingers as I traced random patterns in it. I loved how the sun kissed my skin, warming it in a way that made me feel like I was glowing. That's one of the perks of being brown—the way the sunlight made me feel golden, alive. My skin wasn't just brown, it was radiant. I felt like I shimmered, like I could reflect the sun itself. It was one of those rare days when I didn't hate how I looked. My jean shorts were comfortably loose around my thighs, and the yellow halter-neck bikini top I wore was pretty, even if I had to cover it up with an oversized see-through bikini wrap to feel comfortable.


It was Thursday, and we were at the beach for a potluck picnic. The whole gang was here—Thali, Brie-Ann, Xavier, Dellana, and Asher. I still hadn't fully processed Asher's presence yet. He was late, and I had almost convinced myself he wouldn't show.


I had been in charge of dessert for the potluck, and after an hour-long call with my mom, I had managed to make Rava Kesari—a South Indian sweet dish made of semolina, ghee, and sugar, flavored with saffron and cardamom, and garnished with nuts. It wasn't perfect like my mom's, but it was close. Dellana had made the main dish, mac and cheese, and Brie-Ann brought the classic party bites: nuggets, fries, mozzarella sticks. Thali had brought all the utensils, cups, plates, and...the cake. Not just any cake, but a huge chocolate one, drenched in dark chocolate ganache, so moist it looked like it could melt in your mouth.


I stared at the cake, mouth practically watering. Did I mention dark chocolate was my weakness?


"You're drooling, V," Xavier teased as he sat down beside me on the picnic mat.


I wiped the corner of my mouth, not even realizing how fixated I had been on the cake. "I know," I sighed dramatically, eyes still glued to it. "Thali, I need that cake. This isn't just a want. This is a need. My soul is begging for it."


Thali laughed, shaking his head. "I'd love to take credit for it, but sadly, I didn't make it."


Wait, what?


"Asher did," he added, smirking.


My jaw practically hit the sand. Asher. Made. The. Cake.


Dellana chimed in, "Oh yeah, Asher's the baker in this group. Didn't you know? But now that you made dessert too, we're gonna have to do a taste test. See which one wins."


Every day, I learned something new about Asher that completely blindsided me. Coding, sure, I could wrap my head around that. But baking? Seriously? What else was this man hiding from me? I felt my heart squeeze a little at the thought of him making that cake. It was like he had this whole world inside him I hadn't even begun to explore.


What else are you good at, Asher? Besides breaking my heart?


I nearly chuckled at my own inner voice. The truth was, I didn't know how to feel about Asher anymore. After the whole second "almost kiss," I had been a mess—angry, hurt, confused. We hadn't spoken about it, hadn't really talked at all since then.


In the last 2 weeks, we'd hung out maybe 5 times, and even then, our conversations were always brief, guarded, careful. It was like we were both afraid to get too close, afraid of whatever it was that seemed to be simmering between us. I had no right to feel so upset, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being used or, worse, that I had misunderstood everything between us.


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