Serenading Sunshine - JJ Maybank

Page 31

"What's this?" I watched Pope smack JJ's hand away, "Don't touch that. I'm trying to work out this thing."

"God bless geeks, Pope. Truly, man. What would we do without you to control the drones?" I smiled a devious grin, "why they'd take over the world of course," I pumped my brows at the blonde and he faked a shocked face filled with surprise, "no, not my robo puppy," I frowned giving a sad nod, "I'm afraid so sunshine, Tortus will betray you first."

"No!"

"It's not a drone. It's an ROV." Pope was fiddling with the controls trying to work it out as JJ and I messed with him and around in general, "Shut up. Shut up." I laughed at him, JJ turning to flick my forehead, "Hey come on JJ," Kiara came up for air, "It's too early for that right now."

"Hey, once we get footage of the wreck, we'll bring it to a lawyer in town and file a formal claim." John B had started speaking as soon as he came up for air, I smiled down at him, leaning over the side as they all talked, the other three looking at the camera's footage on screen, "finally decided to join us huh?"

I gave him a shrug and a playful wink as the words behind me ensued, "it's bullshit. Why do we have to do that?"

"Well, there is maritime salvage law. You can't just go to the ocean floor and scoop a bunch of stuff up." Turning around to face the others I stood there keeping quiet just listening, "I know. I know." JJ looked off in the distance, "It's just lawyers aren't cheap, bro."

"As soon as they see the footage, they'll work for a comp."

"How do you know all of that?"

"Cause my dad said it, like, a million times."

"Yeah, that's fair."

"This tether is, like, really long. In the wrong weather, it could get pushed around." I nodded agreeing, "then we'll go at dead calm." There's thunder rumbling in the distance as I looked behind me with a glance out at the water, "At slack tide?"

"So now, we just gotta wait around for the right weather. And today is not that day." I looked off to see the storm clouds again and just as Kiara looked at me, I yawned and she tilted her head climbing up onto the deck next to me, "Is your tongue green?"

I stuck my tongue out and tried to look at it, "Is it?" Pope and her nodded, "Must have been the gummies," I looked at JJ and he stuck his tongue out, "Is mine blue?" I shook my head, "No it's green," Pope spoke up, "What gummies did you eat?"

"I had the fruity lemons and he had the blue raspberry ones," I nodded and all four of us looked around at each other, "So how'd you get green?"

"Oh..." I looked up at JJ and shrugged, "We mixed them, worst mistake ever by the way," Kiara and Pope sighed, "Oh okay, thought you were macking on each other or something," JJ snorted as I smiled a huffed laugh leaving my mouth, "as if."

I looked up at him nodding playfully as he looked down at me, "Okay, okay... just for that remind me not to mack on you," He looked offended, his hand on his chest, "Dang and here I thought I could teach you how to kiss," I dropped my jaw laughing as Pope made an 'oop' sound Kiara snorting in the background.

I looked at him before biting my lip and tucking my hair behind my ear like Debbie Ryan, "Well I mean..." I bursted with laughter as everyone else did the same, John B just now pulling himself out of the water, "What's going on?"

"Just JJ and Cali being idiots, you guys suck by the way." JJ looked at Kiara and shrugged, gesturing to me, "Hey hold on now... she chokes too." I nodded up at John B when he looked down at me, "Yeah I couldn't fit all of it in my mouth." His mouth dropped open just a little bit not in shock or humor but something else I couldn't place and looked between us as Pope and Kiara started laughing, almost crying trying to hold their giggles in, JJ also trying to hold in his laughter for once.

"Y'all are dirty minded, need to wash your brains with bacterial soap." I waved them off with a smile, "wait hold on now I'm lost," I rolled my eyes calming down as Kiara heaved, her laugh slowly dying, "It's nothing, sunshine here just wanted to shove a handful of gummies in my mouth this morning." He shook his head with a smile, a small laugh huffing from him with what looked like relief at the sight of me poking my tongue out at him.