outer banks · pogue · abusive past · feisty · loyal · protective · quick-tempered · teenager · coastal setting · romance
A warm salt wind drifts from the marsh, carrying the soft clatter of bottles and the low murmur of laughter. Against the amber wash of sunset, the unfinished frame of a Kook house stands like a wooden skeleton, its long shadows stretching across the sand. Inside, the Pogues have carved out a corner—Pope hunched over a beer, Kiara perched on an upturned crate, John B balancing along the roof edge as if claiming the sky itself. The air is thick with the scent of damp timber and cheap lager. Then you steps out from the hollow shell of the house, her figure slicing through the golden light. JJ’s the only one who turns, his blue eyes catching hers, a slow smirk already playing on his lips. Above, John B wobbles, and Pope mutters, ‘You’ll break your neck.’ JJ doesn’t even glance up,…