my daydream collection | outer banks

the dock (l+f) | john b x reader

"he belong to you?" john b asked.

"my baby cousin. this is jaime."

john b waved to jaime and held out his fist for a fist bump. "nice to meet you, jaime. my name's john b."

you coughed and looked over at the boat so you wouldn't have to keep looking at john b. as much as you talked to kie--and as much as you thought the guy was attractive--you couldn't remember the last time you had actually talked to him. you felt as if you had completely forgotten to socialize.

"so what are you guys up to?" he asked as he straightened up.

"oh, just looking after jaime. we were gonna go make fun of the golfers, but it doesn't look like anyone's out today." you looked over your shoulder to see your brothers loitering at the top of the hill. "they probably want to go surfing, so jaime and i will have to find something else to do."

"i, uh... i could take y'all fishing," he offered. his eyes widened and cheeks reddened when you looked back at him, as if he couldn't actually believe he had said that. "i mean, if you want to. if that's okay with you."

you blinked a few times, barely registering that jaime was tugging on your hand and begging you to take john b up on his offer. you were almost completely sure kie's friends didn't like you, john b included, so why the hell was he initiating spending time with you? finally jaime yanked your hand hard enough to catch your attention.

"can we please go fishing with your friend?" jaime whined, looking up at you with his puppy dog eyes. "pleeeaaaase?"

"he's not my-" you cut yourself off with a sigh and finally nodded. "fine. let me just tell christian and diego what's going on."

jaime cheered and grinned up at john b as you stalked back down the dock. john b smiled and rested his hands on his hips.

"you wanna get in the boat, little man?"

your baby cousin eagerly put his foot on the edge of the boat but let out a yelp when the boat drifted away from him. jaime's arms flailed about as he began to lose his balance. john b was quick to grab jaime under his armpits and lift him up, letting out a pretend groan as he swung him onto the boat.

"i got you, little man, you're all good. a little heavy, though," john b teased.

"hmph." a grin threatened to pull at john b's lips when the little boy stuck up his nose and let out a scoff. he sounded a lot like you when he did that. "maybe you're just weaker than you look. y/n can carry me just fine."

"that doesn't surprise me. your cousin's pretty strong."

jaime narrowed his eyes at the older boy when john b looked over his shoulder at you and let out a quiet sigh. why were big kids so weird? you returned with a vest slung over your shoulder, no doubt coming from one of the fancy yachts docked nearby.

"didn't think kooks liked to steal from each other," john b called as you approached his boat again.

"it's called borrowing," you corrected with a huff, reminding him of jaime just a few moments before. "and there's no way i'm letting my baby cousin on your boat without some basic safety."

"what, you don't trust me?" he asked as he lifted a hand to you.

you rolled your eyes but accepted the hand he offered to help you into the boat. you felt your cheeks heat up a bit at the feeling of his calloused hand wrapped around yours.

"it's not that i don't trust you. he wears a vest whenever we go on any boat, even our grandfather's. nothing to do with you or your boat. just gotta look after my baby."