Endless Summer // JJ Maybank

Run in with the Law (17)

The next morning, I wake up to a bird chirping loudly outside of the window.

"Shut the hell up, bird!" I say groggily. It continues to chirp. Annoyed, I roll over to see if the stupid bird has woken up JJ. He's still sound asleep.

I untangle myself from him and almost make it out of bed before he reaches for me and pulls me back into a spooning position. "Where are you going?" he asks, his voice thick with sleep.

"I was about to go kill a bird," I tell him, and taking the cue, the bird begins to chirp loudly again.

"It'll go away in a minute," he says sleepily. He shifts closer to me and pulls my hair back off my neck, planting a kiss there. I can't help but smile.

"I need to get up," I tell him, and he grumbles as he releases me so I can move. I grab my toothbrush and head down to the bathroom. When I return, he's out of bed and pulling on clothes.

"I need a couple parts for my bike. Want to come to the store with me?" he asks. He pulls a cap on over his unruly hair.

"Sure. Just let me change," I say, moving to my backpack in the floor. As he watches, I change out of my sleeping clothes and pull on cut offs and a crochet crop top. I fluff my hair in the mirror on the back of his bedroom door. "Okay, I'm ready," I tell him. "I'm going to go steal a muffin while you finish up."

I exit his bedroom and walk to the kitchen. John B is at the table, eating a chunk of the casserole Grandma gave him. I grab a muffin from the basket and sit across from him. We chat for a few until JJ comes in. "Let's go," he says, motioning for me to follow him.

He gives me his backpack to wear on the ride to the store and we both climb on the bike. The parts store is in town, right in the middle of Main Street. We park across the street and head into the shop.

It's sweltering in the shop, and I immediately start sweating. A few oscillating fans blow the hot air around, but with the A/C clearly not working, the fans don't do anything. JJ takes the backpack from me and reaches in to produce a small part he needs to replace. He holds up the part to the guy at the register, who points us down a particular aisle.

I wander around the shop as JJ looks through what he needs for the bike. I'm an aisle or two over from where JJ is, looking at different reflector pieces for bikes. I bend down to get a closer look at the flashing reflector display when I feel a hand give my ass a firm squeeze.

"Hey, we're in pub—" I start, but the words catch in my throat when I realize it's not JJ.

"Wow, darlin', they didn't make 'em like you when I was growin' up. Damn, you are somethin'!" the man says. He looks so familiar it's unsettling.

He runs his hand down my arm. I'm frozen to the spot on the floor. "You really are gorgeous, why don't you come home with me so I can show you what it's like to be with a real man?" He grabs my ass again and pulls my body towards him. I can smell the liquor on his breath as he leans in and smells my hair.

I dig the heels of my hands into his chest and try to push him away, but he's much stronger than he looks.

"Let go of me," I say as meanly as I can, and he laughs.

"Come on baby, come home wi-"

"Let her go," I hear JJ's voice behind me say. The tone of his voice sends a chill down my spine.

Momentarily stunned, the man loosens his grip on me and I scramble to get away from him. When I turn, I see JJ with the gun from his drawer in his hand, and it's pointed at the man.

"You know her?" the man asks. He takes a step toward me and grabs my arm.

"Don't fucking touch her, dad!" JJ bellows, and I hear a click. He's cocked the gun.