𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐋 𝐂𝐀𝐓 / / 𝐉𝐉 𝐌𝐀𝐘𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐊

CHAPTER 10

The sunlight woke her up the next morning as it shined through the windows and warmed her skin. With great difficulty, she forced her eyes open, squinting at the brightness. She found herself still pressed against JJ who still slept soundly, he lips parted slightly as his chest rose up and down.

She still felt terribly guilty about the Bohdi situation, even more so as she had agreed to meet him again. She decided against telling the Maybank boy straight away, worried about how he would react to the information. Deep down, Stella knew that was the wrong thing to do, she knew that she should just be open with JJ and then maybe he would be open back, and then maybe they would finally get somewhere — but no, she was too much of a wuss to do that. Plus, Bohdi was hot, he would certainly keep her entertained for awhile, and maybe they could even make it work in the future? She pushed that thought to the back of her mind, knowing that with her current emotions that would never be possible.

She couldn't help but stare at JJ's features. The slight crook in his nose that was barely noticeable from when he had been in a fight a few years ago and wound up with it broken. It never did heal properly but he suited it, strangely enough. His jaw line looked like it was carved from marble, angled perfectly, sharp and beautiful. His skin was always tanned from working outside, his hair a mess on the top of his head but bleached blonde from the same conditions and the sun splayed across him in the golden hour only made his striking appearance more gorgeous. Her eyes found his lips before she looked to his eyes and admired his long eyelashes and his heavenly deep blue hues. Wait, what?

"Why are you starting at me?" He asked with a gravelly voice.

"You where staring at me first." She countered.

JJ smiled through the drowsiness. "I'm pretty sure I was asleep."

"Then go back to sleep," Stella said, putting a hand over his eyes. "And let me look at your face a little longer."

"Ah, so you where starting at me."

"Yep, starting at your ugly mush."

His chest vibrated with a chuckle and he tightened his grip around her. "It's too early, go back to sleep Ella."

Normally, the girl would have gladly obliged to said request, but she was far too curious for her own good. She poked his cheek repeatedly. "Tell me what happened last night first."

A soft growl erupted from that back of his throat in protest. "If I tell you can we go back to sleep."

"Yes."

He sighed. "After you left the lighthouse, the police came, so me and Pope ditched. JB got arressted by Shoupe, but then Kie's dad bailed him out. He then got fired by Ward Cameron,"

"Oh shit..."

"That's not the end of it," His eyes slowly began to flutter closed as he continued to speak. "Boy got chased by the two bogey men, saved by Sherrif Peterkin who took his dad's compass — said it was safer with her. Then, he figured out that Redfield was the name of one of his old relatives, dragged us all to the cemetery, Kie climbed into a mausoleum and found a recording that Big John had left for JB."

"Jesus Christ, JJ." She cuddled further into him. "Sounds like a rollercoaster of a day, I feel shit for not being there. I'll talk to John B when he wakes up."

"It's cool, don't worry about it. He was obviously upset at the time but he got there." He reassured, rubbing circles into her back with his him. "Big John found the Royal Merchant, like actually figured it out. There was a map with this tape recorder, and he told JB to finish what he started."

"Holy shit, that's wild Jay." Stella tried to sit up, earning a groan of displeasure from the boy. "How do you expect me to go back to sleep now, we've got gold to find."