𝑻𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 | 𝑱𝑱 𝑴𝒂𝒚𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒌

[31] Some Respect For Pope | The Runway I | Tease

I woke up late and by late, I mean I slept all day, but I think my brain did that purposefully. Whenever I thought about being in the presence of Pope, Kiara and JJ my skin burned with embarrassment. Nothing super sexual happened, yet it felt as if I got caught giving JJ oral. I know it certainly looked that way. I guess, being caught on your knees in front of a half naked boy within your friend group will cause that.

I didn't know what this exactly meant for JJ and I's relationship, or if there even was one, but for now, I didn't stress over it. I was done being emotional for a while. JJ and I were good, and that's all that matters.

I walked out of John B's house around five o'clock, stretching as I invited the light evening breeze to cool my heated cheeks. Nobody had said anything but I was already flushed, thinking about what they might say. Luckily, when I strolled over to the hot-tub, nobody acted weird. In fact, it was just JJ there.

JJ sat with his feet in the hot-tub, his messy blonde hair peaking through the gaps of his worn-out red and grey cap. He wore a white tank top and black shorts, which was plain, but he looked good nonetheless. His attractiveness was effortless. As I got closer I realized he traded his gold necklace for his usual shark tooth one, and upon closer inspection, I could see the love bites I left all over his neck and chest. His eyes met my own, a smirk playing at his lips as he realized I noticed the hickies on his skin.

"Evening, sunshine," JJ winked, smiling like his usual cheerful self. It was refreshing to see him smile. My entire body chilled as I thought about last night, thinking back to his tears and forced smiles. I would jump in front of a bullet if it meant he'd never break like that again.

"Hi," I greeted, looking around for Kiara and Pope, but they were nowhere to be found. I noted the beer bottle in JJ's hand, which earned an eye roll from me. Typical JJ.

"They're around back," he said as if he was reading my mind. I nodded, climbing onto the ledge of hot-tub. I sat, resting my feet in the water just like JJ was. I looked down, watching as my feet caused ripples in the water. I glanced up at JJ and saw he was already looking at me, his beryl eyes staring intently.

I smiled awkwardly, feeling another wave of heat creeping up my neck and flushing my face. "What?"

"Nothing," he whistled, smiling down at the water. I sighed, looking up at the trees, trying to find something to distract myself with. God, this reminded me of two second-graders after they announced they're boyfriend and girlfriend, yet can't carry a conversation. Can we go back to when he would make sexual jokes and I would punish him for it?

"So," I initiated after a couple minutes of silence. He raised his gaze from the water, his eyes catching my own as his eyebrows went up.

"So?" He echoed, a teasing smile playing at his lips. I couldn't help the goofy smile from spreading across my own face as I looked at him. "About last ni–"

"Hey, Bee," Kiara called from behind us. I spun around to see Kie and Pope walking over to a tree, both of them staring at JJ and I. "Come help me test the contraption Pope made."

I nodded, following her without question to a bucket tied to a heavy duty chain, which was set up in a pulley system on a tree. Last night, Kiara could barely look into my eyes while we talked about what JJ had done with Barry's money. I could tell she wasn't happy with what she thought she walked in on, but at the end of the day, she told me she wouldn't judge me for my feelings. I'm hoping she'll come around and stay true to her word.

I watched as she sat in the bucket, waiting for Pope to pull on the rope. I furrowed my brows, confused as to why I was needed. "I don't see how I'm much help here.."