Rightfully Hers

XII

Dedicated to @passsionisdance

ISABELLE

I watched Cassandra and Dante closely, attempting to ignore the flame of jealousy that was burning its way through my chest. Dante was sitting up, his face turned away from me as he spoke vigorously to Julian. My best friend's head was perched on his lap and she had her phone in her hand, facing me.

The ease in which they loved each other is something I feared I'd never get. Turning my eyes to Jada who was sat not even a foot away from me, she was facing Isaac and they were playing slap slap draw. She crossed her arms over her chest as Isaac attempted to shoot her, and he whined in response.

"No fair! I never get to kill you!"

I couldn't see my mate's reaction, but I heard her carefree laugh in response, and my heart soared. "You really don't pay attention in training," she remarked teasingly.

"Guys look at the camera!" Cass suddenly exclaimed. I turned quickly towards her and in seconds I could feel Jada's warm breath against my neck as she peered over me to get in the shot. I leaned away to get a better look at her and was truly awed. She was beaming at the camera, her swirling chocolate gaze bright with so much life I was almost taken aback.

Isaac yelped from behind us and pushed forward to get into the camera's view. This cause Jada to fall forward and land in my lap. I scooped her up quickly, my reaction getting the better of me, and Isaac ended up collapsing on the sand.

Cass was laughing hysterically by that point, but I was so entranced by the sound of Jada giggling that I couldn't pull my eyes away from her. Her eyes were shut but her smile was wide, and I could feel her heart beating passionately through my hand on her back.

"It's a video!" Cass cackled, "Oh god, I got it all. Priceless!"

"No fair," Isaac pouted, "I wanted a good picture!"

Jada opened her eyes then, but she didn't move away from me, she remained leaned against me, her body positioned on my lap. She readjusted slightly so she was nestled with her back against my chest, sitting between my legs, but she didn't make any indication that she was going to move away.

She made a retort to Isaac, but I was staring at Cass with wide eyes so I didn't pick up on what she said. She got my message, as she winked at me and shrugged. 'Go with it,' she mouthed.

"Why must you tease me constantly?" Isaac whined again, sitting up and attempting to swipe the sand off his abdomen.

Jada laughed, and I was hyper aware of every slight movement she made. We were both in our bathing suits still and I could feel her warm skin against mine. She was still flush against me, and yet it was in no way uncomfortable, she simply fit. It felt natural to have her so close to me, I just worried how long it would last before she distanced herself again.

"I brought something with me," Isaac began randomly, and he moved away to rustle through the bag he'd brought. Jada watched him curiously, and it appeared he'd gotten the attention of the entire group.

After a minute or so of digging through the large bag on his towel, he tugged and pulled out four large buckets, all filled with small plastic shovels. We stared at him questioningly.

"Sand castles!" He cried out, "I brought four buckets and eight shovels! We can have a sand castle competition in partners! I call Julian!"

Julian sat up and peered around Dante to stare at the younger boy almost accusingly. "Why me?"

Isaac blushed, "You seem like you know what you're doing."

Julian, not pleased with his response, only perked an eyebrow at him. "I've lived in Toronto my whole life, do you think I have time to go to beaches often? I've never built a sand castle in my entire life. You should have asked for Jada, she studied architecture for two years."