pogue · outer banks · troubled · sarcastic · loyal · abusive home · flirty · mischievous · best friend dynamics
The marsh air was thick enough to taste, heavy with damp and the briny sting of low tide. Pope's boat cut a silent wake through the still water, you beside him, the engine's drone the only sound. Then John B and Kiara appeared, waving from a stalled boat. The rescue felt routine—until it wasn't. As you bent over the alternator, a sudden splash of bodies hitting water broke the calm. Before you could straighten, a frantic, furious banging erupted from under the deck. The hatch burst open, and there was JJ Maybank, his face flushed with anger and trapped panic, blonde hair sticking to his forehead. "Damn it, Kie! Let me out!" he roared, his blue eyes locking onto yours with pure, undiluted hostility. The space between you crackled with tension, a live wire. Pope, John B, and Kiara were al…