The Beach House • JB

CHAPTER FOUR

"Well, how would you like to hang out?"

"I was hoping you'd ask."

Peter smiled and just looked at Winnie and to his surprise she was smiling back as they stood in silence — that was until the bartender broke it.

"Pete, you know her?"

"Yeah."

"Give me back my money."

"Money?"

"He made me pay to know where you were."

Peter sighed heavily. "Dude, come on, I thought we told you no more conning the customers."

The bartender huffed and reached into his back pocket and took the money out and slammed it down onto the counter and rolled his eyes.

Winnie smiled and walked over and snatched up the money and placed it back into her backpack making the bartender scoff.

"Thanks, Jake, follow me, Winnie."

Winnie nodded and followed behind Peter, but stopped at the entrance of the door and looked back at the bartender seeing his eyebrows creased.

"What?"

"Thanks, Jake."

Jake rolled his eyes and shook his head and headed off to the other side of the bar making Winnie snicker and open the door and follow Peter again.

She looked around and noticed she was in a kitchen where there was about five people walking around and cooking, organizing, or heading out the other back door.

"What's out there?"

"The sea, that's where we get our food supply."

"That's so cool. . .and convenient."

Peter laughed and picked up a cooked crab from the bucket set to go to a table and turned around to give to Winnie.

"Try it."

Winnie hummed and hesitantly took the crab from Peter and cracked the shell open and ate the crab meat inside making her moan at the perfectly seasoned taste.

"Good?"

"Yes. . .honestly I've never had crab."

"Seriously?"

Winnie nodded and giggled. "Hard to believe?"

"Eh. . .how would you like to catch one of your own?"

"What?"

"I'm serious, we close in about an hour or so, hang around and we can go catch some crab."

"Okay. . .maybe I'll go chat with Jake."

Peter chuckled and shook his head as he watched Winnie walk out of the kitchen and back out into the restaurant making him go back to doing his job.

While he did so, Winnie found a seat in the far back of the restaurant, it was a booth and the area around her was quiet.

She reached into her backpack and took out her laptop and headphones and got back to work on her chapter that she had started earlier to pass the time once again.

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"More popcorn?"

Iris hummed and reached into the bowl and got some more popcorn as Justin held it for her and he continued to watch Iron Fist on Netflix in his living room.

Iris took a handful of popcorn and ate them individually as Justin took a handful and stuffed it all in his mouth.

Iris looked at Justin out the corner of her eye and cleared her throat and readjusted herself on the couch and moved closer to Justin.