The Pogue Life || JJ Maybank

Diving

After a little makeout in the twinkie JJ and I pull away with broad smiles and flushed faces. He caresses my cheek and gives me another gentle kiss. I smile at him and turn back to face the steering wheel. I drive us to John B's house and JJ falls asleep with his hand in mine not 2 minutes after I start driving again. I give the back of his hand a gentle kiss and it dawns on me that there's nowhere else I would rather be than with the slightly damaged blonde beside me who wants nothing more than for someone to love him properly. By the time we get to John B's, Kie and Pope are already there and the three of them are discussing something while sitting out the front of John B's house. We sit on the edge of a table on the grass. I wrap my arm around his shoulders and he grins at me. The others watch us with knowing looks. We exchange brief greetings and tell them about my Dad arriving and finding JJ. They all found it much more amusing than we did.

"I'm calling it off," John B blurts, having been mostly silent since we arrived, "Peterkin said, if I stay out of the marsh, she'll help me with DCS."

"And you believed her?" JJ asks.

"Yes, I believe her JJ," John B says.

"An actual cop, John B," JJ says, throwing a rock into the marsh, "you believed a cop?"

"All I gotta do is stay out of the marsh for a couple days, and she'll help me out," John B elaborates, "and it doesn't help that your ass was the one with a gun!"

"You know what I should have done? I should have let Topper drown your ass."

"Yeah," John B says sarcastically, "because Topper was gonna drown me?"

"Sure looked like it JB," I admit.

"Have you looked in the mirror lately?" JJ asks, "they always win, don't they man? Kooks versus Pogues. They always win."

I know he's not talking about me, but I can't help but cringe at the divide between us, pulling my arm away and holding it in my lap. JJ starts to get frustrated, raising his voice a little and walking over to John B. He punches on of the buoys hanging from the roof.

"It's ok!" says Kie.

"No it's not okay! It is not! They don't want us to go down into the marsh. That means there's something valuable down there. You know it. I know you do," he says, to Kie and John B.

"And I understand why you don't wanna go. You're the golden boy. You got way to much to risk," he says, turning to Pope.

"And you guys," he gestures to Kie and I, "well you're already rich as fuck anyway. Why would you bother?"

He turns back to John B, "but you and me, man? We got nothing to lose. We really don't. And I know it didn't used to be that way for you."

"I don't wanna talk about this," John B cuts him off, "I don't want to talk about it."

John B pushes past JJ and starts to walk away.

"John B, listen to me. I have a plan. You got the key to Cameron's big boat right? There's scuba gear inside man. We just borrow that, and then we go down to the wreck this afternoon, and that is what's gonna save you, man. You don't see rich kids go into foster care do you?"

John B scrunches up his face, "all right. For once, you're right. I have nothing to lose."

"Fuck," I mutter, "I guess we're doing this then."

"You guys stay here, I'll get the scuba gear," John B says.

JJ whoops and comes over to me, dragging me up by the hand and dancing a little. I roll my eyes. He sits down in a chair  near Pope and pulls me down onto him, laughing.