Together

116. His Girl

If you cross her, then you cross me
And nobody's coming close, yeah
And I think that you should know that
If you cross her
Then you cross me
So come on and let it go
Oh, I think that you should know
-Ed Sheeran, Chance the Rapper, and PnB Rock

The ocean is roaring in JJ's ears. He's slicing through the waves at Kildare Cove, and the waters are biting to reach his skin as he expertly balances on his surfboard, keeping the waters at bay.

The morning light is soft compared to what resides beneath his board. The cold of the early morning finds common ground with the waves. The clouds are making the sun work for its dominance for daylight though.

The break hits hard on the shore ahead of him, but he's not afraid. One flex of his hips and he's sailing in the opposite direction, gliding to a standstill as the waves roll on, crashing loudly as they meet their end.

But it's not the waves that capture his attention. Like it was stated, there is an ocean roaring in his ears, and it has nothing to do with surfing.

Though the thundering waves are only a soft noise in his periferials his thoughts are anything but silent. They continue to propel him to take wave after wave, while he waits.

The air is cold and the water even colder. The only reason he's even able to be out here right now is because of the Christmas present that Shoupe bestowed on him. A wet suit. He lets his thoughts wander to that day momentarily.

Christmas in the Shoupe-Maybank residence was unexpected to say the least. Shoupe had bought a Christmas tree and while they didn't decorate it together and sip hot chocolate by a burning fire place, Shoupe did his best to make JJ feel the Christmas spirit in his home.

He waited until JJ awoke on his own before starting the day. JJ walked into the living room, noticing Shoupe sitting in his recliner just drinking his coffee.

"Merry Christmas," Shoupe smiled. "Coffee in the pot if you'd like," he indicated.

"Ah, thanks," JJ said. "Merry Christmas," he added before grabbing a cup and awkwardly looking to the tree and its contents below. Hand to God this was the first Christmas he could remember actually having something under the stack of pine needles. Or a tree in the first place.

He assumes his parents couldn't afford much before his mom took off, and it'd be laughable to think that Luke would ever put forth the kind of energy required to go shopping for presents or even get a tree. He didn't think much of it when Shoupe brought in the evergreen and haphazardly decorated it with store bought bulbs.

He certainly wasn't expecting Shoupe to get him anything, but taking a sneaking glance at the labels beneath the tree he could see his name in bolded letters on the receiving end of more than one tag.

It made him feel off at first. Shoupe had always gotten him the things he needed, but he never expected voluntary items. He got through being passed one of the present by telling himself before opening it that Shoupe was probably just giving him things he knew he needed.

Could not put a price on the face JJ had when he opened the first box and pulled out a full body wetsuit. He stared, open mouthed, at the attire as he held it up, looking back at Shoupe. His mouth went dry as he tried to make words.

Shoupe could see the shock that JJ had on his face, recognizing that the boy probably didn't know how to respond. Wasn't a leap to assume Christmas must have been different in his previous household.

"You didn't have to—"

Shoupe cleared his throat, effectively cutting him off when he spoke. "You'll have to check to make sure it fits," he explained. "Pretty sure I got you sized up, but never know."