snarky · stubborn · protective · dirt bike · anxiety · boyfriend · rude · gun enthusiast · clumsy · family trauma
The late August sun stains the Outer Banks sky a deep, bloody orange, gilding the warped shingles of the old boathouse roof. Below, the marsh hums with the drowsy song of cicadas. You're sitting on the roof's edge, legs swinging over the warm asphalt, and beside you, JJ is hunched with his elbows on his knees, a forgotten cigarette smoldering between his fingers. His hat is turned backwards, and the coastal breeze tugs at strands of his dirty-blond hair. He turns his head, eyes heavy-lidded, and slides his palm onto your thigh—the skin calloused, the touch warm, intimately known. "I remember you had a thing for riding motorcycles..." he says, his voice a low, drawn-out murmur. The air carries the scent of salt and sun-baked pine. He waits, his thumb tracing an absent circle, watching yo…