One Stupid Thing

1:8:31

I woke up confused at the sights around me. Instead of waking up in JJ's room or even my own bedroom on the main floor of Tannyhill, I'm hidden away in a cabin in the Druthers. Then, I look at the time. 11:30! How could I have slept in that late? JJ will be here any minute.

I scramble off the cot I had crashed on and hurried to erase any evidence that I was here. When I hear the boat motor come into earshot, I run up the stairs and there is JJ, tying the Pogue to the dock.

"Hey," I greet him, carefully hopping from one boat to the other.

"Oh, hey," he looks up from his tying and quickly unties the knot.

I settle myself down in the passenger seat. "Did you guys find John B?" I ask.

"Oh, yeah. When I got back to the Chateau, he was already there," JJ tells me. He quickly starts the motor and drives us out of there as fast as he could without gaining any unnecessary attention.

"And? How is he?" I look over at him, but he seems off. Awkward almost. It's never been like this before. Everything has just always come so naturally between us.

"Uh, he's shaken up, but he'll live," he replies flatly, but he never once takes his eyes off of the water ahead.

"I'm sorry, did I do something wrong? You don't seem okay." I turn to him, but he still doesn't budge.

"Yeah. Yup. Everything's okay," he replies.

"Are you sure? Because you haven't looked at me once," I point out. That's when he finally turns his head and makes eye contact with me. His chest rises and falls as he sighs. "Please, just tell me what's going on."

Yet, JJ doesn't answer. He parks the Pogue at the Chateau and I follow him onto the dock.

"JJ, please. Wait!" I plead.

He whips around and in a flash of movement, pins me against the dock railing. "You drive me absolutely nuts, Stella Cameron." JJ can barely get the words out and he seems completely out of breath. "I mean you come around and I literally cannot function properly."

"Jay, I—," I begin, but I'm not entirely sure how to finish. Then I can't help but smile. "Oh my gosh. Does the JJ Maybank have a crush on me? Because it sounds like you have a crush on me."

He shakes his head and blinks in surprise. "Uh, what? I'm trying to be serious here!" JJ backs away from me all offended.

"And it is quite adorable watching you squirm," I tease him, which just makes him even more flustered.

"Yo, guys!" I look over to see Kiara walking down to the dock with John B. "Look who I ran into on my way in."

I wipe the smile off of my face. John B doesn't look happy and seeing him makes me feel extremely guilty. Not to mention, he is also covered in dirt.

"JB! Did you go rolling in the dirt or something?" JJ jokes, ignoring what was happening between us just moments before.

"It's gone," he says, stopping in front of us.

"What's gone?" Kiara looks at him in confusion.

"The gold. All of it," John B rubs his forehead in frustration.

"I'm sorry. What?" JJ asks him.

"I was just at the Crain House and guess what I find? A for sale sign with Rose Cameron's name on it and Cameron Construction machinery everywhere." John B looks over at me and I just want to slip into a hole. "I managed to get into the well, but just like I assumed, there was not a single bar of gold in sight. Those greedy Kooks took it all."