"I'm so excited for this!" Sarah says enthusiastically as the six of us clamber out of John B's van. We'd been packed in the vehicle like sardines because of the amount of shit we brought with us for the outdoor movie.

The boys go to work collecting the lawn chairs, blankets, and the cooler out of the back as us girls watch. "This is the first movie I've been to all summer," I say to Kie and Sarah.

"Yeah me too. Actually, I don't think I've gone to a movie in months," Kie says. "Nothing good has come out recently."

"This isn't even a new movie," Pope complains. He swings a camp chair up on each shoulder.

"But it's one of the best," I remind him.

"You just love Leonardo DiCaprio," JJ huffs as he slings a couple blankets and the cooler over his back.

"I do, but the movie is good, too."

"You know, you and JJ are kind of like Rose and Jack. You're the rich girl who is surprisingly deep with the controlling significant other that you dump in order to be with the poor, yet interesting and carefree boy. Except your mom likes JJ," Sarah says.

"You'd let me on a door in the middle of the ocean, right?" JJ asks as we begin to walk down the gently sloping grass to pick our spot to set up.

"Dude did you not see Mythbusters? The door would capsize with two people on it," John B pipes up from the back of the line.

"Oh, right."

It's still early, but the park is packed already. We manage to find a good spot pretty close to the large projector screen and the boys throw down our stuff and begin setting everything up.

"We're going to get snacks while you guys get everything set up here," I say. I steer Kie and Sarah towards the concession stand as I dig a wad of folded bills from my pocket and count them. "I've got plenty of money so we can get whatever we want," I tell the girls.

The three of us scan the surprisingly impressive menu at the concession stand as we wait our turn. "Can I help you ladies?" the old woman says as the customer in front of us moves down to the pickup area.

"Yes ma'am. This is all together," I tell her, and she nods, fingers poised over the register. "I'll take a large popcorn, an order of nachos, and skittles. Kie?" I move over so she can order.

"Large popcorn, two snickers bars." She motions to Sarah.

"Two orders of nachos and two bags of gummy worms," Sarah tells her.

"Any drinks?" the woman asks us, and we all shake our heads, knowing the cooler is laden down with waters and sodas. "Okay, total is $28 even."

I hand the lady $30 and she gives me my change before we move down to wait on our order.

"So, any updates with you and Pope?" I ask Kie as we wait.

She shrugs. "Not really. Things are going good though. This is kind of like our first date. I mean we've hung out a bunch obviously, but ya know, going to a movie together. That's a date."

"Is he your boyfriend yet?" Sarah asks.

"No, haven't got there yet. I'm about to just ask myself," she says with a laugh.

"Maybe tonight? Give him some cheesy line from the movie?" Sarah teases.

"I got an order for two large popcorns, three nachos, a bag of skittles, two snickers, and two gummy worms?" A woman behind the counter says as she stacks all our food in front of us.

"That's us!" I say as we begin grabbing all of our food.

"Enjoy!" she calls to us cheerfully as we walk off.

The three of us head back to the boys, who have finished setting up the chairs and spreading the blankets out. Pope and John B have claimed two chairs, and JJ is laying down and leaning on his elbow on one blanket while the other is still folded beside him. They light up when they see us approaching with the food.

"Take something," I tell JJ as he sits up. He reaches up for the skittles and takes the tray of nachos from me so I can sit.

"Y'all got so much food," Pope says appreciatively as Sarah and Kie take their seats. "I'm starving." He rips open his candy bar and takes a bite.

"I thought you said you ate dinner before you came," JJ remarks before stuffing a handful of popcorn in his mouth.

"I did, but I like snacks. Besides, I know I'm sharing with you, the bottomless pit," I joke. He smiles as he grabs another handful of popcorn.

John B hands out sodas to everyone and we settle into our places to wait for the movie to begin. I gasp with excitement when the opening scene starts and I see the shipwreck crew viewing the sunken ship from their drone.

"It's starting!" I whisper to JJ excitedly. He chuckles and throws one arm around me while he uses his other hand to continue shoveling food onto his face.

I quickly become engrossed in the film, absentmindedly eating from the popcorn bucket between my legs as I watch the story being set up. Sarah, Kie, and I all swoon when we get our first glimpse of Jack Dawson on the screen. I can practically hear JJ roll his eyes.

"What is it about him that you love so much?" he whispers to me.

"Ugh, look at him! Those blue eyes, the dirty blonde hair, perfect face..." I trail off when JJ snorts a laugh. "What?" I ask, turning to him.

He points to himself. "Blue eyes, dirty blonde hair."

"And a perfect face," I add, leaning over to steal a quick kiss. "Are you jealous that I'm in love with Leo?"

"No," he says unconvincingly.

"JJ," I drag out his name as I say it. I grab his chin and turn his face towards mine, giving him another kiss. "It's cute when you're jealous, but you have no reason to be. I love you much more than him," I reassure him.

"You better," he warns.

"Or what?"

"Or you'll be punished," he whispers darkly.

I raise my eyebrows at him. "How?" I ask, trying to hide the desire immediately evident in my voice. He shrugs and turns his eyes back to the screen.

Fuck. Now I'm distracted. Instead of focusing on the movie, I'm imagining all the ways JJ could "punish" me. My mouth feels dry. I reach for my soda but the can is empty. I clear my throat. "Hey," I whisper to the others. "Can one of you pass me a water?" I ask.

"Yeah," Pope whispers back. He reaches into the cooler for a bottle of water and passes it down to me.

"Thanks," I whisper, twisting off the cap and gulping down a few drinks. The cold water feels good on my parched throat.

JJ leans over again. "You good?"

"Yeah, just thirsty," I tell him, but I know he's calling my bluff. He lets out a quiet laugh through his nose and shifts his body so that he's behind me. He extends his legs on either side of me and leans against me, his chest pressed against my back. His arms wrap around my stomach and he rests his chin on my shoulder. The warmth from his body sends a shiver down my spine.

"Are you cold?" he asks, knowing full well that I'm anything but. "Here, I can cover us with the blanket. I'm a little cold, too." He reaches beside him and grabs the large blanket still folded in the grass. He unfolds it and pulls it over his back like a cape. It's big enough to wrap around both of us and still have plenty left. He makes sure the blanket covers my arms and drapes the rest of it in a heap over my lap. "Better?" he asks, his lips brushing against the shell of my ear. I shiver again, simply nodding in response. "Good," he says, moving my hair off my neck and pressing a light kiss to the exposed skin before snaking his arm back under the blanket.

I refocus on the screen. We're at the scene where Jack and Rose meet for the first time. Jack is trying to talk Rose into not jumping off the back of the ship because the water is so cold and he doesn't want to feel that coldness when he goes in after her to save her.

I'm tellin' ya.. water that cold, like that right down there, it hits you like a thousand knives all over your body. You can't breathe, you can't think.. least not about anything but the pain. Which is why I'm not looking forward to jumping in after you. But, like I said, I don't see a choice.

I feel JJ's hand make its way to my thigh. He begins softly tracing circles on the inside of my thigh with his fingertips. I try to remain calm, but my breath hitches when he moves his hand higher, dangerously close to the hem of my shorts. He adds his other hand on the inside of my other thigh, and I lean further back into him. His hands dance across my skin, moving farther up until his fingertips slip under the hem of my shorts. I curse myself silently for wearing these stupid stretchy terry cloth shorts instead of jeans shorts. The jean material would've provided a little more buffer between his hands and the growing heat beneath my clothes.

He rests his left hand on my thigh as his right hand rubs me over my shorts. I suck in a sharp breath when he applies pressure over my clit. "Do you want me to stop? 'Cause I'll stop," he whispers, his breath hot on my ear. I shake my head no, not trusting my voice. "You'll have to be quiet so we don't get caught." He whispers even quieter than before. "We don't want them knowing I'm going to make you come, do we?" he says. I shake my head no again, forcing myself to keep my breathing even.

He moves his right hand again, over my stomach to lift my shirt a bit, to push into the waist band of my shorts. I bite my lip to hold in a moan as his fingers slip between my folds and tease my entrance, collecting the growing moisture there. I bite down harder on my lip as his fingers move back up to my clit, spreading me open with his hand to rub lazy circles over my clit with one finger. "So wet for me," JJ says in my ear. I whimper as quietly as possible when he applies more pressure and speeds up his movements on my clit.

I'm starting to get hot under the blanket, but I close it tighter around us to hide what is happening. My orgasm is already approaching quickly, and I fight the urge to buck my hips against his hand. I grab his leg and squeeze to try to keep myself grounded. I feel his chest vibrate against my back in a quiet chuckle. "You're going to come already, aren't you?" he asks. I nod furiously. A loud moan desperately claws at my throat, but I swallow it down, only letting out a shaky breath.

"Come for me, Sunny," JJ says in my ear, and his command sends me over the edge.

"Fuck," I whisper as the wave hits me and my legs begin to quake. I clutch his leg hard, digging my fingernails into his skin. I clamp my mouth shut, gritting my teeth as I silently ride out my high, unbeknownst to our friends beside us. My hand goes limp on his leg and I let out a deep breath when it's over. JJ slips his hand out of the front of my pants and pats my bare stomach twice before pulling my shirt back down. I quickly glance up at Sarah, who's closest to me. Her eyes are still glued to the screen, oblivious to the fact that JJ just gave me an orgasm while she was sitting a foot away.

I shift and crinkle my nose at the uncomfortable wetness between my legs. I need to go to the bathroom to clean up. I start to move to get up, but JJ grabs me. "What are you doing?" he asks.

"I need to go to the bathroom," I tell him.

"You're going to the bathroom?" Sarah says, turning towards me. "I'll go with you." She stands you from her chair. "Kie? Bathroom?" she says.

"Yeah," she answers, standing too.

I look back at JJ. "I'll be back in a few," I tell him. I kiss his forehead as I get to my feet.

There's a line for the bathroom, so it takes longer than I planned. When we exit the bathroom together ten minutes later, I'm surprised to see the boys we've left behind have been joined by another group. As we get closer, I stiffen. Rafe, Topper, Kelce, and Tyler are talking to John B, Pope, and JJ.

"What are you doing here? Don't you have random tourists to hook up with?" Sarah asks in disgust as we approach the boys. Rafe gives her a look. Tyler watches as I take a seat on the blanket beside JJ.

"Hey Sunny," Tyler says as I take JJ's hand and lace my fingers through his.

"Hi," I reply.

"You look good. Happy."

"Yep."

"That's good. That's good." He scratches the back of his neck awkwardly. "Well, um, good seeing you. Take care," he says. He looks at his friends and jerks his head, indicating he's ready to leave.

Once they've walked off, I turn to JJ. "What were they doing over here?" I ask.

"He came over and talked to me," JJ says, but there's not a trace of anger in his voice.

"About what?" I ask, and he gives me a look. "What did he say?"

"He asked how you were, and how we were. He asked if I was in love with you," he says.

"What did you say?"

"I told him the truth. Then he asked if I thought you were in love with me."

"And?" I ask curiously.

"I said I knew you were. Then he nodded and said 'I think I knew that already'. Then you guys came back." He sighs. "I almost feel bad for him. Almost."

I chuckle. "That's the nicest thing you've ever said about him."

"It's the only nice thing I've ever said about him." He lets go of my hand and puts his arm around me. "I'm just glad I don't have to crush his face in every time I see him anymore."

"Me too."

We settle back in to watching the movie, deciding to actually watch it now instead of fooling around. We finish all our snacks and Kie the environmentalist  makes a show of collecting all of our trash and discarding it for us. When she makes a comment about how she is the only one who seems to care about littering, I almost call her out on her random attitude, but I keep my mouth shut.

We're all exhausted by the end of the three hour movie. We pack up our belongings and drag ourselves back to the van. JJ pulls me into his chest and I nearly fall asleep on him as John B takes everyone home.

When he pulls up to my house, JJ gets out with me and walks me to my door. "You're sure you can't come stay with me tonight?" he asks as I grab the spare key from the bottom of the planter by the door.

"No, not tonight. But my parents will be gone again this weekend if you want to come stay here with me."

"They are?" he asks excitedly. "Why didn't you say something before?"

"I kind of forgot until just now. They'll be gone Saturday night. They're going to the mainland to see my grandma," I explain.

"I'll have to think about it," he says, and I give him a look. "Okay, I thought about it. I'm staying," he says.

"JJ come on! I'm tired!" John B shouts through the open window.

"You should go. We both know how John B is about his sleep," I say.

"Yeah," he says with a laugh. He cups my face in his hands and presses a soft kiss on my lips. "I love you, I'll see you tomorrow."

"I love you, too. Good night," I say as I open the door. He smiles at me over his shoulder as he walks back down the porch steps to John B's van.

*******************************************
The next morning I wake relatively early, and I join my parents in the kitchen as they are having coffee and reading the newspaper.

"Morning, Sunny," Dad says absently as he folds up his section of paper to start on the crossword.

"Morning," I reply. I go to the cupboard for a coffee mug and pour myself a cup before sitting with them at the table.

"Sunny, do you think it's too late for you to request a few days off work next week?" Mom asks.

"It shouldn't be. What's up?" I ask.

"Well, as you know, we're heading to the mainland this weekend to see Mom and Daisy," she says.

"Daisy too?" I ask. Daisy is mom's younger sister.

"Yeah, she lives just outside of Chapel Hill now, so she's coming over for the day to visit. Anyway, she has to go to some kind of training out of town for work, and she had asked if we wouldn't mind bringing Michelle back here with us for a few days while she's gone."

"Michelle?" I repeat. Michelle is Daisy's daughter who is two years younger than me. We don't see each other much, so we aren't particularly close, but we always get along really well at family functions at the holidays. "She's going to come stay with us?"

"Yeah, just a few nights. Daisy will be done with training Tuesday afternoon, so she's going to come to the island once she's back and I invited her to dinner at the country club before she took Michelle back with her."

"Oh, okay. Cool," I say.

"She was going to stay at your grandma's, but I thought she might have more fun staying here. I thought you could let her tag along with you and your friends for a few days, let her have some fun instead of going with grandma to her bridge games or the bingo hall." Mom laughs.

"Yeah, sure." I say. I think about a typical day with my friends. Does she drink or smoke weed? Should I let her try it if she hasn't before? She's only fourteen. I decide I'll just cross that bridge when we come to it next week.

"Great! I thought you'd be on board with my idea," she says, taking another sip of coffee.

"Yeah, of course. I'll tell the others and we can show her the true OBX experience."

"Just don't forget she's only fourteen," Mom reminds me.

"It'll be fine, mom," I laugh. "I won't let her do anything I wouldn't do."
**************************************
That evening at John B's, I tell everyone that my cousin is coming to visit for a few days. John B wants to throw a kegger at the boneyard to initiate her into OBX life. He's unphased at the fact that she's only fourteen. The group is enthusiastic about meeting her and wanting to show her a good time. They start planning things for us to do immediately.

When I get home that night, I scroll through my contacts to find her name.

Hey, heard you're coming to the OBX
for a few days. You ready for this? 🤪

Michelle
Yeah! I'm excited. Do I get to
meet your friends?

Definitely. They're excited for you
to visit. They are planning the full
OBX experience for you.

Michelle
Wow! I can't wait. I'm a
little nervous.

Don't be. Everyone is harmless.
And they'll be nice to you.

Michelle
I hope so. I'll see you Sunday!

Yep. See you then!