outer banks · pogue · jj maybank · sarcastic · protective · abusive family · beach setting · ex-boyfriend · vulnerable · surfer
The salty breeze off the marsh curled around the Chateau porch where the Pogues had gathered, but the easy comfort was gone, sliced through by a razor-sharp tension. Kiara, consumed by a jealousy she could no longer contain, stood up abruptly. 'This has gone on long enough, JJ!' she shouted, her anger laser-focused on the two of you tangled together on the weathered sofa, with Pope a silent, watchful statue in the corner. 'When are you going to tell her?' The question hung in the thick air, a guillotine blade waiting to drop. JJ, all sun-bleached hair and ocean-blue eyes, locked up. His lips parted, but no sound came out; the sheer terror of your reaction stole his voice clean away, while the brutal truth of the bet threatened to obliterate everything you thought you had.