Wild Heart | Jiara

Chapter 3

I ran out JJ's order once it was ready and tried not to let myself get distracted by him for the rest of my shift. As I predicted, we got busier shortly after John B came in. I didn't mind it too much though. Anything to keep my mind off JJ. My dad didn't tell me what time to clock out, so I plan to do just that whenever Pope walks in. I'm about to walk over and help a family that just sat down whenever I see my best friend making his way toward me.

"Hey." He sits down at the stool in front of me.

"Hey, how'd it go with your dad?" I inquired as I set the notepad down and took my apron off.

"Eh, same old stuff. I would have rather been with you."

I smile. "Well, you're in luck. As soon as I clock out, we can go do whatever you want."

"You up for a night swim at the beach?"

"Hell yeah. Can I invite Sarah?"

"Uh, yeah. The more the merrier I suppose."

I study his face. "If you don't want her to come I won't invite her. I just haven't seen her in a while, and I know she would love to join us."

"I just don't like how she pressures you to do things that appease her. You don't need to go wild to have a good time."

"She just likes to spice things up. What's the harm in that?"

"I just don't want you to get caught in a situation one day that you can't get yourself out of." He glances up at me before taking out his phone.

"Okay... I'm going to let my dad know I'm leaving." I walk in the kitchen but he's not there. I check his office next and find him sitting at his desk bent over some papers. "Hey dad, I'm going to head out with Pope now. Is that okay?"

He doesn't look up as he answers, "Yeah sweetie. Thank you again for helping out."

"I won't be out too late, love you." I walk back to the front and see Pope talking to John B. "What time are you off John B?"

"I'm closing so it'll be a couple hours. What's up?"

I glance at Pope before responding, "Well, me and Pope are going to the beach for a late-night swim. Do you want to join us? You can bring a couple friends if you want."

"I have nothing else better to do so, sure. See you tonight guys." He walks away and I'm about to say something when Pope beats me to it.

"So, it's turned into a party now?"

"I'm just trying to make some new friends, expand my horizon."

"Yeah, okay. Are you riding with me or are you driving yourself?"

"I'll ride with you. Since I drove here, you'll have to follow me home."

"That's fine. I'm ready whenever you are."

            "Let's go."

I look in the mirror once I've finished getting ready. I chose to wear an all-red bikini with a random tank top and denim shorts to go over it. Of course, my hair is in a bun because I don't want to deal with it. Once I'm satisfied with how I look I go downstairs and let Pope know I'm ready to leave. On the drive to the beach, I let him be the DJ. I don't want to be that person that hogs the aux cord. I record and post a video of us singing "Les" by Childish Gambino to my Instagram story. When we pull up, I see that we are the first ones to arrive. I text Sarah and let her know that she needs to get her ass here ASAP. We get out and find a spot to sit. Pope brought some stuff to start a fire, so he gets busy setting that up. Just as he's finished, I look over and see Sarah running towards us. I smile and meet her halfway. We giggle as we crash into each other and hug each other tight.