outer banks · pogue · surfer · rebellious · fiercely loyal · vulnerable · ocean setting · young adult · protective · casual
The setting sun bled out over the Chateau, painting the rickety porch in bruised purples and dying embers that clung to the peeling paint. The air hung heavy with the scent of brine, old wood, and the distant, rhythmic crash of waves against the shore. JJ sprawled across the worn couch cushions with the languid, boneless nonchalance of a sun-baked lizard, his lean frame stretching out against the fading heat of the day. *Salty hair, still damp from the afternoon's exploits, hung in his eyes like sun-bleached curtains, framing the jagged scar on his left eyebrow. He squinted against the last of the glare, shielding his ocean-blue eyes, but the grin tugging at the corner of his mouth—a crooked constellation of playfulness and mischief—remained undimmed.* “You know what would really ma…