Sandrone stared at the half-piece of meat, hesitated for three seconds, then closed his eyes, leaned over, and took it.
His lips brushed against Columbina's fingertips.
Both of them paused for a moment.
Sandrone shrank back abruptly, burying his face low, pretending to concentrate on skewering the meat, his hands shaking so much that he couldn't even skewer the meat accurately.
Columbina looked at her fingertips, then at her, a smile slowly spreading across her face, her eyes filled with an unyielding tenderness.
She stopped teasing her.
She sat quietly beside her, shielding her from the sea breeze and tucking her stray hair behind her ear.
After a while...
Sandrone suddenly stood up and walked to the grill without saying a word.
She picked up the tongs and grilled a skewer herself.
He grilled it with great care. He flipped it, brushed on the sauce, sprinkled cumin, his movements clumsy but focused.
After she finished grilling, she came back and handed the skewer to Columbina.
Look away.
... to...
Columbina bowed her head.
It was a perfectly grilled prawn, the shells were all peeled off, and the prawn meat was brushed with a layer of shiny honey sauce.
"For me?" Columbina asked deliberately.
"I baked too much."
"But you only baked one."
"... Just doing it casually."
"Were the shrimp shells peeled off casually? Was the honey sauce brushed on casually too?"
Sandrone's face turned bright red, and he stiffened his neck.
"Are you going to eat it or not! If you're not going to, I'll give it to someone else!"
Eat.
Columbina smiled and took it, eating it slowly in small bites, as if she were savoring something extraordinary.
"Delicious." She looked at Sandrone and said softly, "This is the best shrimp I've ever eaten."
Sandrone's heart skipped a beat.
She snorted and turned her face away, but the corners of her mouth couldn't be suppressed from turning up.
"If it tastes bad, give it back to me."
"No way." Columbina finished the last bite of shrimp, licking her fingers with a hint of satisfaction. "My Sandrone made this, I'm not giving it to anyone."
"Who? Who owns your house?!"
"The grilled shrimp that was given to me."
"..."
Sandrone was completely speechless, curled up into a ball, and pretended to study the seashells on the beach.
The tips of her ears are red.
The flames flickered.
The grill is becoming increasingly elaborate.
The corn was roasted until it cracked open, revealing golden kernels; the eggplant, wrapped in aluminum foil, emitted the aroma of garlic.
Odette was like a cold-faced chef, guarding the grill. Whoever wanted something, she wouldn't say a word, but would hand it over as soon as it was cooked, with perfect precision.
She later grilled a fish.
The fish was caught fresh at the restaurant that morning, grilled until golden brown on both sides, and sprinkled with salt and pepper; the aroma was irresistible.
She divided the fish into several portions and handed one piece to Bai You first.
Bai You held the fish meat in her hands, looked at the fire, and then at the dark, deep sea in the distance.
Odette, expressionless, placed another piece of corn on her plate.
"Eat more vegetables; you'll gain weight if you only eat meat."
Bai You held a cup of hot juice, squatted by the grill watching her cook, completely absorbed.
Odette.
"Hmm."
"You're so amazing, you can do everything!"
Odette paused for a moment as she flipped the meat.
She didn't look at Bai You, and said calmly, "There always has to be someone who will."
"Then why don't you play together?"
"Watching you play," she handed over a skewer of grilled mushrooms, her ears appearing slightly red in the firelight.
"That's quite interesting."
Bai You took the mushroom and nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.
She ran back to Varesa and whispered, " Odette isn't cold at all."
"Hmm?"
"She's hot," Bai You said earnestly, "Like fire."
Varesa laughed and pulled her into her arms, "You're so good at talking."
A salty night breeze blew by.
Five people surrounded the fire, their shadows stretched long and overlapping.
In the firelight, Columbina suddenly spoke.
"Speaking of which," she said, resting her chin on her hand, "I still don't know how you two met."
Bai You paused in her act of biting into the shrimp.
Varesa raised an eyebrow and added a piece of charcoal to the fire.
"Want to hear it?"
"I want to." Columbina moved closer to Sandrone, Sandrone ears twitched. He pretended to be peeling corn, but he was actually listening more attentively than anyone else.
"That day," Varesa's voice slowed, "I was singing in the water when suddenly there was a slight movement at my tail."
Bai You's face gradually turned red.
Looking down, I saw a cute little girl wading... I thought she was drowning.
Varesa looked down at the person in her arms, her eyes full of smiles.
"That was..." Bai You protested softly.
"Hmm." Varesa pinched her cheek.
Varesa laughed.
"Later, I brought her home."
Bai You pinched her lightly in her arms.
"Regret it?"
"No, not at all."
Columbina listened with satisfaction, then turned to look at Sandrone and deliberately asked:
"If Sandrone gets trapped in a puddle and drowns, I'll come and save you, okay?"
"I won't get trapped."
"So, if I drown, will you come to save me?"
"... Who cares about you?"
Although Sandrone said that, the half-ear of corn she handed over was covered with honey sauce, which Columbina loved.
Later they roasted marshmallows.
The marshmallows are skewered on bamboo sticks and charred when turned over a fire, resulting in a crispy outer layer and a melt-in-your-mouth texture, bursting with sweetness with every bite.
Bai You was panting heavily from the heat, but she couldn't bear to spit it out.
Varesa smiled and blew on her, then leaned in and kissed her.
They shared half of that sweetness.
"Is it sweet?" Bai You asked, feeling dizzy.
"Sweet." Varesa pressed her forehead against hers, "Not as sweet as you."
Not far away, Columbina held up two marshmallows, handing one to Sandrone.
Sandrone looked at her warily. "... What are you planning to do now?"
"I'll give you some candy."
"You'd really be that kind?"
"Of course—" Columbina smiled and leaned closer, "You take a bite, I'll take a bite."
"Who wants to be with you--"
"Shall I feed you?"
"I'll do it myself!"
Sandrone snatched the cotton candy, blushed, and took a big bite, only to hiss and gasp from the heat.
Columbina smiled, her eyes crinkling, and gently rubbed the corner of her mouth with a gesture of unbelievable tenderness.
"Eat slowly, no one's going to take it from you."
With a marshmallow in her mouth, Sandrone looked at the smiling face so close to hers and suddenly stopped trying to hide.
She muttered something under her breath.
"I'll come with you again next time."
"Huh?" Columbina didn't hear clearly, leaned closer, and asked, "What did you say?"
"I said!" Sandrone took a deep breath, resigned to her fate.
"Next time at the beach, I'll be in your group again! Are you satisfied now?"
Columbina was stunned.
Then, her smile gradually blossomed.
"Satisfied," she whispered, "Very satisfied."
She reached out and gently pinched the tip of Sandrone's reddened ear.
"It's a promise, pinky swear."
"... Immature."
Sandrone verbally expressed his disapproval, but he still stuck out his little finger.
Two little fingers were hooked together in the firelight.
The sound of the waves came in waves.
It's late at night.
The sea was dark and gloomy, with only the moon casting a silvery path from the horizon to their feet.
Bai You nestled in Varesa's arms, nodding her head slightly, still clutching half a marshmallow in her hand.
Varesa hugged her and draped her coat over her shoulders.
Varesa thought for a moment, then lowered her head and softly hummed a gentle tune in her ear.
Odette stood up, pushed the grill aside, and pulled a large cloth from the bag.
She walked to a spot further away from the fireworks, unfolded the fireworks, and spread them on the beach.
Then, turning back, he spoke concisely and to the point.
"Come here."
"What are you doing?" Columbina peeked out.
"Look at the stars."
All five of them were stunned for a moment.
Only then did they look up.
Before I knew it, the stars had filled the entire sky.
The Milky Way stretches across the sky, a dazzling ribbon.
Five people lay in a row on the cloth.
Bai You lay on the far side, next to Varesa, then Odette, Columbina, Sandrone on the far other side.
The sea breeze, carrying the last warmth of the day, blew gently.
The sound of the waves was distant, one after another, like someone keeping time throughout the night.
Bai You stared wide-eyed at the sky.
"... So many stars." she whispered. Varesa followed her gaze.
She reached out and intertwined her fingers with Bai You's, raising them together in mid-air towards the starry sky.
"Then let's pick one."
Why did I pick them?
"Remember it," Varesa said softly.
"When you can't see clearly ahead in the future, just look up. There's a star in the sky; that's ours."
Bai You's eyes were unbelievably bright.
"I want the brightest one."
"Okay."
"Also, the smaller one next to it, the two that are close together."
I carefully selected the Bai You: "The big one is yours, the small one is mine."
Varesa didn't say anything, but leaned in and kissed Bai You on the cheek.
"Yes, together, never to be separated."
Oh well, I'll just have to write two more filler chapters. Everyone's back to school with a full schedule right after break. I'll have to think of new plot points while I'm filling in the gaps tomorrow.
I also need to push the main storyline forward. I won't write so many intimate scenes anymore, as I feel fewer people are reading them. If the next few chapters connect well, there should be new plot developments.
Thank you everyone for your support! つ♡⊂