JJ HART
Human
Posts: 52
Played by:
Ange
Last seen Apr 11, 2024 17:35:17 GMT
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Post by JJ HART on Apr 10, 2024 19:34:54 GMT
Who the fuck woulda thought that his brother’s problems would’ve been the least of it when he’d flown halfway across the world to try and save his backside. It was meant to have been a few months in some peaceful little spot on the map, another newspaper on his CV and then he’d be off again. He shoulda known it wouldn’t be that easy the minute the first woman had got him all wrapped up around her little finger. Like a sodding ping-pong ball he’d careened between them, either anticipating a slap, or getting the tickle, so to speak. Lottie was meant to be the latter, a little bit of fun, nothing serious for him to go worrying his pretty head about. When was he gonna learn that things weren’t that easy here?
Like with her sister, JJ figured there were moments when it was probably best to just shut his mouth with Lottie. He gave a faint grunt about ignoring the messages – he’d already apologised for that after all – and was glad when they’d skipped to what had brought them both here tonight. That felt like it should’ve been less treacherous ground, but him saying about having someone waiting for her at home didn’t seem to be going down any better than his apologies had. What was acceptable for that? A husband and two kids? A white picket fence sort of life that she’d never have had a chance of finding with him? If Lucky had told her sister about their little arrangement, it woulda been obvious to Lottie that he wasn’t the settling type. Lucky had realised that soon enough to yank him up on his behaviour before he ended up hurting Lucille (or her, he refused to believe there weren’t some feelings there).
He’d already gone dancing into one sister’s mine field, the other was just gonna be waiting for him to stumble in now. Unlike Lottie, Lucky wouldn’t have avoided making a scene in public. That basket would’ve been rammed into his balls a heartbeat before she beat him unconscious with a sack of spuds. Lottie seemed more the sort to get hysterical – nails to the eyes, just like that cat of hers. JJ dragged his teeth over his lower lip, wondering how much worse he could possibly make this. He shrugged, letting his hand fall away from hers. ”She probably thought she’d have time to. Who woulda thought we’d run into each other in here, eh? It’s just bad timing.” On his part at least. What would’ve been sensible was walking in the other direction when he’d caught a glimpse of Lottie.
JJ resisted the urge to look down at his feet and see how close he was to actually was to putting his foot in it. Each time he opened his gob to try and make it better, all of this got worse. ”It was her birthday,” he repeated, looking like a guilty little boy again as he met her eye. ”I met your sister at a work thing. Then the next time I saw her, she was in here with Lucy. That niece of yours nicked my wallet and I guess Lucky thought inviting me for dinner at their place was an apology for it.” He wasn’t about to tell her that he was Lucy’s dad and the whole joke about Lucky being his wife wasn’t going away any time soon. ”We have dinner every now and then, like a family thing.” And if there was some afters for him on them days, then he wasn’t gonna turn it down.
If things had gotten actually serious between the two of them, he never would’ve slept with Lottie, not that she’d believe that. He’d gotten her thinking that the two of them had been doing it behind her back the entire time, laughing over the fact that he’d kept it in the family. ”Maybe she was trying to put you off of trying again,” JJ said weakly. Puffing out a breath, he lifted a hand and scratched at his jaw. ”I probably haven’t got any right to ask it, but will ya let me talk to her first, about this? It’s my fault it’s all come out now, instead of when she was obviously planning to tell ya.” If Lottie stormed over there and ended up in a full on hair pulling, eye gouging bitch fight, Lucky would probably turn around and do the same to him ten minutes later. As it was, he probably wasn’t getting out of this unscathed.
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JJ HART
Human
Posts: 52
Played by:
Ange
Last seen Apr 11, 2024 17:35:17 GMT
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Post by JJ HART on Mar 24, 2024 17:37:33 GMT
If there was one thing he’d inherited from the General it was his inability to deal with an emotional woman. His old man would’ve just turned and walked away, leaving them as someone else’s problem (and that had probably been one of the reasons his first marriage had fallen apart). He stayed and tried to work his way around it, but if Lottie’s eyes filled with tears he’d probably be squirming his way out the door in five seconds flat. Anger he could take, physical blows deflected, or accepted if he knew he’d really been that wrong, but when they went all soft, that uncertain bit of him down inside started squirming with the urge to run. That was probably why him and Lucky had worked out so well. She hadn’t expected him to open up his heart to her and she’d pegged him for an arsehole from the start. Apparently her sister hadn’t seen any of that.
An odd mix of flattered and rueful, he kept his hand on her arm as her gaze cut down to it. If it’d been Lucky she’d probably have grabbed his hand, bending a finger back til he was down on his knees and apologising. Reassured Lottie wasn’t gonna do it, he took up that gentle rub of her bicep again. ”Woulda felt rude not to give it when you asked for it.” And it’d meant he could reach out to the number he then knew was hers if he felt like it a few months down the line. ”Not every bloke’s got honourable intentions. Some of us don’t know something good when we’re looking at it.” Some of them were just dogs and he was definitely amongst them.
Luckily for Lottie it seemed as though her affinity was with cats. They might’ve acted like little shits, but they were meant to be loyal too, weren’t they? It was just that their affection was given on their own terms. Maybe he was more like one of them after all. He was good company wasn’t he? The world? Nah. JJ tilted his head slightly, his libs curling into a grin. His hand dropped back to the basket handle. ”It’s gotta be nice having someone waiting at home when you get there.” Like he’d know about that. The most he could hope for was an invite to dinner. The hand he’d just gripped the basket with let go again, coming up like he could ward off the idea that he’d settled down with someone, or worse she’d just been a bit on the side. ”I ain’t got a girlfriend…” But it was worse than that, weren’t it?
Lucky was gonna have his bollocks for a keyring when her sister steamed at her about all of this. JJ puffed out a breath. That probably meant he better get some use out of them while she could – just not with Lottie. She probably wouldn’t go near them with a barge pole after all of this anyway. The explanation spilled out, his skin going hot like he was being scalded with the truth. Forget Pinocchio and that nose of his, he was allergic to coming clean to women who could turn him into a eunuch. ”Oi, oi, oi,” he started, reaching out for her hand as she immediately went for Lucky’s throat not his, he was the one who’d been double dipping after all. ”If you’re gonna kill anyone, it’s me, alright? I was the one being a dog. Your sister didn’t know what I was doing.” If he hadn’t unintentionally kept it in the family, Lucky wouldn’t have known or cared what he was up to.
Suddenly it felt like there was an appeal in heading for a monastery. They were free of pissed off women after all and there wasn’t any temptation floating around with pretty smiles and smoking hot bodies. JJ grimaced before he squelched the expression. There was the problem. Lucky had found out from her sister that they’d both slept with him, but instead of saying something, she’d just come back and roasted his balls about it. ”Nothing!” he puffed immediately, squeezing her hand like he could have her believing that in an instant. ”It was just a two second conversation when I was taking her and Lucy out for Lucy’s birthday. She obviously heard from you what we’d done and she wanted to make sure it wasn’t gonna happen again. What did you say to her?” His eyes narrowed, studying Lottie’s face. Most blokes wanted to hear about how good they were in the sack, what a lasting impression they’d made, but it felt like there was more than that going on here.
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JJ HART
Human
Posts: 52
Played by:
Ange
Last seen Apr 11, 2024 17:35:17 GMT
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Post by JJ HART on Mar 7, 2024 19:30:10 GMT
By this point of a fling, he usually wasn’t even in the same country any more. Find a woman in a bar for the night, have a little fun and then move on to the next assignment. If they were a little stung about it, he wasn’t there to see it. Maybe messages would float in, but he was flying across the world, or in the middle of a warzone, those things fell through the cracks. Six months later he might be back. By then everybody had moved on.
JJ made a small sound, almost like he had trapped wind instead of uncomfortable feeling like Lucky had been spot on when she’d told him she was worried about him fucking off and leaving Lucy – and her, he wasn’t about to believe she hadn’t formed a little bit of her attachment to him at least – with a hole in her life. His ego would’ve called it massive, but if he’d asked Lucky or Lottie about that, they’d probably have wagged a little finger at him like he was overestimating something else and all.
If Destiny had fired him during the shit storm that followed him publishing the article about the homicidal psychopath she slipped between the sheets with every night, he would have already been gone. You could only sit around for so long when your pride was stinging like a smacked arse. He’d have packed his stuff up, headed for NY, maybe Washington, told his brother he’d have to watch his own back for a while. Lucille wouldn’t have been too attached by then, but he liked to think Lucky would’ve brooded over the cold spot in her bed for a couple of weeks at least. Unlike her sister, Lottie might’ve been sad about it for months, broken hearted over what might’ve been.
Guilt settled low in his stomach and then twisted as Lottie threatened the family jewels. JJ shifted on his feet, squeezing his thighs together like it’d stop that basket from squashing his kiwis. ”Let’s not get too rash about it, eh?” he muttered softly, wondering how quickly he could move if Lottie got pissed enough to take a swing. She looked like the sort of woman who’d spent her entire adult life doing yoga or pilates every Wednesday night for a tight arse and a little female company.
His other hand had come up to settle lightly on her arm – that was safe enough territory to satisfy Lucky weren’t it? - his thumb brushing against her bicep lightly before it still. That apologetic look filtered through his smile. This wasn’t the time to kick up that naughty overgrown school kid look. ”Honestly ... at first it was cause I thought you knew it was just meant to be a one night thing. Like you weren’t expecting more and then ...” He grimaced, about to admit that her sister had warned him off, but then she was admiting it was fun and his smile bloomed for a moment. Yeah, it was fun, but they couldn’t do it again without Lucky lopping his balls off.
Drawing his hand back, he rubbed at the back of his neck, knowing he’d need to fill in that silence he’d left at some point soon. Changing the subject and asking how she’d been was just a momentary reprieve, one that had him chuckling. ”They always are, ain’t they? I’ve not picked up any furry roommates myself.” The basket was hitched, like it didn’t contain so much stereotypical bachelor stuff. ”The cupboards were empty, figured I’d load ‘em up. Don’t get much time for it when I’m working ... or when I’m spending time with uh ...” Fuck.
JJ’s nose wrinkled, his fingers scratching at the back of his neck now as it went hot. There wasn’t any way to say it that wasn’t gonna be gutting for Lottie. Either he told her he’d been seeing her sister first and she thought he was some kinky bastard, or he carried buttoning his lip and she hated him for that. ”That other reason I didn’t call ... “ he admitted. ”Your sister told me not to. Well, she told me not to sleep with you again. Me and her were ... you know ... before. It wasn’t a committed thing and I didn’t know exactly who you were when I picked you up that night. You told her about us, yeah?” Probably in that totally innocent way women squealed to each other when they’d met someone - it was flattering to think he’d been good enough in bed to have her doing that at least.. All Lottie would’ve had to do was drop the name JJ and he’d been fucked in an instant. It wasn’t like John or Ethan, there weren’t fifty JJs in this town.
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JJ HART
Human
Posts: 52
Played by:
Ange
Last seen Apr 11, 2024 17:35:17 GMT
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Post by JJ HART on Feb 1, 2024 20:32:12 GMT
He wasn’t entirely an arsehole – it might’ve been close though, specially in some opinions. Like shit wouldn’t stick to him, he’d skated through life on a grin and a sidestep if he’d needed one. It hadn’t worked with his dad, but with most others JJ had found himself able to glide through with no hard feelings left behind (yeah, yeah, not with the boss, but she was a special case). He was pretty sure it didn’t work with Lucky half the time either. She called him on his bullshit, held him to the sort of higher standards he would’ve usually brushed off, made it clear when he was being an arsehole – like sleeping with her sister.
A total knob wouldn’t have cared who he was taking home. Vague prettiness and a willingness to turn a nightcap into something more was enough for some. They didn’t care about personality, whether their partner was actually making ‘em laugh. As long as they had the wherewithal to be out of their bed by morning, fuck the rest of it. He had liked Lottie though. Maybe she didn’t have her sister’s bristly personality, maybe there was something a little sad about her after all, but she’d been sweet and hot and he had given her his number after. He’d just failed miserably on the answering the messages after part.
JJ shifted his weight as she gave him the least happy to see you greeting she possible could’ve do. Oh, like damn, coulda done without seeing you again for a century or two. His smile grew a little, the handles of his backet were passed from hand to hand so he could reach up and scratch at the back of his neck. He could practically feeling Lucky’s gaze on him from here, laser beams burning through the back of his head. Was a conversation breaching the rules she’d set out or was that line only crossed when he had Lottie groaning in a fun way? Probably not, but best not to get too friendly, eh?
”I deserve that,” JJ puffed, dropping his gaze like a scalded kid staring at the toes of their shoes. He stared into his basket, brows knotting together as he spotted the bag of what looked like fuzzy bollocks. What … ah fuck, he’d tossed kiwis in when he’d spotted her, not paying attention to what he was getting. Those weren’t making the checkout.
Peeling the expression away, he looked back up. His smile was dimmed, but still there as he reached out to touch her arm lightly. ”I was a dick, you deserved better. I’m sorry, although I doubt that’d make up for much.” The corner of his mouth kicked up a little higher, some of the former glimmer coming back into his eyes. ”Honestly, I had a good time with ya that night.” And the next day his brain had gone charging on towards the next thing that leapt into it, his night with Lottie taking a back seat until Lucky had brought it up and practically wrapped a fist around his knackers about it.
Had she told Lottie that she knew him? It would’ve been a mean move, but Lucky wasn’t known for being all Mother Theresa like. Dropping his hand back to the handle of his backet, JJ tried to shrug the thought off, he wasn’t gonna put his foot on that land mine. ”I meant what I asked this time. How have you been?” Maybe he had a little vested interest in hearing the answer, but he hadn’t asked just to work out how that exchange between the sisters had gone when Lucky’d figured out Lottie had been talking about sleeping with that JJ.
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JJ HART
Human
Posts: 52
Played by:
Ange
Last seen Apr 11, 2024 17:35:17 GMT
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Post by JJ HART on Jan 14, 2024 20:39:40 GMT
Lucky’s mutter had him staring at her for a second. It wasn’t like he’d expected to get lucky tonight (especially not if he said that thought aloud), but a bloke definitely didn’t like hearing the walls thrown up like that. Especially when said bloke hadn’t had a sodding clue that he’d been keeping it in the family. Lottie had been a night’s entertainment, and he’d been pretty sure she was aware of it too when they’d gone back to his place. Pick ups in a pub weren’t a precursor to a ring and a long happy marriage, it didn’t matter how much of a romantic you were, or if you were most naïve woman in the place. It wasn’t a cheesy Hollywood movie where a one night stand was the first step towards a Happy Ever After. More often than not they were a disaster – just like this.
He shifted his weight, his brows knotting tighter as he watched her mirroring his stance. ”I wouldn’t have done if I’d known who she was. We didn’t exactly exchange life histories.” And he hadn’t answered the message she’d sent after. Guilt sank into the pit of his stomach. He couldn’t imagine Lottie was any happier about the turn of events than Lucky was, which meant two women he’d slipped with pissed off at him all at once. ”It’s not happening again,” he muttered. Steering clear of Lottie seemed like the easiest way to make sure of it. That still left taking anybody else home in that boggy middle ground that might end up drowning him as he waded out into it.
It wasn’t like he could dwell on it once they were in the car. Lucille filled any awkward silence in an instant, leaving him cackling as she started throwing out guesses that weren’t coming close to the truth. Most of what was happening tonight had required him calling in favours. It’d probably take a decade to build some of ‘em back up, especially with his brother. Lucky went quiet with it – as though there’d have been any room for her to join in when Lucy was talking nineteen to the dozen. He threw in a comment every now and then, asking questions about points that stuck out, he’d eaten with ‘em enough to know the names in the stories now at least.
The further they got from the safety net of town, the more the nerves bit. Usually he wouldn’t have got all strung up, but Lucky’d made sure her and Lucy were the first thought in his mind when he was spitballing ideas in his head. If he screwed it up there wouldn’t be another birthday, just a door slammed shut in his face. JJ shot Lucky a look as she grumbled, meeting her eyes, pursing his lips before he smirked. ”Don’t make it sound that bad,” he grumbled back. ”Figured it’s still warm enough for it.” And if it got too nippy, there was always the heater in the car, the three of them piled in together for warmth beneath the blankets he had thought to provide.
There was a bit of a breeze when they stopped, but nothing too bad yet. The hot chocolate would do the rest of the heavy lifting, as long as Lucy didn’t spill it all when she got it out. ”That’s the one,” he chuckled, lifting his chin towards it as he released the mechanism to have it opening. ”Gotta teach you the Queen’s English some day.” Winking at Lucy he fished the thermal bag out of the back seat.
He led the way towards the edge of the falls, and the dry patch of scrubby rock he’d scouted a couple of days ago. ”Don’t get too near the edge,” JJ warned, settling a hand on Lucy’s back to keep her close as they started laying stuff out. His lips were curving though, that mischievous little smile aimed in Lucky’s direction. He plucked up one of the extra blankets, draping it around her shoulders before he settled down next to her on the ground. ”Might get a little louder in a minute,” he admitted. Peeling open the bag, he started to set out the meal, the gourmet burgers and hot dogs some friend of his brother’s had put together in his restaurant, tubs of mac and cheese, the sort that was sprinkled with breadcrumbs and toasted to perfect on top, fries, onion rings, enough pots of sauce to drown the entire lot. The cake – he wasn’t getting that out yet – sat nestled in a sturdy box.
As soon as they were out he was settling one hand on the small of Lucky’s back to steady himself as he rolled to one hip. ”Now, there’s another surprise…” he started. He could’ve just hit the button on the remote himself and set off the fireworks that were probably gonna piss off the Founder’s Council (as though they weren’t gonna enjoy the show too) himself, but this was all about Lucy having the time of her life. ”You can have it now, or you can wait til we’ve eaten. That’s up to you.” His brows hitched, the long remote with its half dozen numbered buttons dangling from his fingers in front of Lucy’s nose. There was a risk she’d set ‘em all off at once, but hopefully she was patient enough to go one at a time and really drag things out.
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JJ HART
Human
Posts: 52
Played by:
Ange
Last seen Apr 11, 2024 17:35:17 GMT
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Post by JJ HART on Dec 28, 2023 20:07:21 GMT
Coffee Bread Pasta Jarred sauce Frozen dinners Peanut butter Eggs Hot sauce….
The post-it note clung to his fingers as he worked his way down the first aisle in the grocery store. Most of it would’ve just gone mushy in his fridge if he’d even bothered to try and disguise the fact that he was very much carrying a single man’s shopping list again – a wife and kid didn’t count when you weren’t actually living with them full time.
JJ snorted, picking up a bunch of bananas – acceptable to toss into a smoothie if he actually bothered trying to bust out the blender thing the last tenant had left behind in his apartment. The blades in the thing looked like finger-loppers for the unwary, but who knew, if Lucky and Lucille ended up kipping over at some point it might end up necessary to playing that whole providing for his family thing. At worst, he’d take them into the office and leave them in the break room when they started going brown. A little gift from the friendly office arsehole.
He by-passed the greens – he wasn’t anti them, not like some of the blokes he’d embedded with who looked at lettuce leaves like they were an alien lifeform – but it wasn’t like he was living on Waldorf salads, and the rest of the salad-y looking stuff and headed for the snack aisles. This was more his speed. Crisps, although there wasn’t a packet of Walkers in sight, some tortilla chips and a couple of jars of the peel the roof of your mouth spicy salsa. Shit. He’d forgotten the limes…
Backtracking, JJ folded his hand around the sticky note. Wasn’t like he’d done much of a job with it. You couldn’t blame him for missing half the really important stuff when Iris had been jabbering in his ear about getting to work on an article about the rising violent crime rate in town. She hadn’t appreciated it when he’d cackled – come on, this was Mystic Falls, not Chicago or Baltimore – so he’d diligently started making notes … about what he had to pick up from the store, because this morning, the cupboards and the fridge had offered up nothing for breakfast. 20 bucks at the Coffee Bean and he’d been hungry again by 10am and stuck with the cheap jar of coffee that was left out on the counter for the tight arsed bastards who wouldn’t pay for this own. Like him.
Stopping at the fruit section, JJ palmed through the bags of limes like he really knew what he was looking for. Not yellow, not mushy, it shouldn’t have been hard. He snagged one in the end and stopped as he saw the doors swish open. No kid running through this time, although he hadn’t exactly noticed Lucille the last time, not until she was running away from him with his wallet tucked in her pocket and a look like butter wouldn’t melt on her face. Her mum had no trouble pasting on that same expression, but her aunt now, was a different story.
Lottie.
Dipping his head, JJ reached blindly for whatever was next to the limes. It wasn’t like she could’ve expected him to be some sort of a saint considering where they’d met, but he didn’t wanna come off as a complete dickhead either. Lucky’d already made it clear that he was one – even though there was no way he could’ve known he was keeping it in the family when he started chatting Lottie up. You didn’t exchange life stories at a moment like that, or with the woman you’d roped into playing your wife when you were trying to break into some posh event in town. It’d been ignorance at worst, and now he knew better.
Offering up an apologetic little smile, he sidled up next to her. ”Hiya,” he murmured, his gaze flicking up to her. ”Wasn’t sure I’d run into you again.” Although in a town the size of Mystic Falls it was only a matter of time. ”Guess there’s only so many places ‘round here to stop though. How’ve you been?” You know, since we slept together and I didn’t take your number. Or was that more like, since your sister made it very clear what I did. His eyes narrowed faintly, studying her. Had Lucky spilled the beans back when she’d worked out just who her sister’d had a one night stand with?
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JJ HART
Human
Posts: 52
Played by:
Ange
Last seen Apr 11, 2024 17:35:17 GMT
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Post by JJ HART on Nov 26, 2023 20:52:37 GMT
”Not quite.” The offer to be a God later would’ve taken too long to toot out of the party blower and wouldn’t have been translatable anyway. JJ waggled his brows at her, still a little on the fence about whether this was gonna come back to bite him on the arse. It was definitely still fifty-fifty, Lucy looking way happier about the whole thing as she snatched the popper out of his hand than her mum did.
”There’s more of them in the car,” JJ told Lucy with a wink as he bent to give the kid a proper hug when she threw herself at him. Wisely he hadn’t left his wallet in his pocket this time, although if Lucille went digging around under the seat in the car, she might end up finding it anyway. Nothing said happy birthday like letting the kid steal off of him again. ”You’re welcome, love,” he called over his shoulder as she scuttled down towards the car. Maybe he winced a bit as she went to leap over the door, but it was a laugh he was trying to hold back when the move went wrong and Lucille landed face first.
His nose wrinkled, his grin still broad when Lucky turned to him. ”I think there’s a first aid box in the boot if she needs it,” he snorted. ”Don’t ever hurt to be prepared.” And he’d been bracing himself for the knee to the nuts he might’ve ended up with for pushing the boat out too far. Most of tonight Lucky would’ve argued with if he’d laid it all out in a text message. It was too much, he’d be raising Lucille’s expectations again, how was he gonna sustain this … yada, yada, yada. It was a dad’s prerogative to push the boat out and he … wasn’t getting kneed for it.
Hallelujah. Maybe he was a God after all.
”Honestly, I enjoyed doing it,” he admitted, murmuring it against Lucky’s lips as he dipped his head, wrapping an arm around her waist. ”I thought she would. I was always like that as a kid, desperate to know what … what?” Eh? He stared back at her, pretty fucking confused. It wasn’t like he’d been going round town sleeping with … ”Come off it, I didn’t go chasing her…” Not the one at the hotel, who was working for that murderous bastard. Sad Lottie. Who’d slipped home with him and into his bed and … ”Fuck me,” JJ muttered.
He hung his head, his teeth raking over his lower lip before he looked back up at her. ”I remember,” he muttered. ”I never said that … I didn’t know we were … you know, exclusive. If I thought you wanted that I wouldn’t have taken someone home.” And there it was, the metaphorical knee to his balls.
”Oi!” He snorted as he trotted after her. ”It happens to be a very nice car. You dunno what I had to trade to get it.” All worth it though, or it would be when Lucille at least finished the night happy. JJ suspected he’d have to trade a lot more to convince Lucky that he wasn’t a complete dick.
JJ climbed into the front seat, belting up as Lucky shot a reminder to the kid. He smirked at her over his shoulder, checking behind them as he pulled out onto the road. ”Somewhere. Maybe and maybe,” he told her. He drove them through the square, heading towards the edge of town rather than any of the restaurants on the square. ”One that’s gonna get worse,” he promised, wincing faintly. ”Dinner don’t have to be in a restaurant, right?” There hadn’t been any particular stipulations when he’d offered to do this.
The road rapidly led them out of the town proper, or rather, his foot relatively heavy on the gas pedal did. Dinner was well packed in the box tucked in the footwell at the back, but it’d still go cold eventually. ”You two alright with dining al fresco tonight? There’s blankets in the boot and hot chocolate in those flasks.” JJ tipped his head back as he turned off road and into the woods, following the winding road that led up towards the top of the falls that’d given the town its name.
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JJ HART
Human
Posts: 52
Played by:
Ange
Last seen Apr 11, 2024 17:35:17 GMT
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Post by JJ HART on Oct 1, 2023 19:06:59 GMT
He wasn’t about to ask his brother where he’d gotten his hands on it, all that mattered had been that the keys were pressed into his palm before got in, instead of a screw driver to hot wire it. The car was fire engine red, it’s top already down. The back seat wasn’t exactly massive, but it’d squeeze one of them in (him unless he managed to talk his wife into it, Lucy was undoubtedly gonna wanna ride up front and he couldn’t blame her) along with the bags.
JJ glanced in the rear view as he started the car up. Was it overkill? Probably. Was Lucky gonna kill him for it? Probably. Til he won her over again. He’d been trying to keep the promises he’d made when she’d had that blade over the cord between them and had been ready to sever it right there in the middle of the office. Stick around, be there for Lucille, ask before he …
Whoops.
Well, it was too late to take things back now so he might as well play all of this out and then take the rap on the back of the hand – and elsewhere – he was likely to get after for not spelling out the entire plan when he’d messaged her about it. It was always better to ask for forgiveness rather than permission – even if that hadn’t exactly worked out well for him since he’d been here.
The car purred its way back into town, the wind whipping his hair into tufts with the top down. It might end up being a bit nippy once they got going, but maybe the excitement of what he had planned was gonna overcome that. Kids were meant to be excited on their birthdays right? It wasn’t like the General had made any of his fun, but he’d still race down the minute he woke up on those mornings, Christmas too. His mum’d try, bless her heart. It wasn’t easy to overcome the General’s formality though. A proper dinner. That meant dressing up in those shirts that were starched to within an inch of their lives, putting on a tie, and sitting down to a meal that no kid in their right mind woulda picked out for themselves. Where were the ice cream cakes and pizzas? He’d even have taken one of them shop bought Colin the Caterpillar cakes with cheap candles that melted all over the thing.
It was a good thing that the apple had fallen pretty sodding far from the tree in this case. With a road of the engine, JJ zipped through the square and pulled out in front of Lucky’s apartment building. He shut off the engine and leaned over into the back seat to grab one of the hats he’d gotten from the party shop. The elastic bit in under his chin, but he strapped it on before he thumbed a message into his phone and sent it winging to Lucky’s phone.
’I’m downstairs. Get Lucy to open the door’
He probably wasn’t gonna have long before the kid thundered down. He clambered out of the car, palming the party popper and stuffing the party blower in his mouth. Lucy would probably see the car through the front door of the building, but she wasn’t likely to see him, she’d hear him though.
JJ stood to the side of the door, pressed up against the brickwork. Time seemed to stretch out. They’d have to grab their stuff, wait on the elevator and then rumble down in a thing that moved like it was 90 years old. Probably any minute now. There was finally a murmur of sound inside, voices maybe. He strained his ears, wanting to make sure he wasn’t about to give someone who actually was 90 a heart attack. Yeah, that was definitely a kid’s voice.
The swung open and he spun around, light on his feet as a bloody ballet dancer. JJ’s lips pursed in a grin around the plastic mouthpiece of the party blower as he blew hard into it. Sound honked out, the tinsel strands attached to its end fluttering in the air. He yanked on the string of the popper in his hands, adding the coloured strands of paper and tinsel to the whole sparkling mess. It was gonna leave a mess on the doorstep, but he probably wasn’t gonna be the one cleaning it up anyway.
”Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Lucillllllle, happy birthday to you!” JJ threw his hands wide, his booming out around the party blower that honked faintly along as he sang. Figuring the kid was probably into explosives the same way she had been pick pocket, JJ plucked another popper from the pocket of his jacket and offered it up to her. He offered Lucky another one, but wasn’t sure if that was gonna be stepping over the lines she’d carefully drawn out for him. ”Figured we could go in style…” he said, sweetening his voice like that’d make all the difference as he nodded back towards the car. The bright red Porsche practically glowed in the last of the daylight.
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JJ HART
Human
Posts: 52
Played by:
Ange
Last seen Apr 11, 2024 17:35:17 GMT
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Post by JJ HART on Sept 20, 2023 18:28:34 GMT
Mystic Falls wasn’t exactly London when it came to the nightlife. You could go to the centre of London every night for a week and spend the entire time pub hopping and not stumble on the same pub twice. The place was a warren of pokey little streets that hadn’t changed much since Jack the Ripper was sashaying down them. Places that had an inch thick layer of old beer gumming up the floor and geezers propping up the bar who probably were old enough to have tipped their hats to Jack as he’d wandered out with one of his ladies. Each of them had their stories, their regulars, their type when it came to newcomers shuffling in.
Soho had been his haunt when he was working for Channel 4. Zipping over on the tube after a day in the trenches (so to speak – the offices had always seemed more d0g-eat-dog than the actual battle field) or hooking a cab as it’d zipped back towards the train station. It was a shit hole for the most part, the seediness of all them clubs rubbing off on the pubs that were littered around the tangle of streets. By the time dark fell on the weekends those streets would be clogged enough with boozers that you could spit and hit a half dozen at once. That didn’t bother the tourists none and, shallow as it was, that’d been his sort then. Hollering his name into their ears, inevitably getting anything but JJ whispered back when, after another cab ride after, he was either pissing off his own neighbours, or some miserable old bugger who had the hotel room next door. It didn’t matter that he was on his own 90 percent of the time, only that he was so bloody easy to pick up.
JJ figured this time had been the same. Striking out on Sadie just the preview to the rest of his night. He was a lone bloke in one of the few places you could go for a little fun in this town and he’d played the white knight, that had to make him just as irresistible as the accent did, right? Pile on a little charm and it was almost a sure thing that both of their nights were gonna end up a lot better. JJ pursed his lips, offering up a look that was coyly sympathetic. ”If that’s sad, then it was sad for me too. I wasn’t here with anyone. Doesn’t mean neither one of us has got friends, just means that we were in the right spot to make a new one tonight.” A friend with benefits that was. The fact that there were probably only a handful of people in town he’d have put on his very short list of friends to start with wasn’t here nor there.
Swallowing his mouthful quickly, JJ snorted at her question. He looked around the bar and then back at her – it was probably bad form slagging off the place you were standing in, but honestly, this wasn’t party central. ”This is about as good as it gets if you’re just looking for a club. You want something more exciting, there’s the Ruby Slipper club. It’s got music and dancing at least.” And bar fights if you wanted to stir some shit up with the lughead sitting next to you. JJ knuckled his mouth, remembering the way that lughead had kicked the shit out of him. Yeah, maybe the club weren’t such a good idea – even if he and Remzi had patched it up afterwards.
He set his glass down on the bar and grinned charmingly at her. ”That makes two of us.” If you could call a year new – which some around here probably did. ”You’ve got a good ear. I’m from London. I wanna hear about you though. How about we get out of here, pop open a bottle of wine back at my place and you can tell me all about yourself.” Most women seemed to like to talk about themselves, filling any silence with that babble he half shut out. A small price to be paid for what you got when you managed to sssh ‘em.
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JJ HART
Human
Posts: 52
Played by:
Ange
Last seen Apr 11, 2024 17:35:17 GMT
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Post by JJ HART on Sept 19, 2023 20:46:28 GMT
It was one thing when the old man chewed him out for never sticking with anything in his life, it was another entirely when Lucky questioned that ability. The General’s hypocrisy – stinking and vast – had negated every word that fell out of his mouth. He might’ve sold his soul to Her Majesty’s armed forces, but he hadn’t come close to that for his wives or kids. The minute one lot had become tiresome, he’d tossed them out and replaced them with a new, equally disappointing set. Having found that out JJ had figured there wasn’t a damn thing he was screwing up in his life that could trump that. A job was a job. You signed on the dotted line for a contract and if it happened to get torn up because you couldn’t be flexible with one of their nine million rules then fuck it. Someone else would pick you up. If not then there was always freelance work. It was easier to ignore a problem if you weren’t directly employed by them. Nab their stories, take the glory if they hit big, then ignore every email and phone call after if they carried on being a pain in your arse.
JJ wormed his tongue into the pocket of his cheek, knowing that it wasn’t a question to start answering. Every point he made would probably be picked off and crushed between Lucky’s nails like a flea. He’d told her what had happened with Destiny, the rap on the knuckles he’d got for stepping over a line when it came to that knob she was shacked up with. He’d sat around the dinner table and told both of them stories about how he’d bounced from newspaper to newspaper, often having to skip over borders in less than legal ways. That wouldn’t have screamed secure to Destiny, let alone a woman who was looking at her kid asking her where daddy was.
He bit down on the tip of his tongue, trying to pin down the knee jerk words that wanted to escape – the ones that’d only be flipped around and tossed back at him. Trying anyway, he wasn’t surprised when her voice became a hiss, like a kettle reaching it’s boil. So he wasn’t just a flake but a numpty too. The next huff was half laugh, his chair creaking as he shifted his weight in it. ”Lemme get this right? Not only am I too blind to get why you think I’m gonna fuck up and break a kid’s heart, but my only interest in any of it comes from what’s between my legs. Take that out of the equation and none of the rest of me gives a shit. You’re the one not getting it, love. My kid or not, I’m not my old man. I’m not gonna vanish on her.”
Was there much point in unlocking his phone, scrolling back through his Whatsapp messages to the last call he’d had with Khadiija and the kids? Admittedly it’d been a while, but he hadn’t just dumped them the minute he’d got over the border. JJ’s eyes dropped to it, honestly considering it until Lucky tried to smudge up the end of things with her and Lucille. Make it look bad enough and he’d willingly step back from it now. ”Anybody ever tell you that you’re a sodding pessimist?" he asked, his lips twitching for just a heartbeat. Nothing was nice forever, that was life. You couldn’t go tossing things away just because they got a little worn around the edges though. Maybe his words weren’t gonna do much, but they’d had more than that since the start hadn’t they? Maybe the wife and kids thing was just the more, who knew at this point. He hummed lightly, a querying sound to see how just far he was breaking through the lines she was trying to draw between him, her and Lucy. Lucky was hunching – closer maybe, or just getting ready to slip away – her pretty features crumpling into that frown he’d ignore easy enough.
As the grin broke through, a bit of sunshine hitting them clouds in her expression, JJ grinned back and shrugged. ”I was from the minute I met her, wasn’t I? Look, I wouldn’t have come home for dinner if I wasn’t enjoying it all. I’d have been pissed about replacing the cards but I coulda walked away that day if I really didn’t wanna have anything to do with her.” Lucky, Lucille, they were both hooked around him now and he’d pay out those lines if he did have to go – letting them know where he had to buzz off to before he got on a plane. Who’d hurt her enough that she couldn’t trust a word out of his gob now? JJ lifted his other hand, plastered it over his heart wasn’t like he had a bible there to swear on). ”Swear it. I’m not gonna vanish in the night and leave Lucy sobbing.” Wasn’t gonna divorce her, or leave Lucy racing to the door on the morning of her birthday, hoping that this wasn’t the year the cards stopped coming. ”You want a blood oath sworn on it?” Maybe Destiny’d be willing to play witness on a contract if it meant he was partially out of her hair. Was she … yeah? Yeah, that was looking promising. JJ straightened up as she leaned in, magnets drawn together by those two little words. The corners of his eyes crinkled with the smile that spread over his face, his cheeks plumping into the palms of her hands. ”Yes ma’am,” JJ crooned lightly. ”No more trusting that that things have already been discussed. Lucy comes to me, I come to you.” And then hopefully she’d keep … he wasn’t about to finish that one, not even in his head. The mischief slipped into his eyes though.
”Can I get permission now to take the two of you out for dinner on Friday night? I might’ve said something to Lucille about getting ice cream to celebrate the next time.” That wasn’t to say there’d be an invite back to theirs after, but if it did end up with him in her bed while the kid slept off her sugar coma, he wasn’t about to complain. He was even giving her a little tug towards him with that grip he still had on her, trying to get her to slide off his desk and onto his lap. A bloke was entitled to bid his wife a fond farewell with a kiss, weren’t he?
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JJ HART
Human
Posts: 52
Played by:
Ange
Last seen Apr 11, 2024 17:35:17 GMT
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Post by JJ HART on Aug 9, 2023 19:41:34 GMT
If he’d still had the little office he’d been gifted when he’d started working at the Daily he’d have been able to get Lucky all tense in the right way. Blinds closed, the door swung shut behind her. The assholes whose heads came up like meerkats’ the minute anything juicy happened in the office could’ve had their noses pressed to the glass and it wouldn’t have mattered because it was behind closed doors. Pissing off the boss had come with a demotion to the open office – desks overlooking his, the scowls of the woman next to him, the pointed shift of that browning plant, the smug looks whenever Iris or the boss pulled him away. Public humiliations that were probably meant to make him quit, but he wasn’t ready to run out of town with his tail between his legs just because he’d supposedly fucked up.
Judging by the look on Lucky’s face he’d done it again – although the doughnut seemed far more like an apology, an attempt at buttering him up, than a punishment. Unless she’d poisoned it, that was. Nah. His charm was still working far too well for that. Her lecture about not screwing shit up with Lucy before had stuck – him showing up at her graduation thing was proof of that right? He’d kept showing up for the kid and honestly, it wasn’t any sort of hardship, not even with the talking to he’d gotten from Iris about taking off.
There, that was better. His smile broadened in response, something bright covering up those little doubts that settled in, warmth passed on with the reassuring weight of his hand on her thigh. Of course, his index finger moved lightly on that bare thigh. Her yeah and thanks were both lacklustre, despite his reassurances. ”Ain’t gonna imagine too hard, when I’m gonna be there for him. Might slip the earplugs in the next time though.” JJ winked at her. Every other parent in the room had probably tucked them in when they were out of sight – ‘what was that, honey, did I hear you? Absolutely. You were the best one up there.’ For Lucille he’d have done it – as long as he was in town, that was a guarantee he would’ve wanted to make her, but with the job the way it was he could hundred percent it even if he wanted to try. Lucky wasn’t even giving him the chance for that though. Stop him now? Make sure he couldm’t hurt her kid. A total mum move. His own had done her best to protect him, as much from the old man as anything, but you couldn’t shield your kids from everything, not without forcing them to live in a bubble.
JJ squirmed in his seat, his brows drawing closer together. He glanced around the two of them as she asked him what the fuck he’d said. Eyes caught his and he was the one going stiff now. Like he’d suddenly acknowledged the elephant in the room and it’d lumbered closer in all its leathery skin glory, it suddenly felt like everybody in here was watching him being told off by his wife – and that’d been her word, not his. ”A flake,” JJ muttered right back, hunting his shoulders like it’d stop anybody else hearing it. ”I wasn’t the one who said I was,” he puffed. He hadn’t cut off though, had he? Going back to their place for dinner after Lucy had nicked his wallet, doing the dishes all domestic like, christening the kitchen counter with his wife.
He let out a long breath as the reasons started to prop up her argument – this was exactly what the doughnut had been for, to soften this blow. ”And what’s wrong with her counting on me?” JJ sank his teeth into the tip of his tongue, he could’ve reeled a list off too, and lost his ability to refute any of what he was being accused of. ”Look, I didn’t know she hadn’t asked you. If I’d thought was being sneaky about the whole thing I woulda done, alright? It’s my fault, this whole dad thing is new to me. Next time, I ask.” but there wasn’t gonna be a next time because Lucky was stopping him from fucking up her kid’s life as he blundered through it without any real clue about what he was doing.
If Iris wanted to give him a real bollocking next time, then she probably should’ve been taking notes from Lucky. Pouting would’ve got him nowhere, but JJ’s lips pinched as he caught every barbed word out of Lucky’s mouth. By the time he left he’d be bristling with them like he’d lost a fight with a porcupine. ”So this is about you and me, not Lucy, other than where she gets caught in the middle of it. You’re saying that at some point, you’ll get bored of me and you’ll expect me to leave and that’s gonna gut your kid.” And he’d get no say in the matter, because her mum was the boss in all of this. ”That shit’s what people should be doing for her. I joke about it because you did at the start. You were happy to play at being my wife. Everything since has just been gravy in my book.” He curled his hand around Lucky’s calf, giving a little squeeze like he was trying to cut either her or himself off.
Inching closer, he met her eyes and held her gaze. Maybe Destiny had a bible laying around he could swear on – it wasn’t like he wasn’t destined to end up with his balls getting roasted in hell anyway. ”You think I woulda been hanging around the kid if I wasn’t enjoying it? Did I plan on having one of my own yet? Not gonna lie and say yes, but shit doesn’t always happen like you plan and fun or not, I’m not gonna go fucking this up. You wanna try make this about something else that isn’t you warning me that my time in your bed’s short?” Maybe there were reasons for it, there usually were, but he wasn’t gonna go burying his head in the sand to avoid hearing them. He was too sodding proud for that and his pride would be one of the reasons he wouldn’t just walk out of town without a word to either one of them.
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JJ HART
Human
Posts: 52
Played by:
Ange
Last seen Apr 11, 2024 17:35:17 GMT
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Post by JJ HART on Aug 9, 2023 18:08:10 GMT
Being allergic to monogamy and choosing not to be in a monogamous relationship were two very different things. He’d done the whole one woman at one time committed thing in the past. You tethered yourself to them, it was mutually enjoyable for both, but when you had to stretch that cord that thin by flying across the world for work for months, nobody was having much fun anymore. It was better to be honest up front, to make it clear that the job was gonna come first, especially if there was the gold band circling it. You went where you were told and in his case that always meant making his situation clear to anybody who might’ve been looking for something a little more serious than some mutually enjoyable time spent horizontal … or propped on a counter in the women’s bathroom at the museum.
Maybe there was a little string tying him to his wife now, but they’d not said the sort of words that would’ve brought monogamy into it. She’d have like cackled as his attempt to hit on Sadie had failed. She might’ve been a bit more pissed about this second one but as JJ stood there, staring down a bloke who probably thought he could snap him in two like a toothpick. He almost cackled himself at that. Unfortunately for the troll, he wasn’t as soft or as daft as he looked. With the boss lady involved his competition would have to be touched in the head to try and push it further. Best bit was, he lnow looked like a hero for chasing him off.
JJ smoothed his free hand down his chest as he slithered up to the bar, using the tether of their linked fingers to draw the brunette in with him. They honestly should’ve pinned a badge on his chest for that one. ”My pleasure love.” Woulda been his displeasure if the bruiser had decided to keep pushing it, no matter how quick you could swing, you were still likely to take a few lumps – like he had from Remzi when the two of them had gotten all snarled up at the club. The corners of his lips tugged higher, thankfully without the sting of a split lip. It’d taken days for that to fade the last time, the curse slipping out every time a stray emotion had the wound popping open and lacing his mouth with the taste of his own blood.
”That’s my pleasure too,” he assured her as her gratitude spilled over again. JJ winked at her before propping his narrowing hips back against the stool behind him. Under the lights in here she was even prettier, there was a gleam on her brown hair, he’d lay money on it feeling like silk around his hands once he got them in it. In here he could see her eyes were green too – a combination that seemed to be following him ar0und these days. They weren’t as shrewd as his wife’s though, there was something softer about them, like a forest after the rain, leaves all misty.
As she introduced herself, JJ aborted his reach for his own drink and brushed his hand down the front of his t-shirt before he offered it to her. It wasn’t like he’d been scrabbling around in the dirt before he’d gone out on the porch, but the move was ingrained from places he’d been where grubby was the default. ”Pleasure to meet ya, Lottie. I’m JJ.” He huffed out a faint trace of amusement before he reached for his drink. ”I wasn’t sure if you had company or not at first. Couldn’t imagine someone like you being here on your own.” She was certainly pretty enough that she didn’t have to be. ”Little night out? Or just a drink or two on the way home?” AKA would she wanna linger here all night or could he get that one down her neck quickly before they got out of there. His own drink was rapidly vanishing down his throat with that first long gulp, the guileless look remaining on his face as he swallowed.
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JJ HART
Human
Posts: 52
Played by:
Ange
Last seen Apr 11, 2024 17:35:17 GMT
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Post by JJ HART on Jul 16, 2023 19:33:11 GMT
Without the coffee – brewed specially strong – his eyes might’ve rolled back in his head halfway through the meeting. Iris had droned on, finger tapping against the list in her notepad. He’d almost batted her finger away then, swivelling the thing around so he could read through her bullet points (what sort of a nutjob marked out a lecture that way??), but undoubtedly she’d have hustled right into the boss’ office to tell her that he was messing around in class. It would’ve been another black mark against his name when there was already one smudged pencil grey there after he’d taken off early a couple of days ago. Emergency appointment apparently wasn’t specific enough, but telling his new handler that his kid had asked him to go to her graduation would’ve exploded a can of worms all over the office.
Shooting her a smile that felt like it’d crack his face, he trailed out of the meeting room and headed back to his desk. He would’ve been a dick to say no to the kid. She’d been excited about him being there and it didn’t exactly seem like a hardship to dip out of the office early and watch her walk across a stage, or whatever it was happened during graduations – even little kid ones – over here. Since he’d gotten his wallet back, and alright, before then too, he’d genuinely come to like her. And her mum. Eventually he’d end up leaving town again – that was inevitable in his line of work – until then, though, playing house wasn’t the worst thing in the world.
He clapped hard as Lucille had done her thing, and participated in the entertainment portion of the day. Some biddy in the row in front who’d either broken the record for the oldest woman to give birth, or who was prune facing their way through their great grandkid’s graduation, had shot him a look as he’d slipped two fingers into his mouth and let out a piercing whistle. He’d just turned a beatific smile on her and had dropped his arm around his wife’s shoulders. There’d been dinner after, a celebration he’d pulled out his wallet to handle – it was a dad’s prerogative weren’t it? Maybe Lucky’s mouth had pruned through some of it, making it clear that Lucille hadn’t exactly asked permission for him to come along. Like father, like daughter, eh?
JJ yawned, tossing the dregs of coffee into the pot plant on the neighbouring desk. Its leaves had drooped under his care, maybe he oughta stop. He set his cup down, knuckling his mouth before he thumbed his laptop on. Work wasn’t exactly calling, but if he wasn’t tapping away at something when Iris emerged, she’d do worse than just scowl at him for continuing to work at his own pace, on his own stuff instead of the dregs of the stories that were passed around. Another sodding town celebration. A double page spread on the Mayor – lamenting her poor dead hubby – yawn fest after yawn fest.
”Mmm?” The grunt rolled out of him and the leading consonant of the ‘hey’, his head rolling him immediately towards her as the more recognisable edge of the ‘hubby’ struck him between the eyes, struck him dumb as Lucky dipped down to kiss him. He looked up at her with kiss damp lips parting. ”’ello he said almost uncertainly, still feeling a little off balance. Blue eyes shot past her, making sure that there wasn’t a crowd – led by Destiny – gathering up behind her. ”And there I was thinking that I was getting something out of bring your wife to work day…” he murmured, a smile finally tugging at his lips. She was here, and that was gonna take some explaining if anybody had heard the greeting, or seen her laying one on him.
JJ sat up from his usual sprawl, head dipping as he worked a thick finger under the flap of the box. A doughnut. Not the bagged lunch she’d joked about, but it’d definitely do with another mug of that spoon eating coffee. ”Awww, you love me.” He batted his lashes, spreading one hand on his chest as he grinned up at her.
Did she really look like she did though? There’d been that stomp of her foot on his – marring the polish he’d put on his shoes the morning of the ceremony too – at dinner. A warning, a little wifely affection maybe when he’d used his honorific title in public. Who knew with her. Women were as changeable as the weather, and despite how much time he’d spent around his family in the last couple of months, he wouldn’t claim to understand his wife.
His nose wrinkled as he pfffed his way through Lucky’s gratitude. He nudged the box away on the desk and patted her thigh. ”How was I gonna say no to that little face? It wasn’t a bother, honestly. She’s a good kid – half the ones in her class could do with some singing lessons though. Think I’m still a little deaf.” Popping his other index finger in his ear, he winked at her as he wiggled it. As he’d expected the concert bit of it was awful, but he’d been one of those kids toting a hard sided case around, cackling as he’d blasted deep breaths through the bugle. Unsurprisingly it had disappeared from the house after the second day. His dad had probably ordered someone to run over it with a tank. There’d be no question about music lessons after that.
Was he still slow after that meeting? ”You what?” Frowning, JJ sat up straighter again, propping his elbows on the arms of his chair as he looked at Lucky. ”You said it meant a lot to her for me to be there … I’m not gonna start letting her down. You ain’t gotta worry about her getting her heart broke because I’ve been a Cadburys over something. Nah. You just tell her to ask again the next time and her dad’ll be there, yeah?” She’d looked away from him though. Aaah. ”It’s not her who don’t want me there, is it? What’s up?” Yeah, he definitely couldn’t keep up with the bloody mercurial moods of women. You did your best and still they find something to nitpick over in it.
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JJ HART
Human
Posts: 52
Played by:
Ange
Last seen Apr 11, 2024 17:35:17 GMT
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Post by JJ HART on Jun 4, 2023 20:13:07 GMT
A night with Sadie – alright, a couple of hours at best – would’ve been a way to keep himself out of trouble temporarily in a way that taking that blonde from outside the hotel home and hiking his wife up on the bathroom counter at the museum hadn’t done. By now you’d have thought he’d learned his lesson about not mixing business and pleasure, but he’d gone right back there for a third time after Lucy had been packed off to bed. He’d muffled Lucky with his mouth, with his fingers – it hadn’t stopped her drawing more promises out of him though. Strolling out in the small hours of the morning, before the kid had got up (with his wallet back in his pocket), he’d practically felt his wife’s fingers holding on tight to his short and curlies. At some point that business was coming back to bite him again.
What he needed was a woman not tied up with Maddox, someone who wouldn’t draw those promises out of him when his grip on his self-control was at its lowest ebb and he’d do anything, say anything to just be able to let go of it entirely. He’d busted out with Sadie though. It was fucking sad, JJ thought with a puff as he abandoned the bar area with his glass in hand. This was what you got for staying put in a town where just about everybody seemed to be connected. Maddox and his little spider’s web of connections should’ve been what made him, but instead it’d become the mill stone around his neck that he couldn't get a grip on.
Lamenting the quietness of the bar – the bollocks all it was doing to get him to forget those promises – he’d headed towards the porch. There was plenty of vodka at home if that was gonna be his only mistress for the night. TV didn’t tend to do anything for him, but he’d give it a go at leaving him brain dead for a bit. Options, options, hello…
She was better than what passed for the nightly news here. A pretty brunette who more than gave Sadie a run for her money. This one wasn’t cursing his very existence as she looked up at him. JJ brightened his smile, dialling the smug down a little as he turned it on her rather than the gorilla he was already pissing off. Well, he shoulda made a move first then, shouldn’t he. Blue eyes dropped to her lips as she glanced down into her glass. Probably a gin and tonic, although it might’ve been a vodka and lemonade, something pale and tangy, and likely still to be lingering if he ended up tasting her. Politely, he lifted his gaze the minute she looked back up at him, catching the start of that wide smile as he did so. ”Fantastic,” he murmured, mentally rubbing his hands together.
If the Thing here hadn’t come to lurk over his shoulder he might’ve nipped back in on his own, or even just cracked the door to get that hipster bloke who was usually behind the bar to bring a couple out to them, but there he was, all hulky and ready to turn him into a stain on the floor, JJ’s lips tipped back up at the corners. ”I wouldn’t if I was you. I’d toddle back to your mates before you embarrass yourself.” Anticipating a swing for the back of his head – he’d had enough land over the years to know well enough to hunch his shoulders to make a smaller target of it. ”How ‘bout we head inside to get it, love?” Without trouble following them.
He caught the door as it swung open again, and there was the blonde who owned the place. JJ smiled beatifically at her, then glanced over his shoulder at the little gang, the hulk not having moved. ”There you go mate, another round for ya. Tell you what, lemme put it on my tab.” He nodded to the owner and then wriggled in the door, the brunette’s hand in his. At the bar again, he huffed out his breath in a faint laugh. ”Looks like there was a little competition, understandably. A woman like you’s gotta be fighting ‘em off. Alright mate,” he murmured, switching his attention back to the bloke behind the bar. ”Can I get this lovely lady a G’n’T, a double, and another vodka and coke for me, thanks.” He hadn’t made it so far then, but maybe after this one he’d be able to whisper a little of that charm in her ear and they’d slip out of there, laughing over the near miss as they went back to his place … or hers, he wasn’t fussy.
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JJ HART
Human
Posts: 52
Played by:
Ange
Last seen Apr 11, 2024 17:35:17 GMT
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Post by JJ HART on May 8, 2023 15:34:53 GMT
If Destiny had any clue that he still planned on listening to the cell door clanging shut on her doting baby daddy he’d have been out on his ear already. Files chucked out into the street after him – after they’d been picked apart in some search for what evidence he’d actually pulled together (as though he would’ve left that in the office where it could be found). The lie that he’d stop had burned his tongue, but for her sake – and in the name of justice – he’d forced it off of his tongue. Power meant that too many in the world got away with murder, literally, he couldn’t do much about the vast majority of them, but he’d discovered enough about Grey Maddox that JJ figured he could put this one away.
That grin on Lucky’s face as he swore he wasn’t done showed he wasn’t the only one who wanted it either. Maddox had hurt enough people in his short life, his time was running out to do it again. Soon he’d be locked up for 23 hours a day with his own kind, violent scum who didn’t always take too kindly to one another. Hopefully someone’d get tired of that smug face and would do a little work on the sly with a shiv, save the state some money and the rest of them the worry that he’d somehow slip out eventually. Lucky’s siter could find herself a new job, Destiny would end up with a broken heart, but better that than a heart that had been permanently stopped by that son of a bitch.
At Lucky’s order, he’d saluted her, dropping another ”yes ma’am” before he’d done as she’d asked, doing what was undoubtedly Lucy’s job usually. He returned dinner with entertainment, making the kid choke twice – cackling as he’d thumped her on the back – and giving them a view of a world far more exotic than the one outside their windows in this town. He was in his element, showing that he hadn’t slipped into any of his reporting gigs by nepotism – in fact, he’d been fucking glad to do it on his own merit each time, he didn’t need his old man putting his fingerprints over all of this. Not that he’d have recognised any of it if he’d tried. There hadn’t been many family dinners, not the relaxed sort anyway – sit up straight, don’t mess with your food, good lord, what’s wrong with the guinea fowl…. Give him this any day.
JJ scooped up the dishes, stacking them carefully to cart them into the kitchen. He turned to eye the kid, hazel irises shrinking to slits as he mock glared at her. ”Well, losing’s not exactly the word I’d use for my stuff disappearing out of a nice deep pocket…” It’d taken deft little fingers to do that – ones he might’ve put to work like Fagin and the Artful Dodger to get hold of Maddox’s stuff, if he didn’t give a shit about putting anybody else in danger.
Lucky’s order and Lucy’s whine carried back to him as he sluiced off the plates. Not a single one dropped before Lucky made her appearance, drifting in to grin at him like all of this was entertaining. Yeah, yeah, yeah, he grumbled in his head, although he huffed out his amusement as she started rearranging what he’d already set aside to dry. ”I’d say this is pretty mature. I didn’t ask if it was gonna be about the birds and the bees again,” he quipped, that’d be less discussion, more action for after the kid had gone to bed maybe. JJ snorted as Lucky pressed in against him, seeking out a soft spot with those carefully sharpened words. ”Oh, love, they tried with the big talks, failed obviously.” Not that he was worse off for that.
He set the pan in the drying rack, planting his wet hands against the edge of the sink as he looked sideways at her. JJ sighed, all traces of humour gone. He didn’t know for sure if it had been Maddox, although he hadn’t seen a hint of a lie in Destiny’s eyes as she’d hinted at what had happened. Her opinion of Maddox was definitely twisted by love though. ”I don’t know exactly. The day she came back, it was just … she wasn’t pregnant anymore. I didn’t want to ask, but I don’t think it was. I’ve seen battered women before, and it wasn’t that sort of defensiveness over him.” He’d seen them flinch at mention of their abusers, even as they’d defended them. That wasn’t what he’d seen with Destiny, but Maddox was still a monster of sorts and eventually he’d slip, meaning to or not.
The cackle rolled out slowly. JJ twisted his hands slightly, like he could see the cuffs around his wrists. ”Keep me under the thumb and hopefully she can stop me from sliding in his direction. She ordered someone to babysit me just to be sure – it’s not working. It ain’t like I down tools the minute I leave the office.” He pursed his lips, puffed a breath out through it. ”Keep on digging, maybe make a little trip back to England to see what police records I can dig up on him. His sister died, supposedly killed by him, there’s gotta be records about that.” Evidence to pin to Maddox’s forehead.
Picking up the last of the cutlery, JJ gave a quick scrub. The grim was melting away again, like the suds. Ice cream too. Weren’t he a lucky boy. ”Yes … please,” he murmured, some of his parents’ lessons sticking. He rinsed his hands off, not managing to dry them before Lucky pressed into his side again. ”Hard not being an arsehole? Oh, harder than you could imagine,” he cackled. He turned towards her as she curled her hand around his arm, humming lightly. Dinner with the two of them hadn’t been any sort of a hardship. It’d been more fun than he’d been expecting. ”Keep coming around to see my kid? I think I could manage that. She’s a good kid … even if her fingers are light. I fucking knew it.” His fingers curled around the lump of the wallet in her back pocket, fingertips pressing into the firm curve of her arse beneath it. ”Guess I should leave some pocket money for her, while I treat my wife another way, eh?” Smirking, conscious that the kid could appear any moment – but not willing to abstain entirely til she went to bed – JJ dropped his head and kissed her as his grip tightened to pull Lucky into him. Well, he’d end the meal with something creamy and sweet.
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