don't touch the butt
FLOATING DOWN THE MURKY BROWN-COLORED WATER, the HMS Pogue crashed against the tiny waves of the opposing current. Martha sat on the front of the tiny fishing boat, she smiled as her fingers grazed the dolphins' rubbery —the sweet creatures were brought into the cove from the storm and following the boat as if the boat would lead them back out.
JJ and John B were at the back of the boat, JB was steering and JJ kept looking at Martha, checking that she didn't fall in.
"How long did that take?" John B mumbled towards J, as he caught the couple's pining looks.
JJ smirked, nodding at exactly what his best friend was playing at. "Nothing happened, so drop it." He became serious, he wanted no rumors about Martha's sex life in the group. His, on the other hand, couldn't care less. No one is saying shit about her reputation.
"Okay, nothing happened jeez, I'm just sayin' that I like you guys together. I knew it was goin' to happen sooner or later." John B's eyes widened, becoming shocked by J's attitude.
"I don't know what we are, but last night seemed like a pretty good start." He smiled, checking back to see if Marty didn't become a full mermaid, and decided to swim with the dolphins.
Martha looks up, smiles back at JJ, and does a little wave with her fingers before looking back out onto the water.
The tiny little fisher boat turns the bend and soon they reach the docks, where the Outer Banks fully thrive. They pass by two really big and scary-looking ships: Captain Tang and Carolina Breeze.
"It's kind of a smuggler's boat, don't ya think?" JJ says, not noticing people cleaning up the ship until someone looks down at them. "Uhh... good morning!" JB says covering up the rude remark.
"Smooth guys, real smooth." Martha scoffs, shaking her head.
"Sure hope Guffy's boat didn't sink. He doesn't have insurance." JJ says, worried about his friend and coworker. Martha's face drops, knowing that deep down she's more of a kook than a touron, and will never have to worry about losing anything.
Soon they make it to the main dock area, debris of leaves and trees sticking out of the water, clinging to supply ships and fishing boats. They pass a grand boat, seaweed clinging to the deck as two older people —an older couple. The lady is blonde and she's wearing a pink tank top as her husband sweeps off some of the fallen debris. Martha couldn't help but think she looked familiar.
"Hi, Miss Amy! You guys get through it?" John B shouts. Martha immediately remembers that she is a friend of her mother's, childhood friends too. She looks down at the group, smiling as she connects her eyes with Martha.
"Yep, we're all good! Hiya Martha! Did you make it through?" Miss Amy calls out, waving to Martha.
"Yes we did! I'll make sure to tell mom to call you later!" She yells back, considering John B didn't have the decency to slow down the boat.
"She totally looked at me," JJ mumbled under his breath, walking towards Martha.
"I saw it," John B agreed, steering the boat towards Heyward's.
"You guys are blind. She looked at me," Martha teased, leaning back on JJ's body as soon as she felt him behind her. The blond's hands caressed her neck and then her face, his thumb rubbing her under-eyes. Martha tilts her head back, looking directly upward at JJ's tan face.
"Hey there, pretty lady," he said in a funny accent. "Hey there, pretty boy," she said, copying him.
"Guys, look at this place," Johnny B called out, interrupting their cute moment.
The couple looked away from each other and at the debris and garbage-infested waters. Martha whistled at the sight, and JJ yelled at Mother Nature, "Agatha, what did you do?"
"She is a crazy lady."
Soon they make it to Heyward's, and the group spots their friend Pope power washing the deck. Martha laughs at the spray-painted sign, reading the words 'bring it on aggie you bitch!'
"We have a safety meeting. Attendance mandatory," John B states, mimicking the same static in a walkie-talkie.
Pope sighs, checking behind his shoulder for his father, then shakes his head as he says, "I cant. My pop's got me on lockdown."
"Come on, man," JJ mimics the same static then continues, "your dad's a pussy— over."
Marty laughs at JJ's remark but then stifles it as Mr. Heyward calls him out. "Sorry for that Mr. Heyward, his dumbass didn't mean it." Pope's father smiles at her, nodding his head at her response.
John B starts up the boat again and JJ starts to tell Pope to come and hop on the boat. Pretty soon John B and Martha join in. After the peer pressure, Pope hops on, Heyward obviously yells for him, but Marty reassures that she'll take good care of them, and they sail off for Kie.
About five minutes on their embankment, Martha spots Kiara up on a tall deck, looking out onto the earthy swamp-like terrain. The sun is shining down upon the girl giving her maximum highlights in her sweat.
The HMS Pogue and the tanned brunette meet up at the end of her dock. "KIEE LOOKING GOOD!" Martha hyped up the girl, grabbing her hand to help her on board.
"You got some treats for us?" JJ says, eyeing the small carry-on cooler Kie had brought.
"Yes, chips and apple juice," Kiara says, smirking at him before sitting down in front of Martha.
"My kind of apple juice?" JJ asks, offering out his hand as Kie smiles and gives him a corona.
The group of four pogues and one touron start their adventure for the day off right, with drinks and vibes music from Pope's awesome battery-powered radio.
Martha gets up when she hears a familiar beat of Sweater Weather, pulls a slightly buzzed JJ and Kiara, and starts dancing with them together on the white deck.
Martha and Kiara start jumping together on the beat, rocking the boat back and forth. Marty then smirks to Kiara, grabbing the girl by the waist and face, keeping direct eye contact with the curly brunette, and coming so close to her mouth that they could practically be kissing as they sing to the lyrics.
Jealousy erupts inside JJ, how could she be that intimate with another person in front of him?
JJ huffs and saunters over to the front of the boat, "Hey Martha! Check this out! Pope! Speed up, buddy!" He yells over the radio, startling the two girls and stops them from dancing altogether.
"Not the party trick!" Kiara sighs, shaking her head before walking towards John B and Pope over by the steering wheel.
Martha turns to see JJ holding out his beer bottle a little in front of him and the wind picks up the liquid and goes towards his mouth. The yellow liquid— almost looks like piss, to be honest— goes anywhere but his mouth.
"Ugh! Not my hair!" Kiara scoffs, before urging Pope to go a little bit faster.
Pope smiles and speeds up, but before JJ could finish his party trick, the HMS Pogue rattles against something underwater, sending a force to be wrecked with and sends JJ flying into the murky depths of the marsh. The rest of the gang falls to the ground, their hands barely catching their bodies before anything breaks.
Martha immediately gets up and crawls over to the front of the boat, frantically looking for JJ, yelling for him to make sure he's alright.
Half a minute goes by when JJ's blond locks finally break the surface, "I think my heels touched the back of my head." He smiles at her and reaches for her hand, his touch calming her down.
"You scared the shit out of me J."
"Sorry, McFly." He smiles at her, as she smiles at him. Their fingers never letting go.
"Sorry guys, I guess the storm fucked up the sand bars around here," Pope says, rubbing the back of his neck. He looks down at the water, squinting from the reflections, but then his eyes widen as if he sees something.
"Guys, I think there's a boat down there."
"What? No way," John B states before realizing that his good friend was indeed correct.
"Guys, c'mon, let's go," Kie says, stripping off her clothes and revealing a white bikini. John B joins her, stripping off his shirt before also jumping in.
Only Pope and Marty are freaking out, "you think there's a dead body down there?"
"Why are you guys going down there?! Don't you know that you never touch the butt!"
Pope inevitably strips down as well, leaving Martha all alone. She grunts before taking off her big baggy tee, revealing a red bikini. JJ's eyes go wide as he looks her up and down, "get your cute ass in here already!"
Martha laughs, "coming darling," she says, flipping him off. She jumps in, the cold marsh water hugs her body for a moment, soaking her in shivers but an odd warmth.
She comes back to the surface to see a smiling JJ in front of her, he reaches out and pushes back her hair out of her eyes. "You guys haven't seen Finding Nemo and it shows."