The Strays ⎈John B Routledge⎈

First Time for Everything

Chapter 13: First Time for Everything

THE CHAPTER IS LONG BUT LIKE WORTH IT????????

{This is the only chapter being posted without having at least one to fall back on. Be aware this means it may be longer than usual until the next one is out 😊}

~SiriusCatBennett

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CJ was gone for two days. She spent both of them at the tiny cabin, thinking, but mostly distracting herself. Her mind was in turmoil, going over the kiss over and over and over again. Every time, she would catch herself and throw herself into something to forget about it. She'd been so desperate for distractions that she'd even dug the old walkman from the file cabinet. That thing got her through her entire day of work. The headphones in her ears were the only things that kept Kie from hounding her about what was going on.

Over the course of those two days, CJ finished the song she'd been previously working on and started on a new one. However, the thoughts that kept infiltrating her brain made it near impossible to keep focused and so she turned to other mediums.

The bottle in the cabin had been replaced and CJ admittedly got more drunk than she should've. This, sadly, just made things worse and she couldn't get the boy off of her mind. Drunk her really couldn't stop thinking about how his hands felt on her. How they were soft and yet undeniably calloused. How pink his lips were and how beautiful his eyes were when they shined from the reflection off the water. But eventually, even drunk her realized where her thoughts had turned and searched for another distraction.

Which involved a hatchet.

Luckily, CJ was coordinated enough to not chop her foot off while cutting the downed tree limbs, but once sober in the morning, she realized how bad that could've ended. I wonder if John B would kiss me if I didn't have legs.

No.

Sighing, CJ pulled herself out of bed and sauntered over to the metal cabinet. Pulling out clothes, she quickly slipped into a pair of loose, practically shredded jean shorts and a red cropped tank. Finding one of JJ's short sleeve black pullovers, she tugged the button-up on. As much as she wanted to keep avoiding John B and real life, she had to go back to the Chateau. There was no doubt in her mind that her brother was worried and if she missed today's plans, she'd have her own head.

Wandering down the streets with headphones stuck in her ears, she began noticing the small details around her with a start; porch lights on, the sound of air conditioners, a teenager running down the road with a charged cell phone.

The power was back on.

The thought made CJ smile slightly as she noticed more of the lights on around her. Everyone seemed happier, less stressed now that they had running water and something other than the seawater to cool them off. CJ wished that she could feel like that for more than a moment, but her thoughts soon started drifting once again.

Did John B have feelings for her? She supposed it wouldn't really be too far fetched. The two had been friends almost their whole lives and they'd always shared a special bond. People constantly thought they were together, even JJ called them lovers.

CJ wasn't exactly experienced when it came to relationships and feelings. The only relationship she'd been in had only lasted a month and ended once she realized it wasn't going to go anywhere. Other than that, she'd only been on one date (with a Kook she later realized was friends with Topper) and the obvious one night stands with the Tourons and occasional random Pogue. She had no idea what it would truly look like for someone to be more than attracted to her, and even then, she usually needed obvious confirmation. How was she supposed to know what her own feelings meant?