6. JJ Woodford
JJ WOODFORD
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 mind-blowing night.
No goodbye. No number exchange. Absolutely nothing.
Alarm bells start ringing inside my head as Ivy lingers in the doorway to Finn’s house. What on earth is going on here?
Fuck. Don’t say she’s his new girlfriend or something, because this is the sort of shit that would happen to me.
I suck down a troubling breath as I step close to Finn. We parted ways only a few weeks ago after our third year of university together, but we still hug like we haven’t seen each other in years.
“How are you, man?” Finn slaps my back.
I force a smile as my gaze falls on Ivy, who is staring back at me in utter confusion. “Yeah, good. Journey could have been worse.”
Finn pulls away and smiles, then beckons me into the house as Ivy steps away. Her eyes roam over my body quickly and then glance at the wall. Her teeth sink into her bottom lip, and then she fiddles with a piece of string falling from her cardigan.
She’s nervous, that’s obvious. I guess I’m about to find out why.
Finn turns towards me as we step inside their coastal house. The air smells like lingering sea salt, especially when I stepped out of the car. A scent I’m definitely not used to living in a built-up city filled with CO2 emissions and rotting garbage.
“JJ,” Finn starts. “This is my sister, Ivy. Ivy, this is JJ.”
Okay, maybe this is worse. They’re related.
I stare back into Ivy’s bottle-green eyes. The same eyes that almost had me hypnotised when we first met. I remember the way they flared at me when I teased her at the bar, and boy, I wanted her so bad. Only to be left in my bed alone the next day.
Dare I say she looks even more beautiful than the night I met her.
I don’t know how, but she does. And it’s killing me.
These are not the thoughts I should be having now that I know the facts.
“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 hesitantly for a moment. “You, too.”
She reluctantly shakes my hand for a second before dropping it like my touch has burned through her skin. She steps away and lowers her gaze as Finn presses a hand to my shoulder.
“Let’s go grab your stuff and I can show you around.”
“Alright,” I agree as Finn steps out of the house towards my car.
I take one quick glance at Ivy again, but now she’s turned away and walking through the house, her head low.
Once we bring my belongings inside, I take a moment to admire the decor throughout the house. There are pictures of seashells organised in a picture frame, along with oil paintings of the sea and cute ornaments of beach huts.
“You worship the sea here, huh?” I laugh.
Finn exhales a long breath, then smiles. “Yeah, our parents live, die, breathe this sort of lifestyle.”
As we walk through the house, the stairs are located at the back. My eyes snag on the open-plan kitchen as we walk by. Ivy is standing at the island with a glass of water and is staring blankly 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.
“Uh.” I glance over my shoulder as we walk up the stairs, but Ivy has her back to me. “Yeah, sure.”
It’s been a while since I’ve clicked with someone the way I clicked with Ivy. Probably because I had no expectations of that night before I met her. I haven’t had real fun like that in a while.
“This will be you,” Finn says as he shoves open one of the doors with his foot.
We step inside the plain but homely room. Soft duck egg blue bed sheets against a white framed bed, a simple dresser, and even more pictures of the beach cover the walls.
Finn dumps my bag down on the bed, and I follow his lead, taking in the room again.
“Will this be alright?”
I hum. “Thanks, man. And thank your parents again. I know this all came up at the last minute.”
“I know you’ve got family shit going on and I don’t want you to be alone. This place might seem boring and quiet, but it’s definitely fun in the summer.” He shrugs.
“I didn’t think it would be boring,” I admit. “Something different, but sometimes change is good.”
Finn flashes me a smile and heads towards my door slowly. “Precisely.”
“Hey.” I catch his attention before he leaves.
When he turns back to me, I focus on his green eyes. The resemblance between him and Ivy is almost obvious now. Rich blonde hair, the same eyes. They don’t necessarily look the same, but they have similar features.
I clear my throat. “I didn’t know you had a sister. You never mentioned her.”
“Twin,” he clarifies, and I tense.
Somehow, that makes this a thousand times worse. They shared a womb.
“And besides, you never asked.” He folds his arms across his chest, but something else flashes in his eyes that catches me off guard.
We’ve definitely spoken about family before, and something tells me Finn didn’t mention Ivy for a reason. A reason I can’t seem to understand. Three years I’ve known the guy, and I didn’t know he was a twin? That screams suspicious to me.
But I drop it for the sake of our current situation.
Then he stalks forward a few steps, and I know exactly what’s coming. I gulp silently but try to remain calm and collected.
“Stay away from my sister, okay? She really doesn’t need any more drama.”
Any more?
I’m expecting some kind of deathly glare from Finn, but instead, he looks concerned more than anything. Of course he doesn’t want me anywhere near his sister. I don’t think any guys want their friends to go after their relatives.
“Okay,” I rasp. “You got it.”
“My parents should be home in a few weeks.” Finn leans back against the wall and crosses one foot over the other. “But you can have access to whatever you need. You’ve got a bathroom just next door, and you can use the kitchen whenever you want.”
“Alright, thanks.”
“I’ll let you unpack your stuff. When you’re done, I can show you around Willows Bay. Sound good?”
I hum and begin to unzip one of my bags. “Yeah, sure.”
“Sweet.”
When I’m left alone, I unpack my clothes into the wardrobe and drawers until my bags are empty, and the room feels a little more full than it did before.
I head downstairs when I’m done, expecting to find Finn, but he’s nowhere to be seen. Instead, I spot Ivy leaning against the counter in the kitchen, her phone between her hands. I pause by the last step and turn my attention upstairs, hearing music blasting from one of the rooms.
Ivy doesn’t notice me until I’m off the last step and walking towards her. Soon, those green eyes find mine, and she sucks in a breath. For a long moment, we have a silent standoff, and I can’t tear my eyes away.
“What the hell are you doing here?” she eventually hisses under her breath.
I quirk a brow. “What am I… what are you doing here?”
Ivy’s jaw crunches. “I live here.”
“I see that,” I state.
Her chest heaves as she begins to pace.
“Should we talk about what happened?”
“No.” She whips her head to me. “Absolutely not. Finn is literally upstairs.”
I lean back slightly and fold my arms across my chest. “So, are we going to pretend what happened never happened?”
“Yes,” she sighs. “Of course we are.”
I flick my gaze between hers. She stares right back with a hardened expression.
I’d like to know why I woke up in an empty bed, but I guess I’m not going to find out with the way she’s looking at me.
“Alright, fine,” I murmur under my breath. “If that’s how you want to play it.”
Ivy doesn’t reply, and I huff out a silent sigh.
The upstairs floorboards creak, and I brace myself for Finn’s entrance. I walk towards one of the cupboards and search for a glass to pretend to fill.
“You all done?” Finn’s voice echoes from behind me.
I twist to find him 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.”