The Ocean Remembers | JJ Maybank

C H A P T E R 33

NOT FRIENDS

𝐓𝐎 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐄 the good news, on the next day, we had gone surfing and as the sun started to settle behind the ocean, JJ walked me home. I could tell he was happy I was staying by the amount of kisses he had given me, even in front of our friends.

My skin covered in goosebumps because of the fresh wind that blew on us. By the end of August, nights on the island weren't as hot as they used to. Indeed, it wasn't freezing, but when storms were coming, like in this moment, wind could be quite cold.

As we walked alongside the streets of Figure Eight, JJ grabbed my hand and held it tight into his. "You know, I have a big surprise for you Sam," he stated.

"Really?" I wondered, curious. "You know surprises aren't really my thing"

He laughed and nodded, looking down at me from above his shoulder. I rolled my eyes smiling and he kissed my hand. "But you'll see it tomorrow," he laughed.

I nodded and JJ's look all of sudden became more serious. It felt like he had just thought of something that had ruined his mood, at least a little. "Seriously, how did you convince your parents? tell me," he asked for the hundredth time.

JJ had not believed my lies and jokes about me begging on my knees or threatening them with a gun or a knife, but yet, he had not given up on discovering how I had changed my parent's minds.

I smiled and looked at him. "Well, I just used some help from someone my father respects more than me," I explained coyly, scared he'd get mad.

"What? Is it Rafe?" he asked and I simply nodded, glad he had found out himself so I didn't really have to tell him. "So you went to Rafe, alone, for help? really?"

"What? It worked didn't it?" I talked back and he had no other choice than agreeing with my statement.

Maybe he hated Rafe even more than I did, but he wouldn't deny that without him we wouldn't be able to hold hands in this exact moment. It was complicated for us to realise our relationship had been saved by someone we both wanted dead, but it was the reality and we had to face it.

Rafe wasn't our friend, and would never be, but at least he had done one good thing for us, and we wouldn't forget about it. Or I, for one, wouldn't.

As we arrived home, JJ picked me up and ran upstairs, holding me. He laid me on my bed and kissed my face all over, like he didn't want his lips to miss a single inch of my skin. It made me giggle and I pushed him away. "Get off me!"

"No," he simply replied before his lips trailed down my neck and shoulders, as I giggled more. "You're mine and I get to kiss you as much as you want"

"How about consent?" I managed to say, in between laughs. He pulled away and looked at me, an amused look on his face.