Chapter 25
TWENTY-FIVE
JJ
Day two and three on KI had been a whirlwind.
Brooke had shown her wildlife sanctuaries, lighthouses, and so many lookouts, JJ was blissed out on nature, and well…
Brooke. The perfect balance of sightseeing and kissing in JJ’s opinion.
It was now just after lunch on day four, and with so much crossed off their itinerary, they’d just pulled in for a quick stop at the lavender farm.
JJ nabbed a jar of their signature Ligurian lavender honey from the gift shop, then they headed outside to the cafe.
After ordering, JJ led the way to some chairs under an umbrella and table combo overlooking the rows of fragrant green-grey shrubs, albeit without any flowers.
Their arrival had been perfectly timed as a swarm of tourists left the farm, allowing them to soak up the scenery without the bustle and chatter coming from the busload of grey nomads.
JJ bit into the warm lavender scone with fresh cream and apricot jam. She closed her eyes and chewed, an obscene hum escaping her throat. The scone was so light and fluffy, crumbling into her mouth. The sweet jam and cream combo paired perfectly with the light floral notes.
“That good, huh?” Brooke sat across from her with a smirk, spreading cream onto her own piece. “You’re making me kinda jealous I’m all the way over here.” She rubbed her foot against JJ’s.
JJ tried her best to give Brooke a sexy smile back, but her face was too full of food. Brooke laughed, the sound so carefree. Her eyes crinkled and shoulders shook.
It made it hard for JJ to keep chewing, JJ’s lips tugging at the edges and wanting to join in on the fun. She covered her mouth, trying to preserve a last semblance of decorum as she forced down her bite, then let her smile run free.
This is what she wanted her dates to be like.
Not checking the clock every minute or working out ways to bail. Not sitting there spending the entire time judging the person across from her.
She wanted this.
Quiet moments. Enjoying each other’s company and sharing laughs that warmed her from the inside out, the kind where each note sent off another kaleidoscope of butterflies in her stomach.
Even though this wasn’t a date, this shared time with Brooke was exactly what she needed—to see that it was possible to find this with someone. It could exist in her future… somehow.
And when she did find it, she’d bloody hold on for dear life.
As her blue eyes continued to sparkle, Brooke reached across the table, fingers stroking JJ’s arm, then her hand. Brooke intertwined their fingers and JJ forgot to breathe.
The touch was soft and lazy with a gentle squeeze as Brooke took a bite of her scone, errant crumbs catching in the corners of her mouth.
JJ leaned over to brush them away, the pad of her thumb then swiping along Brooke’s jaw.
Brooke paused mid-bite, watching the motion with the lightest pink blush dusting her cheeks.
“What do you think?” JJ asked.
“Hmm?” Brooke seemed lost in thought. “Oh, yeah, g-good. Great. Delicious.” She shook her head, her features settling back into smiling and carefree Brooke.
JJ wished she could kiss her then and there, to make the most of the time they had left.
But they had food to eat. There’d be no finishing if JJ leaned over now.
Instead, she tried to sit still as they ate their scones and sipped their tea—lavender of course.
As soon as they were done, JJ was out of her chair and pulling Brooke down the rows of lavender.
The sun warmed her skin, hairs standing on end as they celebrated being out from under the shade of the umbrella.
“Where are we going?” Brooke laughed, clomping along behind JJ to keep up with her long strides.
“You’ll see.” JJ guided Brooke through the fragrant gardens, the bees still buzzing around in hopes of finding a stray flower or two. Brooke had taken the lead on so much of this holiday, it was JJ’s turn to take her on a little detour. Something just for fun.
They came to a large gum tree, tall and old with a trunk so wide it would take four people to reach around it.
JJ slowed, taking Brooke’s other hand in hers and walking her backwards, each step crunching and crackling on the dense littering of twigs and leaves.
Brooke held her gaze with a single arched brow.
“What are you—”
Brooke’s back hit the tree, eyes darting from eyes to lips to—
“This.” JJ raised both hands over Brooke’s head, gripping them tight against the rough bark.
And she kissed her.
Stupid cute crumbs.
JJ kissed her harder.
Stupid not-date dates.
She stepped closer, pressing up against Brooke, a thigh sliding between her legs. Just a little closer. A little more friction.
Stupid bloody rules.
Her hands itched, wanting to roam further, under… lower. To more than just kiss.
Brooke squeezed JJ’s hands overhead and opened their kiss, her tongue slipping into JJ’s mouth. Lavender and apricot.
God, she’d needed this.
The more she kissed Brooke, the more she craved. It only grew worse the closer they got to the end of the trip. To wring as much out of this as possible before JJ was back to square one.
No Brooke. No partner. Just dating apps.
The inner swell inside her grew, the familiar heat building, wanting to be flamed.
JJ broke off the kiss, forehead leaning on Brooke’s, their chests pressing into one another with each breath.
“Fuck, that was hot,” Brooke said, gaze on JJ’s mouth.
JJ closed her eyes, remembering where they were—in the middle of a lavender farm—and only slightly hidden from view. She exhaled slowly and placed one more kiss on Brooke’s lips.
“We better get back.”
The hostel was abuzz with new people when they returned.
Two girls stood talking to Mary, their backpacks at their feet, ready to be shown their room.
A father and son sat at the dining table playing an intense looking board game, both animatedly waving their arms with each turn.
Zed sat on their phone on a corner couch and looked up as they entered. JJ gave them a wave.
“Ey—JJ, Brooke—timing!” Zed said.
“For what?” JJ asked.
“Sandboarding!”
And that’s how JJ’s quiet afternoon turned into bumping along on a tour bus out to the famous sand dunes of Kangaroo Island.
Though she wasn’t complaining about the woman sitting next to her.
Brooke stared out the window, JJ’s arm in her lap, drawing endless shapes on her open hand.
Ameera and Dan had joined them, and the five now affectionately coined themselves The Hostel Crew.
JJ gulped on arrival.
Standing at the base, the dunes were much, much higher than she’d anticipated. Like a tidal wave made of sand. Back home, she’d head down to Karkalla Beach, where the dunes were something you could run up and down as a kid. Usually a metre or two high, tops.
This… was not.
It was as though JJ had been shrunk, standing at the bottom of a large ant hill. The ants at the top of the hill now waved and screeched before barrelling over the side and riding down the sand.
Dan and Zed pushed past JJ, sandboards in hand, and raced to the top, kicking up sand with every step.
JJ swallowed again. There was so much sand. And it was so tall.
She turned to Brooke, who burst out laughing.
“Oh my god, JJ, you look like you’re about to pee your pants.
Relax those eyebrows of yours before they turn into a monobrow.
” Brooke cupped either side of JJ’s head, smoothing out JJ’s eyebrows with her thumbs and planting a kiss on her lips.
“There. Much better.” She smooshed JJ’s cheeks with her hands, then dropped her arms. “And don’t worry, you and I are tobogganing. Unless… you want to try the boards?”
“The toboggans are better, way more stable,” Ameera said, pulling one past them.
JJ took another glance at the gleaming white slope.
The trip was coming to an end, and though she’d already stretched her comfort zone, this was a whole new level.
“I want to try the boards.”
Because when on KI…
Brooke squealed and did a little dance on the spot. “Yes! Let’s do it!”
Shoes off and freshly waxed sandboards obtained, they made their first trek up the giant dune.
Halfway up, Dan and Zed careened past them on their boards, hooting and hollering at each other until Zed crashed out near the bottom, and Dan ended up on his back in a bush.
JJ licked her lips and shoved the board into the sand like a walking stick to leverage herself up. What was she getting herself into?
The climb was rough. The sun belted down, reflecting off the sand and making it feel twice as warm.
The air was as hot as a sauna, read: stifling.
JJ’s heart pounded harder than when they hiked in the Flinders Ranges.
She wiped her forehead and started daydreaming about her water bottle stuck in her bag all the way back down at the base.
She hadn’t even got on the board yet and she was stuffed!
The afternoon nap she had planned was looking mighty good right now.
Brooke huffed and puffed next to her, their footsteps pummelling the sand as they reached the crest.
JJ turned to see how far they’d come. Mistake. “Holy shit.” She wobbled on the spot, vertigo taking over with how high up they’d clambered. She stuck the board in deeper and stabilised herself.
“It’s steep, but we’ll hit the bottom before we know it,” Brooke said.
“It’s how I hit the bottom that I’m afraid of.” JJ chewed at the inside of her lip.
It was weird to be on an inland dune. The coast and ocean were still visible from the top, but a few kilometres out.
Instead of water, the dunes were surrounded by thick, dark green shrubland from all directions.
Now at the top and unblocked by the dune itself, the salty beach air was strong, and the breeze blowing was enough to cool JJ off after their arduous climb.
She’d expected it to be flat at the top, but instead it was more like a ridgeline where it dropped off on the other side, albeit at a shallower decline.
JJ turned to face the other direction. “Maybe we should test going down this side first.”
“Nope.” Brooke swung her back around. “Come on. You chose the board. Let’s do this.”
JJ stared at the drop, heart thrashing. Her hands were clammy, sand already sticking to them. She tried brushing it off on her shirt.
“We can go together.” Brooke placed her board on the ground and slipped her feet in. “Just remember: knees bent, back straight and arms out for balance.”
JJ blew out a rough breath and copied Brooke’s movements.
Don’t overthink it. This is fun. You’ll be fine.
“Okay, I’m ready.” She nodded to Brooke and shook her arms to clear her nerves, only it made the board see-saw and tipped her over the edge.
Warm air whipped past her face as she wobbled, her arms making frantic windmills as she attempted to catch any last semblance of stability.
“Ahhhhh.”
JJ’s scream lasted the entire five second slide until she flipped, her entire body cartwheeling in the air with fountains of sand blooming around her.
She landed with a hard thump, sliding a short distance until she came to stop.
She blinked.
Sand was everywhere. Her mouth. Her hair. Between her fingers, her toes. Her—god, don’t even think about it.
JJ laughed, lying in the sand flat on her back.
And she’d thought the jet skis were crazy! This was the wildest ride she’d ever taken. But she’d done it.
“That was sick!” Dan called out from somewhere behind her.
“Is she okay?” Ameera’s soft voice asked from somewhere.
Brooke’s face entered JJ’s vision upside down, blocking out the sun. “You right?” Her forehead was wrinkled, brows knitted together as she studied JJ’s face. “That looked insane—you went flying.”
“I’m good,” JJ said, her laughter dying down. “But I think maybe I’ll stick to the toboggan from now on.”
She stuck an arm in the air, and Brooke pulled her upright. JJ shook out her hair and patted herself down until she was relatively certain most of the sand was taken care of. She really hadn’t thought that gritty part through… too late now.
Brooke stepped into JJ’s space and planted a kiss on her lips as she took JJ’s hand and threaded their fingers together. “Proud of you.”
JJ stood straighter, chest puffed and a grin that couldn’t be wiped off. “Let’s grab those toboggans.”
Sand be damned.
JJ finished the afternoon on a literal high: climbing again and again to the top of a deceptively steep sand dune, strapping herself to the toboggan, and flying down sand hills so fast she expected to take off into the sky.
She still crashed out more times than she’d like to admit, adding more sand to places she never thought possible.
That night, JJ lay in her squeaky bunk bed, staring at the too-close ceiling.
Her body ached everywhere, worse than if she’d been home painting houses.
She shuffled her feet, stray grains of sand scratching under her heel.
JJ suppressed a shudder. Even with the shower and scrubbing, those tiny grains were insidious.
She found herself smiling though, at the friends she’d found, the memories she’d made and her own boundaries she’d pushed: to try new things, fun things and scary things.
Flashes of Brooke floated through her mind. The catalyst for it all.
And it was almost time to say goodbye.
JJ’s stomach sank.
It’s a good thing.
She didn’t want to end up getting hurt or real feelings to develop. It was all just for fun, but currently her body didn’t give a crap about her list, her ideals.
It didn’t help that the hour spent rolling around in Brooke’s bed earlier had ended when the intensity rose and Brooke had called it off once again. JJ had slunk to her top bunk, heart racing and heat simmering.
It’s a good thing. It had to be.