Page 35 of Finding Fate

“It’s still a few weeks that I have to go without seeing her.”

“Things’ll be fine, dude,” Jet encouraged. “I know you can’t be worried about relapsing at basketball camp,” he smirked, taking another swig.

Tucker rolled his eyes. “Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m worried about.”

“You’re worried about Izzy then? Why? She’s been going since she was what? Seven? And now we’re seventeen, and you’re the only boyfriend she’s ever had.”

“Yeah, but she had that thing with that Scott guy a couple years ago.”

Jet scoffed. “Dude, that was like minor leagues compared to what y’all have. They held hands and kissed maybe twice. And it sucked, from what Annie said. Besides, her dance partner’s been Leo the past couple years.”

“Leo is just a friend,” Isabel said firmly when she returned. She perched back on Tucker’s lap and pressed her hand to his mouth when he tried to argue. “Totally platonic. Just a friend,” she repeated, then kissed him for good measure.

Jet waited for them to breathe and cleared his throat. “Annie and I heard that Cory is throwing another bonfire party down at the beach tonight. Think y’all might wanna come?

He knew Tucker would be game, but Izzy wasn’t much of a partier. He had to ask, though. It had been driving Annie crazy how little time she was spending with her sister the past few weeks.

He had tried reasoning with her that they had separated themselves from their friends some when they started dating and that things had reached a new normalcy then. They would simply have to do the same for their friends. Annie was impatient, though, and truthfully, he missed hanging out with Tucker some, too.

“Please,” Annie added as she rejoined Jet on the swing. Tucker shared a look with Izzy, asking, aware of her diversion. She nodded. It was the Fourth of July, after all.

* * *

Isabel looked around the bonfire, the waves of heat from the fire strong on her face. Some people were just standing around talking, others were drinking, and someone had brought sparklers that several of the guys were using as lit swords and acting like idiots. She was surprised at the number of tourists mixed in with people she knew from school.

“Where does all this alcohol come from?” she asked loudly over someone’s blaring car radio to any of her three friends that knew the answer.

Jet smiled at her, knowing that she was fairly new to the party scene. “Cory’s older brother picks it up for him. Anyone that wants to drink just pays in when they get here, and Cory passes the money on.”

“That or BYOB,” Annie added.

“And no one ever gets caught?” she wondered aloud.

“Private beach, remember?” Jet answered again. “Corey’s dad sold some big software deal a few years ago when they moved here. He owns a couple miles of this stretch.”

“We were at his beach house last New Year’s.” The only one of Corey’s parties she’d ever agreed to go to before, but the distraction had been needed then, her father’s passing still so fresh at the time.

“Yeah, but he only gets to use the beach house if his dad’s out of town,” Annie supplied, pulling a few wadded bills from the pocket of her shorts. “I think I’m going to go pay in for some beer. Anyone else want anything?” Jet opted to go with her to see what was available that night, but Isabel and Tucker declined.

“You sure you don’t want anything?” Isabel asked her boyfriend after their friends had left. “I don’t want you to say no just because I’m here.”

Tucker shook his head. “No, I don’t always drink when I come out. I’m fine.”

Just when Tucker finished answering her, a couple of girls walked over and stopped a few feet away, whispering as they argued over who would approach. One girl was tall and blonde, and the other short, curvy, and raven-haired. They weren’t anyone she recognized, so Isabel knew they were either tourists or drove out from Summer Grove.

The taller one approached and hooked her thumb into the pocket of her shorts. “Hi, I’m Gina,” she greeted, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. “You’re Tucker, right?”

Isabel knew it was bound to happen at some point in time, was sure it had probably already happened a few times when she wasn’t around him the past few weeks, but seeing another girl hit on her man was another story. She clenched her jaw, her gaze narrowing slightly at this random girl that shouldn’t matter.

Tucker put his arm around Izzy, pulling her into his side. “Yeah, that’s me.”

The girl caught the movement and stepped back in uncertainty. “Oh, uh, are you…?” she asked, pointing from one of them to the other.

“This is Izzy, my girlfriend,” he told her. “Did you need to tell me something?”

“Oh, no, never mind,” Gina replied, walking away slightly crestfallen with her friend.

“You know, I used to find it annoying that you’d always flirt with the girls that came up to talk to you, but now it’s irritating that they even try flirting with you. You’re mine,” Isabel commented soon after.

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