THREE
❝ We could have sex right now,
and no one would know. ❞
*ೃ༄
"HURRICANE AGATHA continues it's steady march towards Kildare Island on the Outer Banks of North Carolina," The news lady's voice carries from the TV and over the crowd, causing everyone but the twins to groan.
Instead, John and Ava let out a sigh of relief, slowly turning to face one another in triumph. They both smile, raising their hands to high five each other.
"Holy shit," John B breaths, stepping backs lightly and muttering a small apology to the upset lady he accidentally bumped.
"It's our lucky day," Ava smirks.
He hums in agreement, before curling his hand around Ava's wrist and dragging her away from the TV screen and shoving gently through the crowd onto the quiet dock. After running a hand through his hair, he slips his phone from his pocket, raising his head to look at Ava.
"What's their number?" He bites his lips, his thumbs hovering over the phone screen.
Rolling her eyes in disbelief, Ava snatches the phone from his grasp and enters the phone number she's been forced to call every week for checkups. He sends a weak smile as he takes the phone before ringing the number, quickly putting it on speaker and holding it between their heads as they both lean closer.
"Department of Child Services. How can I help up?"
John B smirks, swallowing thickly before explaining, "Yeah, uh, I think we're probably gonna have to reschedule," Once again, he holds his hand up and Ava gives him a joyful high five while he lays off their information to the child services worker.
Ever since their father went missing at sea, the twins have been living by themselves in the Chateau, no adult present ever. Originally, their Uncle Tony was supposed to be caring for them as he's their only remaining family, but he never bothered stopping by to help his brother's children and stayed on the mainland to sell fish.
Shoving his phone back into his pocket, John B rolls his shoulders back with relief, "That should keep them off our asses a little longer," He throws his arm around his sisters neck, leading her towards the parked up Twinkie, "We can enjoy our summer, and maybe you can finally get laid."
Running her tongue over her teeth, Ava shoves him away, sending him stumbling as he laughs and she glares at him unamused.
"John, when was the last time you even spoke to a girl besides Kie and I?" She raises her brow, tilting her head in questioning and he falls silent as she returns to her side, "That's what I thought."
"Hey, hey," He shakes his head, wagging a finger at her, "You're last relationship was with Rafe Cameron. Please keep that in mind before you bash me for my lack of love," He throws open the driver's door, while she jumps into the passenger side.
Letting her head drop back to the head rest as she mutters, "What is it with you having to bring him up in every conversation we have?"
He glances at her as he slips the keys into the ignition, "Oh, I don't know. Maybe because you fell in love with Rafe Cameron, and then proceeded to forget you were a Pogue for that year."
"I've apologised for that," She snaps harshly, motioning at him to start the car, "Now shut up, and drive."
*ೃ༄
MUCH TO HER ANNOYANCE, her brother and Pope had left to go surfing during the surge. Leaving Ava in the
Chateau alone, with nothing but her cigarette pack and a single bottle of beer.
She leans against the beam of the back porch, watching as the rain hammers down onto the garden around her, but the roof of the porch keeps her dry as she pulls out a cigarette and her lighter. She places the poison between her lips as the flickering flame lights the other end.
Ever since she was younger, the rain has been somewhat comforting my. It's a very rare occurrence to have any rain in Kildare, let alone a storm that causes flooding and hundreds of puddles on roads that usually burn your bare feet.
Behind her, JJ leans against the door frame, his hand curled around the neck of the last remaining beer bottle as he looks across the porch at the back of Ava, watching as her flicks her hair back over her shoulders.
Ava Routledge has been one of his closest friends since third grade, and if he could he would attached permanently to her hip just so he could watch her. Even when they were younger, he'd give John B silly excuses to go to the bathroom, and he'd sneak to Ava's room across the hall just to tease her. She would claim she hated it, but over time they spent more and more time with one another, and he could tell she was warming up to him.
As they grew older, the pair started to do everything together and everyone across Kildare, including the Kooks, discovered who they were as they watched the blonde pair charge through the streets on their bikes, or running away from the cops together. Sure, the Pogues were a group of close friends, but inside of that group, there was their duo. The duo that everyone tired to ignore most of the time, as seen as they never had a good idea. Most of the time, Ava and JJ would leave their three friends to hang out while they went surfing, knowing that their friends probably wouldn't miss them.
After taking a large swig from his beer, JJ finally speaks, "Why you stood out here?"
Ava whirls around, her eyes wide and mouth agape, but one she sets her gaze on him, she relaxes and swallows thickly, "Jesus christ, J. You scared the shit out of me."
JJ smirks, "Glad I have some affect on you."
She shakes her head, chuckling lowly and licking her lips, "What are you doing here?"
His eyes flick over her denim shorts and bikini top and he presses his tongue against his cheek with a smile, "Get back inside, Ava. You're gonna get. . . fuck, what's it called?" His eyes drop to the floorboards as his mind goes crazy, "New. . ." He tires, running a hand through his hair.
Ava laughs quietly at his puzzled expression, before her face softens in realisation, and she says, "Pneumonia, J. It's called pneumonia."
His head snaps up, and he clicks her fingers before pointing over at her, "That's the one. I totally knew that. But still, get back inside."
Blowing a cloud of smoke out, Ava straightens and raises her free hand to her forehead in salute, "Yes, Cap," She pushes passed him.
He turns around to watch her collapse lazily onto the laid out sofa bed with her cigarette hanging from her lips and her hair splayed out on the pillows. She raises her head as he takes another swig from his bottle and she pats the space beside him, causing him to smirk, placing his beer down before jumping beside her without a single drop of hesitation.
"Not like you to invite me into bed with you," He turns his head to her, as she manoeuvres her body for a moment to get comfortable. He'll never really get over how beautiful he finds Ava Routledge, along with most of Kildare.
Pulling her cigarette from her lips, she meets his gaze with raised brows, "Don't be getting your hopes up, playboy. You have to charm me."
He rolls over onto his front, using his elbows to prop him up, his face hovering just beside Ava's, "I'm very charming. Ask any chick in the Cut."
She laughs, shaking her head, "If I'm able to ask any girl about you, then that proves you're not at all charming, because you, JJ Maybank, are a player."
His jaw drops open and he gasps quietly as he stares up at her for a few moments. She chuckles, turning away from him and gazing up at the ceiling.
"Doesn't seem to bother the girl in your bed last night," He teases, and lets out a low groan, taking another hit from her cigarette, "It's very comfortable, by the way. Really good for—"
Pinching her lips between her teeth, Ava drops her head to meet his gaze once more, and he falls silent at her glare, "You trying to make me jealous, Maybank?"
He shrugs, pursing his lips, "Is it working?"
"It's making me disgusted," She mutters, "I'm gonna have to clean my bedsheets now, because I bet you won't have."
He snorts, flipping back over onto his back, and folding his arms behind his head while his eyes flick over the room, "Where's Kiara?"
Ava shrugs, sitting up slightly to put her cigarette out in the ash tray on the side table. As he lays back down, she says, "I presume she's at home with her family, or working at the Wreck. I don't know, why are you asking me?"
He turns his head to her, eyebrows raised and a smirk spread across his cheeks, "So. . . we're alone," He shuffles closer to her, licking his lips.
She narrows her eyes at him in confusion, recognising the mischievous on his face, "We are alone, yes. Thank you for telling me."
"So, we could have sex right now and no one would know," He whispers, tilting his head as he rolls onto his side, one palm holding his head back.
JJ Maybank often did this. Ava had been rejecting having sex with him since they were old enough to know what sex actually was. He claimed he was just being jokingly flirty, but he never seemed to grasp that flirting isn't just blatantly asking a chick to have sex.
"We could have sex right now, and no one would know," She hums, "Are we going to do that? No, not right now."
Not right now. Ava also did that a lot. She'd lead him on, make him believe he had a chance, just so she could reject him again. She enjoyed humbling him by showing him that he can't get every girl he desires. It was cruel, but she liked watching him crumble.
"You can't keep saying that, Ava," JJ groans, squeezing his eyes shut, and ducking his head, so she's unable to see his face, "That shit ain't fair."
"Then, you should just keep it in your pants, playboy," She raises her hand, ruffling his hair and he groans in annoyance once more, flipping once more onto his back, running a hand over his face.
"Did you do the same to Rafe, or is it just me?" He asks, causing her face to drop and her brows to furrow, "How you let him have
a chance and not me, I'll never understand it, really I won't."
Ava sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration, "What is it with you and my brother constantly bringing him up? He was my boyfriend, and I know you both hated him, but get over it now because we broke up two months ago."
"You should've seen how you were when you were him, Ava," JJ speaks quietly, reaching down towards the end of the sofa bed for a pillow and pulling it up to his chest as he flips over with his back to her, "I hated seeing you like that. We all did."
Ava bites her lip, turning her gaze from his bare back to the ceiling as she replays his words. She loved Rafe, to some degree, but no one seemed to understand how he changed her life.
*ೃ༄
JJ MAYBANK IS A HARD SLEEPER. After spending hundreds of nights at the Chateau, Ava has quickly learnt that hardly anything can wake him up. So, last night when she was staring off into space thinking about her last relationship, she started crying, but he was too far gone in sleep to even remember that she was laid by his side. She ended up crying herself to sleep, thanking the gods that he can sleep like a dog.
"Ava!" John B hisses, smacking his sisters face gently in an attempt to wake her up, "Ava!"
Her eyes snap open and she swats his hand away from her face as she sits up slowly, running her hands over her tired face.
She finally looks up to meet his gaze, "Yes? What is it with you and waking me up?"
Her brother doesn't bother reply as his eyes flick over to the space of sofa behind her. Following his line of sight, Ava peers over her shoulder to see JJ spread out across the bed, one of his arms slung onto her side of the bed. She stares at him for a moment, taking in his peaceful face as he snores quietly. Realising how long she's been gawking, she snaps her head back to her brother, shrugging.
"He has his shirt off," He grumbles, his hands falling to his hips like a mother.
She stands up, rolling her eyes as she runs her hands through her hair before stepping past him towards the kitchen, "Good observation, Sherlock. I'm glad you have eyes."
He follows after her silently, watching as she throws open the fridge to grab the bottle of orange juice. Feeling his eyes burning into her back, she turns and raises her brows before motioning down at herself.
"I'm still fully dress, dickhead," She mutters, "If you think I had sex with him, then think again. I'd have to be black out drunk."
John B shakes his head, scoffing, "You and I both know that's not true."
She sighs, grabbing a glass and beginning to pour herself a drink, "Okay, fine. Maybe just slightly drunk, I reckon I'd like to remember it."
Groaning, John B turns on his heel and begins to head towards the back porch, on his way past the sofa bed, he taps his best friends ass, "Yo, JJ, you been outside?"
JJ grunts, pulling a pillow closer into his chest as he waves him away, "I have polio, bro. I can't walk."
Ava snorts at his excuse as she follows her brother outside onto the porch. As she jogs down the small steps into the garden, her eyes widen at the devastation and debris scattering the ground before her. One of the larger trees has collapsed completely, along with most of the surrounding bushes.
"Oh, man," John B yawns, his hands resting on his head in despair, "That's not good."
Ava pats his shoulder before turning and walking around the side of the house, a groan passing her lips when she spots another tree that's tilted, squashing half of the garden and dropping sticks and leaves across the lawn.
"Shit," She curses, kicking a stick in annoyance.
JJ pushes open the front door, pursing his lips at the sight of the garden. His eyes float over to the dirty blonde girl, who's staring at a slightly collapsed tree with a glass of orange juice still in her hand.
"Agatha did some work, huh?" JJ whistles, standing on the front porch drinking a beer casually with his shades thrown on to cover his tired.
Ava hums, turning around to look at him and she notices the bottle in his grasp, "Where did you get that? I thought you drank the last bottle last night."
Winking, JJ taps his temple, "I have a secret stash in Big John's room. It's really useful when a chick's rattling on in my ear. I liked to go to Big John's room and get shit faced. Bless his soul, but I thank him daily for leaving a spare room."
She laughs, "You're unbelievable."
"Not as unbelievable as you," He retorts, stepping down the porch steps, taking a another sip of his beer, "I didn't see you as the kind of girl to run in the morning."
She glares at him, shaking her head before turning away to look back at the carnage, "We didn't have sex together, J."
He stands beside her, raising a brow in questioning, "Damn, really? I thought we did. Must've just been a dream. Well, that's ruined my day."
Biting her lip, she sends a shove into his side, causing him to chuckle and send another wink to her before sowing the famine of his drink.
"Could you stop hitting on my sister, JJ?" John B calls as he walks over, causing his best friend and his sister's faces to fall flat while he grimaces over at them.
He jumps into the HMS Pogue, cursing at the amount of branches filling it. Ava climbs in after him, helping him with getting rid of the twigs and leaves as they throw them carelessly to the ground.
"Whatcha thinking?" JJ asks, leaning on the bow of the boat and running a hand through his messy hair.
John B smirks over at his best friend, "I'm thinking that storm surge pushed all the crabs out on the marsh maze. All those drum are gonna chase the crab."
Ava nods in understanding, finding herself smiling at the idea, "Great fishing opportunity."
JJ's brows furrow in confusion as his gaze flicks between the twins above him, "What about DCS? Wasn't that today? Am I forgetting something?"
Looking over at him, Ava shakes her head, "They ain't gonna get on a ferry straight after a hurricane. We're officially free for a few more weeks."
John B rubs his palms together, pulling his sister into his side happily, "Come on, think about it. It's God telling us to fish."
Ava hums, stepping away from her brother and JJ offers her his hand as she jumps down from the boat before turning to look at them, her arms outstretching, "Well, let's go then, boys."
She whirls around and rushes back into the Chateau to change while JJ glances over at John B with raised brows as he drops down.
John B points harshly at him as they begin to walk towards the house, "Leave my sister alone, okay? You can have any other chick, but Ava's off limits."
JJ rolls his eyes, waving his best friend away, "I know, I know. Jesus. You've been drilling that into me since we were about seven."
"I mean it, JJ," John B snaps harshly, coming to a stop just before they enter, "She doesn't need you breaking her heart like Rafe did."
At the thought, JJ's jaw clenches and without another word he turns and walks into the Chateau, leaving John B to prepare the boat by himself.
. . .
i have a footy match tmr and if i pull my hamstring once more fucking time i will actually quit