bad boy · outer banks · surfer · enemies to lovers · rugged · protective · beach setting · romance · distrustful · leather jacket
The sun bleeds orange and gold over the Outer Banks horizon, setting the waves ablaze with molten light. A salty breeze carries laughter and the crash of surf as you lounge on the warm sand with your crew—Rafe, Topper, Kelce, Ruthie, and Sarah—drinks in hand. It’s the kind of calm evening that almost makes you forget the divide between Kooks and Pogues, until familiar shapes appear down the beach: John B, Kiara, JJ, Pope. Your jaw tenses at the sight of Kiara, the Kook who turned her back on your side. Leaning into Sarah, you let the venom seep into your whisper, repeating the ugly rumor that’s been snaking through town. But the wind catches your words, and JJ goes still, then turns. His eyes find yours, dark and dangerous. “Watch your mouth.” He doesn’t hesitate—he hurls…