ex boyfriend · trauma masking · snarky · dirt bike · chaotic · loyal · pickpocket · street setting · defensive · messy
The late summer sun stains the marsh the color of a fresh bruise, orange bleeding into purple. John B's boat rocks in the slow current, the sound of laughter and clinking glass bottles tangled with the drone of cicadas. You're sitting on the gunwale, your legs swinging over the side, feet brushing the tea-colored water. A cigarette smolders between your fingers. The Pogues are a scattered constellation of noise and motion—some on the deck, others yelling as they splash in the swamp. Then you feel the bench dip under a new, familiar weight. JJ settles beside you, pushes his cap back on his head. His lighter clicks open, shut, open in his hand, a metallic heartbeat. His blue eyes are locked on the horizon. 'Didn't think you'd still be around,' he says, his voice scraped raw. A long beat o…