Taste ≫ outer banks

10

hazel had been the happiest she had ever been in a long time and she couldn't quite explain why. sure, she had kissed john b a few nights ago and the boy had kissed her back, but could that be the real source of her happiness at that moment?

"what's with the grin?" her mom asked as the girl walked into the kitchen. "you've been in an awfully good mood." she pointed out also.

"just happy is all." she shrugged her shoulders.

"what time is john b coming over?" millie asked excitedly as she bounced into the room.

"john b's coming over?" their mom raised an eyebrow. "is that why you've been so happy?"

"no." hazel scoffed. "i've just been in a good mood lately." she pointed a finger at millie. "don't ruin that for me." her comment was mostly directed towards millie and the little girl knew that as she spit her tongue out at her older sister.

"so," her mom spoke up again. "when is john b coming over?" she asked and hazel didn't even have time to answer as she continued to talk. "you know, he's a really nice boy. i wouldn't mind if you two dated."

hazel rolled her eyes at the comment and a blush coated her cheeks as she looked away so her mom wouldn't notice. she shook her head and cleared her throat before hearing a knock at the door.

"i'll get it!" millie squealed excitedly as she jumped off her chair and made her way towards the front door. she came back a few seconds later with john b's hand in hers and it made hazel gave a nervous smile as she looked up at the boy. sure, they hadn't talked since they kissed, but she was hoping things wouldn't be awkward now. had he told his friends? did they care? hazel hadn't told her best friend, sarah, because she wasn't sure how the girl would react to her kissing a pogue.

"hello, john b." hazel's mother greeted the boy, hugging him.

"hi, mrs. wikander." john b smiled at the older woman. "how are you?"

"i'm great!" she smiled. "i'm making lunch. are you hungry?"

"always." john b chuckled.

"good." her mom said before returning to the stove. john b glanced over at hazel and offered her a small smile, causing the girl to return it before she looked down at her trembling fingers.

"so, what are we going to do today?" millie asked with a giddy smile.

"well, john b and i have something to do tonight, so we won't be here long." hazel informed and millie pouted.

"fine." the little girl stuck her tongue out at hazel, thinking the girl was the cause of her not being able to hang out with john b for a long period of time. hazel only laughed as she made her way over to the boy and hugged him. he hugged her back, gripping tightly to the girl as he buried his nose in her neck.

they hugged for what felt like quite a long time before pulling apart when hazel's mom said lunch was ready. it was millie's favorite: mac and cheese with hotdogs in it.

"i haven't had mac and cheese in forever." john b commented as he was handed a bowl of said food. he almost sounded excited to eat it and it made hazel laugh.

"well, we have it all the time here, so feel free to come over whenever and grab some." she was mostly serious as she sat down at the kitchen table with her own bowl. john b sat at the table with her and millie quickly sat next to the boy before diving into her food.

"i'll keep that in mind." john b smiled as he picked up his fork and took a bite of the mac and cheese. he moaned into the bite and a bigger smile formed on his face. "this is absolutely amazing." he glanced over at hazel. "i didn't know how much i missed mac and cheese until this very moment."

hazel smiled, "i'm glad you like it."

the three finished up their food before millie dragged john b to her room to play with toys and hazel helped her mom clean up the kitchen. her mom had asked what her plans were with john b later and she lied, saying they were simply hanging out at john b's house with his friends. if her mom knew she was going to a kegger at the boneyard she would definitely force her to stay home.

she told her she was staying at kie's house afterwards (even though she would most likely be staying at john b's) and her mom nodded before heading off to her room, leaving hazel alone in the kitchen. she made her way towards millie's room and peeked in to see millie throwing stuffed animals at john. a small smile formed on her lips as she watched the boy pick one up and he pretended to make it talk, making millie giggle.

hazel had no idea how or why he was so good with kids. it's not like he had any younger siblings or knew of many other people with little kids. maybe he was just good with millie. who knew?

she entered the bedroom and sat down on millie's bed, catching the boy's attention. "come to play with us?" he joked as he held up a stuffed walrus.

hazel laughed, shaking her head. "i'd rather watch."

"good." millie said, taking one of the animals from john b. "we don't want you to play with us."

hazel laughed at how possessive her sister was over john b. she wondered how the little girl would react if she told her that she kissed the boy. she shook her head at the thought, knowing telling her little eight year old sister was far from an option. millie was too young to understand and it would probably just be confusing for her.

she laid on the bed, watching the two play for awhile before looking at the time, realizing she should probably get ready for the kegger. she excused herself, heading to her own room, and dressed in a pair of shorts and a flowy shirt. she made sure to wear her bathing suit underneath just incase they decided to swim.

as she made her way back into millie's room she heard her mother saying that the eight year old had to get ready for her bath. she entered the room behind her mom and smiled at john b. "we have to get going anyway."

"i don't want john b to leave." millie pouted.

"don't worry," the boy smiled at her. "i'll come over again and we'll play more."

"good." millie smiled before hugging the boy. she said her goodbyes before following her mom to the bathroom to take her bath.

john b rose from the floor and followed hazel out of the room and out the front door. they climbed into john's van and headed off to pick up the rest of the group. "you ready to party?" he asked and the girl smiled at him.

"totally."