KOOK'S BET ☼ outerbanks

Part 17

Lev's POV 

I exhaled slowly, leaning back against the railing outside The Wreck, my fingers tightening around the cold bottle in my hand.

I shouldn't be here.

This was his place. His people. My friends too.

But avoiding everything that reminded me of him was getting exhausting.

Because that was the problem.

Everything reminded me of him.

The music playing faintly from inside. The sound of waves crashing in the distance. The salty air that clung to my skin.

It all felt like him. And I hated that.

"Didn't think I'd see you here."

My stomach dropped before I even turned around.

I knew that voice. Of course I did.

Slowly, I faced him.

JJ Maybank stood a few feet away, hands shoved into his pockets, expression unreadable.

For a second, I forgot how to breathe.

Because he looked the same.

Exactly the same.

And completely different all at once.

"Yeah," I said, forcing my voice to stay even. "Didn't think you'd talk to me."

One corner of his mouth twitched, but it wasn't a smile. "Wasn't plannin' on it."

That shouldn't have hurt.

I nodded like it didn't.

"Then why are you?"

He hesitated.

Just for a second.

"Didn't feel right pretending you weren't there."

God.

That was so him it made my chest ache.

Honest. Blunt. No way to soften it.

I swallowed, looking down briefly before meeting his eyes again. "Well... here I am."

"Yeah," he said quietly. "You are."

Silence settled between us.

Heavy. Thick. Familiar in all the wrong ways.

I shifted my weight, my heart already beating too fast. "JJ, I—"

"Don't."

The word came out sharper than I expected.

I froze.

His jaw tightened, like he regretted it slightly, but he didn't take it back.

"I don't wanna hear it," he added, quieter this time. "Not if it's the same thing."

"It's not," I said quickly.

That got his attention.

His eyes flicked back to mine, skeptical.

"Because I'm not gonna sit here and try to make it sound better than it was," I continued, my voice steadier than I felt. "I screwed up. Bad. And you have every right to hate me for it."

"I don't hate you."

The words came out instantly.

And they hit harder than if he'd said the opposite.

I blinked, caught off guard. "You don't?"

His expression shifted, something frustrated flickering beneath the surface.