THE PRINCE'S QUEEN | J.MAYBANK

[6]

A/N: Y'all, OBX, along with our boy Chase Stokes is nominated for 2 People's Choice Awards! I'm so proud.

"Hey! Save some waves for us!" JJ hollered to John B and Kiara, who were resting on their surfboards in the middle of the water. Me, JJ, and Pope all ran into the water, the boys with their surfboards under their arms, but mine were empty. I told JJ I left my surfboard at my house when really I didn't own one. I just used Topper's when we went to the beach. I was actually really good at surfing. It was one of my natural talents along with absolutely nothing else because I'm not one of those kids that have a million skills, as you can tell.

"Hey, where you been?" Kiara asked as JJ grabbed my hand and tried to push me past a wave, but it just knocked me over, and I flopped to the ground, making him burst out laughing.

"Fuck you," I mumbled and stood up with a small stumble from my feet, digging into the wet sand.

"Come on, you dork," he laced our hands together again, and we followed Pope out to deeper waters. Once we got to my ribs, he offered his board to go first, but I denied it without hesitation. If I start surfing, I won't be able to stop. One time, Topper literally had to jump onto his board and snatch it away from me.

I watched as everyone began surfing, and my jaw dropped once JJ hit the waves. He was amazing! He was about to do a cutback, which the Pogues seemed to do a lot when his blue eyes caught mine. He lost focus for less than a second, which was enough for the wave to topple him over and all the Pogues to laugh and 'ouch.'

"JJ!" I screamed and looked around to try and find where he would resurface. His head of shaggy blonde hair finally bobbed up, and he gasped for air intensely.

"Are you okay?" I asked, and he laughed.

"Yeah, you distracted me with your beauty, baby girl," he yelled in reply, which made me giggle, "why don't you give it a go," he suggested once he swam over to his surfboard.

"I'm fine-"

"Come on! Just try it!" He begged, and I sighed, nodding, which made him smile and swim over to me. I grabbed the surfboard from under him, which made him flip over and for me to go into a fit of giggles.

"I hate you," her muttered.

"And I love you too," I exclaimed, not even thinking about what I was saying. We both shut up immediately, and my eyes widened as I cleared my throat. Without saying another word, I got on JJ's surfboard and swam towards an upcoming wave.

Once I was close enough, I stood up and started riding the relatively large wave. When I got enough speed, I did a tailslide with ease and followed it with a barrel ride, which made JJ and the other Pouges gawk at me. I did a few more tricks before jumping off the surfboard and plummeting into the water.

"Elle!" I heard from the surface, and as I got closer and closer to air, I felt a pair of large arms around me. I was jerked up from the water to see JJ with his wet blonde hair in his eyes, and he was breathing heavily, his hands still around my waist.

"J, what's wrong?" I asked, trying to hold back a laugh as I brushed his hair out of his face.

"Ar -- are you o-okay?" He panted and held me tighter. I couldn't hold back the snort as I burst out laugh, making me cover my mouth in embarrassment. JJ was confused at first but soon followed my light-hearted chuckles.

"For a good surfer, you suck at telling intentional and unintentional things apart," I said and patted his chest.

"Well, I'm sorry I was actually worried about you," he mumbled, and I smiled.