As the sun dipped lower in the sky, Vanessa grabbed Ethan's wrist and tugged him toward the shoreline.
"Co on, we're not done yet," she said with a grin.
Ethan raised a brow but allowed himself to be led.
The warm water lapped at their ankles as they strolled along the beach, the sand soft beneath their feet.
The crowd had thinned, leaving behind only a few scattered figures in the distance — so couples, so lone wanderers, all lost in their own little monts.
For a while, neither of them spoke.
The sound of the waves rolling in and out filled the silence, accompanied by the occasional cry of seagulls overhead.
Ethan slipped his hands into his pockets, glancing at Vanessa from the corner of his eye.
"You've been thinking about sothing," he said finally. "Spit it out."
Vanessa smirked. "You always this blunt?"
"When necessary."
She let out a small chuckle, but her gaze drifted toward the horizon, watching the sun slowly sink into the sea.
"I just… I guess I've been thinking about what's next."
Ethan tilted his head slightly. "Next?"
Vanessa took a deep breath, her playful expression fading just a little.
"I've spent so much of my life racing. The thrill, the competition… I love it. But sotis, I wonder if it's all I am."
Ethan remained quiet, letting her continue.
"I've been on the track since I was a kid. It's always been about going faster, pushing limits, proving myself. But when I step outside of that world, when I'm not behind the wheel… I don't know. It's like, who am I then?"
She let out a short, humorless laugh. "It's stupid, right? People dream of being in my position, but here I am, wondering if it's enough."
Ethan watched her for a mont before speaking. "It's not stupid."
Vanessa glanced at him, surprised by the certainty in his voice.
"Everyone reaches a point where they question things," he continued. "Doesn't matter how successful or talented they are. If anything, the more you achieve, the more you start wondering if there's more to life than just that one thing."
Vanessa let his words sink in.
"I guess you'd get it," she said after a mont. "You don't talk much about yourself, but I can tell — you've got your own thing going on, don't you?"
Ethan exhaled through his nose. "You could say that."
Vanessa nudged him lightly with her shoulder. "You gonna share, or are you gonna keep being all mysterious?"
Ethan smirked slightly but didn't imdiately answer.
Instead, he bent down and picked up a small rock from the sand.
With a flick of his wrist, he skipped it across the water.
One, two, three bounces before it finally sank.
"I spent a lot of ti doing what I thought I was supposed to," he said eventually. "Followed the plan, checked all the right boxes. But sowhere along the way, I started questioning if I actually wanted any of it."
Vanessa watched him carefully. "And?"
"And I found out that most of what I built my life around didn't really matter," Ethan said simply. "So I changed things."
She didn't ask for details, and he didn't offer them.
But sothing about his words resonated with her.
Vanessa sighed and ruffled her hair. "So what you're saying is, I should throw caution to the wind and just do whatever I want?"
Ethan shrugged. "I'm saying if you're questioning things, then it ans sothing inside you is telling you to look beyond what you already know."
She scoffed. "You sound like so old wise man."
"Maybe," Ethan said with a faint smirk.
They continued walking, the water occasionally brushing against their calves.
The sun had dropped lower now, casting golden light over the waves.
The air was warm but cooling as the evening crept in.
Vanessa suddenly stopped walking, causing Ethan to halt beside her.
She turned to face him, hands on her hips.
"Alright," she said, tilting her head. "Tell , then. If you weren't doing whatever you're doing now, what would you want to do?"
Ethan considered the question, staring out at the sea. "…I don't know."
Vanessa raised a brow. "You, Mr. 'Look Beyond What You Know,' don't have an answer?"
Ethan chuckled. "Not yet."
She studied him for a mont before shaking her head with a small laugh. "You're a hard guy to figure out, you know that?"
"So I've been told."
Vanessa sighed, rolling her shoulders. "Guess I'll have to do so figuring out of my own, then."
Ethan nodded. "Seems like it."
They stood there for a while, watching the sun finally dip below the horizon.
The sky burned with shades of orange, pink, and deep purple, reflecting over the water like a dream.
Vanessa stretched her arms over her head, then turned to him with a grin. "Alright, let's head back. You still owe a rematch, rember?"
Ethan smirked. "You an another race you're going to lose?"
Vanessa gasped in mock offense. "Oh, you are so dead, Grey."
She grabbed his wrist again, pulling him back toward the beach, her earlier worries montarily forgotten.
Ethan followed, a small, almost imperceptible smile lingering on his face.
As the last streaks of sunlight faded into the horizon, Ethan and Vanessa walked back toward the parking lot, their footprints trailing behind them in the cooling sand.
Ethan took a deep breath as they reached their cars.
He ran a hand through his slightly damp hair, his expression unreadable.
Then, turning to Vanessa, he hesitated for a second before finally speaking.
"I have a favor to ask," he said, his voice steady but carrying an edge of sothing rare — uncertainty.
Vanessa, who had just unlocked her car, glanced up at him, intrigued. "A favor?"
Ethan nodded. "Yeah. My sisters… they're staying over at my place tonight."
He exhaled through his nose. "They're big fans of yours. I was wondering if you'd co along."
Vanessa blinked. She hadn't expected that.
Of all the things he could've asked for — a rematch, another outing, even so kind of business-related request — this was not on the list.
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