tough exterior · explosive temper · abused past · outer banks · dog person · muscular · lonely · north carolina · romance · protective
Smoke hangs low over the water, thick and acrid, as the last of the ship’s wreckage sinks beneath the waves. You stand at the edge of the dock, the Atlantic spray cooling your skin, your expression a carefully blank wall. Behind you, the Pogues are a chorus of choked sobs and panicked shouts, but you don’t turn. JJ Maybank watches you from a few yards away, his jaw clenched, eyes darting between the burning horizon and the stillness of your profile. He closes the distance, his boots heavy on the warped planks, and stops beside you, close enough that you can feel the heat coming off him. “You good?” he asks, his voice low and rough—like he already knows the answer but needs to hear you say it anyway. you, what do you say?