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chapter 4

#$*# $&

The news of hurricane Agatha hit and everyone on the outer banks went into high gear. People were buying supplies right out of the stocker's hands at the shops, businesses were boarding up their windows and preparing for the worst. Elora and Kiara had stayed late at the Wreck to help prepare before they closed, along with JJ when he showed up to take Elora back to the Chateau. John B was out grabbing supplies and had tasked JJ with making sure she got back safely.

Finishing up with his task and realizing they were as finished as they were going to get before the worst of the storm hit, JJ clapped his hands together and turned to the girls. "Alright, Baby P, we've got to hit the road before there is no road to hit." He called over.

Nodding, Elora turned and gave her friend one last hug. Thanking Kiara's parents, she made promises to be safe before she grabbed her things and made her way toward JJ. "How bad does it look out there?" She asked as she joined his side.

Helping her with her raincoat, he smiled weakly and shrugged. "Nothing we can't handle, but we should go now before that answer changes."

Nodding, she grabbed the bags of food Kiara's parents had insisted she take home with her for her and the boys and headed out into the storm with JJ. Thankfully, her brother had been kind enough to leave JJ the van.

Climbing into the passenger seat, Elora pulled over the seat belt and buckled in as JJ jogged around the front side of the car to hop into the driver's seat. "So, honey, whatcha snag us for dinner tonight?" JJ asked, his brow raised as he took in the large take out bags on her lap.

Laughing, she shook her head before peaking inside. "Looks like Kiara's mom packed us some sandwich stuff and non-perishable foods. Sorry, hun, no special juice boxes in here."

Elora hadn't expected to find anything too glamorous inside the bag. There was some Mac and cheese for them to eat hot tonight, but with the power bound to go out tonight it made no sense to give them anything that needed to be cooked or refrigerated. There wasn't a chance in hell they'd give them a case of alcohol either, much to JJ's disappointment.

Looking out the window, she felt her body go rigid. Her laughter stopped almost instantly as her smile fell into a frown. A couple had just run up to the Wreck, no doubt to grab some hot food before the worst of the storm hit. The boy had lowered his hood, a familiar smile on his face as he turned toward the girl with him and held the door for her.

"You alright there, El?"

JJ's voice sounded like air hissing in her ears as she watched the couple. The girl lowered her hood, her dirty blonde hair wet as she kissed the boy happily on the lips before heading inside. As if sensing someone watching, the boy's gaze lifted and landed on her.

Elora felt tears sting her eyes as Jake gave her a mock salute before heading inside the Wreck. It felt like her heart was ripping all over the place again. Jake hadn't been breaking up because of the long distance, but because he'd already found someone new that was better than she was. Taller, prettier, no doubt more experienced than she was.

Swallowing, she quickly wiped her eyes and kept her gaze away from JJ. She couldn't stomach his look of pity on top of everything else. "Can we go now?" She asked quietly.

"El,"

"Just go, JJ." She pleaded as she felt the tears fall down her cheeks. "Please,"

JJ paused, like he wanted to say something else, but decided against it as he turned the van's engine on and headed back to the Chateau.

Elora would have been happy if the ride back was quiet, but her companion was JJ who couldn't stand sitting in silence. Especially when he knew one of his friends was hurting. It was one of the reasons she loved him.

His fingers were drumming along the steering wheel as he fought the urge to break the silence, but it was a fight he was losing. "So, uh, you working at the country club this week?" He asked, finally caving to his urges and breaking the silence.

It was a safe topic though. It wasn't about DCS breathing down their necks or about her disaster of a love life. It was about work, where spend her shift mostly with Jake while he ran the bar. Her chest tightened at the realization she'd still have to work with Jake until he left for school.

Clearing her throat, she turned her gaze out the window. The rain was starting to come down harder, the wind growing stronger as it pushed against the Twinkie. "I think so. They have the midsummer shit coming up. There's a lot of preparation happening this week." She said softly, though anyone could hear how little interested she was in the conversation.

JJ decided to change topics, much to her displeasure. "You know what? That asshole doesn't deserve your wallowing. You are so much better than him, El. So he was possibly cheating on you, who cares? That bitch can have him. He wasn't worth your time or tears. You know what you need? Some good weed and beer."

She knew that was JJ's answer to everything. Unfortunately, weather conditions as severe as they were, meant there was no way they could host another kegger. "Pretty sure the saying is the best way to get over someone is to get under someone new, but I could go for a beer and some weed." She teased, cracking a small smile when she saw how flustered JJ got.

"Too bad Agatha is a bitch and you're gonna be stuck with John B and me tonight. Guess that just leaves us with the weed and alcohol remedy." He said, though she could tell he wasn't too disappointed that she wouldn't be able to find a new hook up.

Elora shrugged innocently, fighting back a smile knowing teasing JJ was too easy sometimes. "Well, you'd still be an option given you're not actually my brother."

Seeing the way JJ's mouth opened and closed like a floundering fish as he considered what to say next made her smile. It wasn't often JJ Maybank was left speechless. Giggling, she ended his misery as she rested her hand on his thigh. "Relax, JJ. I'm joking. You're my brother's best friend and mine. Besides, no pogue on pogue macking, right?" She said, daring to meet his gaze.

Swallowing, he cleared his throat and nodded. "Right. Not that I wouldn't be the first to volunteer to help you out with that itch, but rules are rules, Baby P."

Her cheeks heated with a blush when she saw the intensity in his gaze before his attention turned back to the road. She got the impression JJ wasn't joking as much as he tried to convince her he was, but that was crazy. JJ Maybank was not interested in being with her.

Still, there was no harm in flirting with the idea. Suddenly the realization her hand was still on his thigh was all she could think of and she was wondering why she hadn't pulled it back to her own lap.

Blushing, she cleared her throat as she finally moved her hand away from him and rubbed the back of her neck. "Um, it looks like we're here. Thanks for picking me up, JJ, and for making me laugh. I needed that." She said, unbuckling and making a run for the house as soon as the van was parked.

"Anytime, Elora James."

JJ watched her for a moment, sighing heavily with disappointment as he saw her disappear into the house. His opening had been right there, but he chickened out. That wasn't a term he would use, but this was Elora. He couldn't fuck things up between them. Elora was hurting and he knew she was looking for a rebound. He didn't want anything between them to be a mistake or something that she'd come to regret.

#$% #%$$

The storm was picking up quickly. Elora had heard her brother say he was meeting Pope down at the beach to attempt to surf the surge. Surprisingly, JJ had declined the offer to join them. While it was an extremely stupid idea, it surprised her mostly because usually it would have been JJ trying to convince John B to join him not the other way around.

This meant that JJ and Elora were left alone at the Chateau. Which wouldn't have been such a big deal if she hadn't made things weird by suggesting they sleep together as a way for her to get over her ex. Of course, she hadn't honestly been serious about the suggestion and she knew he knew that, but still the idea made her blush just thinking about it.

It would be a lie if she said she'd never considered JJ as nothing more than a brother figure, because this was JJ Maybank and she wasn't blind. He was one of the better looking guys on the cut and he was well liked around the female population of both the south and north side of the island. To the kooks, he was the bad boy they could rebel against their parents with. To the touron, he was just a good looking charming guy. To the pogues, he was a wreckless, hot, bad boy with a golden heart and every girl wanted to fix him.

Only, JJ didn't need to be fixed.

At least, Elora didn't think he did. He had such a big heart and he was loyal to a fault when it came to his friends. He could be stupid and come up with the worst ideas, but he could also make a person laugh when they didn't think it was possible to anymore.

So, maybe that was why she was coming out from her room in search of him and his company.

She found him sitting on the pull out couch, rolling up a blunt with extreme focus. Her footsteps were near silent against the cold floor as she moved closer. "I don't suppose you'd want to share that, would you?" Elora asked, smiling when he finally noticed her.

His grin spread across his face as he finished and nodded. "Who am I to refuse a pretty lady? Come on over before you freeze."

Climbing into the pull out, she settled down beside him and was quick to wiggle underneath the blanket with him. He was right. The Chateau was freezing tonight and JJ had enough body heat trapped under the blanket to warm up the entire house. "Thanks. Do you know how long John B's gonna be gone?" She asked, watching as he lit it up before taking the first hit.

JJ passed it over her, his eyes watching her as she took a hit. "Probably not that much longer. Waves are gonna be too rough at this point."

Elora passed it back toward him. "Is that why you didn't go, Mr King of Surfing?"

"No point in risking the board when I know the waves are too rough to ride." JJ said with a shrug.

His chuckle that followed made her smile as they passed the blunt back and forth a few times. It wasn't long before she could feel the effects. Her fingers raised up, threading through his wild hair that always seemed to stick up in odd directions. "Your hair has, like, a mind of its own." Elora giggled.

JJ chuckled, watching her intensely as she stroked his cheek. "You are so high, Baby P."

Her nose scrunched up, insulted for whatever reason. "I am not. I just like your hair, that's all."

He wasn't sure if it was the weed making him bolder, but he wasn't going to second guess himself at this moment. "What else do you like?"

He'd caught her by surprise with his question. Her blush only seemed to encourage him not to take it back. He knew nothing was going to happen between them, but this seemed to be a game that he wasn't ready to stop playing. It was playing with fire at this point and one of them was bound to get burned at some point, but that didn't stop them. If anything, it only encouraged them more.

Her eyes dropped first to his mouth before her thumb traced his bottom lip. "Your smile. You have a great smile."

Elora was determined to kill him, or worse because if John B was to walk in right now? JJ had no doubt in his mind, he'd want to kill him right where he sat.

JJ had to be insane because he wasn't stopping what was happening as he leaned in closer to her. His eyes searched hers, wondering if he'd see hesitation there or if this was something maybe she wanted too. "I happen to like your smile too." He said, his eyes flickering downward toward her mouth as his hand came up to rest on her cheek.

His lips were seconds away from closing the space between them when the sound of the Twinkie's door shut, alerting them that John B was back. Elora jolted back, her eyes wide as she moved out of his grasp before she turned and stood from the old pull out to put space between them.

JJ cleared his throat, arranging the blanket better on his lap just as the front screen door to the porch opened and shut. John B came inside, dripping wet from both the rain and the ocean. If he noticed the awkwardness floating between his sister and his best friend, he acted oblivious about it. "Hey, you were right, man. Waves were too rough. How's it been here? You guys bored out of your mind?" He asked as he closed the door behind him and went in search of food.

The two shared a look, wondering exactly what had just been about to happen between them. "We kept ourselves entertained for the most part." She said, rubbing her neck as she fought the urge to run back to her room and hide.

JJ had just been about to kiss her, and she wanted him to. Her mind was still trying to process that fact. Was he internally freaking out as much as she was? His expression was unreadable. "Yeah, man. We're fine. There's food left in the fridge." He said, wanting nothing more than to change the subject.

"I'm just gonna go to bed. Night, boys." Elora said quickly.

Before JJ could object, convince her not to leave, her bedroom door was shutting and she was gone. "shit," he cursed under his breath.

"Do I wanna know what just happened?" John B asked, looking between his friend and his sister's closed door.

Clearing his throat, JJ ran a hand through his hair. "Nothing. Turns out her jackass ex was cheating on her and she needed to take the edge off. You know weed just put her to sleep. Nothing happened, man. Swear."

If he'd convinced John B, he couldn't tell and that stressed him out more. He wasn't sure how his friend would react to him wanting to make a move on his sister, but JJ had a feeling he wouldn't be into it very much.

John B rubbed the back of his neck, his gaze turning to the closed door again. "Shit. She's gotta be crushed. I knew there was a reason I didn't trust that asshole."

If JJ was being honest with his friend, he'd tell him that he had half the mind to beat the crap outta the guy for Elora. He knew John B wouldn't be opposed to it, but she would. JJ knew that for some reason, Elora had fallen for the douche and he didn't want to see her more upset.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. She'll be okay though. She's got us." He'd said as he cleaned his spot up and prepared to get some sleep.

John B seemed to debate something over in his head. JJ was worried what it was that he could possibly be nervous to ask him, but deep down he knew it had to do with Elora. "Hey, uh, just don't mess with her head, okay? I know you guys joke about it, but I don't want her thinking you have a thing for her when you don't. I don't want her to get hurt and it'd make things weird. There's a reason we made theno pogue macking rule." He finally spoke, but it was clearly an uncomfortable conversation for them both.

"I got it, man, but nothing happened. Nothings gonna happen there, swear." He swore, hoping that would be the end of this awkward conversation.

JJ laid on his side, hoping to end this conversation because he wasn't about to tell John B that if he hadn't come in when he had, there was a good chance he and Elora would be in the middle of a very different activity. He definitely wasn't going to tell him that he had very real feelings for his sister and that it felt like maybe she had feelings for him too.

Yeah, he definitely wasn't going to tell him that.