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BIRDS CAWKING outside the open bedroom window stirs Judy awake, rays of morning sunshine flooding into the room through the thin material of her tattered curtains.
She'd been snoozing on her stomach, head facing the wall, with the warmth of a second body occupying the other side of the mattress next to her. Her brain feels fuzzy, wrapped up in hibernation, eager to go back to sleep. But then the memory of last night — or rather, the early hours of this morning — comes crawling towards the front of her mind, and she's filled with both a sense of excitement, and guilt.
Guilt because, although they didn't physically do anything to one another, they went behind John B's back. Excitement, because it's JJ Maybank. Thee JJ Maybank. And he wanted her as much as she wanted him. Suddenly, the playing field feels more even. It's not just Judy and her feelings, unsteady on a tightrope. It's both of them.
The sheets jostle over her shoulder, limbs rolling over until soft, warm breaths start tickling the back of her neck.
Speaking of.
Biting her lip, she carefully swivels her body around to lie on her side, coming face to face with everything she's ever dreamed of. Messy tresses of sun-bleached hair, cranberry pink lips agape, eyebrows lightly furrowed, and miles of smooth, bronzed skin.
He's still asleep, snoring quietly. And although unconscious, his large hand, decorated with the usual chunky silver bands, manages to search around the sheets until it seeks out the girl in the oversized black t-shirt, automatically sliding under the cotton to caress her back and close in on the proximity between them.
Judy sucks in a large breath of air, almost nose to nose with him. From here, she can see the tiny, intimate freckles dotted around his face like a constellation that would usually go unnoticed, unless up close and personal. How can one man be so perfect, yet so imperfect at the same time?
He's beautiful, he's eye catching, he's made from the sun. But at the same time, he's living a life he doesn't deserve, under the guardianship of an abusive, stinking piece of shit. He's also impulsive, and reckless, and lacks better judgement more times than not. He's heaven walking, but another half of him is fallen — battered and bruised, tarnished.
Judy would love more than anything to be able to wrap him up in cotton wool and protect him from all the bad in his life. If she had the strength, and the power to, nobody in the world would ever hurt him again, ever.
