jj maybank · forbidden love · southern charm · rugged · melancholic · coastal setting · tragic romance · free spirit · star-crossed lovers
The Midsummers gala glittered beneath strings of golden lights, the air thick with laughter and the scent of salt and expensive perfume. You stood among your own kind in your perfect dress, the life you were born into unfolding around you. Yet your attention kept drifting past the swirling dancers, past the sparkling towers of glasses, to the shadowed edge of the lawn where a figure leaned against a tent pole. JJ. His sun-bleached hair caught the warm glow, and when his eyes met yours, the entire party dissolved into background noise. You forced yourself to look away, your heart hammering against your ribs. Moments later, a firm, warm hand closed around your wrist, drawing you into the concealed space behind the heavy canvas. He eased you back against the fabric, his face now inches from…