The Pogue Life || JJ Maybank

Suffocation

"So have you and John B done anything yet?" I pry, playing with the corner of Sarah's blanket.

"No, I mean we literally just started dating," she says.

"True, but I see how you are with him and I saw how you responded when Topper pushed him the other night, Val," I say.

Sarah's cheeks turn bright red. "How do you know about Val?"

"JJ has a big mouth," I respond, "Anything incriminating on John B he will not keep a secret. I swear those pair live to embarrass one another."

"But how did he know?"

"The note from John B on midsummers. My boyfriend is also majorly nosy, so of course he read it the second John B gave it to him. Plus John B told him to tell you the note was from Vlad so obviously he had follow-up questions. I think the nicknames are cute."

"Yeah, does JJ have a nickname for you?"

"Oh god, there's loads. He called me Wipeout to start with because when we first met I was surfing and I might have got distracted by the cute blonde on the beach and ended up very much not on the surfboard," I explain, "he also calls me babe and stuff like heaps of people, and B like all my friends do. And of course, my personal favourite is Princess."

"Yeah, Princess is cute as heck. I suppose Wipeout is probably the closest to the Vlad and Val thing though, 'cause it has a story and a reason behind it," Sarah agrees.

We pause our gossip for a little bit as Sarah pulls out her nail polish and offers me the bag to pick a colour. Nothing like a girl's gossip session that doubles as a mani-pedi. I pick out white for my toes, like I always do and a pink glitter for my fingers. Sarah grabs out a baby blue for herself.

"Ooh isn't blue supposed to have some meaning about being in a relationship?" I ask.

"Umm, maybe, I don't really know," Sarah says, not making eye contact.

"Oh my god, you're totally lying! That's why you picked it," I say.

"Oh shut up."

"No, it's cute. I love you guys together. I think you'll be really good for him too. He's been through so much he deserves something good in his life."

"Do you think he'll choose me?" She asks quietly.

"If he doesn't I will," I say, "But yeah, I think he will. He'd be an idiot not to, especially after the way Kiara has been behaving lately."

"Thanks, B. I'm so glad to have you as a friend," Sarah confesses, giving me a hug.

"Ditto," I say, "Now put on a cheesy romance movie and let's get this mani-pedi underway."

There's a gentle knock on Sarah's bedroom door and we share an unsure look about who it could be. I shrug and pause the movie as she gets up to answer it. When she opens the door, John B is standing there looking guilty as all hell. I immediately cringe and tell them I'm gonna leave them be and I'll see Sarah later. Once I pass John B I spin around and give Sarah a comforting thumbs up before bailing out of the house.

I see the Twinkie sitting in the driveway and a familiar blonde head in the passenger seat. I go up and knock on the window, drawing his attention from the joint he's rolling in his lap. He nearly jumps out of his skin, failing miserably at hiding the joint before I can see it. Once he notices it's me he rolls down the window with a sigh.

"Damn, B, I thought you were Ward. Scared the shit out of me," he admits.

"Yeah, well, if I were Ward you would have been screwed. Now, what are you two up to because by that shit-eating grin on your face, I'm guessing it's nothing good."