After quite some time the patrollers opted to leave the lake deck and withdrew back to the woods together with their dogs. Once again, the place was left with nothing but the insects singing as if reciting a certain hymn to honour the quietness and the darkness of the night.

Even after the officers left, Xhemin's heart didn't stop beating rapidly inside her chest. Her stomach turn unhelpfully and her skin turn clammy being tightly pressed against the Lagdameo heir's hard chest. Who would not feel the same if you are with an undeniably gorgeous man?

​​

A man who can make one stop dead at their tacks.

A guy that is more than hot.

A damned good human being.

Now that quietness was creeping in, Xhemin could hear her heart beat wildly and it even become more chaotic when Darryl run his hands at her bare arms and when she felt his lips softly graze at her slender neck. Xhemin's inside twisted!

Darryl's lips migrated to her wet hair, down to her head, the bridge of her nose and further below.

"Darryl, stop please" Xhemin uttered, her voice cracking up as she supressed all the desire she had for him at the moment.

The Little Misus felt Darryl's jaw tightened and how his body turned stiff as if he was having hard time supressing something from deep within. Just then, she summoned all the strength to push herself out from their hiding place, feeling that it was utterly necessary for her to distance herself from the boy because every part of her heated up, almost to the extent that she was losing all her self-control.

"Let me out first" Darryl halted her attempt when she failed getting herself out. Darryl then glided out from the gap and when he was sure that it was safe for the girl to go out, he pulled her carefully.

"Are you okay?" Darryl asked her as he put a hand on her shoulder to give her comfort but Xhemin shove it right away which made Darryl knit a brow at the girls enmity toward him "What wrong? What did I do this time?"

"Nothing" She simply said but her voice implied a suppressed annoyance.

"Are you still mad at me?" Darryl asked again worried about the girl's unruly behaviour.

"No, not at all … I mean ... Ahhh … shit!... Darryl why are you naked?" Xhemin couldn't hold off the thing that bothered her the most all those time that they were hiding.

Darryl almost laughed his heart out because of Xhemin's question, "I'm only half naked milady"

"Still, how dare you show up to me half naked" Xhemin answered, annoyed over herself for being so overly attracted to Darryl. The Lagdameo heir was getting into her deeply that if he asked her something, she will eventually say yes to whatever he ask of— and that was what she hated about herself this time.

But she can't blame herself alone for somehow he knew, by the way that hazel eyes of Darryl twinkled, that he was trying to make her feel like that.

"And so you are mad because I showed up naked when I haven't even asked you why you were running around entirely naked" He reminded the girl and continued " At least I had my pants were unlike you, you've got nothing to hide that skin of yours"

Darryl's answered almost made Xhemin throw up.

"How do you know I was completely naked. Did you saw me?" Xhemin asked worriedly and added to confirm "Like, all of me?"

"I hate to break it you but yes I did" Darryl answered and even though she can't see his expression, by the way he sounded Darryl seemed to be very pleased with the fact.

"God I hate you! Why are you even here?" She murmured almost cursing the boy intensely.

"Why won't I be here? I'm the lead patrol remember? I'm just doing my job faithfully that's why I'm here" Darryl explained right through Xhemin's annoyed face.

"I didn't know swimming in the lake naked was part of the patroller's job. Was checking on the fishes and water snakes part of the description?" She answered back with a sneer. She knew she was being unreasonable, but at the moment she had to do that to lighten up the hot atmosphere that was giving her silly naughty thoughts.

"I was patrolling via a boat and my flashlight fell in the water so I hop out to get it and eventually thought of taking a swim to ease some tension out" Darryl replied and he held a deep sigh as he blurted the words and Xhemin knew the boy was talking about what happened earlier— the thing with him and Leonardo Auclair then with Huzey.

"I'm sorry about my fake fainting. I had to do it you see. You were being too beastly back then I was afraid you'll end up paralyzing Leonardo Auclair " Xhemin apologize sincerely. Talking these things to Darryl was quiet awkward, but it must be said.

Silence filled in the place as the two couple were still trying to figure out what to say next. So much things happened between them that talking to each other become a little hard. Somehow, walls had already been built overtime between them which made them hard to connect towards each other's mind. But right there, under the deck, the two tried trying to fix whatever what's left hoping somehow things will get back the way they had been.

"What brought you up here?" Darryl changed the topic to break off the silence that was settling in.

"I was … exiled … in the east camp" She started, but she was having hard time narrating how foolish she had been "The girls and I played poker and we end up here. The loser needed to jump off the lake … naked and … and.."

"… and they left you all alone" Darryl continued her words when she was hesitating. "… let me guess they also took your clothes with them, am I right?"

Xhemin didn't answer. She became ashamed of how things went out of her control. But it has been done and there's nothing more she can do to outdo it. She waited for Darryl to mock at her and laugh over her scrapes but instead of doing so, Darryl just reached for her once again and pressed her back to his own body.

"Hey!" She flinched as their warmth complimented against each other again but then she knew he cannot escape him. So she let him have her at the time and thought how she felt so secure under his arms, like she was meant to be there, like he was made exactly just for her.

Xhemin savoured the moment they had but then a little later, he noticed Darryl grinned playfully while caressing her back.

"What?" She asked trying to prepare herself for what foolishness Darryl Lagdameo has in his mind.

Darryl answered with a half suppressed laugh "Nothing"

"Darryl don't fool me around what is it?"

"Nothing. It's just all this time I thought you were flat chested" he said and looked down on her chest "When did they grow this big?"

Hearing Darry's words, Xhemin instantly died out of shame.