Sea You Soon // An Outer Banks Fanfiction

8- Better Together

By the time Kie and I had finished catching up, it was time for me to start my shift. I was secretly hoping that Braeden wouldn't be here today, even though we work at the same time pretty much every single day.

I walked into the restaurant and saw that Braeden was already working. Shit, hopefully I wouldn't have to talk to him. I had every intention of talking to him about what happened and explaining myself to him, but I wanted to do that in private, while we weren't at work.

My shift went by quickly, and once I was done, I went to the back to grab my stuff and clock out. Unsurprisingly, Braeden was already back there, doing the same thing as me. Now was my chance. I needed to speak up so that we could have a conversation about everything. I overreacted last night, and I wanted to fix things with him. I still really liked Braeden, I just didn't want things to move as quickly as they were starting to. 

I hurried and started talking before I lost my nerve. "Hey, Braeden-" I stopped because he had spoken at the same time as me.

Braeden laughed and looked down at the ground shyly, "Sorry, you first."

"Okay. Well, I just wanted to talk about what happened last night. I know you probably don't want to talk about everything, but I still want to be friends with you."

"I was pretty much going to say the same exact thing to you," Braeden said. "Do you want to grab dinner?"

"Sure," I said with a smile.

We headed back out into the restaurant and Kie sat us at a small booth in one of the corners.

Once we had both ordered, I began talking, as I felt that I had a lot to explain. I told him the reason why I had rejected his kiss, and I explained that I just was caught off guard and that I wasn't ready for the two of us to move that fast. 

Braeden apologized and told me that if possible, he wanted to take me out again sometime soon. "Paisley, I want you to know that I really like you. I think you're a special girl, and I want to really get to know you."

I was taken aback. I didn't expect him to be so honest. "Braeden, I really like you to. Can we just forget about what happened last night and try again?"

"I would like that, a lot," Braeden responded, relieved. 

When Kiara brought our check to us at the end of our meal, she raised her eyebrows and gave me a look that told me that she expected to hear all about what was going on with Braeden later. I just gave her a subtle wink in return. 

Braeden took the check and handed Kie his card. I started to protest, but he cut me off and said, "Paisley, it's on me. We're not going to argue about this." The tone in his voice told me that there would be no further discussion. 

After paying, Braeden told me that he needed to head home, but that he would call me later. 

On my way out, Kie yelled my name. "Paisley, wait up!"

I turned around, stopping. 

"I'm off now. Can I come by your place? I really want to see JJ."

"Okay, that sounds good. I'm sure he'll be excited that we're talking again."

As we walked home, Kie insisted that I fill her in on everything that was going on between Braeden and me. Once I finished telling her everything, she said, "I think you two should totally get together. You would make a really cute couple. Besides, who else are you going to date? JJ?" she asked, disgustedly. 

We both busted out laughing, knowing that would never happen.

When we got to the house, we found JJ and Pope in the hot tub, acting as if the past nine months had never happened. "I see that you two have made up," I said, walking over to the two of them, a smirk on my face.

JJ returned my smirk and replied, "Well, I see that you two have made up." He waved his hand toward Kiara and me.

Kie and I both approached the hot tub, and I gave Pope a hug, while she hugged JJ. The whole reunion was honestly a really sweet thing. It felt good to have the Pogues back together again. Now, we just needed to focus on getting John B and Sarah back to the island, which should be much easier now with more help. 

"Why don't you two get in? JJ asked.

Kie and I both had bikinis on under our work clothes, so we tossed our clothes onto the porch and got in the hot tub.

Later that night, after Pope and Kiara had gone home, JJ approached me and asked, "Are you going to tell me what happened last night?"

"Shit, I forgot that I didn't tell you yet."

"What do you mean you forgot? Wait, did you tell Kie already?"

I nodded in response.

"I don't know why, but I'm a little offended that you talked to Kie first. I thought I told you that you can always come to me?"

"JJ, calm down," I said, resting my hand on his shoulder. "I would've told you, but I just haven't had the chance until now. Don't be offended, you're still my best friend," I assured him, giving his a quick kiss and pat on the cheek.

I could tell that I caught him off guard because his cheeks started to turn a little bit pink. It was cute. 

"Okay, will you please tell me what happened now? I'm still concerned about the amount of water that you lost last night."

I chuckled and began to tell him everything that happened. "So basically I really like Braeden and thought I wanted things to get a little more serious between us, but then Braeden tried to kiss me, and it was unexpected, and I basically rejected him because I was really confused, but then I got really upset cause I think that I hurt Braeden's feelings."

"Okay, I'm not trying to say that your feelings are invalid, but why the hell did that make you cry so damn much?"

I rolled my eyes. "I'm a girl, JJ. I cry over stupid things, okay?"

"Woah, hold on. I'm not saying that this is stupid," JJ said defensively.

"I know you're not, but I am. Anyway, I talked to Braeden today and we worked everything out. I think we're probably going to go on another date soon."

"I'm happy for you, Paisley. I really am," JJ said, pulling me into a hug.

For some reason, I didn't fully believe him.