sweet | outer banks

c h a p t e r / t w e n t y

HI :D

thank u literally so much for 28k reads on the story ???? that is wayYyyy too many i appreciate every single one of u so much for still keeping up with every chapter

n e wayyy prepare yourselves for this one!!!! that's all i'll say. i love u

ps sorry if u tried to read this last night and i unpublished it halfway through :o ran into a few slight technical difficulties

ENJOY :p -katie <3

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

The next morning I wake up once the sun has risen just enough so that it shines directly through my bedroom window, forcing me to place a hand over my eyes to keep myself from going blind.

I find that JJ and I have switched spots from last night, my head resting on his bare chest and his arm wrapped snugly around my back. As I come to my senses, I lift my head up slightly so that I can see the boy, and I feel a sleepy sort of grin tug on my lips at the sight of him. He looks down at me when he senses my movement as the same smile appears on his face, and he brushes a few flyaway hairs off of my forehead.

"Hi." I greet him softly, my voice cracking a bit as I close my eyes again and let myself melt back into his touch.

"G'morning." He returns my greeting with a quiet chuckle, his low voice music to my ears. Not many voices have the power to send a million and one butterflies coursing through my body, but JJ's does. And I'm not complaining.

"How long have you been up?"

"Just a few minutes," He tells me through a yawn. "But I gotta go to work soon." Damn.

I groan quietly at his words, realizing that once he gets up to get ready, I'll lose my pillow that still carries the familiar scent of saltwater and campfire smoke from the beach last night. I hate that he has to leave every morning.

Neither of us say anything for a few minutes, the faint sound of the waves crashing outside and JJ's heartbeat just under my head both threatening to send me back off to sleep. But before that can happen, I feel JJ reach over to check his phone, and likely upon seeing the time, he begins to slide out from underneath me to get ready for work.

Luckily for me, my reflexes are particularly sharp this morning as they kick in when JJ starts to move and I reach my arms out, wrapping them tightly around his body to prevent him from getting up. I can't help but giggle as I do this, and I look up only to see his confused face glancing back down at me.

"You can't go." I inform him in a sarcastic tone with an equally sarcastic grin plastered to my face. His confusion only contorts his features more, and I take this as my cue to continue. "Yeah, they called! They called and told me you're not allowed to go to work."

"Who called?" He asks me, my joke becoming apparent as his frown forms into more of a goofy smirk.

"Uh, th- the queen! Yeah, the queen... of the world! She called and said you can't work today." Queen of the world, Bri? Really?

"The queen of the world?"

"Mhm."

"The whole world?"

"Obviously!" This gets a couple of giggles out of both me and JJ, and my smile only grows larger as I wait for him to speak.

"So I guess that means I'm stuck with you then, huh?" Mission accomplished.

I shrug nonchalantly in response and the boy leans down to place a gentle kiss on my forehead as I continue to look up at him. My eyes travel between the two of his blue ones, and I don't bother to stop myself as I seem to just get lost in the mere sight of him. If you told me when I moved here that I end up falling so totally in love with the stupid blond asshole from the island's local restaurant, I would have laughed in your face.