Kind Of Infinite (Outer Banks)

Chapter 8

When Ava had woken up in JJs arms that morning, she hadn't thought much about it. In fact, she hadn't thought anything about it, because she was too busy stressing about being late. JJ had reminded her, that Kiara had offered her to introduce her to her parents, so maybe Ava could get a job at the Wreck. So instead of staying in bed, right next to JJ, something she really wanted to do, she had jumped out of it to get ready.

Just when her dad dropped her off at the Wreck an hour later, Avas mind started to process whatever happened the night before. To be honest, nothing really happened. But she did ask JJ to stay and he did. They did share a bed and Ava did wake up to his arms wrapped around her. Did it mean something to JJ? It definitely meant something to her. But why didn't he try to kiss her? Maybe he didn't like her in that way and he was just being friendly. Maybe he was shy? No, JJ Maybank wasn't shy. Would he have stayed, if he didn't like her?

"Hey, Ava!" Ava quickly lifted her head to see Kiara running up to her. Kiara had her hair up in a bun and wore a black apron around her waist. It was just as long as her dark shorts and Ava couldn't help but notice the coffee stains on her orange crop top. Ava greeted the pretty girl and blushed, when she remembered how she threw up in front of her the night before. At the thought of it, Ava suddenly questioned the idea of working for Kiaras parents. Kiara didn't mind any of that though. As Kiara led Ava inside the restaurant and showed her around, she kept talking about the bonfire and her friends, like Ava had been part of it all along. Just when Kiara was going on about some kooks, she suddenly stopped and threw a dark apron at Ava.

"Well, Pope is waiting for me, so I gotta go. Wear that and put your hair up. As long as you smile at all guests, my parents will give you the job. See you around." With that, Kiara threw her apron on the counter and ran out the restaurant. Feeling a little lost, Ava looked around. Hadn't her mother said, that people on this island were relaxed and laid-back? Ava wasn't used to stress and hectic. In Iceland, those words hadn't even been part of her vocabulary. Misses Carrera came to her rescue soon after and repeated all of the important things and the work routine once again, before she told Ava to start taking orders. Learning by doing, she called it.

In between greeting guests, smiling, writing down orders, bringing orders and trying not to stumble over her own feet while holding a tray, Ava still thought about JJ. Just when her mind was about to explode, something suddenly caught her eye. The table in front of her was covered in files, documents, pictures and other papers. Just when she placed the coffee in front of the man who had ordered it, she spotted a picture. It was a picture of the exact same key, that Pope had worn last night. The man noticed her staring and cleared his throat. Ava looked up and met his eyes. Feeling uncomfortable, she quickly looked away, just to notice the outline of a gun underneath his shirt. Mumbling an apology, Ava turned around and walked back to the bar. For the next two hours, Avas mind felt like a minefield. As she tried to focus on doing her job right, she kept stumbling over thoughts of JJ or the creepy man with the key. And whenever she stumbled over one of these, her mind completely crashed for a few minutes.

"Hey, I'd like to get a piece of rainbow cake made of Icelandic magic and sprinkles made by elves." Just when Ava was about to become desperate by not remembering the rainbow cake, she finally looked up to see JJ. Ava sighed and rubbed her forehead, before she closed her eyes.

"You look stressed.", JJ noticed and placed his arms on the counter.

"Yeah, I – what are you doing here?", Ava asked and winced a little at how bitter she sounded.

"Kie told me that you're trying for the job. I just wanted to see how things go, but I'll lea..."

"No. I'm sorry, I didn't want to sound so harsh. I just really can't deal with stress.", Ava mumbled and breathed out deeply to calm down her nerves a little. JJ nodded, but was unsure of what to say next, without irritating her even more. Instead he looked around the restaurant.

"Misses Carrera! I'm sure that this pretty elf here worked hard enough to take a short break with me?!"

"JJ!", Ava hissed and leant forward to smack his arm. JJ ignored her and waited for Misses Carreras response. Misses Carrera lifted her arm to read the time, before she nodded at JJ.

"Of course. Get yourselves a drink or some ice cream." JJ grinned at her, before he turned his head to look at Ava with raised eyebrows. Ava sighed again, but took off the apron anyway. While she washed her hands and walked around the counter, JJ went to grab some ice cream and two spoons for them. They sat at one of the tables in the corner and stayed quiet for a while, until JJ opened the sundaes.

"What's stressing you out so much? The job?", JJ asked and scooped some ice cream onto his spoon. Ava watched how he put the spoon inside his mouth, before he pushed the sundaes closer to her. The girl grabbed for the second spoon, but didn't dip it inside the big cup.

"Are you and your friends in trouble?", she suddenly asked and JJ instantly looked up at her with raised eyebrows.

"What?", he asked bluntly and swallowed the cold ice cream.

"There's this man over there. He had a picture of the key that Pope wore on his necklace. I mean, exactly that key. He caught me staring at the picture and didn't seem too happy about it. He has a gun, too. I don't know, I'm just wondering if, you know... there's something going on with that key that could cause you any trouble or danger."

"You think we stole it?" With furrowed eyebrows, Ava shook her head and watched how JJ leaned back in his seat. He sounded angry. Or maybe defensive.

"No, I didn't say that. I'm just saying there's a man over there, who seems really interested in that key and who carries a gun around."

"Look, it's just a necklace, alright?", JJ said coldly and forced himself to smile. Ava tilted her head a little as she tried to understand why his mood had suddenly changed.

"Yeah sure, I'm just saying that..."

"For gods sake, it's just a fucking necklace. Don't interpret something in things that you don't even know about. Just leave it, alright?", JJ snapped and looked down.

Right in that moment, the minefield in Avas mind blew up. Why was he angry at her? Did she say something wrong? Was she too pushy? Was it about last night? Did she do something wrong there? Maybe he hadn't wanted to stay. Maybe he had wanted to stay for different reasons and was now pissed, because he hadn't gotten those? What was going on with that key? Was it about his friends? Maybe he hadn't wanted her to meet them. Maybe he was embarrassed that his friends had met her last night. She still had to work for another two hours. She had to do good, so she would get the job. Her thoughts were distracting her though. She wouldn't be able to concentrate.

"I've to go back to work.", Ava mumbled and slowly stood up. She heard JJ sigh, but just went back to the bar to take on the apron. Even though she stared down while washing the dishes, she still saw how JJ left the restaurant and she couldn't help but feel a sharp pain in her chest. For the rest of her shift, Ava tried to shut down her own thoughts. She tried to focus on her work and tried not to stare, whenever she brought another cup of coffee to the creepy man. She talked herself into believing, that the man didn't observe her. And she desperately tried to ignore the bad feeling in her stomach, when a blonde woman joined the man a while later. But hadn't her parents taught her, that she should always listen to her gut feelings?