growing in love - jj maybank

Ch 17. A 60,000 Dollar Loss.

Pope sat on the table, his wheezing breaths slowing until he was breathing normally again.

The pogues still laughed, JJ gesturing his hand at Pope, "There he is. That's my boy right there!"

Pope shrugged his jacket off, "It's hot! I'm real hot, guys."

"It's okay. Take it easy."

Pope jumped off the table, a sense of adrenaline seemingly running through him. "I gotta get outside."

John B stepped quickly to the side, "Simmer down."

"I owe you."

"Whoa, Pope."

"Take a second!"

"I need to get outside," Pope stumbled out of Ricky's house, "It's hot."

"Okay, you're good."

JJ, Sarah, and Dani stood in the doorway, letting John B and Kiara wrangle Pope. Dani looked at Ricky, trying to concentrate, "Thank you so much. Are there any side effects we should be concerned about?"

Ricky started shoving the teens out the door, "He'll have a rocket up his ass for about half an hour, then he'll be fine" a statement that didn't seem too far out of the question as Pope ran chaotically about the yard. It was like watching a dog mess with his owners.

Pope practically jumped in John B's arms, "Let's go get that cross! Whoo!"

"Whoa" John B just about fell on his ass.

"Game six! Baby! I'm Michael Jordan!"

"Uh. Yeah, game six!"

The teens loaded up in Dani's car, a bit cramped as they sat. Dani had a nice, large, kook car, but it was no Twinkie, with an empty backseat. Pope took the keys from Dani's hands, claiming the driver's seat, leaving Sarah, Kie, Dani, and JJ to pile into the backseat, squished in like sardines. John B sat in the passenger's seat, a prize for driving the now-disgusting Twinkie out of the muck.

The sky above the pogues began to turn dark and the air was cooling to a greater autumn chill. Pope's foot had not let up on the gas once, driving the car at warp speed.

Sarah eyed Dani, clearly noticing the apprehension in her eyes. Sarah turned her gaze back in front of her, "Uh, Pope, you're driving pretty fast."

Pope only responded with an excited shout.

JJ shifted uncomfortably, "Pope, last to judge, but I think you should slow down a little."

Dani sat incredibly still, sandwiched between Kiara and JJ. Each teen in the backseat could tell that the girl was nervous. Pope was not only driving Dani's car, but he was driving wild and fast.

"That would definitely delay our arrival to the cross. We gotta get there."

Kie chuckled, "Uh. Why did we let him drive again?"

"I said I'd rip your ears off."

John B turned to look at the four in the backseat, "He said he'd rip our ears off."

Kiara nodded, "He did say he'd rip our ears off," she leaned her head to the front, "You did."

"I was joking about that by the way."

"That's a really funny joke," Kie smiled at Pope, sarcasm laced in her voice.

John B turned his body, giving Pope his full attention, "Hey, how ya feeling, buddy? How ya doing?"

"Uh, fantastic. I don't know what JJ's cousin gave me, but I am moving!"

Kie made eye contact with Sarah, who sat beside her, "We couldn't tell."