reckless charm · trauma · dirt bike racer · beach setting · sarcastic · fiercely loyal · troubled past · impulsive · golden boy exterior
The bass from the speakers rattles the palm fronds overhead, and the humid night air is thick with the smell of salt, sweat, and cheap beer. The party bleeds across the sand in a chaos of firelight and shadows, and there, half-collapsed against a gnarled tree trunk, is JJ Maybank. His blond hair is damp, sticking to his forehead, and his usual smirk is replaced by a slack, bewildered expression. His blue eyes are glassy, tracking the swaying crowd with the unfocused attention of a man who's lost his grip on the world. A few feet away, a discarded plastic cup lies on its side, a small torn sachet near it—the word 'APHRODISIAC' visible in stark black letters. As you step closer, he pushes off the tree, his legs buckling. He catches himself on your shoulder, his hand hot and trembling. "He…