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J J W O O D F O R D

AFTER GETTING DRESSED INTO DRY CLOTHES, Finn heads us towards one of the bars along the seafront. Ivy and Daisy are trailing behind us in hushed tones, I've resisted the urge to glance over my shoulder a thousand times.

Finn steps closer to me and places an arm along my shoulders instead, physically forcing me not to turn around. "Don't worry bud," he says lightly. "I got you and Daisy."

When I turn to him he drops his eye into a wink. A sleazy knowing wink at that.

"What do you mean?"

He scoffs in my direction. "What do you mean, what do I mean? I've seen the way she looks at you, man. She wants you badly. So badly in fact I'm sure she'd probably even blow you in the toilet if you asked."

I shove him off me and grimace. "You're disgusting."

"Am I?" He raises an eyebrow and confirms all my existing suspicions.

"I barely know the girl," I grumble under my breath.

Finn shrugs. "Don't need to get to know someone to get laid."

Internally I'm cringing. My mindset has changed a fair amount since my one-night stand with Ivy. We sat down for hours, getting to know one another, sharing parts of our lives, teasing the fuck out of each other. The thought of bedding her without actually knowing a little bit about her makes my skin crawl.

We stop outside the bar and get a table outside, at the front of the sea. The weather today is blistering but knowing there is a storm coming soon, it's about to cool down the air majorly.

I slide into the seat first, Daisy diving over to sit beside me. Finn taps Ivy and pulls her away, dipping his head towards her ear so he can whisper something to her. "We'll go grab the drinks," he clears his throat as he pulls away and Ivy nods, glancing away. "What do you want?"

"I'll have a Stella, please." I pipe up.

Daisy's dark eyes flash my way. "Me too."

"Alright," Finn bows his head and I glance back at Ivy again.

She's avoiding my eyes at all costs and I wish she'd fucking look at me. I stare at the back of their heads as they walk into the building, towards the bar. "So," Daisy clamps a hand on my arm and I blink at the action, focusing on her dark red nails. "I've been wondering, why haven't you texted me back since the party?"

My mouth falls open but nothing comes out straight away. Daisy flutters her long lashes and then waits for me to respond, somehow moving impossibly closer to me. "Sorry," I exhale after a few moments. "I've barely been on my phone since I've been here. Just settling in with Finn, I didn't mean to ignore you."

Daisy's shoulders relax a little and I despise myself for lying but I don't intend to upset her around a group of other people, besides we've all had a nice day. I don't want to ruin the vibe by making her sad. Fuck.

"Oh," she swipes her long brunette hair over her shoulder. "That's okay. I was just wondering if you wanted to meet up sometime. Have dinner or something. Nothing too crazy, would be nice to get to know you a little better."

Heat spikes my neck and I blame the beaming sun. I stare into her hopeful eyes and I take a slow breath. "Yeah," I rasp awkwardly. "Sure."

Daisy's face explodes into happiness. A look of pure relief and I feel even worse now.

"Okay, so I was thinking we could go to this really nice restaurant not too far from here," she begins. "If you like fish they have—"

She rambles on and I glance past her head, my eyes settling on Finn and Ivy at the bar. I can see that the drinks are being made and placed onto the counter. Ivy shoves her hand into the back pocket of her black denim shorts and turns back to face the table.

For a moment our eyes meet and she blinks when she realises that I'm already looking at her, neither of us actively wanting to look away. But Daisy has to ruin it by clenching my forearm again and shaking me. "JJ?" She frowns and I pull back, averting my attention to her. "Were you listening?"

"Yes, sorry. The restaurant with fish."

"Yeah," she grins. "Do you like fish?"

"Some," I admit. Not all. Anything that's still alive when they bring it out to show you like a lobster or crabs could make my stomach clench with nausea. I've seen many videos online that make me want to vomit.

Finn and Ivy soon come back over with our drinks, I take my beer from Finn and he slides in front of me. Ivy is now facing her best friend. She sips on her cider silently and peeks up at Daisy who is gleaming at me with intent in her eyes.

"So," Daisy leans on her elbows. "You need to teach me more about surfing."

I study Finn as he raises an eyebrow. "I can't believe you never learnt how to surf, you've been here every summer we've done it." He gestures to his sister.

Daisy shrugs. "Guess I wasn't interested in it then. Ivy, why didn't you do it today?"

"Hmm?" She glances up at the sound of her name. "Not really feeling it. Maybe later in the summer."

I already know she's lying. I saw the way she covered her chest but it was already covered. A part of me crumbles at the thought of being good at something but having something inside you that draws you away from it. Her own demons.

God. I want to know what happened to her so badly.

"You know one time," Finn says loudly, clapping a hand onto her shoulder. "We decided to go surfing when we really shouldn't have. Coast guard said it was too dangerous but we knew it would be worth it."

"We almost drowned," she deadpans.

He holds up a finger at her. "See keyword, almost. We didn't. Anyway, we were surfing together and this massive wave crashed over both of us. We lost our boards and resurfaced but Ivy was covered head to toe in seaweed. I've never heard someone scream so loud."

Ivy scowls at him but the corners of her lips lift. "It was terrifying," she shakes her head. "Not as bad as you completely losing your shorts to the sea. I still remember how those old ladies almost had heart attacks as you walked by."

Finn tips his head back and laughs, Ivy soon follows after him. If I could see my eyes right now, I'm sure that they've dilated to the sound of her laugh. It's smooth and gentle, so real. Happiness really looks good on her. Especially when she's not scowling and grumbling insults under her breath in my direction.

"No that's not the worst bit," Finn recovers from his laugh. "I left my fucking housekeys in my pocket and Ivy didn't have any with her."

Daisy's expression widens. "Why didn't I hear about this?"

"Because I told Ivy that if she told anyone, I'd make her life hell. It was fucking torture. We had to wait for our parents to get home and fuck, if I had a pound for every time someone stopped to point, I'd be fucking rich."

Ivy is still grinning at her brother and I can't take my eyes off her. Not for a single second. She glances over the table and our eyes meet, her smile falters when she realises that I'm just sitting here staring at her.

"We tried to get him into my shorts or my t-shirt," Ivy says as she sips her drink again. "But those legs and those arms were going nowhere in my clothes."

Finn wipes his eyes as he leans back, continuing to chuckle. "Ahh man. Those were the days."

"I would have killed to see that," I add and Finn shakes his head.

"No you don't. It was traumatic for everyone involved."

My eyes gravitate back to Ivy, there is still evidence of a smile on her lips. I find myself studying it, every little curve and those tiny little freckles on her nose that have somehow become darker since earlier.

"So, JJ," Daisy changes the subject and I wish she didn't. I want to know more about them, about their summers together. "What brings you to this little coastal town?"

I clear my throat and turn to her. "Just a change of scenery. It's boring where I live."

"Well, are you enjoying it?"

"So far, so good."

Finn elbows my elbow from across the table. "It's only begun, brother. It's going to be the best summer ever."

"We should totally plan something fun," Daisy sits up on the bench and glances around at all of us. "Right, Iv? Now that you're home and we've got the summer to ourselves. We should do something."

I find myself staring again and Ivy knows it but she avoids my gaze anyway. "Yeah, sure."

"There's another party next Friday," Finn says.

"We're there," Daisy leans across the table at him. She then turns to Ivy. "Why are you so quiet today?"

Ivy's blue eyes snap to her and she wrinkles her forehead. "No reason."

Daisy frowns and pulls back. "You sure? You've been very quiet since you've been home."

Pink tones invade her cheeks and I don't want to stare to increase her embarrassment but none of us look away. "Just adjusting to being home," she shrugs simply.

"Oh," she leans forward to grab her hand. "You have all of us. Being home doesn't have to be scary."

Scary? I quirk an eyebrow but drop it before I seem like I'm prying in her business that I have no right to pry in.

"Let's change the subject," Finn declares loudly and Ivy glances towards him gratefully. "Mum and dad said that they're going to stay out where they are for another few weeks. We should have a barbeque around ours, maybe when the storm is over?"

Ivy nods in agreement. "I like the sound of that."

We finish our drinks over the next fifteen minutes, Finn goes to the toilet and Daisy's phone begins to ring. I don't get to see who it is before she stands from the table and walks towards the beach front for some privacy.

Then I'm looking at Ivy again, she pushes her empty glass further into the table. She catches me staring again and she tilts her head, eyes narrowing into slits. "Why do you keep looking at me?"

Because I physically cannot look away from you.

"Didn't realise staring was illegal," I say with a playful tone.

"It should be with the way you glare."

"Glare?"

Ivy wraps her arms around herself like she's trying to protect or hide something. "You just stare very intensely. It's extremely off putting."

"I don't mean to make you uncomfortable," I admit and lean onto my elbows. And I want to know why the hell it makes you feel so damn insecure, when the reason I'm looking at you is because my eyes can't get enough. It is never enough.

She inhales deeply and shakes her head, a hand running down her face. "You don't make me uncomfortable. It's just when people stare at me, I–" she pauses and I bite onto my lip to stop myself from cutting in but she doesn't finish her sentence anyway.

"You what?"

Ivy glances up at me, eyes softening when she notices that I'm not trying to be intrusive. A mere honest question. "I guess it makes me feel a little self conscious."

Inside I'm detonating because that's the last thing I'd want her to feel. Not because something is in her teeth or she has an awkward laugh but because when I look at her, light just shines–in a way I've never seen before.

"Ivy, I nev–"

"Where's Daisy?"

I glance up at Finn as he approaches our table. Ivy leans back and points to where Daisy is on the phone. "Ahh," he says.

"I'm gonna head back," Ivy dismisses herself from the table, keeping her head low.

Finn's expression warps into disbelief. "Now? Why?"

"I've got some reading to do before the summer is over and I'm tired," she shrugs simply. "I'll see you guys at home."

She walks by as we say our goodbyes, I glance over to watch her say goodbye to Daisy and then head back home.

My heart sinks with every footstep that she takes. There are a whole lot more layers to Ivy than sees the eye. It's like she's an empty soul living in a shell of a body and nothing more. I can't help as my stomach twists at the thought of what happened to her in her past and why she might have lost her sparkle. Because I didn't even know her then but I know that something isn't right.

And I'm determined to find out.

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Author's Note

Hello my loves. What did we think of this chapter?👉🏼👉🏼👉🏼

I love an observant MMC. It's not every day that they can't read signs/body language✨

JJ's POV is just so cute. He's literally obsessed with our Ivy and ughhhhh, I can't wait to share the rest of the story with you!

Don't forget to leave a vote and a comment, it means so much to me!🥰

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