Sunlight painted stripes across the kitchen tiles, warm on your bare legs as you swung them from your perch on the counter. Strawberry gum popped between your teeth, a familiar, sweet rhythm in the quiet morning.

Then, the floorboards creaked. Footsteps. Your head tilted up, and there he was. JJ.

Fresh out of the shower, that damp, tousled look in his hair, a simple gray sleeveless shirt showing off his arms. Way too good for just rolling out of bed.

He leaned against the doorframe, a lazy smirk playing on his lips as his eyes swept over you. "Morning, sunshine."

"Morning," you mumbled back around your gum, trying to act like your heart wasn't doing a weird little flip.

He sauntered over to the counter, that familiar easy swagger about him, and grabbed a glass. Water gurgled as he filled it, his gaze flicking back to you.

"Whatcha got there?" he nodded towards your mouth.

"Strawberry," you replied, a little bubble escaping as you spoke.

"Lemme get a taste," he said, that glint in his eyes that always made you a little nervous and a lot excited.

Your hand went automatically to the packet beside you, no biggie, just offering a piece. But then he leaned in, real close, the clean scent of him filling your senses.

His hand didn't go for the gum.

Instead, his thumb brushed your bottom lip, a feather-light touch that sent a shiver down your spine, before his lips met yours.

It wasn't some polite little peck. It was slow, deliberate, like he was staking a claim. Just enough pressure to steal your breath, a feeling so familiar after all these years of... well, this.

And your gum. Suddenly, there was his gum too.

He pulled back, a slight smirk playing on his lips as he chewed, like absolutely nothing out of the ordinary had just happened.

"JJ, where the hell you at?" it's John B, your brother's voice boomed from the living room.

JJ didn't even spare him a glance. His eyes stayed locked on yours. "Kitchen," he called back, that laid-back tone in his voice.

"Just snagged somethin' sweet." He winked, that signature JJ wink that always did things to you, before finally pushing off the counter and heading out, leaving you there, a total mess of what-just-happened.

Was it just a casual JJ move? Or was there actually something brewing beneath all the flirting?

He hasn't exactly been bringing his usual summer crew of girls around. Three weeks in, and nada.

A stupid, hopeful part of you whispered that maybe, just maybe, it was finally your turn to be the one to hold his attention. And maybe, just maybe, you wouldn't let go.