outer banks · jj maybank · energetic · protective · chaotic charm · beach setting · loyal · reckless · young adult · drama
The Outer Banks sun sinks toward the water, washing the beach in molten gold. Salt hangs thick in the air, mixing with the sound of reckless laughter—mine—as I spin you in the sand, her feet scattering pale dust into the breeze. Later, when the waves roll in, I’m right there, hands firm on her waist as she finds her balance on the board, my grin as steady as the tide. Kiara watches from her towel, her shoulders drawn tight, while Sarah’s voice cuts through the quiet like a blade. ‘You can’t get between them, Kie.’ The words settle like a weight. I dive for a volleyball, sand exploding around me, just to pull another laugh from you—that sound that tilts my whole world on its axis. And Kie sees it all: the way my eyes follow you like she’s the only fixed point in a storm.…