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J J W O O D F O R D

I'M NOT EXACTLY SURE what's going on right now. All I know is I've turned up at my best friend's house for the summer to find the girl who left my apartment a few days ago after a one-night stand without uttering a word. No thank you, no goodbye. Absolutely nothing.

Alarm bells are ringing inside my head as Ivy lingers in the doorway to the house.

What on earth is she doing here?

Fuck. Fuck. Don't say she's his girlfriend or something because this is the sort of shit that would happen to me. Just my luck.

I suck down my whirlwind of emotions and step closer to Finn. We only left each other a few weeks ago after our third year of university together but we still hug like it's been years.

"How are you man?" Finn slaps my back.

My head nods slowly as my gaze falls on Ivy who is staring at me in utter confusion and shock. She's not even hiding it anymore now that Finn has turned his back and given me an unneeded hug.

"Yeah, good," I nod. "Journey wasn't bad."

Finn pulls away and smiles, then he beckons me into the house where Ivy steps away. Her eyes roam over my body quickly and then glances to the wall, but I catch that look. She tugs on her bottom lip and fiddles with a piece of string falling from her cardigan.

She's nervous. I guess I'm about to find out why.

Finn turns towards me and then clears his throat as we step inside their little coastal home. The air smelt like sea salt as soon as I stepped out of my car. I'm not exactly used to the smell but it's something I could grow to like over the next few months.

It's certainly different from the smell of burning fuel and rotting garbage. No wonder people prefer to live at the seaside than an overpopulated city, it is beyond peaceful. It's bliss and I've been here all of three minutes.

"JJ," Finn starts. "This is my sister, Ivy. Ivy, JJ."

Okay, maybe this is worse. They're fucking related.

I stare back into Ivy's crystal blue eyes. The same eyes that had me almost hypnotised when we first met, despite how much I was playing with her and teasing her during our date–she won't class it as a date–I still wanted her and I got her. Only to be left in my cold bed, alone the next morning.

"Nice to meet you," she blurts out.

I tilt my head slowly but Finn doesn't clock anything. My arm extends and she glances down at it like I'm crazy. "You too."

Reluctantly she takes my hand and shakes it for a second before dropping it like I've burned through her skin. She steps away and lowers her gaze, just in time for Finn to slap my back again. "Let's go grab your stuff and I can show you around and that."

"Alright," I agree as Finn steps out of the house and towards my car.

I take one quick glance at Ivy again but she has turned away and is walking through the house, head low as she shakes it. "JJ," Finn shouts from behind me and I follow him to my car. "It's locked."

We take my bags from my car and head back into the house, this time I take a look around at the decor. There are pictures of seashells organised in a picture frame, along with oil paintings of the sea and cute ornaments of beach huts.

"You really love the sea here, huh?" I joke.

Finn exhales a long breath, then he smiles. "Yeah our parents live, die, breathe this sort of lifestyle."

As we walk through the house, the stairs are located at the back. We have to walk through the open plan kitchen to get there, Ivy is standing with a glass of water and staring through at the transparent liquid.

"You need to tell me about the last two weeks back home, man," Finn says as he directs us towards the stairs. "Doing what you do best?"

I wince at his words then cringe. I've really not been doing 'what I do best' apparently. My feet take the stairs carefully with my bag over my shoulder. I know full well Ivy heard what Finn said and I pray she doesn't think I'm some dirty bag.

Then I curse. Why do I even care? She's his sister. It's never going to work out.

Despite how I felt when I woke up to find Ivy gone, it still kinda hurt. A bit like rejection, I've definitely been hurt worse but it stung. We had a great night. I know I showed her a good time and she certainly gave it right back.

It's been a while since I've clicked with someone like that. Probably because we had absolutely no expectations for the night. I haven't had fun like that in ages.

"This will be you," Finn says as he shoves open one of the doors with his foot.

We step inside and the room is plain but homely. Soft eggshell blue bed sheets against a while framed bed, a simple dresser and bedside table. Even more pictures of the beach cover the walls.

Finn dumps my bag down on the bed and I place down the other, taking in the room again.

"Will this be alright?"

I hum. "Yeah. Thanks man. And thank your parents again, I know this all came over so last minute."

He shoves his hands into his pockets and shrugs. "I know you've got family shit going on and I don't want you to be alone. This place might seem boring but it's definitely fun in the summer."

"Didn't think it would be boring," I admit. "Something different but sometimes change is good."

Finn flashes me a smile and heads towards the door slowly. "Precisely."

"Hey," I catch his attention before he leaves me to it. When he turns back to me, I focus on his clear blue eyes. The resemblance between him and Ivy is almost obvious now. The rich blonde hair, the same eyes. They don't necessarily look the same but they have similar features. I clear my throat and lower my voice to avoid detection. "I didn't know you had a sister."

"You never asked," he folds his arms across his chest. When his eyes zero in on mine and he stalks forward a few steps, I know what's about to happen. "Stay away from her. Got it?"

There it is.

I spot the deathly glare in his eye. Of course he doesn't want me to go after his sister. I don't think any guy wants their friends to go after their own relatives. But I cringe internally when I shamelessly think back to her moans as he stares me directly in the eye.

"I didn't do anything."

Finn scoffs. "No, but your eyes did. She's off limits. Focus on your latest shag or whatever."

Inside I'm laughing because she is the last person I slept with and that information isn't anything I wish to share with him. Not right now. Not when he's allowed me to stay here with him for the summer, under the same roof as her.

I need this. I need time away to distract myself from what's currently going on with my mother as she starts her experimental treatment abroad. I physically can't sit at home and wait for them to get back to me, it'll eat me alive.

Finn has been a good enough friend to help me out when I really need the support. Even if it's in a small seaside town. It'll do me good.

"My parents should be coming back in a few weeks," Finn leans on the wall and crosses a foot over his other. "But you can have access to whatever you need. You've got a bathroom just next door, kitchen whenever you want. Obviously if you want any specific food, we can go out and grab some stuff. But we can discuss it later."

I nod at him. "Sure. Sounds good."

"But this is going to be a summer of surfing, bonfires on the beach, parties and trust me when I say that there are some hot beach chicks at this time of year. Especially the tourists, you'll be in your element." He quirks a knowingful brow at me.

My eyes roll. "Why do you think I'm some manwhore?"

"Aren't you?"

"Not anymore," I shake my head. "I'm growing up. We're growing up."

Finn pushes off the wall and exhales a long breath. "Boring but whatever."

"Maybe it's time to find someone and settle down," I admit.

I've been thinking it for a while. I'm almost twenty-two and I've never had a serious girlfriend or relationship. Everything I've experienced, including university, have just been short, fun flings.

"I'll let you unpack your shit. But once you're done I can show you around the local area. Sound good?"

I hum and begin to unzip one of my bags. "Yeah, man."

"Sweet," he walks out of my room. "See you when you're done."

Then I'm left alone. I begin to unpack my clothes, using the drawers and the wardrobe to hang my stuff up until my bags are empty and my room feels a little more full than it did before.

I head downstairs when I'm done, expecting Finn to be chilling somewhere here but he's not. Instead I spot Ivy leaning against the counter in the kitchen, her phone against the counter. I pause by the stairs and turn my attention upstairs, music blasting softly from one of the rooms.

She hasn't seen me yet but I push off the last step and walk towards her, soon those blue eyes find mine and she sucks in a breath. I expect her to say something but she doesn't, she turns away and looks at her phone again.

A slight pang of irritation grows inside me as I inch closer to the counter. "You're not going to talk to me?"

Her eyes slice across mine with an icy glare. "And say what? Finn is literally upstairs."

I lean back slightly and fold my arms across my chest. When she looks away I miss her stare, she's trying to push this away but I don't think I can ignore what happened. Even if it's for the best.

"So are we just going to pretend what happened, never happened?"

"Yes," she hisses through her teeth. "Of course we are."

I flick my eyes between hers, keeping my arms folded. She tries her hardest not to glance down at my arms but she fails miserably. Then she moves her head altogether and brings her phone up to her eyes, blocking me out.

"Alright, fine," I murmur under my breath. "If that's how you want to play it."

Ivy ignores me and I huff out a silent sigh. The upstairs floorboards creak and I know Finn is heading down here any given second. I push off the floor and head to one of the cupboards, praying that this is where they keep their cups.

When my eyes fall upon a mug, I take it between my fingers. This will do. I head to the fridge and fill up the cup just as Finn makes his appearance. Ivy is slowly slipping away without another word, I can see her out of the corner of my eye.

"Are you all done?" He asks from behind me.

I twist to find Finn shoving his phone into his pocket. "Yeah."

"Let's head out," he says, grabbing his keys from the counter. "I'll show you around town."

My lips latch around the mug and I gulp down the water until it's empty. I place it down onto the side by the sink and nod. "Let's go."

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Author's Note

Eeeeek what did you guys think of JJ's POV?🫢

Isn't their summer going to be full of drama...

Little does Finn know. Cue the sexual and forbidden tension!😈😈😈

Don't forget to leave a comment and a vote. It means the world to me!

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