Enzo

I was so excited to go to the beach with Cardo and Papa.

"Are you ready, Cardo?" I called out while packing stuff into my beach bag.

"Don't yell, man. I'm right here," Cardo said, stepping into the room in his swim shorts. He glanced at me and smirked. "Don't you think your shorts are a bit too short?"

"No, I think they look sexy," I said, turning to check my reflection in the mirror. "Do you think I work out just to hide my hard work?"

"Yep, you're right," he replied with a teasing grin. "Why don't you just go naked, then?"

"They don't let people go naked," I shot back, grinning.

When we stepped out of the room, Papa was already there, dressed in beach shorts and a tank top. He looked effortlessly striking, like a Greek god.

"Yo, where the hell did you find your bodyguard?" Cardo asked, staring at Papa's muscles. Papa smirked in response.

"Looks like we might have to protect your bodyguard from women at the beach," Cardo added, and we both burst out laughing.

Just then, Raphy appeared, also ready to go, followed by his half-sisters and Juana, all dressed in their beach clothes.

"Excuse me, I thought this was our beach trip?" I said, looking at the growing group. Cardo seemed just as confused as I was.

Then we spotted Tia Esmeralda making her way toward us, wearing a sleek black swimsuit. Oh no, not her too.

"The beach is not yours, Enzo. We can go anytime we want," Juana said with her usual attitude.

"Fine. But don't come with us. Don't even come close to us," I shot back.

"We won't, loser," Juana snapped and marched off with the girls, her maid, and her female guard in tow.

She used to have a male guard once, but Papa caught her kissing him. After that, Papa replaced him with a female guard. Juana hadn't cared about the handsome male guard losing his job; to her, it was just a game—a kissing game she played for fun.

Cardo, Raphy, Papa, and I left together for the beach.

"There's a new female lifeguard at the beach, and she's so hot," Cardo whispered to me.

"Then let's act like we're drowning when she's around," I replied, and we both burst into laughter.

"What if your guard shows up instead of her?" Cardo asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We better tell him not to," I said, glancing at Papa.

"What's with that look?" Papa asked, his sharp eyes catching on to the subtle shift in my expression. Sometimes I hated how he noticed everything. There was no way to keep secrets from him.

"Nothing," Cardo and I said in unison, trying to play it cool.

"That really sounds like nothing," Papa said, his voice laced with sarcasm as he glanced at Raphy. Raphy rolled his eyes, clearly agreeing with him.

On the way to the beach, the only thing Cardo could talk about was girls, girls, and more girls. By the time we arrived, even I felt like I needed to flirt with someone just to catch up.

We spotted Juana and her group already on the beach, so we picked a spot far away from them.

"You remember the plan, right?" Cardo whispered to me.

"Just show me who she is first," I whispered back, stealing a glance at Papa, who was deep in conversation with Raphy. The two of them were chatting like best friends. Honestly, I think Raphy enjoys talking to Papa more than to us—probably because he's more mature.

"Look, look, there she is. The one in the red swimsuit," Cardo said, nudging me.

I followed his gaze. The lifeguard in question was definitely a few years older than us. She had a confident aura, and yeah, she was hot—but not really my type.

Still, who cares? As long as she gives us CPR when we fake drowning, it's all good.

"But she can't save us both at once," I pointed out.

"Let's do rock, paper, scissors. The winner gets to do the acting and score the CPR," Cardo said with a grin.

We played, and of course, Cardo won.

"We're going to the water," I said, and we took off running toward the waves.

"Hey, wait!" Papa's voice called out behind us. I didn't need to look back to know he was following us.

"Look, she's over there," Cardo whispered, nodding toward the lifeguard in the red swimsuit. "We can act like we're tired from surfing, and then I'll take it from there."

"Are you going to pretend to drown the second you get in the water?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, stupid. Let's actually surf a bit first," Cardo said, rolling his eyes. "We can't just look like a couple of dumb kids. We need to show her we're men."

"But I don't know how to surf," I said, my voice almost hesitant.

"What? Ew... go away," Cardo said, pushing me playfully. "Are you serious, bro? That's embarrassing," he added, shaking his head with exaggerated disbelief. "You can swim around like a little kid while I surf like a real man."

With that, he grabbed his board and headed toward the waves, leaving me behind. I waded into the water and started swimming, exactly as he'd said—like a little kid.

His words stung. It wasn't just teasing; it made me feel small. Just because I couldn't surf didn't mean I wasn't a man, right? But the thought lingered, and I couldn't shake the frustration bubbling inside me.

Then it happened. A wave hit me harder than I expected, and before I knew it, I was pulled under. The water churned around me, and I found myself drowning, unable to fight my way to the sur

"Let's see how long you can hold your breath underwater, baby Perez," Tony said, a smirk on his face as he pushed my head into the lake water. The others held my hands tightly, making sure I couldn't move.

I wasn't sure how long Tony kept my head submerged like that, but the longer it lasted, the harder it became to breathe. My chest burned with the desperate need for air, and it felt like it was about to explode. Just as I thought I might black out, he finally pulled my head out of the water.

I gasped for air, my lungs aching, and I could hear them laughing in the background.

"Is it a new record, Paco?" Tony asked his brother, his tone mocking.

"Looks like no," Paco replied, unfazed. Then Tony pushed my head back under the water again.

And again.

And again.

Until everything went black.

Manuel

I ran into the water and managed to catch Enzo before he drowned. I wasn't sure what had happened to him—he knew how to swim—but there he was, unconscious. I didn't waste any time and started performing CPR.

Cardo and Rafael rushed over as Enzo suddenly coughed up water and came to.

"What happened?" I asked, still confused and unsure.

Enzo gasped for air, his breathing heavy as he looked around, disoriented.

"Are you okay?" Rafael asked, his voice full of concern.

"Yeah! Where am I?" Enzo said, still catching his breath, his eyes wide as he scanned the area.

"You're at the beach. We came to the beach," I told him, trying to calm him down.

He looked around again, still trying to make sense of everything.

Enzo

As I looked around, I suddenly remembered what I had been doing. Cardo and I had been planning to get a kiss from the hot lifeguard. It seemed like I had ruined that plan. But then, the lifeguard came over, and to my surprise, it was Papa who had given me CPR.

"You should've let her give me CPR," I muttered quietly. Papa glanced at the lifeguard, his expression unreadable.

"Really, boss? Why didn't you tell me that earlier?" he mimicked sarcastically under his breath.

"Is everything okay?" the hot lifeguard asked, her tone concerned.

"Yes," Papa replied simply, his voice steady.

"No," Cardo said, and the lifeguard turned to look at him.

"Why not?" she asked, her tone serious.

"I need CPR too," Cardo replied with a mischievous grin.

"Why?" she asked, glancing at him, then at Papa, Raphy, and me, all of us looking at him in confusion.

"I think I'm drowning. Can you give me CPR?" Cardo said with a grin. "Or, you know, a kiss will work too," he added, his voice teasing.

She blushed, her cheeks turning pink, and looked him up and down, sizing him up. She shrugged and then quickly gave him a light kiss on the lips before walking away, laughing softly.

We all just stood there, frozen, watching her go.

"You took away my chance," I muttered, glancing at Papa.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, boss. Was that part of the act?" Papa asked, raising an eyebrow. I was speechless—this wasn't part of the plan at all.

Papa stared at me for a moment, and as usual, he read my mind.

"You better explain this to me when we get home," he said firmly.

"Anyway," I said, trying to get up. Papa and Raphy helped me to my feet while Cardo was still staring at the lifeguard, looking like he'd never had a kiss before.

"Next time, if there's a hot female lifeguard, let her give me CPR," I muttered, still feeling a bit annoyed.

"Oh yeah, sure, sure. My bad, boss, my bad. Sorry about that," Papa said, his tone playful. Raphy chuckled at the exchange.