by Mj Fields
“It’s cute, and not one person has guessed who the two are.”
“Whatever. If it keeps them busy, I’ll let it ride.” I look up at her. “We’ll let it ride.”
She smiles and nods.
“See, Queenie, I’m trusting you.”
“Good, because I am sorry about—”
“If we sit here and list all the things we’re sorry about, then we skip the shit that needs our attention, like watching the sunset and the make-out session that will inevitably follow.”
“Make-out session, huh?”
“Tell me you aren’t missing my mouth on yours, and I’ll back off.”
“To be fair, we’ve had very few kisses that weren’t for—”
“I’d like that to change. I’d like a lot of shit to change. I’m not going to be slinging sex toys, making it impersonal and trying to pretend that makes it okay.”
“Hold up. I liked the sex toys.” She giggles.
I shake my head. “It was a dick move.”
“It made me happy that you were thinking of me enough to keep up with the game, even when—”
“That’s cool, but if you had a choice between a dildo and my tongue, which would you choose?”
Her face turns red, and I decide to kill her embarrassment and put myself out there.
“I’d one hundred percent choose my face buried between your legs.”
When she looks down, I feel a bit like a dick.
“Too fast, I get it. We can—”
“No, not too fast. I just have my monthly.”
I can’t help but laugh, and she looks completely mortified.
“Shark week on the shore,” I explain.
“What?”
“You’ve almost synced up with them. They all have theirs the same damn week. Day two in Italy, and it’s gonna be a chocolate feast, sitting in front of chick flicks where they all cry at the same movies they’ve seen a thousand times. Us guys know we have to tread a bit lighter and—”
“Oh my God, can we stop talking about my period?”
“Won’t happen again.” I laugh. “I’ll know you’re getting it before you even do. Truth gets super emotional. Should have known earlier when she started crying over that picture.”
“Okay, I’ve always been enamored with the closeness of this family, but that’s a bit much.”
“Not a bit much; just prepares us. A bit much is knowing the girls are flipping shit because they have to bring extra tampons to Italy and asking you to go pick them up when you’re going to the store.”
She laughs.
“Well …” I sigh out, “I guess that means we fill up on this and wait for the sun to set, unless, of course, you’re down with me going down—”
“Oh my God, no!” she gasps.
“Got it.” Fuck, I’m an idiot.
Things get quiet and awkward, the exact opposite of what I want tonight to be. I wanted to leave her thinking about me, possibly seeing if that little panty insert worked transatlantic while on FaceTime.
“Sorry,” she says, looking at the ocean.
“No need to be, but if you’re all right with it, I’d love for you to slide over here and park yourself between my legs, lean back against me so we can watch the sunset, and I can feel your back against my chest, hair on my neck, and just chill like that for a while.”
She gets settled between my legs, head laying against my shoulder, and it feels so fucking good.
“Justice?” she whispers as I lean down, kiss her hair and, yes, inhale my favorite scent.
“Yeah, little queen.”
“I lied to you.”
“Spill it, Queenie.”
“I’m just really nervous. I’m worried that if that happens—”
“Not gonna know how to deal with it if you don’t tell me what you lied about.”
“I don’t have it.”
“Don’t have what?”
“My period.”
I laugh out my relief, and she elbows me, pretty fucking hard, too.
“I can tell you I know exactly how to handle it, and I think, if you give me two minutes, you’ll remember just how—”
“I don’t want to have sex with you, and then you leave for two weeks. It will make me feel—”
I tip her chin up with a finger and press my lips to hers. “Exactly why I didn’t pack an economy-sized box of condoms in this basket. But when I get back, I’m gonna be all up in you when I’m not working, and all you’ll be doing—besides me all summer—is resting and recovering.”
She laughs against my lips.
“Now tell me I’m good to go down tonight.”
“As long as you tell me I can give back.”
“Never would deny you that.”
“Lie. Total and blatant lie.” She laughs.
Justice 2.0
Gabrielle
It takes us both two seconds to strip naked, breaking our kiss only to pull my shirt over my head. As soon as he has me on my back, he quickly makes his way down my body until he’s settled between my legs, palming my thighs and pulling my legs farther apart.
“Jesus, Queenie.” He licks his lips while spreading me even wider, ever so curiously looking at my pussy exposed to him before they meet my eyes and he slits me in two with his thick tongue.
“Goddamn,” he moans right before he opens his mouth and covers my most private part, flicking his wicked tongue against my clit, pressing deep inside of me, licking me like no one ever has before.
It takes no time before I begin to rock against his mouth and cry out as I spasm, fighting it, not wanting it to end, wanting his hazel eyes looking at me in the way I remember he did before, the way I hoped he would all year, and the way I would secretly pray he always would.
One orgasm rolls into another, equally as powerful, as my thighs press against the sides of his face.
He shoves a finger inside of me, pressing against that spot while sucking my clit, and a cry leaves my lips as my back arches and I come again, my whole body trembling.
“I need a break, Justice,” I beg.
“Little Queen, we’re gonna be at this all night long.”
When I hear “Young Dumb & Broke” play, I smile as I roll over and answer the FaceTime request.
“Queenie.” Justice smiles at the phone screen as he leans in. “You in my room again?”
I hold up his blanket. “It was lonely.”
He laughs as I sit up. “Any good dreams you want to tell me about?”
“Same as the last five sleeps.”
“Love that you’re feeding my ego, as much as I love that you’re in my bed, in my tank top, and that you haven’t a clue that your perfect little tit is hanging out winking at me, but there is no way that you dreamt about me going down on you the other night for five sleeps.”
I attempt to cover my boob when he says, “You do, and I’m going to use those nipple clamps I gave you as soon as I get home.”
“Already promised me bigger and better things if I ‘behaved’. No takebacks.”
“You still behaving?”
“Depends.” I smirk.
“Depends on what?” He scowls.
“Depends on whether you were at the boobie beach with Patrick and Max yesterday, and they just kept you out of all the pictures and videos they posted on social media.”
“What the hell are they posting?”
I laugh. “Have you not watched Patrick’s TikToks?”
“You know I don’t social media.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“I was at a beach. We all went surfing. And not that this is a conversation I want to have because it’s probably going to piss you off, and we’re still over a week before I get back, but most beaches around here are clothing optional.”
“What?” I gasp. “You better not be waving all that around with Torrance’s thirsty-ass checking you out.”
He narrows his eyes. “I’ve kept my shit covered, but when I bring you here, both of us are
gonna be bare at all times.”
“Oh, so you’re gonna bring me there?”
“Talked myself out of asking you a dozen times in the week leading up to it, but was thinking your folks—”
“Let’s not talk about my disappointments.”
“I hope to never be one.”
“Justice”—I shake my head— “you could never be.”
“When we get back, you’re gonna tell me all of them, and I’m gonna make sure for, at the very least, the rest of this year, you don’t suffer one.”
I know I need to be honest with him, but telling him everything won’t do anything but make him either pity me or think I am being a pretentious bitch, because the reality is, I have so much more than most do.
“You keep smiling at me, occasionally whispering dirty things in my ear, and doing that thing you can do with your tongue, you’re going to have the old me back, minus the extra junk in my trunk.”
“You keep tripping on my tongue, you’re gonna lose your shit when we work in more than just the tip. And by the way, I’m gonna feed you until those curves come back in full fucking force.”
“Justice, let’s roll!” Cyrus yells from somewhere in the house they own in Italy.
“Text me when you get home?”
I nod as he stands up.
“How many more sleeps?” he asks.
“Nine.”
“We’re out of the double digits.” He winks.
“Yeah, we are.”
“Stay safe.”
I blow him a kiss. “You, too.”
Rolling up the driveway, “Falling” by Trevor Daniel blasts through his vehicle’s sound system. It’s another song I’ve added to my new playlist titled Justice 2.0.
I see two large moving vans in the driveway and bring the Rover to a stop, grab my phone, and get ready to dial 911. Then I see a man walking out of my house, carrying one of the many priceless vases that I’ve locked in one of the spare rooms to ensure it didn’t get broke. He stops and looks at me, and when a smile fills his face, I throw the vehicle back in drive and hit the gas.
Jumping out, I run to him, and he sets the vase down and opens his arms wide to me.
“Sam! You’re home. Are they home, too?”
“I’m so sorry, Gabrielle.” He hugs me tighter. “Let’s go inside and talk.”
Italy
Justice
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Max gasps as he looks at his phone screen.
“What’s wrong, Max? You find out your latest texting buddy has a dick?” Amias jokes.
“Dude, shit’s going down back at home. Check out The Sound app.”
“I don’t have the fucking app,” I snap as I snatch his phone.
There’s a picture of Savvy and about ten others from Patrick’s Blender crew being arrested down at Crystal Lake.
“Tricks, you seeing this?” I ask.
“Yeah, I’m seeing it, but something isn’t right. Savvy’s last name is Sutton,” he says, scowling at the screen.
“Keep scowling, boys. Bayside’s up shit creek, too.”
“Who?” Tobias asks, concern evident in his tone.
“Timothy Grainy, who looks a fuck of a lot like your guy Tiggs, got busted for selling dimes,” Amias answers.
“And we got a bust at a hotel near Wildwood. Seaside crew, Truth and Brisa’s friend from the play. Coke. Jesus Christ.” Max shakes his head.
Tobias’s phone rings, and he answers it. “What the fuck’s going on around there?”
My phone rings, and I see Ty’s name on the display, I answer, “Ty?”
“We got a fucking problem, JT.”
“She safe?” I ask, heart beating like a fucking dragons wings inside my chest.
“Her half-brother’s here with moving trucks. She said she’s chill, but Tobias’s pad just got tossed.”
“How bad?” I ask, looking at Tobias, who looks about ready to blow.
“Doors, windows, and his fucking garage off the back—everything’s shit,” Tyler snarls.
“Pretty sure he’s getting that info right now. I need you to go get Gabby to my place. Stay with her.”
“I’ll do that, but my boy Tiggs is gonna need me.”
“You trust anyone else to make sure she’s not fucked with until I can get back?”
“The hell is going on?” Dad asks.
“The sheriff left town, and the natives lost their fucking minds,” Max answers Dad, who doesn’t need to know any of this shit.
“Quinn,” Tyler suggests.
“No, that’s not gonna work. Just stay put and let me call her.”
Three tries, all denied, and I send a text and get no reply.
“Fuck!”
“Justice, what’s going on?” Dad asks, trying to appear calm but doing a shitty job of it.
Just then, Truth runs into the room. “Did you guys see the—”
“Yes,” we all answer.
“You all want to tell me what the hell’s going on?” Dad yells.
An hour later, and Ty’s not happy when he answers call number five fucking thousand, but I’m not happy she’s not answering my calls, either.
“She still not answering?” Dad asks, sitting down beside me.
“No, and we have two more arrests.”
“Gonna ask you once, Justice. Is she in some sort of trouble?”
“Nothing she could be in trouble for, but I’m not thinking Tobias did shit either, and they tossed his place.”
“Truth’s trying to talk him down from leaving. Nick DeAngelo is having some of his old connections look into it. You’re in contact with her guard, she’s got family there—”
“With moving vans, Dad. Fucking moving vans.”
“You get in touch with her, and she’s not just busy—”
“JT,” Tris says in a soft voice. Straight up, it makes my hair stand on end.
“What’s up, Tris?”
She holds her phone up. “She messaged me and wanted me to tell you that she’s fine and her brother is in town. She’ll get a hold of you soon.”
“That’s great she can message you but—”
“What she didn’t want me to tell you is that her mom passed away.”
“All right then.” I stand up.
“She wants you to enjoy your family and not worry; that’s why she told me not to tell you,” Tris says, looking me straight in the eye. “So—”
“I’m catching a flight back tomorrow. You wanna fly back together?” Tobias asks me.
I nod. “Sure do.”
“You two get that there’s an actual fucking adult in the room?” Dad snaps.
I look at him. “And what would you do?”
“You know what I would do,” he says, pissed.
“And how’s that gonna go over with Mom, if you chase me, while I’m chasing a girl?” I ask, knowing that’s the same circumstance that he was in when his father died.
“She’d tell him to go with you,” Mom says from the doorway.
I look at Momma Joe who adds, “She certainly would.”
“If you think I’m staying here when my brother and boyfriend are going back to Shore-ageddon, you’re nuts,” Truth says. “You better book me a flight, too.”
“Gonna need to make that five,” Mom says.
“This is our family vacation.” I remind her.
“It was a good week,” Mom nods, walking to the doorway. “Pack your bags and make sure you say goodbye to Dominic, Mel, and the kids.”
“I’m going, too.” Patrick stands up.
“Patrick, they got this,” Xavier says from across the room.
“Millie just called and said Savvy is going to be in deep shit. None of them have shit, all scholarship, and if—”
“Savvy Sutton isn’t her name, Patrick.” Xavier stands up.
“The hell it’s not.”
“Maybe an actual news article has it wrong and that high school app ran by a bunch of little assholes is right, but I
’m gonna guess Savvy Sutton is the same girl as Savvy Sawiris, daughter of billionaire, Alwaleed Sawiris, from Saudi Arabia.”
“No, she’s a little hippie freakshow who hates corporate anything. And like I said, she needs—”
I assure him, “I’ll check on her.”
“I’m not thinking any of you are hearing me. I’m fucking going. End of.”
Shocked at his tone, everyone turns and looks at Patrick.
In flight, I get a text from none other than Harrison Reeves, asking me if I’d seen the shit going down. I was typing out a text, telling him exactly what I am going to do to him, when I find out he was behind this shit, when he messaged me again.
- Not sure if you’re getting this or not, but we’re heading back from Ibiza, should be there by morning. Miles, Kai, and I will likely be sober by then and we’ll help handle whatever needs to be handled.
I hand my phone to Tobias, and he reads it. “They didn’t do this shit.”
“Then who tossed your place?”
“Not sure, but I know they fucked with people this crew is close to.”
“You think they were looking for the burn book?”
“The what?” he asks.
“That book containing nearly two hundred years of—”
“It’s a disk, and if they were looking for it, they didn’t get it.” He reaches in his pocket, pulls out his wallet, and then pulls a credit card out and holds it up. “I don’t leave it laying around.” He hands it to me. “It’s yours now.”
I look at it. It’s a card, but where the chip would go, there’s a micro SD card.
I look back at him and ask, “Just pops right out of the card?”
He nods.
“I don’t want to open this can of worms. You didn’t.”
“Right now, my place getting tossed and having people close to you all getting fucked with, I’d be opening it.”
I hold it out to him. “Then do it.”
He shakes his head. “I gave it to you because, right now, I’d be all over that shit and don’t have time to deal with it. I’m leaving.” He looks at Truth who, like the rest of the plane, is sleeping.
