8. JJ Woodford
JJ WOODFORD
“ W hat do you say…” Finn swats me in the chest as I chug down a glass of milk. “Party, tonight?”
“Sure,” I nod. “People you know from school?”
He shrugs. “Pretty much. Will be nice to see old friends. I can introduce you; it will be good for you to know a few familiar faces.”
“Right,” I say as I place down the empty glass. “Where is it?”
“On the beach.” He gestures in the direction of the sea. “Bring your own beers. Why have house parties when you have an endless beachfront?”
I can’t say I’ve ever been to a party on the beach, considering I’m a city boy, but I guess there is a first for everything.
“What time are we heading out?”
“Around eight,” he says as he grabs his phone and punches out a text. “You wanna go into town beforehand? I can show you all the decent pubs with good beer gardens.”
“Sounds good to me.”
When we get home a few hours later, Finn orders that we start to get ready, and he takes longer than any girl I’ve ever met, so I start thirty minutes after him.
Once I’m ready and dressed in an oversized hoodie and shorts, I adjust my nose ring and brush a hand over my buzzed hair.
Music blasts from Finn’s room as I step out into the hall.
The door to the bathroom between my room and Finn’s opens.
My eyes latch onto Ivy as she strolls out wearing nothing more than an olive-green towel that showcases her pale skin.
Her champagne-blonde hair brushes the edges of her shoulders, droplets rolling down her arms.
She hasn’t seen me yet; her eyes are glued to her phone between her hands.
“Are you going to the party tonight?”
Ivy’s body jolts, and her phone almost slips from her hand—worse—her towel almost slips from her body. She clutches her arms to her chest in an iron grip that makes her knuckles turn white.
“Jesus—” she hisses, staring up at me through damp lashes. Her nose wrinkles, with the freckles over her fair skin on full display. “You scared me half to death.”
My lip twitches into a smirk as I fold my arms over my chest. “I see that.”
She scowls at me, and it’s infuriating that she looks pretty doing it. I’ve never really been into the mean-pretty thing because some girls are actually spiteful, but this is different.
“Why does it matter if I’m going to the party?” she asks with a tight expression.
“Because I’m wondering if I’m going to see you there.”
She stares at me for a long beat, straightening her spine. “Maybe.”
When she moves to walk around me, I don’t say anything else. I stare ahead at the wall and smile to myself.
Okay, we really are pretending we don’t know each other.
Finn has introduced me to far too many people. I don’t struggle with remembering their faces, it’s remembering their names. Especially when alcohol is involved. But I made an effort to remember his closest friends, Joel and Callan.
They’ve been friends since year seven, and even though Finn left school five years ago, they’re thick as thieves.
Now the sun has gone down, we’re perched around a bonfire on blankets, others on broken pieces of log. There is a speaker near the drinks table, someone even brought a keg, which I thought I’d only see in American movies.
Willows Bay is a pretty little town, it’s definitely different from city life.
It’s calmer and quieter, and everything I needed to clear my mind.
As I sit between Finn and Joel, both of them try to tell the same story from when they were kids. I laugh along with them until I spot familiar blonde hair as it flaps gently in the wind.
“I’m gonna go grab another beer,” I mutter as I watch her approach the drinks table.
Neither of them turns to me with suspicion. Finn tilts his head back and cackles at something Joel said, almost falling off the log. I know he loves to drink, I’ve seen it at university, but he’s definitely starting to peak too early.
As I approach the drinks table, Ivy stands with her back to me. She’s wearing a pair of boyfriend shorts and a black crop top. I pause by her as I reach for a new beer.
“I can’t believe you live here,” I admit as I inhale the salty air.
The beach has never really appealed to me until now. Sand is rather inconvenient, but listening to the waves is therapeutic when I’m used to car horns and midnight trouble.
Ivy turns her head towards me, and I notice she’s covered those freckles with make-up and made her lashes longer and darker. I inhale again because suddenly it’s hard to breathe—even being outside.
When her eyes land on mine, she flicks her head over her shoulder, glancing around at anyone who could be watching us. I furrow my brows. Does this interaction really bother her this much?
I shove my hands into my pockets. “Am I not allowed to talk to you now?”
Ivy grabs her freshly made drink and draws her arms to her chest. “I don’t want anyone getting the wrong idea,” she mumbles, moving her eyes away from me.
“Look,” I huff. “We’re going to be living together for a few months.”
“Months?”
My brows raise. “That a problem?”
She recovers her expression and clears her throat, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. “I thought it would be a couple weeks, not months.”
“I realise this makes you uncomfortable,” I address.
Ivy scoffs. “Of course it does.” She folds her arms over her chest. That’s the last thing I want her to feel around me. “You’re Finn’s best friend.”
“You’re drawing more attention to us by resisting so much.” I roll my tongue over my lip. “I’m just trying to talk to you. There is no crime in that.”
“I’m not drawing more attention to us.”
“You are.” I exhale a sharp laugh. “God, so argumentative. You weren’t lying.”
Those green eyes narrow at me. Oh, I probably hit a nerve bringing up our date.
“I’m sure we can get through this summer without having to bump into each other or talk to each other. You’ll be off with Finn, and I’ll be doing my own thing,” she states simply.
I can’t stop the smile that meets my face. Her eyes dart towards the action, and she flicks them back to mine with a scowl.
“What?”
“I’m wondering if there was a reason why you left my apartment without saying anything.”
Ivy’s eyes flash for a brief moment. She stands there and says nothing until she takes a step back and glances down at the sand beneath her feet. “Enjoy the party, JJ,” she murmurs as she walks past me.
I turn to her. “You’re not even going to answer the question?”
“There’s no point dwelling on the past. Is there?”
When I don’t say anything in response, she heads back to her friends. I raise my fresh beer bottle to my lips, taking a well-needed swig.
I breathe sharply through my nose before heading back towards Finn. A hand touches my shoulder, and I find Callan grinning back at me.
“Ready for some beer pong, JJ?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be.”