Lust // John B // Outer banks

Chapter 16

Laila's POV

Dinner time arrives and by this point I'm already missing John B. It sucks ass honestly, because I've gotten the vibes that Katie and Ron strongly dislike him, so I don't bring him up whatsoever. I hate having to be secretive, but it's better than nothing.

I chew my steak while I listen to Payton lie to her parents about how her day at school went, knowing full and well that she didn't go to school today because she was too hungover from being an idiot last night.

"So I know who I want to have over!" I tell Katie and Ron, and tell them about Cameron. They seem heavily enthusiastic, and I end up giving them his brothers contact information so they can do the,,,, adult stuff and work things out.

They want him to stay next week, which is gonna be an agonizingly long time for me to wait, but I know it'll be worth the wait, just to see my best friend again.

Come to find out that Payton's having one of her friends she met online flown out to stay here too, is kind of amazing. That's so expensive and they treat it like it's only $20 gone for them. Kook life, right?

I could get used to this, I genuinely enjoy it. After dinner me and Payton go for a walk, and she thanks me for saving her ass earlier when her parents came home.

We stop by when we see Rafe out at the playground area of the neighborhood, and of course. He's with none other than the terrific Mr Topper. Payton glares at Topper, and I just awkwardly stand behind her while she talks with Rafe about plans for this weekend.

Thank god shortly after, we continue our walk towards downtown. We decided we'd go get some ice cream and sit on some of the beaches for a little bit to watch the sunset, which sounded perfect and aesthetic to me.

"Hey Payton?" I ask her, while we walk. "Hmm?" she responds, and stops walking due to the urgency in my voice. I take a deep breath, and reply. "I really like him. I actually really like him, I've never felt like this about anyone and I feel like you hate him. Help me out please." I tell her, needing to get it all off my chest.

"I get it, and I'm willing to help hide it. If I'm being straight with you, my parents told me to keep you away from him, and I don't know why. If you're happy with him I'll help make it work." She tells me, making my body feel like all the weight on it has been lifted.

I stop right there and give her a full entire hug, receiving one right back from her. "I owe you.." I mumble into her shoulder, and she just laughs. We continue our walk to an ice cream shop on the boardwalk, and step inside.

The cool air conditioner feels amazing, but my whole mood is ruined when I see the girl John B kissed last night sitting with her family in one of the booths. I know that she definitely means nothing to him given that she's here on vacation, but it still bothers me to see her.

Me and Payton order our ice cream, a cone of mine chocolate chip for her, and birthday cake for me. I keep my eyes on the girl the whole entire time up until when we leave, taking our cones to a spot on the beach, sitting in the sand.

The water looks so peaceful, with gentle waves coming to and from in front of us, as the horizon turns into beautiful shades of orange, yellow, and pink. I can only imagine sitting here with John B, he's been stuck on my mind the whole day.

I'm sad that he hasn't texted or called, but there's no way I'll text him first. I'm too shy for that, and I fear rejection way too much. I'm working on getting better about it, but today isn't the day to text first.

After the sun sets, me and Payton walk back to our house in the dark, letting ourselves in and locking the door behind us. We tell our parents goodnight and head to our rooms, parting ways for the night.

My phone buzzes the second I shut my door, and I nearly squeal when I see it's a text from John B.

Sup, cutie ;)

My heart absolutely melts upon reading that, and a million butterflies flood my stomach. I respond to him with a "dying of boredom." and watch as the typing bubbles pop up on my screen.

"Miss you, come see me?", His next text reads. I frown, knowing I can't because it's a terrible idea. But maybe it's worth it? I know that Payton would cover for me, but after everything that Katie and Ron have done for me, is this really what I wanna risk it all for? The last thing I want to do is become a problem child.

I text him and ask "Right now?" and almost instantly, the typing bubbles pop up, making me smile. There's nothing better than the person you want to talk to not taking a long time to get back to you.

"Yeah. We can go to the beach.." was his reply, and I make up my mind. You only live once, so why not? What do I have to lose? Absolutely nothing. Plus, I must admit, I do be pretty damn sneaky.

I've already been to the beach today, but I'm more than happy to go again. I change clothes, still wearing John B's shirt over my clothes from last night. I suddenly become worried that it's been too long since I've showered and don't wanna seem gross to John B, so I pick up the phone and call him.

"Hello?" his comforting voice says upon answering. I smile, and ask him if it's cool if I take a shower before we meet up, and he tells me to take as long as I possibly would need. We discuss where we're going to meet up, and end I the call.

I get in the shower, humming to my favorite tik toks while I shower. I wash and condition my hair, and wash my body. When I'm done, I step out of the shower and wrap a towel around my body and hair. I contemplate using the hair dryer, but wouldn't that possibly let everyone here know I'm awake? Yeah, that's a bad idea.

I dry my hair with a towel the best that I can, and leave my long brown hair down. I grab a long sleeve ron jon shirt and some jean shorts, dressing to be comfortable, and not to impress at this point. I put on a little bit of mascara because without that, I feel naked.

I slip on my sneakers and turn off all the lights, grabbing my phone. Our plan was to meet at the exit of my neighborhood to avoid running into Rafe and his goons, who usually hang out late at night, depending on the weather and island plans.

I leave my house silently yet again, enjoying the breath of fresh air.

A/N srry it took so long to get an update, i got super busy! 20 votes for next chapter.

also DM me if you've got any ideas for this story