Chapter 71

James's idea for everyone to drink ended up being one of the best ideas he'd ever had.

By the time the sun was beginning to decline into the horizon, we were all feeling comfortably content.

Everything was funny and stories floated out of our mouths carelessly.

It was safe to assume that everyone was buzzed, especially James who became even more talkative and bubbly -- if that's even possible.

"Should we head back?" Lucas asked, pointing out how the sky was starting to turn golden orange. "I'm starving."

"Hey!" Lucas jumped up, slinging an arm over Lucas's shoulder. "That's my line!"

Our laughter from the beach still echoed in the air as we packed up our things and walked back to the beach house.

I couldn't wait to get all the sand off my body, shower, and put on clean clothes. There really was no better feeling than spending all day in the sun and cleaning yourself afterward.

I was already imagining the amazing sleep I would get tonight.

Lucas unlocked the back door as we filtered into the house. The cool air conditioning welcomed us, making me breathe a sigh of relief.

"I call dibs on showering in the master suite first!" James said, pushing his way to the front of the line.

"That's not fair, you had first dibs yesterday!" I called back.

Even though this house was massive and had multiple showers, the best one was in the master suite. It had four separate jets that hit you at every angle.

There was also a small screen inside the shower that could play music or movies.

Honestly, I'm not really sure how the TV screen didn't get damaged from the water, but it was the nicest shower I'd ever seen.

It was the kind of shower you could only dream of having.

On our first day here, we all took turns going to shower in the bathroom because we wanted to experience the luxury.

Four hours had passed by the time everyone showered, which is why it wasn't fair James was calling dibs when he went first the other day.

"Should've called dibs first, Shana." James stuck his tongue out at me.

"Are you kidding me, James?" Victoria's voice held a mix of exasperation and disbelief as she stared pointedly at the sandy footprints that James had marked all over the floor.

With every move he made, more sand fell on the ground. It was as if his pockets were piled with sand.

"You're tracking sand everywhere!" she shouted, her face twisting in annoyance.

James, never one to back down from Victoria, quirked an eyebrow at her. "Oh, come on, Vic. It's a beach house. Sand is like a complimentary feature. It's not even that big of a deal."

The rest of us exchanged glances, half scared about how Victoria would respond, and half amused at the two of them.

Were we really about to witness another fight between Victoria and James? And this time over a little bit of sand on the floor?

"It is a big deal when you're not going to be the one cleaning it," Victoria argued, stomping over to James.

They stood chest to chest, and even though Victoria was pretty tall for a girl, James still stood a good head taller than her.

"Oh, and who's going to clean it? You? The Alpha Princess?" James retaliated.

"I'm not a princess." Victoria jabbed a finger at his chest. "But you're an asshole."

James started laughing, looking around at us like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "I'm an asshole? Guys, are you hearing this?"

"It's true, you are!" Victoria shook her head with anger, and I was scared she might actually attack James any second now. "Ask anyone and they'll tell you the same thing."

"Guys?" James asked. When nobody said anything, he gave Victoria a playful wink. "Looks like it's just you, princess."

I shot Lucas a look, a silent question in my eyes. He returned it with a subtle nod, seemingly in agreement with me.

Lucas tried to diffuse the situation, his voice was steady and diplomatic. "Guys, let's not turn this into a full-blown argument... again."

Emily chimed in with her gentle tone, wanting to calm down her best friend. "Exactly, guys! We had such a great day at the beach. Let's not kill the vibe and argue right now."

But Victoria was stubborn. "I don't want to argue either. I just don't want sand all over the place. Is that too much to ask?"

"Well, if you want a sand-free zone, maybe we should've rented a vacuum instead of a beach house." James, with his signature brand of casual rebellion, shot back.

"Well, maybe if you were considerate of others and actually stayed clean, we wouldn't have any problems in the first place!"

"What do you want me to do? Take off all my beach clothes before I get in the house so I don't track in the sand?" James lifted his upper lip. "If you wanted to see my naked, Vic. You could've just asked."

"No!" Victoria pushed at his chest with a cringe. "And stop calling me Vic. I hate it."

"Sure thing," James's smile widened further. "Vic."

And just like that, we found ourselves smack dab in the middle of another argument between James and Victoria. Two strong-willed Alphas, squaring off over what could only be described as the world's most trivial and stupid disagreement.

As the shouting continued, I decided to take matters into my own hands. "Hey! Let's all take a deep breath here. I got the sand situation under control! I'll just clean it up so that it isn't a problem anymore."

Both Victoria and James turned to me in surprise, as if they had forgotten there were other people here, too.

"You'd do that?" James asked.

"Sure," I nodded. "If it'll get you guys to stop, yes."

"Shana's right." Victoria's shoulders relaxed a bit. "There's no point in arguing about sand."

Taking the cue, I grabbed a broom and began sweeping up the sand, feeling oddly proud to be the one who was able to get them to stop.

Even Lucas and Emily sent me grateful glances.

Victoria leaned against the wall as I swept the sand. "Sorry about blowing up like that, James. It's just a bit of an OCD thing. I'm a major clean freak."

"A freak?" James shot her a lopsided grin, a twinkle in his eyes. "You're a freak."

Victoria rolled her eyes, the anger returning again. "I said a clean freak. Not a freak."

James put his hands up in resignation. "Apologies, Vic. From now on, I'll make sure I don't track in any sand. I might even just start walking around completely nude."

"Bro," Lucas said from the kitchen island, shaking his head. "Please, don't do that. For the sake of everyone's eyes."

We all laughed at that, and even Victoria let out a soft chuckle. "He's ridiculous," she said.

But as they exchanged this banter, I couldn't help but notice... something beneath their words.

Was it chemistry?

I couldn't be sure, but I knew I didn't imagine what I saw when I finished sweeping.

Out of nowhere, their eyes met—

a brief, unspoken connection almost as surprising as the argument itself.

In that split second, I saw something in their gazes.

Something that whispered of a feeling that was far more complex than their hatred toward each other.

As the tension faded and the evening began to settle in, I couldn't help but think that maybe, just maybe, there was more to Victoria and James than met the eye.