Outer Banks (JJ Maybank x Female Reader) Book 3

The Return

"So you're sure that you didn't tell him where the diary is?" JJ asks me as he strokes my hair, trying to untangle the messy knots. "I told him I'd seen it, but I didn't tell him where," I shrug. "So why does Singh want it so much?" He asks. "Singh said that he thinks the diary has a clue to the location of some city of gold," I explain. "Like the gold on the Merchant was just a small part of it," I shrug again. "Okay, so the diary we have leads to a 500-year-old treasure that no one's every found?" JJ asks, cocking his head to the side to look at me.

"Pretty much," I nod, restraining a grin. "I'm in," He smiles. "It's kind of like my best option at this point, so... definitely beats sitting in Geometry class," He grins. I sit up and he stands up from the soft seats, stretching his arms up to grab the beam above us. "I mean, I don't even know what's gonna happen when we get back to the OBX," He sighs. "Nothing good. I can tell you that," He scratches the back of his neck, spinning to face me as I stand up too, folding my arms across my chest. "Nothing good," He shakes his head. 

"Shit's gonna suck for like a year," I nod. "At least you don't got restitution though. No jobs. No parents. Yeah, arrows are gonna be coming in hot," He nods at me. "But you know what we do when arrows come flying?" He asks. "Bing!" He shouts, jumping to a protective stance. "Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!" He continues, jumping around me as if he's dodging arrows. "Ooh, quick!" I giggle. "And you shoot them right back at em," He smiles. 

"And that spears comes at you, you plant, grab, disarm, straight into the jugular, finish them off like... yah!" He shouts, demonstrating the motions for me. The boat rocks to one side and he falls forward, trapping me between his arms. I catch his waist, steadying myself. "Just one by one," He nods, leaning closer to me. "We'll defeat them all," He whispers, his breath drifting across my face. "You know, whatever happens, we're gonna handle it together," I nod. "Like we always do," I whisper. 

"And...," I smile, running my hands up his back so they settle around his neck. "We have one good thing to worry about," I grin, biting my lip. "Yeah? And what's that?" He asks, also grinning at me. "A wedding," I whisper against his lips. He pulls me against him, kissing me deeply before pulling away. "If we can afford it," He murmurs against my lips. "We'll figure something out," I whisper, pulling his lips against mine again. 

The boat rocks again and we stumble forward. I spin just in time so that JJ falls back onto the seat cushions. He pulls me forward so I straddle his lap now, still kissing him. His warm hands slip under the thin fabric of my tank top, making me shiver. "Hey," Someone shouts. We both turn to see Pope, giving us a weird look. "Just wanted to let you guys know that we should probably stop for gas," Pope nods. JJ nods slowly. "Get lost Pope," He groans before pulling me back against him with a smile. 

~~~~~~

We pull up to the dock of the Château early the next morning, the sun not even over the horizon yet. "You think he's here?" Kie asks. JJ shrugs. "I don't see any boats," He whispers. "I have to check," Sarah whispers. "Y/n?" She asks. "You go," I nod. "Call us later when he gets home, he might... need some time," I nod to her. "Okay, okay, yeah," She says. "Here, take the phone, call Heywards," I nod. She takes it from me before pulling me into a hug. "Go," I nod. "Okay," She agrees one more time before running up the dock. 

~~~~~~

"Welcome to the Outerbanks, Cleo," Pope says as the five of us walk across the dock. The sun is over the horizon now, shining brightly down on us. "You're crazy, Pope," She grins. "Your parents are not gonna appreciate me shacking up," She shakes her head. "Of course they will. Are you kidding?" Pope asks. JJ glances at me, squeezing my hand. "Heyward might put you to work, but, we could always use the help," Pope nods. 

"I don't know, man. You sure?" She asks. "Yeah. Look, he might squawk a little bit, but let me talk to him," Pope nods as we reach the land. "We'll figure it out," He nods. 

~~~~~~

"This is me," Kie nods as we reach her house. "Home sweet home," She sighs, opening the front gate. "Damn, Kiara, you live here?" Cleo asks. "This is like the white house, man!" She grins. "How bad you think it's gonna be?" Pope asks nervously. "Scale of one to ten?" She asks. "Twenty," She shrugs. "Do you want us to hold up here?" I ask. "No, I... I gotta take this. Thanks for walking me," She sighs. "Bye, ya'll," She nods, walking up the stairs away from us. 

~~~~~~

"Are you going home?" JJ asks me once we drop Cleo and Pope off at Heyward's. "No," I whisper, shaking my head. "I don't want to leave you," I say. "Sarah's there and we don't even know if John B's back yet," I say. "It's still early, let's go to yours first," I nod. He agrees silently and we walk back to his house in silence, not really sure what to do now that we're back. 

JJ doesn't let go of my hand the whole way, only stopping when we break through the bushes to his yard. My mouth falls slightly open and JJ finally drops my hand, running up to the porch. I stand frozen as he bangs on the door, rattling the doorknob. Large caution tape runs along the porch and door, EVICTION NOTICE written in large black letters. 

He sighs, defeated as he lets his fist drop. "Doesn't matter," He mutters, hopping back down the steps towards me. "This place sucks anyway," He shrugs. "Great to be back in the Outer Banks, right?" He shakes his head sarcastically. "Hey," I hiss, grabbing his hands in mine. "We agreed to get through this together, right?" I whisper. He hesitates before nodding slowly. "Right," He breathes, dropping his forehead to mine. 

"Hey!" Kie calls as she walks into the yard, a fresh pair of clothes on. "Hey," I smile as I turn. "I had an email waiting for me when I got back to the house," She says, her smile extra wide. I raise my eyebrows. "John B actually found your dad," She whispers. I stagger, falling back into JJ, who catches my elbows. "He's alive," Kie whispers. I swallow, forcing air into my lungs. "Seriously?" JJ breathes for me, his voice cracking. "Yeah," Kie whispers. "He's at the Château," She grins.

"No," I shake my head. "No, it's impossible. He's - he's dead," I say, shaking my head quickly as the tears start falling. "Shh, shh," JJ whispers, pulling me into his chest. "He's alive," Kie whispers. "He's alive," He nod to myself.