JJ HART
Human
Posts: 59
Played by:
Ange
Last seen Nov 17, 2024 18:04:49 GMT
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Post by JJ HART on Nov 17, 2024 18:00:17 GMT
The temptation to take himself off for the afternoon had been strong. A family thing, a break in some story, a doctor’s appointment (ye know, to finally get some of those pills that might turn him into less of an arsehole). An allergy to dogs might’ve worked, Destiny had told them they could work from home if they had one or found themselves uncomfortable around dogs. Some weak excuse that Destiny would probably see right through. She’d give him one of those looks filled with disappointment, big blue eyes condemning him to feeling like a right shit. It was charitable, and he oughta have at least enough heart for that.
He’d tried parking himself out of the way in the office, putting his head down first thing in the morning as Destiny’s arrival started off the buzz in the office. The dogs were coming! They’d probably set alarms on their phones to count down to it, but he’d tried to keep his gaze off of the clock. JJ felt it coming though, the excitement building like ozone in the air before a storm would strike. Crackling over his skin, trying to find its way beneath the surface to infect him with the same joy.
Midday was close when a handful of staff slipped out of the office with Destiny to bring the dogs up from downstairs. He supposed he could’ve volunteered and earned himself some brownie points. ’JJ, give us a hand. Have you seen them? They’re adorable!’ Looking up at the plea, he’d found himself hooked into moving some of the desks out of the way – all the better for the dogs to run riot through the space. At least they were putting pee pads down and setting up baby gates to keep the chaos to contained somewhat.
His wasn’t meant to be the sort of heart that melted over the dogs, but the second a mutt with the stumpy legs that suggested there was plenty of something like a corgi or bassett hound in his mix came waddling over, JJ realised that Lucille’s probably would’ve been. Snickering lightly, he crouched down, rubbing his hands over the floppy, velvety ears. ”What d’you reckon she’d say if I brought you over on Christmas morning?” he muttered to the dog. ”I reckon she’d have both of our balls for it, mate.” Not that this one probably had any. There’d been a handful of stories on the shelter here in town since he’d arrived, most of them mentioning something about places like that trying to guarantee that there wasn’t an epidemic of animals being born on the streets. Get them clipped, find them loving homes, make sure they were safe.
As a kid he would’ve loved a dog like this, but his old man never would’ve allowed it. He caused enough trouble on his own without adding a dog with equally bad manners to the mix. And what would they have done with it when they had to move on to the next assignment? Lucky likely would’ve griped about having another mouth to feed, and someone else to take care of, but maybe he’d be able to talk her around to it some time before Lucille went off to college, he’d just have to whisper it in Lucille’s ear first. She, like the women from the office, would likely end up with hearts dancing in their eyes – he’d just have to hope she didn’t pick something like the chihuahua he’d seen toddling off under one of the desks to lift a leg (at least he hoped it was only doing that, or someone was gonna get a real surprise later).
People from the office drifted through, sometimes with people from the rest of the building in tow. The women fawned over the little dogs for the most part – the sort you could probably pick up and stick in your purse if you were willing to lose a few fingers in the first place. One had brushed her hand over his hair, letting out a long awwww as the short king he’d been stroking was replaced by something fluffier with an underbite. ”You need a dentist,” JJ snickered lightly, scritching under the dog’s jaw. Someone pressed treats into his hand at some point and he offered a couple up, watching them disappear into the snaggle-toothed mouth.
At the sound of his name, both him and Animal, far more fitting the Bailey listed on its collar, looked up at Destiny. She’d stopped a couple of feet short of them, a deep grey dog at her side. Duke, far more fitting for a dog in his mind, sat all quiet. Both the dogs that had found him were all over the place, determined to give him a wash down before he left. A red head close by – the one he thought had come with the dogs, bent and made encouraging little noises until Bailey got up and abandoned him.
JJ stood, dusting his hands off against his jeans as he followed the boss’ orders and approached. ”Hiya, mate,” he said lightly. His lips curled in response to Destiny’s. ”Who gave out the names?” he asked, purposefully keeping his chuckle light. Her hand was on his collar, almost like she expected him to bolt. JJ hesitated lightly before extending his hand as she suggested. ”How’s he with the smell of other dogs on new people?” If the answer was bad there was a chance he was about to lose a few fingers.
Duke proved him wrong, sniffing politely at his hand, with his blue eyes going wide. JJ lowered to a crouch, then folded lower, his bum hitting the carpet lightly. ”People and their narrow minds, eh?” he muttered. ”Can’t see past the first impressions. You’re nothing to be scared of, are ya?” Far more slowly than he had done with the other dogs, he ran a palm over the dog’s head, his thumb stroking down the dip in the top of his head. ”You trying to make sure someone takes him home today?” Well, it wasn’t gonna be him, his old man hadn’t been wrong about them moving on. What would he do if he actually had to? Pack the dog up in a crate and force him into the hold of whatever shitty puddle jumper he was flying into the middle of nowhere in? Wasn’t fair on the dog and this one looked like he’d had a life time of not fair so far.
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JJ HART
Human
Posts: 59
Played by:
Ange
Last seen Nov 17, 2024 18:04:49 GMT
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Post by JJ HART on Oct 23, 2024 19:57:39 GMT
JJ snorted through his nose, then grinned back down at Lucky. If she was smart she wouldn’t have slept with him in the first place, although Lucky was smart and she still slept with him – after she’d carefully drawn up the rules for staying in her and Lucy’s lives. There was a sharp brain behind the pretty face that was tilted up towards him now, along with protective instincts that would’ve put every bloke in here on their knees to protect her daughter. All kids should’ve had a parent like her, instead of a dad who’d walked away from a family without a second look and a mum who’d let him just walk all over her life.
”Christ.” It was no wonder Lottie hadn’t wanted to hear a word out of his mouth. She’d probably already had china patterns and a spot for the reception figured out, meanwhile he’d been slipping out of her sister’s bed before Lucy woke up. JJ hung his head, wondering for a second what would’ve happened if they’d both ended up pregnant with his kids. That was an episode of Jerry Springer just waiting to happen. ”After,” he muttered. ”Thought she’d brain me with a bag of potatoes for taking the piss.” One corner of his mouth lifted, just the faintest hint of pride in the expression – anything more than that and Lucky’d be the one braining him. ”Mentioned me by name, huh?” And had apparently then extolled all of his virtues to the sister who already knew just what he was like.
The grin was softer now as her mouth found the corner of his, pride warming his chest the same way the belt of alcohol had when he’d knocked his drink back (something finally with a kick). JJ let out a sigh, shaking his head. ”It’s always a surprise,” he agreed. ”And most of ‘em haven’t even seen the best parts of me.” Lucky had. Sat around her kitchen table with Lucy pulled up to his side, conspiring with the kid about who was gonna do the dishes, sat up by the falls, watching the firework display he’d put together for her, with one arm around his wife, and his daughter gabbing nineteen to the dozen about how awesome it was.
Back here, away from the actual dance floor and the clusters of desperate parents, all thoughts of any other woman had melted away. He looked down into Lucky’s velveteen eyes, his hands moving lightly up to the middle of her back, happy to have her close. ”The sort you look out for, cause she might not be able to do it for herself,” he said, understanding. ”She told me about the divorce. Thought I might just’ve been a quick rebound. Shoulda seen she’d try and stick.” Any way it would’ve shaken out, he probably wouldn’t have known that his new bit of fun was related to the one he’d stuck to. Guilt had kicked in before he’d seen her again, practically a knee to the bollocks when Lucky had revealed she knew what he’d been up to, and again after. The pair of them had deserved better than him. Maybe it’d turn out to be third time lucky for Lottie and she’d find herself a decent bloke to settle down with.
He'd have said that wasn’t him, but over the last few months, he’d seen the opportunity to be that sort of bloke – for his daughter at least. Lucky had laid out her expectations, had warned him about the consequences of fucking up when it came to Lucille, and it’d left him wanting to be that better bloke. JJ’s lips pursed together slightly at her whisper before they slid into a soft smile. As she dropped her head to his chest, he lowered his. His mouth found the top of her head, then her temple, the scent of her shampoo soft and sweet, wrapping around him.
”Cross my heart,” he whispered softly. ”I’ll always come back to both of you … if you’ll have me. Can’t promise I’m gonna be perfect, but for the two of you, I’m gonna try.” There’d be apologies when he fucked it up, there was no doubting that, contrition that put him on his knees, and probably more mistakes to come than he’d had hot dinners, but he wasn’t about to be his old man, abandoning his kid cause something new had caught his eye. Lucy was always gonna have her dad and Lucky … he’d be whatever she let her fuck up of a husband be to her.
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JJ HART
Human
Posts: 59
Played by:
Ange
Last seen Nov 17, 2024 18:04:49 GMT
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Post by JJ HART on Oct 17, 2024 18:26:51 GMT
There were his girls. That same mule kick to the chest he always got when he saw the two of them hit JJ square in the sternum (alright, his heart). If he’d told her about it Lucky would’ve told him it was guilt, and yeah, maybe it was a bit of it, but it wasn’t all of it. Love led the charge and filled his grin as recognition struck the pair of them.
Lucky’d ask what had taken him so long later, he wondered it too. The desire to be back home popped up every now and then while he was away. An indigestion like reminder that he wasn’t spending enough time with Lucky and Lucy that was either temporarily chased back by calling them or drowned out by a break in whatever story he was investigating. The second he’d been back in the States, hearing Lucille squeal down the phone about what he’d brough back for her, the feeling had become sharper, an ulcer like sting that fed into that mule kick he’d felt.
If he’d listened to it a little sooner he might’ve been able to talk Lucky into moving them closer to him (well, nearer where he bedded down in the brief windows he spent in the States), or helped her move into the place here. The latter probably would’ve brought a hundred awkward questions with it if Lucille hadn’t told them all about her dad. JJ pressed a loud smacking kiss against Lucy’s forehead as he twisted around awkwardly in her grip. It was too late if she hadn’t told them already, because she’d just announced it to the whole town. ”Hey kiddo.” He wasn’t gonna get away with calling her that much longer with the way she was springing up.
”This,” he informed her, petting the bike fondly, ”is the ultimate… Oi.” A chuckle bubbled out of him but he clutched at the chest of the thick leather jacket he’d bought (he wasn’t planning on leaving a yard of skin behind on the blacktop if he did end up laying the bike down). ”Midlife? Not quite yet.” Although every time he went away it felt like years slid by when he wasn’t looking. There’d been a time (and it honestly felt like it might just have been yesterday) that he would have had to lift Lucille onto the bike.
A little faster on the interstate (the speed limit had always felt more of a suggestion anyway) and he might just have made it for brunch. JJ snickered, following Lucille’s gestures towards the Diner. ”I bet ya can.” Hed always been the same at her age, although he’d rarely gotten to eat in places like this (the sort that looked like they’d been perfectly designed to scream ‘small town’. ”The one with pancakes to die for?” Served by Mitch himself if he remembered the stories rightly, a mythical figure he could see watching Lucky step close from beyond the glass.
”Hiya,” he murmured, settling a gloved hand at Lucky’s waist as he kissed her back. ”And spoil the surprise? Naaah.” He grinned, his nose wrinkling as he blew the idea off. It hadn’t occurred to him that he could’ve come all this way and found them out of town for the weekend.
The surprise seemed to have gone down well with both of them … well, as well as could be expected with Lucky, anyway. She stepped back gesturing towards a bullish looking bloke whose nostrils would probably be flaring when he got close enough for him to see them. ”He’s the real welcoming committee, eh?” Not wanting to make it awkward for them, JJ shut off the engine and slipped off the bike, hanging the helmet off the handlebars. He was definitely gonna be feeling the last hundred miles tomorrow.
Slinging an arm around Lucille’s shoulders JJ swagged (it was definitely closer to that than a stagger) towards the diner with them. Lucy dragged him in, leading him towards a table occupied by two older ladies who were definitely giving him the eye and presided over by a guy tall enough to have him puffing up. ”Afternoon,” he murmured, dipping his head to them before he grinned at Patty and Babette. ”Ladies, it’s a pleasure. Lucy’s been telling me all about you.”
”He’s a charmer,” Babette shot at Lucky, a grin on her face.
Miss Patty didn’t try and cover her interest, just looked him up and down with mischief in her eyes. ”A looker too.”
From the way Mitch was staring at Lucky he hadn’t noticed either attribute. ”You told him about me?” he asked, his voice low and aimed at her.
JJ smirked, brows bobbin. ”All about you,” he repeated. ”Now, are these pancakes really as good as I’ve been promised?” His gaze jumped back and forth between the women and Lucky, busting Mitch’s chops happily.
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JJ HART
Human
Posts: 59
Played by:
Ange
Last seen Nov 17, 2024 18:04:49 GMT
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Post by JJ HART on Sept 4, 2024 19:21:05 GMT
For fuck sake. At the rate he was going, he was gonna have to find a book shop here in town and buy an idiot’s guide to maintaining a healthy relationship with your fake wife. Something that defined the boundaries he blindly stumbled over constantly. JJ puffed out a breath through his nose and dipped his head, trying to look contrite for doing it this time. He’d slipped that invisible ring on her finger in a classier version of tonight’s mixer like some bloke stumbling into a wedding chapel in Vegas on a wild weekend. He didn’t know a thing about relationships – Lucky knew it too, calling him on the bullshit that likely would’ve happened if she hadn’t warned him – or about marriage. He supposed he could’ve tossed the blame at his old man’s feet, but he’d done plenty of work avoiding all his other lessons, he coulda done the same when it came to marriage.
Ask. Considering how constantly he ran his mouth, the questions sticking in the boggy depths of his brain shouldn’t have been an issue. The other night when he’d come over for dinner, it woulda been easy. A squeeze of the arm he’d slung around her shoulders as they’d sat on the couch watching TV and fooling around after Lucille had gone to bed. ”Some mum at the school gates told me about a party thing that’s happening. You wanna go?” Bloody simple, but his mind had already fixed on Bebe, just the same way it had when he’d picked Lottie up at the bar. When was he gonna learn that the grass wasn’t greener?
”I’d hope she would,” JJ admitted, chagrin tugging at his smile. He snorted faintly, his nose wrinkling as he shrugged. ”She knows I’m an idiot, and she’s given me a break on most of my dumbassery so far.” There was probably a finite amount of forgiveness for it, eventually he’d run it low and no amount of devotion to Lucille would win it back. He met Lucky’s eye as he drew back from the kiss, his grin echoing hers. ”I oughta say that more often too.” It was as though they’d gone straight from meeting to old married couple (with a caring mother and an occasionally dead beat dad), skipping that whole dating thing in between where he’d have been on his best behaviour.
If he’d skipped this thing and just taken her out to a restaurant instead (something classier than the club or the Grill), they could’ve been knocking back a decent bottle of wine, or at least a couple of cocktails. JJ pressed his lips together. He could’ve gone and got a bottle of something on the way here too, slipping into his pocket like an old drunk. At least the posh twat’s benefit had endless glasses of champagne … and Lucky hadn’t been pissed at him then. That hum that slipped out of her told him she hadn’t forgiven him in an instant for chasing after the swishing skirt of another mum at the school. ”Never,” he shot back in an instant, his hand tightening on her hip for a moment. Although was it really that far from the truth? He had met Bebe at the school gate cause he’d been there with Lucille. It wasn’t like he was losing himself in her cleavage in front of Lucille though, he wasn’t that big a knob.
Letting out a long breath, JJ dragged his gaze away from Bebe and back to Lucky. He might’ve suggested it wasn’t his fault he was so charming, but that might’ve resulted in that crap he’d been drinking being poured over his head. ”We got talking and that was it. I’m not using the school as a pickup joint, and I wouldn’t do anything knowingly to hurt Lucille – or you.” She’d hidden that well, he realised as Lucky pulled a flask out of somewhere and dumped some in his cup. He coulda, woulda kissed her for it if she wasn’t tearing a strip off of him. ”You’re right. I don’t, but I’m glad to have ya.” He’d have said he was lucky to have her, but that woulda just put the final kibosh on the night.
It was better to make it clear he knew what a dickhead he’d been and try and make it up to his wife. Dancing absolutely wasn’t his thing (not unless there were enough pints sloshing around his system that he didn’t care that he looked like he was being electrocuted), but a slow sway with Lucky in the relatively hidden little spot among the kid’s clothes, yeah he could do that. His hand slid from her hip to the small of her back, drawing her close until he could dip his head a little, breathe her in, then nearly choke as she told him Lottie had been ready to marry him.
”You’re kidding, ain’t ya?” If he’d been sipping from his cup then, he would’ve spit it all back up. JJ licked his lips and shook his head, his brows furrowing. ”You’re my wife … it’s different.” Especially since she’d wared him about what would happen if he did run. He looked down at her and shook his head. ”I never thought she’d get so serious about all of that. I chatted her up at Campbell’s and thought she’d realise it was just meant to be one night of fun. She tell you she ran into me at the supermarket after? Never expected to get the bollocking she gave me for ghosting her? I probably should’ve learned me lesson.” It hadn’t pushed him to actually settle down, especially since Lucky didn’t seem in any more of a hurry to make any of this official than he was, but eventually things did drum their way through his thick skull.
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JJ HART
Human
Posts: 59
Played by:
Ange
Last seen Nov 17, 2024 18:04:49 GMT
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Post by JJ HART on Aug 25, 2024 16:37:29 GMT
Was he some idealistic, young idiot who’d read Zen and the Art of the Motorcycle Maintenance and decided to set off across America on a Harley? Not sodding likely. He hadn’t become obsessed with On the Waterfront or Easy Rider either (although he liked to think there was a little something of Brando about him as he’d swung his leg over the bike at that last rest stop). It weren’t a midlife crisis either. Being within touching distance of forty didn’t mean he’d hit mid-life, it didn’t have him staring down his mortality, reeling off everything he might’ve missed out on in his head. It’d been … well …
JJ puffed out a breath beneath the visor of his helmet, cursing lightly as it steamed up and obscured the road for a second. He’d called it a reward when the bloke in the motorcycle store had cracked off some joke about him getting his first bike this late in life. An article that’d been sold to the New Yorker and the offer of another three article set if he could get them written by the end of October. Pride puffing out his chest, he’d told Call-Me-Jet (not Jeff as he’d called him a second later – what sort of a grown man referred to himself as Jet?), who’d merely grinned and pushed the paperwork across the desk to be signed. He probably had a dozen blokes like him come by a week, looking for a taste of adventure. They were more likely to find an ER instead, road rash and broken bones putting an end to that idea.
The roads leading towards Star’s Hollow were the sort he’d been advised to avoid his first couple of weeks. Winding through woods that would be blazing orange and scarlet by October. The perfect back-drop for the nostalgia pieces he planned on putting together as a palate cleanser after his recent trip to the middle East. Lucky and Lucille had told him about the place, painting a picture of a sleepy little spot full of characters – AKA crackpots, albeit apparently loveable ones. Taylor, the big mouth who seemed to think of the town as his own personal fiefdom (and would probably have a heart attack when he roared his way into town), Kirk, a full on weirdo who still lived with his mum, Mitch, the giver of life in the form of coffee and waffles. It seemed like something out of a Frank Capra movie.
Finally spotting buildings in the distance, white clapboard places that glowed through the trees, JJ slowed the bike finally. The engine had been purring like a kitten the entire way, but the vibration that ran through the frame the minute he started the engine had taken some getting used to.. He’d be glad to be off the thing for a while, if he was being honest. Although, if he could talk Lucky into it later, he’d coax her onto the back. A little ride around the town as the sun went down, clutching at his waist, it’d be romantic.
He'd gotten directions off of Google Maps, but still it took him a good fifteen minutes of going around in circles before he spotted them. If he’d had to keep looking for the house it would’ve been longer still – no small town had the right to be so bloody confusing. JJ eased the bike around the corner of the square (alright, so it was his third time heading through it), slowing it down to glide it in towards the curb a few feet ahead of them. He brought it to a stop, gunning the engine just a little to drag their attention in his direction.
Finally he let it idle and reached up to peel off his helmet. ”Excuse me,” he drawled as the helmet was halfway off. ”I heard there was some place that served the world’s best coffee around here. Can you tell me where I can get some?” His grin was broad, just a little smug as he set the helmet in his lap and leaned forward on the handlebars, giving them both the full weight of it. ”Hiya.” A simple little greeting like he hadn’t been out of the country for months.
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JJ HART
Human
Posts: 59
Played by:
Ange
Last seen Nov 17, 2024 18:04:49 GMT
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Post by JJ HART on Jul 8, 2024 17:28:43 GMT
The bulldog who’d been blocking his path with that pinched look should have been an indicator for how his entire night was gonna go. This was meant to be a bit of fun, a little giggle and dance floor grope with Bebe, a trip back to his if he was really lucky. Instead it’d turned into another of those whispers from the universe. Oi mate, how ‘bout keeping it in your pants. Or, you know, trying a little monogamy. As though he and Lucky had ever made that sort of promise. Agreeing not to sleep with her sister again and making that promise not to go drifting out of Lucille’s life wasn’t the same as buying a ring and getting down on one knee. In the back of his mind JJ knew he wasn’t the sort of bloke cut out for that kind of forever commitment. He weren’t like his old man in most ways, but he thought they were too alike in that regard. The General hadn’t been able to keep it in his pants and he was constantly straining at his like he still had the hormones of an eighteen year old.
If he’d gone to the club for the night he might’ve found some near anonymous chance of letting those hormones off the leash for a couple of hours. Instead, like some pathetic divorced dad looking for a fresh taste of what he’d had and lost, he’d walked in here and ended up disappointed. Retreating to the bar, he’d tried to find some way to turn the night around. The piss poor shit they were serving up wasn’t gonna do that, but lookit, he was getting rescued again.
Guilt fizzed in the pit of his stomach as he settled a hand on her back, a little claim like he had to warn the sad sacks in here away from his woman. JJ settled a hip against the bar, his hand sliding round to hers so he could press a little closer – and not just to take a look down the front of her dress this time. ”I wish. I could serve her the world’s greatest story on a plate and I wouldn’t get a single penny extra.” Maybe telling her he had a wife and kid to support would nudge a little generosity out of Destiny, but more likely it’d just feel like he was rubbing salt in a wound that was probably still raw. He didn’t need his wallet padded, but well, who wouldn’t have appreciated a little more at the end of the month.
”It was more hoping he’d have a bottle hidden somewhere under the bar to spice things up,” he admitted with a puff. Shuffling back, he gave Lucky the room to swivel around, settling a hand on her thigh as she did. He pursed his lips together, glancing around as she had then shook his head. ”Maybe I can make a complaint ‘bout it being mis-sold, cause I definitely got told this was gonna be a party.” Or maybe it’d just been Bebe’s look selling it and as usual he’d leapt in with both feet, only realising once he’d hit that he’d landed in a steaming pile of shit.
Things were decidedly better now, but they weren’t necessarily at the top of their trajectory yet. JJ was grinning as his gaze drifted back up the delicate line of her neck. His eyes met hers, the grin still hovering on his full lips, perhaps dangerously. ”Nope,” he said, letting the p pop slightly on his lips. ”I’m thinking I should ask her permission more often, or just coax her to spend some more time out with me. ‘Specially when it means she gets all dressed up.” He dipped his head slightly, nuzzling her cheek before he pressed a kiss at the corner of that smirk. ”Love the dress,” he said, his voice a low rumble. He’d love it more if he got to peel it off later. If being the operative word.
Reaching for his glass, JJ took a sip and grumbled under his breath. It might as well have been water, or some of that shitty wine they’d been passing out when he’d walked in. Wasn’t like parents weren’t allowed to neck a bit on a night out, they shoulda seen how they all used to crawl out of the officers’ balls and those were meant to be highly trained military men and women on constant call.
Guilt touched his expression for a second as he looked back up, then it was softening. Like with Lottie, the idea of him sniffing around elsewhere wasn’t sitting well with Lottie, although this time he didn’t feel like the threat of violence was lingering in the air. ”I ain’t replacing you and Lucille.” JJ held up a hand between the two of them before he lowered it gingerly to settle it on her thigh. ”One of the mums at the gate at Lucille’s school invited me. Figured since I’d lucked out with you, I could do a bit of socialising with the other mums. That don’t break our agreement does it? Figured your sister definitely wasn’t gonna show up here, it’s all just …”
He clamped his mouth shut for a second, glancing around to locate BB in the crowd again before he dropped his gaze back to the subtler curve at the chest of Lucky’s dress. ”Guess I’m paying the price. No decent booze, Bebe over there with some bloke I’m sure is a dream step dad for her kids, being caught by me wife. What about you? Ready to kick your husband to the curb and find yourself someone who you don’t think’s gonna run for the hills at some point soon?” The promise that he’d made the last time they’d done this dance wasn’t an absolute guarantee that he’d do the decent thing after all.
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JJ HART
Human
Posts: 59
Played by:
Ange
Last seen Nov 17, 2024 18:04:49 GMT
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Post by JJ HART on May 15, 2024 19:07:49 GMT
The smile she’d aimed at him over her shoulder as she’d steered her son towards her car had been all sorts of promising. His fingers curled around the flyer she’d handed to him, crumpling it down to almost nothing when Lucille had finally emerged. Bebe obviously hadn’t been at Lucille’s school concert to see her parents sat together. Or maybe she had, and this whole single parents mixer was some sort of cover for a kinkier evening than he’d expected in a repressed little spot like Mystic Falls. He’d shoved the flyer into his pocket as Lucille scrambled into his car, but it stayed on his mind all the way through the movie he’d taken her to, only slipping away when he’d dropped her off home and had talked his way into a nightcap.
JJ worked his way round the edge of the crowd. There was a fringe of women clutching glasses of chardonnay, work suits zhuzhed up with higher heels and too much eyeshadow. They were the sort who were probably on the PTA, noses ready to go up in the air when they realised he wasn’t actually Lucilles dad, he was just the bloke occasionally banging her mom … and without intending to, her aunt too. Elaine – whose name badge was clipped to an honest to god pink twinset – had already scowled at him when he’d pulled a flask out of his pocket to top up his glass. If she weren’t careful those frown lines would stick, a permanent warning to any poor bugger who came to one of these things actually expecting some fun.
Ice rattled in the bottom of his glass as he lifted it to his lips, a thin stream of cold water and fuck all else rolling into his mouth. It had been his third, fourth if you counted his sneaky little top up, but it was doing fuck all to soften the prudish lines of Elaine’s face as he glanced over at her. JJ worked the flask out of his pocket and refilled his glass before he took a belt of it straight from the flask. The crowd shifted and he caught sight of that scowl again. Grinning at her, he saluted her with the flask before he tucked it back out of sight. It was a crying shame, she looked like she had some decent curves under that sweater.
Turning away from her, JJ worked his way deeper into the crowd. There had to be as many Bebe’s here as there were Elaines, or some Lucky-esque single mothers. Hed seen them clustered around the school gates, and scattered in the audience at the concert. Some of them had to have escaped their boring, small town marriages, or kicked their cheating scumbag husbands out on their empty heads. The dating pool couldn’t be shallow enough that it was all made up of a single – albeit hot – bloodline.
Two mouthfuls and the whiskey was gone, slivers of what had been ice went slipping into his mouth. JJ slipped between two of the tables that had been scattered across half of the room. A handful of people were sat around them, heads bent in low conversation, the lights overhead reflecting off the scantily clad top of some bloke’s head and the even more exposed creamy mounds of a cleavage you could go spelunking in. Baldy was talking directly to it – not that he could blame him for that. JJ smirked, his attention slowly rising to meet the woman’s eye. Bebe. And look, the fella’s hand was turning that mini-skirt she had on into a belt.
Hope for a little action on the side – acceptable action – melted away like the ice. Leaving Bebe to her explorer, JJ pushed through to the bar. Surely at some point this party would have to really get started, and, well, if it didn’t, he could always get drunk enough that Elaine might actually start looking like a decent prospect. A couple of cocktails and he’d get that sweater off of her. The ice queen would melt in the end.
”A double rum and coke, please,” JJ said on a sigh as he propped his forearms on the edge of the bar. ”Actually, better make it two, thanks.” Lifting a hand, JJ pinched at the bridge of his nose. He glanced along the bar, his gaze drifting over a slender form. Nothing like Bebe’s lush curves, or Elaine’s hidden ones, but his eyes slid down to the swell of the woman’s backside all the same.
He slipped a twenty to the bartender, then turned and nudged one of the glasses along the bar. ”Bit quiet in here,” he said, humour in his voice. ”You know what time the party’s meant to get going?” Easing closer, his gaze dropped, following the line from her shoulder to a familiar – definitely smaller – pair. JJ snorted out a laugh. He’d know that pair of tits anywhere. ”Single, eh? Does your husband know you’re out tonight?” Wasn’t like he could say anything since he’d thought he was leaving his wife at home.
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JJ HART
Human
Posts: 59
Played by:
Ange
Last seen Nov 17, 2024 18:04:49 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: 59
Played by:
Ange
Last seen Nov 17, 2024 18:04:49 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: 59
Played by:
Ange
Last seen Nov 17, 2024 18:04:49 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: 59
Played by:
Ange
Last seen Nov 17, 2024 18:04:49 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: 59
Played by:
Ange
Last seen Nov 17, 2024 18:04:49 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: 59
Played by:
Ange
Last seen Nov 17, 2024 18:04:49 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: 59
Played by:
Ange
Last seen Nov 17, 2024 18:04:49 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: 59
Played by:
Ange
Last seen Nov 17, 2024 18:04:49 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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hope to see you in the discord! 
