This was by far the most people that Braden had been around since coming home from Syria. He used to go to these things all the time before his deployment, but for some reason, it felt different now. Definitely something he needed to get used to.

Joey let out a shriek as the ocean swept up a large wave onto the sand, barreling straight into their sand castle. "Braden! Left flank is falling! We need to catch it!"

As quickly as he could, Braden reinforced the sand walls just in time before half the castle fell to the ground. And then they began building higher and higher. Braden glanced over to see Trent and Annabeth building faster and faster, and he could definitely see why Annabeth won year after year. She was definitely artistic, he'd give her that.

Braden flicked a handful of sand toward Joey, watching her gasp as it landed down her swimsuit. She burst into giggles and lobbed a handful of wet sand toward him and it just stuck onto his shoulder.

"Don't start a sand fight now," Braden chuckled, his eyes traveling appreciatively down her body. She looked incredible in a swimsuit. "This castle could fall at any second."

She cast him several flirtatious smiles which he returned as they added onto their majestic castle that Joey based off of something she studied in school before. Some European castle called Chateau de Chambord. He had no idea what that meant, but he went along with it nonetheless.

"Aaaannndd time!" the event announcer called, stopping his stopwatch as he surveyed the five groups who built their castles along the strip of beach. Braden just hoped that they'd judge it fast enough before another wave came crashing in and destroyed everything they built. The coordinator took pictures of each group standing beside their castles. When it came their turn, Braden wrapped his arm around Joey's waist and pulled her close, reveling the feeling of having her so near to him.

"You're going down!" Joey called good naturedly to Annabeth who made competitive expressions back to Joey. "Everyone knows that European castles are way better than Scottish castles."

"In your dreams, Joey!" Annabeth laughed, and then everyone held their breaths as the judges made their final decisions.

"Looks like we have two new champions this year!" the judge exclaimed, waving his hand over in their direction. "Braden and Joey!"

Joey jumped up and down, squealing in delight before she jumped up and wrapped her legs tightly around Braden's torso, completely taking him by surprise. "We won! I can't believe we won!"

Braden chuckled as he turned her around so she was on his back. "I guess you'll have the bragging rights for a whole year!"

"We'll have the bragging rights for a whole year," Joey corrected him as she leaned over and placed a kiss on his cheek. "Unless you're not planning on staying."

"You kidding me?" Braden asked as he turned his head to look at her. "I'd be a fool to meet the most incredible girl in the whole world and decide not to stay. Of course I'm staying."

Joey held on tighter to him around his neck as they were awarded lays made up completely of candy bars and large sand dollars with stenciled letter spelling out that they were the winners of the sandcastle competition this year.

"Okay, I'll hand it to you this time," Annabeth joked. "But next year you won't get so lucky. Come on! We're gonna miss the bonfire!"

With a giggle, Joey dropped down from Braden's back and gave him a congratulating smile. "I'll be right back. I want to change into something warmer." He watched as she started walking back toward the shaded trees where they had left their things, grinning as she cast a flirty glance back at him. This girl was so much fun. He loved it.

He spotted the bonfire just down the beach with a couple dozen people surrounding it, laughing and talking and having a great time, but he wasn't quite ready to head over. He wanted to appreciate the silence for just a little bit longer.

Walking a little ways down the beach, Braden sat down just out of reach of the lapping waves as he stared out over the horizon at the darkening sky. It looked so beautiful out here. The ocean. The skies. The trees. All of it. It almost felt so surreal, and his mind couldn't wrap around it all the way. But one thing he knew for sure was that he loved it. After going through what he did, he knew that he could never take advantage of all the beauty surrounding him. This was the type of beauty he had fought to protect from the people to the land to the waters. And he hoped that someday he could continue protecting it, even if he wasn't able to serve in the Army anymore. Maybe that's what he'd do with his life. He'd find some way that he could make a difference...

"What are you doing over here?" Joey asked as she took a seat beside him in the sand, handing him his shirt. She seemed to watch disappointedly as he shrugged it back on, only making his grin spread wider.

"Contemplating life. Trying to figure out what I'm going to do with my life now."

Joey wrapped her arms around her legs as she stared out at the ocean. He had to admit that she looked incredible right now with her short shorts and her baggy sweatshirt. It was a good look on her.

Their fingers intertwined in the sand, her hand so small and delicate compared to his own. "I know you'll figure it out. Just as long as your future includes me, I'm happy with whatever you decide."

His heart skipped in his chest as he gazed over at her, watching her watch the horizon. She looked so beautiful with her soft, gentle eyes, her radiant personality showing through every single thing she said and did, and he loved the way the soft glow from the fire caressed her skin. This was another absolute perfect moment, but he wasn't going to let this one slip through his fingers this time.

Braden reached over, his fingers gently caressing her jaw before cradling her neck, turning her head to look at him. She gazed back at him in a way that made him feel so much warmth from his fingertips all the way to his toes.

Without a word, Braden leaned into her, kissing her so softly, so gently, and in that single moment, it felt as if the entire world had slipped upside down. He hadn't kissed anyone in three whole years, but even so, this kiss felt different. It felt special. It made him feel so happy. So incredibly happy.

They continued kissing, gentle kiss after gentle kiss, almost as if they couldn't get enough of each other, and he couldn't. He wanted to hold her in his arms forever. He never wanted to miss a single moment, a single kiss with her.

Finally, he pulled away and sighed happily, resting his forehead against hers. But neither of them spoke for several moments, instead just enjoying the feel of holding each other. He loved this warm feeling inside of him and he never wanted it to go away.

"Have I ever told you how happy you make me?" Braden whispered, stealing another kiss. "You're like my little breath of sunshine and I love it."

Joey giggled as she wrapped her arms around his neck, nuzzling her nose against his. "And you're my little breath of genuine," she whispered back. "You're the one real thing in my life that I know for sure I can count on to be real. I love that about you."

Braden's mouth broke into a large smile as he started tickling her and they rolled in the sand, laughing hysterically. Joey ended up pinning him and she gave him a long, prolonged kiss that made him feel like everything inside of him melted into a gigantic puddle.

"You're playing a very dangerous game," Braden whispered against her lips, "getting mixed up with a soldier like me."

She bit her lip and smiled, looking down at him with heart-stoppingly, drop dead gorgeous, seductive eyes that sent excited shivers down his spine. "I don't mind a little bit of danger."

Braden burst into laughter as he turned over and pinned her down in the sand for good measure. "Come on. We're missing all the fun at the bonfire."

When he helped her to her feet, Joey's arm snaked around his waist, holding him close, and right then, right in that moment, there was no denying it. Braden was officially the luckiest guy in the entire world.