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epilogue
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Oceanwaves lapped at the shore in white lace and the relentless sun warming the afternoon sky was matched only by the burning sand that Trinity Shoupe's fingers interlaced in. It felt silky smooth under her fingertips and she couldn't give up touching it unless she had to flip the page of the book she was reading.
The Art of Living was a small paperback thing, and even though she'd picked it up a countless times over the summer, it was only to read over the words her boyfriend had scrawled over the inside of the front cover.
THE ART OF LIVING WRITTEN BY JJ MAYBANK
☑ No. 1: Go skinny dipping ☑ No. 2: Vandalize a property on Figure Eight ☑ No. 3: Visit the highest point on the island ☑ No. 4: Crash a party ☑ No. 5: Get a tattoo ☑ No. 6: Dine and dash ☑ No. 7: Try surfing ☑ No. 8: Get a hickey ☑ No. 9: Smoke weed ☐ No. 10: Get laid ☐ No. 11: Kiss underwater ☐ No. 12: Swim with sharks
A frown made the Shoupe girl's eyebrows pinch together as she squinted hard to try and decipher the little note written under Number 12 that she hadn't noticed before. A breathless chuckle escaped her when she was finally able to decode the god-awful handwriting.
"When did you write this?" She asked, more out loud to herself than directed at the blonde who was sprawled out on his stomach and fast asleep next to her. But her sweet laugh called him out of the dream about surfing he was having.
"Huh?" JJ murmured as Trinity slowly came into his vision with each lazy bat of his eyes. He looked adorable, blinking the sleep out of his eyes with his cheek still pressed into the back of his hand. Trinity's chest warmed at the sight.
"You wrote 'Angel, I love you, but you're on your own on this one.' under 'Swim with sharks' on the list." She recited his note. "What if one of the sharks tries to eat me?" She jokingly decided to ask.
