Breathless | JJ Maybank

29. OVER THE RAINBOW

Outer Banks, Martin's house
July 22nd, 2020
2:15am

My feet hit my bedroom's floor and I closed the door behind me, locking it so my parents wouldn't catch me with a boy in my bed, as handsome as he was. I had been willing to tell my mom about JJ and I since I really, really liked him, but maybe the circumstances were just not optimum. JJ was standing up, already shirtless, reading a small paper that was posted up on my cork board, on which was written the ukulele chords to play Over the Rainbow.

I wrapped my arms around him from behind and pressed kisses on his back, hoping it would relax him. I rested my head against his muscular back and smiled at how warm his body was against mine, since it felt very reassuring. "Wanna try?" I asked him, chuckling in advance.

Against all odds, when he turned around, a smile was spread on his angelic face and he nodded. "Of course, give me the small guitar," he sat on my bed and showed me the ukulele which was placed on top of my chest of drawers.

"It's a ukulele dumbass, and just give me a sec," I went to the bathroom which was adjacent to my bedroom.

I closed the door and undressed, staring at my reddened clothes with pure disgust dripping off my eyes, I assumed, before freshening up and sliding on my nightgown. I smelled so much better and looked less like a crazy lady, which I knew JJ would appreciate, even though he would never have told me I looked bad. I fixed my hair and sprayed on perfume, before staring at my reflection in the mirror.

I had bags under my eyes and my face had rarely been so pale during summer, since the fear and anxiety filling up my body made my face look less tanned than it actually was. I slapped my face gently with the palms of my hands as if it would help me somehow to look less depressed. Then I opened the door and made my way to my bed, on which was sitting my handsome boyfriend, playing chords he invented on the ukulele.

He looked up and his eyes trailed on my body, a smirk growing on his lips. I blushed a little and pretended I was comfortable and confident wearing this nightgown in front of him, before sitting on the bed. "Want me to teach you?" I asked.

He smiled and nodded, so I placed his fingers gently on the right emplacements so that it formed (more or less) a Do. I could feel his eyes and breath on my face but pretended not to be aware of it and I ran my fingers against the strings so that it made a soft sound. "So this is the first chord, try it," I told him softly.

He rubbed his thumb against the strings as softly as he could but it made an awful muffled sound and I giggled. "It doesn't sound like when you do it," he complained.

"It's because you release the pressure, keep your fingers here," I instructed, looking up at him as he tried again and succeeded to create a nice sound this time. "See? It's way better"

A proud grin grew on his lips and I showed him the rest of the chords, while he tried so hard not to disappoint me but I could see how much he struggled. We laughed for minutes, forgetting about how awful the next days of our lives would be, as if our love was enough to brighten it. It reminded me of all those times when Kiara and I were younger and we played ukulele, singing along, only happiness spread on our facial features.

I hummed the song softly while helping him with the chords and he began to lose patience soon enough, laughing while he placed the ukulele on the small nightstand near us. Instead of keeping on playing the music, he pulled me towards him and I laid flat on my back, smiling wildly. He leaned over and pressed a tender kiss on my lips, his left hand cupping my cheek. "I'm glad you stayed over tonight," I whispered.

He got off me, smiling, and it allowed me to lay more properly on the bed, sneaking under the covers to keep my body warm, while my head rested on the pillow. He sat next to me, peering down at my face with a proud grin spread on his facial features while he tucked me better under the covers. "Of course. I'm glad I was here for you, it must not be easy," he stated.