A/N: Little bit different, but kinda hilarious at the end. Excuse the awkwardness.
Saturday dawned with an absolutely howling storm. The sun, struggling to peak above the horizon in the early hours of the morning, was already shrouded in darkening clouds. No rain had fallen yet, but judging by the sky, it was coming.
Drifting somewhere between sleep and wake, JJ was burrowed beneath her duvet, enjoying the feeling of sleepiness that she rarely got to savor anymore.
As the wind battered the building around them, a loud crash roused both JJ and Aly from their sleep.
"Oh for god's sake Simone!" Aly yelled, pulling her duvet over her head.
"Listen here grumpy butts, that wasn't me, but since you're awake!" Simone cried, barreling through the door and landing with a flying leap on top of JJ, who groaned in pain.
"Why is it always me?" she mumbled, pushing Simone to one side and draping an arm over her eyes. Simone giggled.
"Come on old ladies, we got morning training soon"
"Can't," Aly groaned. "I think I'm dying"
"Period?" JJ asked knowingly, pushing herself up.
"Yeah," Aly replied, burying herself further beneath the covers in protest.
Eventually, JJ managed to get Aly up and moving, with much encouragement from Simone. An hour or so later, with the wind still battering the Village, the team was on the move for morning training.
While Simone and Aly ran their floor routines, JJ, Laurie, and Madison all stretched at the edge of the floor area. They had already done beam routines for the day, and after floor they would move to vault and bars. JJ's beam routine had been even better than in qualifying, and she was feeling incredibly confident as the final drew closer.
"How you feeling today?" Nick asked softly, sitting down on the bench beside JJ as she sank into a split.
"Pretty good," JJ replied truthfully. "Nothing hurts today, so I call that a bonus"
Nick chuckled. "Good to hear your old lady joints are coping… but you know that wasn't what I meant"
Sighing, JJ nodded. "I know. Honestly, I think I'm ok... I mean, yeah, I feel a little like I'm doing something wrong by not being more upset right now… but at the same time I'm glad I'm enjoying the Olympics as much as I am"
Nick nodded understandingly. "I'm sure people have told you that everyone grieves differently. As far as I can see… I think you're doing just fine. But maybe to be on the safe side, go and see your regular therapist once you get home. The high of the Games might be masking a little more that you don't realize you're contending with"
JJ gave him a small smile, nodding in agreement. Comfortable silence fell between the two, during which JJ changed to her other leg split.
"So, have you spoken to Tash?" she asked conversationally after a few minutes.
Nick smiled. "Yeah, actually, I spoke to her this morning"
"How's she doing?"
"She's alright. A little bit of morning sickness, and she's more tired than usual, but her mom's with her until I get home. She says she's fine. Reminds me of someone else I know," Nick said with a pointed look at his gymnast. JJ grinned.
"You nervous about being a dad?"
Nick shrugged. "I don't know yet… it doesn't even feel real because I haven't been home. But… I guess I am a little nervous about it. Even though I've had years of practice with you making me want to tear my hair out"
JJ laughed, relaxing out of her splits and gently massaging her muscles. "For what it's worth Nick… I think you'll be a great dad"
Nick smiled, clearly touched. "Thanks JJ. That means a lot"
Relaxed vibes filled the living area of the apartment complex as the girls all lay about watching other events after dinner. The highlights of the day were playing, and they were half watching as they talked easily amongst each other.
Hovering on the outskirts of the conversation, JJ was scrolling absently through her Instagram feed.
Her mind was lingering on Will. She'd been missing him since the camp, but she hadn't realized just how much until she had seen him the previous day. He'd smelt so good, it had stirred up something deep inside her that was yet to die down.
Noticing a certain picture on her feed, she stopped scrolling.
It was some sort of sponsored post, but that wasn't why it had caught JJ's eye. Instead, she had noticed it because it was of a couple, probably about the same age as herself and Will. They were closely entwined on a bed, hands resting on bare skin. It was one of those romantic, 'aesthetic' photos she often saw while scrolling Tumblr.
She knew it would be at least another three weeks before she was home with Will again. But something was burning, something she hadn't felt this strongly in quite a while.
Was it lust?
Swallowing thickly, she slowly got up from her beanbag and headed for hers and Aly's room. The girls didn't even notice that she had left the room, not even when she shut the door behind her.
She didn't really know what she wanted to do. She could call him… they'd explored phone sex a few times over the course of their relationship and had always enjoyed it… but she didn't know how she would explain that one away if Aly, or more likely, Simone, walked into the room.
It almost felt wrong for her to be lusting after Will after everything that had happened in the last month. But she knew the right thing to do was to listen to her body. She'd been feeling pretty good the last few days… and what she wanted right now was a little sexual pleasure.
The question now was how could she communicate that to Will?
The thought of a picture had momentarily crossed her mind. But she'd never done anything like that before. Sure, Will had definitely seen her naked in some pretty compromising ways, but somehow, a picture, something that would last forever, made her feel infinitely more vulnerable.
Sighing to herself, she turned back towards the door.
Time for some advice.
"Hey Aly," she said softly as she opened the door and poked her head into the room. "Can you come in here for a sec?"
"Yeah," Aly said, laughing at Simone as she got up from her chair.
Once they were both inside, JJ shut the door behind them.
"What's up?" Aly asked, looking somewhat worried.
"I… uh… need some help," JJ said quietly, avoiding Aly's gaze.
"With what?"
JJ blushed. "I'm really missing Will… in a… physical sense, and… I was thinking of… sending him a picture?"
Aly grinned. "Like… a naked picture?"
"Yeah," JJ said quietly.
"Ok, well first of all, ditch the nerves and shyness because you literally have the most amazing body of any of us and you shouldn't be shy about it," Aly said warmly, placing her hands on JJ's shoulders. "And secondly, it'll show in the photo if you're nervous"
JJ took a deep breath, nodding. A split second later, the door burst open.
"Did I hear something about a naked photo?" Simone said in an excited whisper as she came bounding into the room.
"Oh my god, you're literally like a five year old who can't stop eavesdropping," Aly laughed as JJ's cheeks turned a furious shade of red.
"Who's got a naked photo?" Simone asked, a cheeky glint in her eye.
"Aly, I swear to god," JJ said firmly, pointing a finger at Aly as Simone looked excitedly between them.
"She might have some good ideas," Aly giggled.
JJ groaned, flopping backwards onto Aly's bed.
"Wait, you want to take a naked photo?" Simone asked incredulously. "Are you gonna send it to Will?"
"No, I'm gonna send it to my mom as an early Christmas present… who else would I send it to?" JJ exclaimed as the other two burst out laughing.
"What are you guys doing?" came the voices of Maddie and Laurie.
Much to JJ's embarrassment, but later, amusement, the four of them ended up involved. At first, JJ was sure she looked like a tomato as Aly offered posing suggestions while Simone and Laurie giggled about playing some Beyonce to translate a sexy mood in the photo. But in the end, it lost most of its seriousness and ended up with Simone doing exaggerated sexy dance moves from up on JJ's bed while the rest of them fell about in tears of laughter.
Sometime later, when they had moved back out into the lounge room, JJ left them in the middle of more giggly antics so she could take a shower.
It was as she was coming out the shower, her hair still damp, water droplets shining on her skin, that she caught sight of herself in the mirror.
Dropping her towel to the floor, she took a step forward, taking a moment to fully appreciate her naked form.
Turning slightly so she was more angled in front of the mirror, she couldn't help but admire how incredible her body looked right now. Here in Rio, she really was in the best shape of her life, and every ripple of muscle under her skin showed for it.
She took a deep breath. Seeing her own body, uncovered and unashamed in the mirror, was slowly dissipating the apprehension she felt about doing what she had been thinking about doing. She was proud of how she looked, the quiet strength that spoke from beneath her skin… and she wanted to share that with the only other person who knew her body as intimately as she did.
Picking up her phone from the counter, she held it at arm's length away from herself. Her other hand naturally went into her still damp hair, pushing the loose waves away from her face. Biting her lip, she took another deep breath, and clicked the shutter.
Ok, I have no idea what spurred you to do that, and I honestly kinda love it, but I was at dinner with YOUR MOM AND YOUR BROTHER!
Giggling, JJ opened the conversation.
It was late, and everyone was in bed. She knew she should've been sleeping, but she had been waiting all evening to talk to Will since sending him the incredibly intimate photo.
I've really missed you… a lot
He replied just seconds later.
I've missed you too JJ. I can't wait to see you again… preferably between the sheets. Looking as hot as you do in that picture
Mmm, sounds good to me. What are you gonna do to me when you do get me into bed?
I'm gonna take my sweet time on every part of your body, working you into an absolute state until you're begging me to make you come
Please keep going, you're making me so hot right now
The dots indicating he was typing appeared on the screen. At that same moment, a message came through from her mom.
Hope you've had a good day sweetheart, can't wait to watch you compete again tomorrow. I love you!
Smiling, she quickly switched to her mom's conversation and tapped out a reply.
Thanks Mom, I love you too. Remember to breathe tomorrow.
The window appeared at the top of the screen with a new message from Will.
I'm going to pin you down and love you nice and slow… holding you right on the edge until you can't take it anymore
A shiver ran down JJ's spine. She was already feeling an urge, a need to get a release.
I want your dick inside me so badly right now, keep talking
Seconds after she'd sent the text, her eyes suddenly fell on the name at the top of the screen. And then her heart immediately leapt into her throat.
"Shit!"
"What's wrong?" Aly mumbled in a sleepy haze.
"I just sent a sext to my mom," JJ hissed.
Aly immediately sat up, an incredulous grin already forming on her face despite being half asleep. "You what?"
"Don't you dare laugh, it's not funny," JJ said darkly, but it was too late, Aly was already laughing.
Unlocking her phone again, JJ quickly sent another text to her mom.
I am SO SORRY, that obviously wasn't meant for you!
"Oh my god I can't wait to tell Simone"
"You better not!" JJ exclaimed, as Aly fell back into her bed and buried her face in her pillow to stifle the uncontrollable giggles.
Scowling, JJ looked back down at her phone, switching back to the conversation with Will, who was probably none the wiser somewhere in Barra da Tijuca.
Uh, we have a small problem
What?
I was replying to you… or I thought I was… and I accidentally sexted my mom something about your penis
It took a minute before Will replied.
Well that'll kill the mood
I'm sorry
It's ok. I'll just never be able to look her in the eyes again, but it's cool
I'm really sorry
Sending Will as many heart emojis as she could fit into one text, JJ felt her stomach drop when a text from her mom came through.
Yes, very clearly that wasn't for me. I was going to say, I know you have sex, you really don't have to prove it to me. But if it's any consolation, that's nothing. You should've seen what I intercepted with your brother!
Please do tell next time I see you. Also, Will's mortified, so please be nice to him tomorrow.
Scout's honor. Haha. You kids are crazy. I still love you no matter what. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Go get some sleep.
Smiling, JJ let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding.
Thanks for being so cool about this. I love you too.