"God that was a lot of food" I grumble

We had just gotten back home from our favorite beach restaurant. All in a comatose state might I add. They had unlimited shrimp and fries tonight and it's safe to say we took full advantage of that deal.

"It was so worth it. I would fuckin marry that shrimp" Wes drops down into the couch beside me

"Me too, Wes," Em agrees with a huge grin "Me. Too."

"I would give up sex for that shrimp" Tyler chimes, not even picking his head up from where he laid on the floor.

"Jesus are you guys drunk?" My dad questions as he comes into the living room doorway.

"No just in food comas" Jordan grumbles, not bothering to open his eyes

It's understandable that my dad thought we were drunk. All twelve of us collapsed in various positions around the room, not really caring about how comfortable they were. Wes, Jordan and I were currently sprawled across each other on the couch. Arrex, Tyler And Gabe were face first on the carpeted floor with Caleb, Brett, Beck and Ace sitting on the floor beside them, resting their heads back against the couch with their eyes closed. Em was laying across Amy, who had her head resting on Becks legs. It was the typical sight my parents would see after a previous night at a party.

"I promise I'm not drunk this time, I can do the nose thingy" Em adds, as she pokes her nose with ease.

"God you guys are idiots" my dad chuckles lightly "Well Cheri and I are going out, don't be dumbasses and no drinking tonight"

"And don't touch the pies, those are for the Sunday dinner" Cheri orders

"Alright we'll be good" Tyler says, speaking for all of us

"Alright bye! love you guys!" My dad yells back to us earning lazy 'I love yous' in return.

We laid in the living room silently for at least thirty minutes. Just staring at the TV mindlessly, every one of us being to lazy to get up and actually turn it on.

"Okay I'm going to bed" Arrex states finally as he makes his way up to his and Ace's room. Most of them we're staying in that room considering it was the biggest in the house. The beach house wasn't as nearly as big as our normal house was but we made it work. We had four bedrooms here and two full bathrooms, which fit us all pretty well.

"But its only ten" I pout

"We're tired bellaboo" Tyler snorts as he stands up, ready to go to the guest bedroom that he shares with Wes, Gabe and Brett. Those four got the guest bedroom; Ace, Arrex, Jordan, Beck and Caleb got the twins room; Amy, Em, Lenny, Arya and I all got my room and then Christian, Cody and Colton got the living room.

"Us too" Amy and Em grumble as they follow him upstairs to my room.

Within seconds everyone else agrees to turn in for the night. Well everyone except me.

While they all went to bed, I decided to slip out back, and make my way to the beach.

After I plop my butt down into the sand I glance up at the sky.

There weren't many city lights around here so you could see the stars fairly well. They were my favorite. I'd always loved looking at them. It amazed me how something so insanely far can be seen here, some people spent their lives studying and admiring them. Just because they were far didn't mean they lost their importance.

When I was super young. I'd say four or five, before my mom became the way she is now. She took my here. Just The two of us.

We never really had girls days. With seven kids, six of them being boys, it's hard to. But one day we managed to find some time to make the trip out here for the day.

It was one of the best days of my life. We ate carnival food, swam, she even taught me how to build sand castles. That night we stayed out on the beach for hours and she told me some of the names of constellations, names I have now forgotten.

This place held so many memories. Some of the best. Well for me at least. I remember my freshman year, we played truth or dare, and Em dared Jordan to skinny dip. It was hilarious, even Jordan was laughing. That was until a crab came along. Then it wasn't so much fun for him. Though we were still all dying.

It's where Ryan and I caught a shark. We'd fish from the shoreline and one day by some insanely off chance, we hooked onto a baby silky shark.

This was also the place I had my first kiss, MUCH to my brothers dismay.

I look around me and smile at the memories, listening to the quiet crash of waves meeting the shore. The soft breeze sending chills up my bare arms and legs. Though the days were warm, the nights could be chilly, especially if you remained in a simple bikini top and shorts.

I was so distracted by my thoughts, I didn't even hear the back door close from the house, or notice the person approaching nearby.

"Boo!" I feel two hand grab my shoulders making me jump out of my thoughts

"You're a dick Kazer" I quietly as I smack his arm repeatedly

He just laughs lightly as he takes a seat in the sand beside me.

"What are you still doing awake?" He questions

"I'm not tired" I shrug at the question. I still have no idea why. I ate my weight in food and ran around in the sun all day, usually by this time I'd be crawling to my bed.

"God I wish I had your energy" He grumbles, making me grin

We just sat there, not talking, just admiring everything around us for minutes. It was nice, we weren't arguing or insulting each other.

"Remember when I chased you with the buckets of sand?" He says, breaking the comfortable silence "I wanted to dump them on you so badly"

"Yeah you chipped a tooth when I tripped you" I snort at the memory. He was seven, I was six and we had both of our families here.

"Remember when a crab got ahold of Jordan's dick?" I ask him " I don't know why but I thought of that earlier"

He looks at me with wide eyes and raised brows as realization fills his eyes.

"I forgot about that!" He says finally, "He was so mad at Em after that"

"Yeah but she didn't care, we were all laughing too hard" I grin, looking back out at the ocean. It was beautiful.

"I'm gonna miss this" he states finally

"What do you mean?"

"We're all leaving after this year" he sighs "Jordan and I with football, Em is most likely going to Texas A&M, Amy mentioned Yale and Wes was planning on Northwestern in Chicago"

"Yeah the twins already have scholarships to Clemson, Tyler applied for a baseball and academic scholarship to Vanderbilt and Beck has a high chance of Stanford"

"And then you." He starts to say "you're gonna be doing your thing at Vanderbilt or Stanford. Kickin ass in your pre-law classes"

"Hopefully. I haven't been accepted yet" I grin, I won't know until early next year.

"There isn't one doubt in my mind that you'll get in." He looks at me, "We're all going to be separated"

"Yeah, But we'll always come back to each other, and we always come back home. Home is forever" I smile, I still have no idea what I want to do. I mean I've talked about being a lawyer since I was probably ten and I even did the Chicago program. It's always been the plan. Go to Vanderbilt or Stanford, get a bachelors in criminal justice, go to Stanford law, and get a job with my dad at his lawfirm and eventually work up to head prosecution. But now, I'm not sure if that's what I want. Sure I'd make a lot of money but I just, I want more, I want to do more. Not knowing these things scared me, but knowing I always have something to come back to comforted me.

"What are you thinkin about?" He grins at me as if he could read my mind.

"Oh nothin" I smile "It's not important."

"I can practically see the gears turning, what's

up?" He scoffs while wearing an adorable grin across his face

I was practically transparent to him, he saw right through me every single time.

"I don't know what I want to do in life," I say finally giving in.

"Well you've talked about law for as long as I can remember" he grins "remember the mock trial in middle school for the seventh and eighth graders when Mrs. Hal's classes were reading call of the wild?"

"Yeah I won" I grin

It was a silly mock trial to see if Buck was guilty of killing the tribe. I was the defense attorney and got him acquitted of the man slaughter and first degree murder charges. It was a silly thing really but I was extremely proud of myself for it.

"But I'm not sure it's what I want to do. I kind of want to do more," I shrug, now absentmindedly playing with the sand "like I want to make a difference, I want to help people"

"Well you have the law thing down, what about law enforcement? You have the strong mindset for it" he suggests "only I don't know if you have the control for it, knowing you, you'd probably go full out dexter and kill every criminal in the state" he chuckles lightly, making me smile

"I wouldn't kill all of them" I reason "I'd leave the prostitutes and the drug dealers alone, they're just trying to make a living."

"But best all the other ones to death?" He questions with a wide smile that only grows when I shake my head

"No really I've thought about it, but it just doesn't interest me, it's just another profession." I shrug at the suggestion.

"Okay what about a teacher. You're absolutely amazing with kids." He smiles "and you are the smartest person I know. You'd be like the Mrs.Ria of your school"

I have thought about teaching. It would be a fun profession but I dont think I have the patients for it. Sure I'm good with kids, but not on a regular basis. I can deal with them for short periods of time. And no teenagers, I don't want to deal with asshole kids like myself and Caleb. Same with pre-teens too, they annoy me. I would without a doubt punch 13-year old me in the face without hesitation if I had the chance.

"You don't have the patients for constantly dealing with stupid little kids though" he says reading my mind

"Yep" I laugh at his statement

"You also don't like dealing with dumbasses" he chuckles

"Then how do I deal with you everyday?" I question with a smirk as I look up at him.

He was already looking down at me with smile

"Just for that I'm not gonna help you" he playfully pouts as he lays down in the sand.

A loud laugh erupts from me before I grab his hand and pull him back up.

"Oh c'mon you know I'm joking" I laugh lightly making him roll his eyes

"Lucky I love you Princess" he says, wrapping an arm around my shoulders before pulling me into him. I rested my head on his shoulder as I throw my legs over his.

He was so warm and something about this just made me feel an automatic sense of comfort.

"You know we really have to figure out your future. When I come to visit, I'd like to stay in something more than the neighborhood cardboard box" he snorts

"And who says you'd be coming to visit in the first place?" I tease

"Me. You're one of my best friends, I'm always gonna be there princess, you know that. No matter where I go and what I do, I'm always gonna have my people that I'll come back to whenever they need me or I need them. Especially you" He says

"Me too. I'll always be there" I agree

"Always?" He holds his pinky up

"Always" I link my pinky with his

The silence soon returned, but we were both comfortable just the way we were.

"What about a dentist?" He says

I look up at him with a raised brow. Giving him the 'really bitch?' Look.

"Yeah I know bad idea" he laughs "You hate teeth"

"Yep" I laugh "they're so weird"

"Agreed"

"It's fine. I still have a few months to figure this out" I huff

"So let's enjoy the time while it lasts" he says releasing a deep breath

"I'm excited for football season" I smile to myself

"and why's that?"

"I've never been to an NFL game"

"And who says you're gonna be there?" I feel his head turn to look at me, I just stare ahead of me with a smug grin.

"Well if you're coming to visit me in my cardboard box, surely I get to go to some of yours and Jordy's games" I grin, looking back at him

"I think that's fair" he nods making me laugh

"but don't hold your breath, it's highly unlikely that we'll be drafted in the league, I'm not even sure I want to pursue professional football right now"

It's been known that the two of them were going to be in the NFL. It had been their dream.

"You two are the best in the state and you've proved it on multiple occasions, you guys deserve to be there and I can ganruntee the NFL scouts realize that. When that draft comes I am willing to bet that you two will be apart of it" I say simply. It was one hundred percent true.

"You always liked to believe in the impossible princess" he chuckles

"First off, it's not unlikely, and second I like to believe in improbable, not impossible." I correct

He laughs at my statement, really laughs. The laugh that I've known and loved since we were kids. I admire his eyes as he looks down at the water in front of us, with a wide smile on his face. His eyes are lighter than they were earlier today, and now the flicks of gold are visible. I could see why so many girls fell for the bad boy act, it was hot, but I liked the real Caleb a lot more. He's the one I know all too well, he's also the one that knows me all too well.

Thankfully a ding from my phone interrupts my staring.

"It's Dallas" Caleb says, though much quieter this time. The smile no longer visible and now in its place, a fake grin.

"OhI gotta answer him I haven't talked to him all day" I huff, taking my phone from him

"I should go to bed, it's almost midnight and Bex is going to have me running everywhere tomorrow" he chuckles lightly "See you in the morning Belle,"

I just smile and nod

"Goodnight Kazer"

"Goodnight Princess"

I watch Caleb walk away for a second before turning back to my phone to call Dallas.

"Hey Belle" He answers on the first ring

"Hey Dallas, what's up?"

"Eh nothing much, Im bored and haven't talked to you today so just thought I should call"

"Well that's very sweet of you" a small smile make its way onto my face

"So what are you up to right now?" He asks

"Well everyone went to bed about and hour and a half ago, so I've just been sitting out on the beach,"

"Sounds nice, I can't wait to get down there."

" Me too" I smile "It's so fun and I can't

wait to kick your ass at a jet ski race"

"Oh we'll see about that" I can just hear the cockiness in his voice

"I'm warning you, I've been kicking ass on these things since I was ten"

"Eh I think I can handle it" he chuckles "you sound tired

"Eh only a little" I admit,

"I'll let you go then, I'll see you tomorrow" I smile and nod even though he can't see me

"Sounds good, night Dallas"

"Night Belle" he says finally before hanging up

After sitting out on the beach for a few more minutes I finally get the motivation to go inside. It was only midnight so my parents were still out, I just went straight up to my room and took my normal spot between Amy and Em on my bed. It wasn't long until I let sleep take over, and I entered a dream state