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3 months left in the obx
An empty beach long past midnight, the sky an endless sea of stars so bright and clear that you almost think that you’re dreaming. A stranger beside you, his jacket around your shoulders, his right hand tangled in your hair. The sand is cold below you but you can’t find it in yourself to care when his lips are so warm and the now finished party has left you a buzz that makes you feel like you’re floating.
In the air the scent of woodsmoke lingers as the last embers of the bonfire die out and you tip your head back into the soft sand breathing in your surroundings. It was only your very first night in the obx but you could already feel that this summer would be one you couldn’t have dreamt of in your wildest dreams. You’d known it three hours ago when the beach had been full of partygoers and music and you caught eyes with a handsome stranger across the fire. “Im JJ” the blonde said and then somehow the time flew away and you ended up here, drunk on the feeling of his lips and the sound of his laughter.
“I feel like i'm in heaven” you breathed and he laughed, his hot breath fanning across your cheek.
“Well heaven is a place on earth.”
The giggle bubbled up in your throat and escaped from your lips before you had time to press a hand over your mouth “did you just quote Belinda Carlile to me?”
He nodded seriously but couldn't quite hide his grin “hell yeah, what you don’t like 80s music?”
“It's not that” you shook your head “It’s just…you surprised me I didn’t think that would be your thing.”
He shrugged “my mom liked it” and you made a mental note to ask him more about his mom. He sat up and started to light a cigarette and the tiny orange glow of the lighter made his eyes gleam as he looked down at you “besides” he continued “we just met, you don’t really know much about me.”
Your head shook with easy laughter “a real mr mysterious” you joked, though it was true you’d just met there was just something about JJ Maybank and from the moment your eyes first caught one anothers you felt like you knew him.
“That's me” he grinned and then turned to the side to blow out the smoke from his cigarette, stubbing it out before facing you. His hand was drawing a pattern on your thigh as his face inched closer and you somehow forgot how to breathe while you waited for him to kiss you. “But pretty girl” he whispered when his lips were just inches from yours, eyes staring into your soul “you have the whole summer long to figure me out.”
“Who says I'm spending the whole summer with you?” you teased and he laughed tucking your hair behind your ears.
“Because I promised i'd be your guide to the island” he replied “besides” he leaned even closer, angling his head as his eyes flicked down to your lips, breath tickling your cheek “im not letting you go anytime soon.”
Then he leaned in and kissed you, his lips sweeter than the wine as the two of you fell backwards. You didn’t think about the sand in your hair or under your clothes, didn’t think about the fact it was late or even about the stars that you’d never been able to see at home. It all faded away into his lips and his hands, everything became background noise until there was just JJ.
2 ½ months left in the obx
You’d been avoiding him, the perfect stranger who’d turned your world upside down in a single night; the problem wasn’t that you didn’t like him, it was that you liked him too much. Continuing to see him would surely just be setting yourself up for heartbreak and that was something you wanted to avoid at all costs. Hence you’d been avoiding him but when you saw him standing across the room talking to some girl who was laughing at his every word you knew there was only one way this night would end.
“JJ” you called across the room and he caught eyes with you, a genuine smile tugging at his lips.
“I wondered where you’d been hiding” he said “this is my friend Sarah.”
“Hi Sarah” you said half heartedly, unable to tear your eyes away from JJ. Sarah smiled and nudged him “go dance with her” she whispered before disappearing into the crowd.
The night ended exactly as you knew it would, his hands in your hair, his clothes in your room. You’d tried to stay away but you couldn’t keep yourself from going back for more, he was like your own personal drug and you were certain that even heaven couldn’t help you now. You resigned yourself to the inevitable heartbreak, it was worth it if it meant you could fill a summer with memories like this.
1 month left in the obx
“Where are you taking me?” you asked for what felt like the millionth time. You were driving down the highway in your rental car, a cherry red Chevy convertible and on this bright sunny day you drove with the top down letting the wind tangle in your hair, blowing it sideways like twirling ribbons.
JJ only smiled “I told you it’s a surprise.” He had one hand on the steering wheel, the other on your knee and he squeezed lightly “it’ll be fun.”
“Aw c’mon” you pouted “tell me.”
He shook his head and you gave him your best pleading eyes. “Please?”
He laughed “not gonna happen babe, stop trying to ruin the surprise.”
You frowned and readjusted your red sunglasses in the rearview mirror “can I at least have a hint?” you tried and he sighed and rolled his eyes though you could tell he found your impatience somewhat endearing with the way he couldn’t stop smiling.
“Fine,” he conceded. “We’re going out of town, getting away from the crowds and that's as much as I'm telling you.”
You smiled and lifted your knees up to your chest, resting your head on them as you looked sideways at him “yeah? That sounds nice.”
He nodded “there’s been so many parties lately I feel like I haven’t had you to myself for ages.”
You raised an eyebrow “you’ve had me to yourself every single night.”
He smirked at the memory “true but I meant like this. we don’t always do a lot of talking at night…which is totally your fault by the way.”
You gasped in faux indignation “how so?”
“You are entirely too distracting.”
You threw a hand over your heart dramatically making him laugh “JJ Maybank you wound me and my respectability, I am nothing of the sort.”
You quickly checked that there was still no traffic ahead before leaning over and turning his head towards yours, giving him a sweet peck, your cherry lip gloss sticking to his lips “eyes on the road” you teased as you pulled away.
“That's exactly what I mean” he groaned and you laughed as he reached out to hold your hand, squeezing your fingertips “what am I gonna do with you?”
“Anything you want” you threw back “i'm yours.”
He smiled and reached out to squeeze your fingertips before you fell into a comfortable silence for the last stretch of the drive. You watched him from under your sunglasses, taking note of how the sun made his blonde hair shine almost gold, how the breeze lifted it so that you could better see his face. You tried to memorise his nose, his eyes, every little line and even the secret faint freckles across his nose that you could only see up close.
You had just 20 days left in the outer banks and then you’d be going home. You knew that nothing lasted forever. It was why you’d agreed to start something with him in the first place because it would be temporary, fun but fleeting. Yet as he turned to smile at you and butterflies danced a chorus in your chest you wondered how you’d ever be able to leave.
Last night in the obx
The streets were quiet deserted and you were following the glowing orange street lamps home. You’d just been to your very first midsummer's party and promptly left after JJ got into a fight with some asshole guy.
The thing was you weren’t technically invited to the party and neither was JJ. “Midsummers is for the rich people” he’d told you.
“The…” you’d hesitated as you tried to remember the name “cooks?”
JJ laughed “kooks” he corrected.
“It sounds kind of pretentious” you decided and he agreed then started telling you about all of the places they’d hosted it in the past, including to your utter disbelief a ten million dollar yacht.
“I don’t believe you” you’d said shaking your head “there is no way.”
Suddenly his eyes were gleaming and you narrowed your eyes at him suspiciously “JJ Maybank what are you thinking?”
“We should go” he’d said and you raised your eyebrow at him.
“Did you become a millionaire in the last ten seconds or…?”
He laughed, “No, I mean let's crash it.”
“Can we do that?”
He shrugged, “rules are meant to be broken…c’mon it’ll be fun.”
The way he was looking at you, you knew you would agree to anything he asked “oh what the hell” you said finally “let’s do it…you’re a bad influence on me JJ Maybank.”
“Hey,” he said in mock offence, “chicks love bad boys.”
You snorted then shook your head “not me.”
“No?”
You hummed “I never did go for the wild guys but you…you just do it so well.”
The party had been fun, you’d drank stolen champagne and dissed the decor, played a game of guessing what all the posh couples were talking about and danced on the veranda. JJ wore a slightly too small tux and you wore a silky champagne coloured dress that hugged all of your curves. It had all been going smoothly until JJ went to get you a drink and some guy had come over and started hitting on you, he was more than a little tipsy and started insisting that you danced with him. “No thank you” you said for the third time lips pressed tightly together, this guy seemed like a major douche and the last thing you wanted was to end up on the dancefloor with him where he could get handsy.
“C’mon sweetheart don’t be a prude” he slurred and that was when JJ got back interrupting to ask if you were alright. You could tell JJ was angry from the tightness of his jaw, the tenseness in his shoulders. The stranger had laughed when he saw him “you here with him? He shouldn’t even be here, trust me sweetheart you don’t wanna be hanging out with the likes of him.”
You looked him up and down with evident disgust “and what does that mean?”
His eyes scanned your body up and down in return and you shivered at his blatant leering “just that on this island there's people like me and people like him and you’d do much better hanging out with the likes of me.”
You reached out to grab JJ’s hand, disgusted by the stranger's attitude “I'll pass.” you turned to leave but before you could the guy had reached out and swung at JJ and suddenly they were brawling while you watched on horrified trying to push the guy off. Thankfully security came marching over and the guy cleared off as they escorted you and JJ out.
“I can’t believe we just did that,” you laughed, “that was in-sane.”
JJ grinned “I told you they went all out.”
“Are you okay?” you asked him, reaching out to touch the tender, bruising skin above his eyebrow.
He smiled at you, catching your wrist and pressing a soft kiss to your hand. “I'm perfect.”
“Are you sure?”
“It was just a scratch” he assured you, lacing your fingers together, swinging them slightly in the open space.
“God that guy was such a fucking prick” you said “what was his problem?”
JJ rolled his eyes “stereotypical trust fund kid, thinks he’s better than us because his daddys rich.”
“His daddys stupid ” you said “who calls their kid…what the fuck was it again? Rake?”
JJ burst out laughing “Rafe” he said and you shrugged.
“Same difference, still a ridiculous name.”
He started laughing again and before long you were laughing too, filling the empty streets with the sound of it, tears building in your eyes with the force.
“That was fun” he announced and you looked at him like he was crazy.
“You got punched. ”
He shrugged “still, it was fun.”
You laughed again “yeah it was…it's a shame we never got that last dance though.”
“Who says?” he tugged on your hand, jogging forward and you laughed.
“Where are we going?”
“Just here” he stopped under a streetlight on the corner of the road and took his phone out of his pocket choosing a slow instrumental song before he tucked it back away.
“Miss L/N” he asked with a mock bow “may I have this dance?”
You took his outstretched hand and stepped closer wrapping one arm around his neck “you may.”
He wound his arms around your waist and you started to dance, so slowly you were mostly just swaying in space staring into each other's eyes.
“I'm gonna miss you” he whispered, his voice rawer than you’d ever heard it “I don’t want you to go.”
You reached up, brushing your nose against his nose, breathing in his comforting presence “I don’t wanna go” you whispered back.
“Then stay” he replied and you swallowed hard shaking your head.
“I can’t.”
He sighed “I knew you’d say that.”
You were silent for a couple of minutes, your head pressed tight against his chest and his fingers wound into your hair.
“Say you’ll remember me” he said finally and you kept your eyes closed for a second listening to the familiar sound of his voice that you would miss so much “say you won’t go back to that big city and forget me entirely.”
You pulled away looking into his eyes “I could never forget you JJ Maybank…do you promise you won’t forget me ?”
He looked offended at the mere idea of it “never” he assured you “I promise, I think i'll spend my whole life thinking about these past three months.”
You breathed deeply looking at the world around you, so quiet you felt as though you were the only two people to exist. “You live in paradise, you’ll find something else to dream about.”
“You made this a paradise” he told you “i'll always remember you.”
The streets were alight a burning mirage of pink, orange and red blending into one as the sun sank slowly in the sky and you leaned into his touch as he cupped your cheek. Tears started to prick behind your eyelids and you tried to keep the waver from your voice as you asked him “will you remember me like this?”
“Like what?” he asked and you closed your eyes to push back the tears, sniffing.
“Standing in a nice dress, staring at the sunset? I don’t want your memory of me to be of a crying mess.”
JJ nodded and tipped your chin up “i'll remember you like this” he promised “il remember your pretty dress and the way the colours of the sun made your face look like a painting…but il also remember you in your car with the wind in your hair, in my bed with the sheets tangled around, with ice cream all over your face, with rosy cheeks from the cold and red lips from the wine…I'll remember you as you were because you’re perfect always not just right now.”
The tears spilled out over your eyelashes and you surged forwards, capturing his lips in a desperate passionate kiss every unspoken I love you pouring through it. He kissed you back like he was starved and your kisses were the cure, it was desperate, needy and you savoured every stolen second.
You spent the last night together, watching the sky turn to an inky black and counting the stars then watching it fade into morning. JJ didn’t want to sleep, he wanted to have every last second with you but eventually his eyes grew heavy and just as the birds started to sing he was dreaming, you wondered if he dreamt of you. You kissed his forehead and smoothed back his blonde locks, he looked so peaceful when he slept and you hoped he was happy, then you crept out of the beach house making the journey to the ferry alone. JJ wanted to come see you off but you thought that it was better like this, as you walked through the streets the memories of your time together had already begun to follow you around, his smile was on every street corner. The boat pulled away from the harbour and then the plane pulled into the city and you thought of the way his eyes looked in the starlight and wondered if you’d ever see him again…you hoped that you would even if it was just in your wildest dreams.