Think About U

{18}

Joji drops down next to me on the blanket, proudly draping his arm around me, "She's my girlfriend now" he beams with that adorable grin plastered across his face. Max high-fives Joji, "Hell yeah bro." The boys sit down and Chad opens another beer, "That's what I'm talking about Georgie boy" he says sounding like a proud dad. "Imma go swim," I stand up not knowing where to go with the conversation. I take my shirt and Joji's hat off then kick off my shoes before looking at Joji and Max, "Race to the water?" Max without saying a word hands Chad his glasses and takes off his shirt. "Is that a challenge Max?" I laugh taking off my shorts and throwing them next to my stuff. "Is it even a challenge if I'm obviously gonna win?" Max asks as Joji's shoulder bumps him. "You can't win Max because I'm gonna win," Joji snaps taking off his shirt. I take the opportunity to get a head start, sprinting towards the water. "Hey, that's cheating" Max yells before Joji pushes past him quickly gaining on me. I laugh as he throws me over his shoulder, "I win not you, plus you cheated." He huffs. I stick my tongue out at him even though he can't see me, "Aww come on babe don't be a sore loser" I giggle before Max tackles us into the water and catches us off guard. Chad erupts in laughter as we come up from the water. "I've got an idea, how about a chicken fight," Max grins. Joji and I exchange a look before agreeing. Max yells at Chad, "they want a challenge that's what we're gonna give them, bring your ass here Chad!" I splash Max and he shakes the water out of his hair like a dog, Chad joins us and Ian decides to play referee knowing it can get a little ugly with every one of us being a little too competitive. I get on Joji's shoulders and Max jumps on Chad's. "Let the games begin," Ian yells stepping back. Within minutes Max has knocked me into the water twice, but I'm not going down without a fight. I finally take Max down once, which turns to three times, when I try for the fourth he catches my wrist and pulls me down with him. I come up out of the water and Max holds out his hand, "Truce?" I splash him again before taking his hand and shaking it. Chad speaks up, "let's take a break and drink and order a ton of Taco Bell." We agree and head back to our spot. I dig through the cooler and grab each of the boys a beer and bottled waters for Joji and I. I hand everyone their drinks and sit down on the blanket between Joji's legs and lean back on him, he wraps his arms around me and I drink my water enjoying the breeze. Chad sips his drink listing off the ungodly amount of food he's ordering, Max nods along sometimes mentioning something he wants to add to the order. They finish up and Ian and Chad head back to the house to wait for the UberEats driver. I stand up and turn to Joji, "Come on wanna help me build a sandcastle?" I stick my hand out to help him up. Max gets excited and jumps up "I saw some buckets and stuff to build sandcastles on the back deck earlier, I'll go grab them if I can join." I laugh and nod, " I'll go find a good spot near our setup, go get the gear." He runs off towards the house as Joji and I find a nice spot and start digging a big moat around where we plan to build the castle. While we finish Max returns with little buckets and shovels and hands them to us before taking his own and running to gather water, he completes his first task of filling the moat and we begin to work on our huge sandcastle. I stand up dusting sand off of my legs and hands, "I'm going to collect some shells I'll be right back" I lean down and kiss my boyfriend on the cheek then began my search. I gather a good amount of smaller shells and a few bigger ones as well as some pretty impressive pieces of coral and make my way back to Max and Joji. They've already constructed a fairly nice castle and Max created a bridge leading up to it, "I found some sticks and used them as a base and built this really cool sand bridge, look" he points showing off his work like a proud preschooler in art class. I high-five him then give him a handful of shells to decorate his bridge. We work for a bit longer before Ian and Chad return and we take a break to eat. I prop my phone up on one of the coolers and turn on Naruto to watch while we have lunch, Max joins me on the blanket watching intently. Joji takes his place on the other side of me and hands me a soda. For the next two hours, we eat and debate the best Naruto characters, which causes a few friendly arguments. Max grabs another beer and heads back to the sandcastle. Joji and I follow his actions as Ian and Chad watch with drinks in hand. We continue to work for another hour and a half. The boys jump back in the water while I take the time to nap and tan. I get up and finish my water and take the rest of our trash from lunch to the trashcan before joining the boys. I swim up to them and Max squirts me with a water gun he's somehow acquired. I push my now wet hair out of my face before pulling it up, " what the hell, where did you get that Max?" The slightly intoxicated boy responds with a shrug, "I dunno some kid recognized me, asked me to join his squirt gun fight then let me keep it." I take the toy gun from him, "I'm assuming this all happened while I was napping?" He nods and I squirt him getting swift revenge. "Very funny," he coughs and spits out the water before lunging for the toy. I hide behind Joji giggling, as he fights off Max. I repeatedly spray him over Joji's shoulder, this continues on until it starts getting dark. Max and Chad order more food and we settle in our chairs and blankets. I finish my food and take my trash and throw it away "I'm gonna go try to find more shells before it gets too dark" I slip on Joji's shirt and grab my sandcastle bucket. I start making my way down the beach and after a while Joji joins me. Every now and then he adds to my collection. We decide to make our way back to the boys and turn around. A few feet away I see a starfish and get excited and turn to Joji to show him, nearly running into him. He pulls me to him and I smile blushing bright red as he leans forward and connects our lips, I'm shocked at first but I practically melt into the kiss. He pulls away with a cute chuckle and we hear the boys cheering. I shake my head laughing and fireworks begin to go off down the beach. Joji smiles and grabs my hand and we rejoin our group. I sit back and admire everything around me, Joji, our amazing sandcastle, the fireworks, Ian finally easing up and having fun, Max slurring out "burger" or "hotdog" and Chad encouraging him between giggles. Even though they get on my nerves all the time I love every moment with them and I think to myself, "I really wouldn't change this for the world"

Word count 1328.