Page 8 of HER SISTER

The Uber ride to wherever we were going was entirely awkward—and it appears the driver felt the same given that he rolled the barrier up, which separated the backseat from the front seat.

I hadn't really been in a Cadillac SUV as an Uber, which was due to Mili ordering the luxury option for Uber—and now I'm not so sure I can go back to standard Uber drives.

This is actually a vibe, well, except for Mili, who still seems upset with how we left our previous conversation.

Finally, after having enough of the tense silence, I said, "Look, I'm sorry for what I said, okay?"

Mili turned her head, her face coated with an amused look, "I know," she said, which easily made my brows furrow.

"Why are you being so quiet then? It's a little weird you know," I said.

She shrugged, "Or maybe it bothers you that I refuse to talk to you," she pointed out.

"It does not," I said, my tone defensive and tight.

Okay, maybe it does, but since I don't understand the why behind this—I won't come close to admitting it aloud.

Mili lazily raised her brows before dropping them back down, "Sure."

I narrowed my eyes. Why does she always manage to have the upper hand when it comes to our conversations?

"Although..." I trailed off, unsure of my next words, but I knew they bordered along the lines of asking more about her.

Maybe it's best if I just leave her alone, even if it feels incredibly hard to.

I shook my head, "Nevermind," I said, listening to my internal thoughts entirely.

"Although what?" Mili said leaning her elbow against the window and letting her head rest against her fist. The action itself was so unintentionally sexy that it made my heart pound nervously in my chest.

I blinked a few times, snapping myself from the spell she had unconsciously put me under.

Cam. I quickly reminded myself.

"So uh why do you refuse to talk to me?" I asked, deciding to not answer her question.

Mili tilted her head, almost like she was surprised that I even asked her such a question, and I could tell she was trying to choose her next words carefully by the sudden silence between us again.

Her dark eyes glanced past me for a moment before meeting mine again, "It's better that we don't... how do I put this?" she said, looking away from me again, and it was clear she was trying to be selective of her words.

It made me wonder if they were about to be offensive in some sort of way.

Mili looked back to me, "We shouldn't be friends—and I would've assumed you'd be entirely supportive of that," she finally said.

I pursed my lips, glancing down at my lap.

I should be supportive of that, especially since I was the one who wanted it first... so why does it feel like I'm not?

Why do I want to know more about her? Why does her presence alone make my heart rate spike?

Regardless of the empty pit growing in my stomach, I mumbled, "I-yeah. I am—I was just curious."

The rest of the car ride remained silent with both of us staring out of the tinted windows in opposite directions of one another.

When the SUV pulled up in front of a beach, I furrowed my brows, but Mili only motioned me to follow along.

I didn't think she'd take me to an entire beach—then again she did specify to wear swimwear.

Soon we were walking silently down the empty beach with the sun beating down on us at full force.

And the silence between us probably couldn't be cut with the sharpest knife in the world.

A couple of minutes into the walk, I realized we were headed toward a cave.

I've surprisingly never been to a cave—but now it seems like something I should've tried before.

"Okay, let me get my camera set up to the correct setting for this lighting," Mili said as we began to venture into the open dark cave with slices of sunlight shining through.

The wide tunnel turned into a circular tall dome, with even more sunlight streaming through the holes and lines of the black cave.

"Are you comfortable with me setting you up for poses?" Mili asked, and I couldn't help but swallow slightly at the idea of Mili even touching me.

Why does my throat suddenly feel dry?

"Yeah," I said, my tone lower than usual as I forced myself to continue to admire the cave.

If I look at Mili, then I really might fold.

But again... why?

All we shared was a meaningless kiss in a bar bathroom.

"Stand right there," Mili pointed to the cave wall adjacent to me, hanging the camera around her neck to rest.

I silently walked toward the wall, waiting for her next directions.

Mili walked toward me, her dark eyes trailing my body completely.

However, she wasn't checking me out—it was more like she was deep in thought. Like she was trying to figure out how to pose me properly.

Shivers ran through my body when she gently grabbed my hands, lifting them to rest my fingertips against my cheeks and facing my nose.

Her hands slid down my arms, leveling my elbows that were now sticking out.

My heart beat fiercely in my chest as she slid the sleeves of my bathing suit cover-up further up my arms.

But after fiddling with the sleeves for a moment, she finally said, "I need this off."

I instantly felt an unfamiliar heat strike me lower down before trickling to every part of my body. I know she didn't mean it sexually, but how else could I take it?

When Mili's dark eyes darted to mine with a look of what are you waiting for?—I immediately dropped my arms, pulling the white mesh dress down and revealing my black swimsuit, which I hoped would be minimalistic enough for this shoot.

I kicked the dress to the side before positioning myself back into the pose she had me in.

Mili nodded, keeping her eyes strictly on my own.

I felt something deflate inside of me, Why was I disappointed that she wasn't checking me out?

Then again, the eye contact that we held felt much more intimate to me. A little too intimate actually.

"Close your eyes," she said, pressing two fingers underneath my chin, and leveling my head. I held her dark eyes for a couple of more seconds before forcing my eyes to flutter shut, holding the desired pose properly. "Good. Just like that," she said.

I pressed my teeth together in an attempt to cool down the fire that Mili was starting within me.

Maybe I shouldn't have agreed to this. Why would Mya even send us alone in the first place?

Because she trusts you. Because you made a promise, I told myself.

A promise. I made a promise.

Fuck, and I have to keep that—or at least whatever is left of it.

I felt Mili's presence back away from me. "I'm going to take a few shots, and then we'll try out some other poses."

I nodded and within a few seconds later, the bright flash from her camera went off.

After doing a few other poses, Mili was soon setting me up for the last pose.

She turned me around, facing me away from her as she stood behind me.

She then turned my head to the side, angling it up with both my palms of my hands resting on top of my head.

I felt the air leave my lungs when I felt a gentle tug on the string holding my bikini top on me. "Do you mind?" she asked, and I swear her voice was the softest I had ever heard it.

I felt my entire thought process turn to mush, but I quickly snapped myself out of it.

"No," I replied, my voice barely above a whisper.

I was honestly surprised she even heard me, but it was clear that she had when she was suddenly untying both ties to my bikini top.

"Don't worry, it's only your spine that I'm capturing," she said, soothing any anxious thoughts I had.

I continued to hold my position. "Oh, so my spine is worth capturing?" I asked, my tone completely joking.

Mili breathed out behind me, her warm breath trickling across my shoulders, and sending a wave of goosebumps down my body, "Yeah... actually," she said, her serious tone contrasting my joking one.

I stayed completely silent, processing what she just admitted as she backed away with my bikini top in her hand.

A few flashes went off before she inevitably said, "Okay, I think we're all good—let me just tie you back up."

My eyes fluttered open just as my arms came down from my head.

I directed my attention to the cave wall in front of me that my body was already facing, while Mili's soft warm fingers wrapped the bikini top strings around my torso.

She tied the two strings at my neck while I tied the other two at my torso.

"Do you model?" Mili asked, dropping her hands from my back and leaving me cold.

I shook my head, turning to face her now that I was fully covered. "No, not really," I said, knowing it wasn't something they offered back home.

Mili's brows raised, like she was actually surprised by my answer, "You really should get into it."

I tilted my head, a small smile growing on my lips, "You really think?"

Mili rolled her eyes playfully, "No, not if your ego is going to get boosted," she joked.

I gently nudged her arm, "Says you."

Mili raised a challenging brow, "Says me? Are you saying I have a big ego?" she questioned.

I shrugged as my smile grew.

Mili laughed once, "Yeah no, I definitely do. It's not hard to see that," she said, reaching down to grab my swimsuit cover-up.

It was odd to actually hear her side with me.

Mili held the thin mesh dress out for me to grab, "Thank you for doing this," she said.

I couldn't help but stay silent, processing how grateful she seemed that I had come.

I didn't realize it meant anything to her by the way she acted despite me going—and for some reason, the realization managed to make my chest grow with warmth.

"I know I was being a dick earlier and I was really standoffish with the idea of you coming—but genuinely, this all meant a lot to me. Without you, I wouldn't have anything to turn in for my first-semester project," Mili admitted.

I couldn't help the smile that grew on my face, along with the warmth coating my cheeks.

I hope it was dark enough in here to hide the fact that I was blushing.

I looked down at the cover-up dress that Mili was holding out for me in an effort to avoid her intimidating stare.

I gently grabbed it from her hands, "You were definitely a dick."

Mili's lips parted dramatically as she laughed once, "Okay wow, that's all you have to say?" she retorted, clearly amused by me.

I reciprocated a laugh, "I'm kidding," I said, staring back up into her dark eyes that always managed to capture my attention, "Regardless of whether you were a dick or not—I would've come. I wouldn't leave you hanging you know."

Mili smiled, and when she revealed her perfect white teeth, I thought I was actually going to pass out. "And that's what makes you so special Ati," she murmured.

Tingles traveled throughout my body as I stared up into her eyes—a part of my brain screamed to kiss her—while the other reminded me of the promise I made to Mya.

I decided to ignore the fact that Cam was one of the last things to cross my mind.

Mili nodded toward the exit, "Come on we should probably go."

I nodded, holding my cover-up in my hands as I followed her out of the cave.

When we finally made it outside the cave, I felt my brows raise at the beautiful sky that was painted in a light strawberry pink, a pastel orange, and a light blue.

I honestly didn't even care that we had been here all day—I was entirely focused on the sunset.

It was so beautiful.

Before I had further time to process the surreal sunset, I felt myself being lifted into the air and over Mili's shoulder.

"Mili!" I exclaimed as she began running toward the ocean with me secured perfectly over her shoulder as she laughed to herself.

It took me a moment to realize that she was actually taking us into the water, "Oh my god, you better not get—"

But it was too late, she was already in the silky warm water.

The only way out was if she walked me out while I was still dry, which I already knew wouldn't happen—or if she let me down, allowing me to get fully wet.

The second option seemed the most realistic and was the one that Mili opted for.

She skillfully let me down and off her shoulder, allowing my body to fully submerge into the warm water.

"I cannot believe you right now," I shook my head, floating in the shoulder-high ocean water.

Mili laughed even more, which earned a smack to her shoulder from me.

She held her hands up in defense. "The sunset is much more beautiful this way," she said, her laughter fading, leaving a small smile on her lips.

I looked up at the sky, my hand unintentionally remaining placed on her shoulder that I previously smacked.

My brows knitted together when I felt her warm arm snake around my waist.

I looked to Mili, who already seemed to be looking at me, "We shouldn—"

"Yeah, I know, but let's just enjoy the moment," she said, cutting me short, and it didn't take any convincing for me to fall into agreement with her suggestion.

I leaned further into her side, resting my head down onto her chest while her hand glided up and down the side of my body.

To anyone around us, we looked like an ordinary couple, but in reality, we were just two people forbidden to even be interested in one another.

I wonder how it would've been if I had met her first.