Carolina Blue [ Outer Banks ]

IX

I look out the window as we pass marsh and wetland. Kei is up with Pope driving while JJ is asleep in the master. John B looks in the mini fridge for alcohol while I go to the beer chiller and hand him a can. He smiles and opens it taking a sip before placing it on the table.

"I could get used to this, beats sleeping in a shack with no electricity." John B sighs.
"I'm sorry, I didn't have power at my house either." I state looking at him.

He smiles taking another sip of the beer. Continue to drink my water as I look put the window. John B finishes his beer and places it in the trash. When he sits down again he sits closer.

"Your grandparents thinking of selling this?" He asks
"Why? So you can go full kook." I laugh
"Maybe, but I'd use this as my house and fishing. I mean you don't see a lot of 85s in the water anymore."

I nod. He does have a good point. His brown eyes are actually stunning. I try to hide the smile growing on my face. His eyes meet mine as I see his pupils dilate. Why'd they do that? He doesn't seem to be interested, hell he's probably into Chance. I mean she definitely is pretty so it wouldn't surprise me. Maybe he's into Aylor or Caroline. Probably both.

He moves in closer as I continue to look at him. Come on Magnolia, you've kissed guys before. Why are you freaking out over him? Just lean in and just kiss him damnit.

I lean in and close my eyes as he cups his hand on my cheek leaning in. I feel his breath hitch as his lips softly brush mine.

"Ight y'all we here!" Pope announces over the cabin phone in the pit.

I get up and go to the wall phone to respond back.

"Got it, I'm going yo wake up JJ"

Hanging up I look at John B who's still sitting down. Dumb Pope ruined it. I go to the master and see JJ spread out along the bed so I do what Greer would always do to me when I fell asleep on the boat. Run and jump.

I go and jump on the bed inches away from his body. JJ jolts up in panic as I start to laugh hard. I can see him get pissed as he grabs a pillow and hit me in the head with it. I let out a scream as I almost fall off the bed.

"Damn Holden, what was that for?" He groans
"We're at Money Island." I state grabbing the pillow to put it back on the bed.

I walk out to see Pope and Kei already on the grass. I get off as I see John B tie the rope to a tree before meeting up.

"Where are we going?" I ask
"You'll see." John B state leading the way though the wetland

It takes about ten minutes until we reach a small shack. One story bungalow style house with a shed behind it.

"Damn remember when we went here as kids John B?" JJ asks walking up to the porch
"Yeah remember when you freaked over the dead animal in the back?" John B laughs "You peed your pants."

JJ playfully tackles John B on the ground while I go up to the house an open it. The door creeks open and I'm met with cobwebs an dust. The whole shack looks deserted other than a run down table and graffiti. I look around an see the rundown kitchen with broken cabinets on the floor. Looking around I feel like I walks into a bedroom. Two small closets and a book case. Looking at the book case I see loads of classic novels. Lord of the flies, How to Kill a Mockingbird, Uncle Tom's Cabin as well as many others.

"You find anything worth stealing?" JJ asks in the door
"Probably a few books." I joke running my finger over the spine of Uncle Tom's Cabin.
"We're going to go into the shed. See of we can find anything to pawn. Wanna join?" He asks again
"Sure." I state before grabbing random books.
"Dude you can grab them afterwards let's go." He complains

I put the books down and leave the room following JJ outside. I follow him to the shed and see John B looking through boxes. I make my way through the back of the shed and move boxes to see if I find anything worth anything. Putting a box down on the floor, it makes a small tune. Looking through I see a music box. Opening it, the hymn is from Mozart. There's nothing in the box so I just put it back in the box.

As I continue to to look through the boxes I discover an old photo album. Opening up half way so the tattered spin doesn't break I flip through the pages. A husband and wife standing on the front porch while the wife holds her stomach, she must of been expecting. As I continue to turn the pages, I don't see any baby photos or any photos with kids. Just photos at the beach and multiple road trips across America.

"Find anything?" John B asks nearly making me jump.
"Just a photo album. Nothing worth anything." I reply handing him the album.

I look through more boxes and find old news paper articles and rusted gardening tools. I check out other boxes in the corner. Brushing over a hanging clock, I pull it up revealing a large, shattered mirror. Looking at my reflection, I see John B staring at me. I still can't believe I almost kisses him on the boat. I can't believe his eyes dilated while we made eye contact. He gets closer to me as I continue to look at him.

"Don't move." He tells me as he comes closer.

My heart starts to race, is he going to to kiss me again? What if he does, kiss him back. Don't be anxious Magnolia. Just chill. He comes closer while I continue to look at him through the mirror. I see him reach for my hair and my pulse starts racing again.

"I think there's something in your hair-" he says as he touches the back of my head "yeah...just a cobweb I thought it was something else."

I turn around and feel my hair to make sure nothing else is in it. John B stands here going through more things.

"Thank you for last night. I don't know if I said that yesterday." I inform John B.

He looks my way and smiles. Even his smile makes me blush. My mind is going crazy, just lean in and kiss him. Wait until he makes the first move. Do it before someone comes back here. Wait until the right time.

"Check this out." He points, gesturing to an old anchor.
"Wow." I state standing next to him.

He drags out out while the chain radles. Looking at it more, it looks like an older model due to how thin the iron is. John B picks it up while I hold onto the end of it. Maybe we'll get some money out of it, hopefully some.

Walking out of the shed I see JJ vaping at the side of the house. Pope holds unopened records.

"Damn, nice find." Kei smiles as she holds an American flag with an anchor.

We all get back in the boat and clean up. Pope offers to drive again and Kei goes to keep him company. JJ goes back into the master and strictly informs me to not wake him up. Nodding to his agreement I lay back on the couch. John B grabs another beer and smiles again as I roll my eyes.

"How'd you like that?" He asks me
"I enjoyed it. I like antiques." I reply
"That's nice, really we only go to see if we can pawn anything off to get money."

He puts his beer down and looks at me. I smile as I watch his brown eyes come closer to me as I suck in a small breath. Slowly leaning in I close my eyes and finally feel his salty lips brush against mine. In a light movement, I run my fingers through his hair. It feels nice, not spark or gust feeling, but the situation is nice.