"Do you know if they got in yet?" Jaci asked as we were putting together orders
"Last time I talked to them they were flying. And that was about 2 hours ago. So they might be at the aiport. He didn't say when they took off." I replied
"My parents are about an hour out from the hotel. They might stop by here but it's kind of out of the way." Jaci replied
"My mom said they are on their way to the hotel" Oliver said grabbing the two ready orders
"That's good" I smiled
Finally, the rush seemed to slow down and soon it was closing time. Jaci and I cleaned up the kitchen while Oliver did the tables and got some office work done. We deep clean the kitchen every night so he's done way before us. It gives him time to get some stuff done for himself since he's working the register. Heading out to the dining room, Juno came trotting over and Oliver followed behind him.
"I'm going to get some more stuff done. If you two wanna head back" Oliver said
"You sure?" Jaci asked
"Yeah" He replied
"See you at home then. Anything you want for dinner?" I asked
"Doesn't matter" He smiled
Jaci and I both nodded and went out to my truck. Rolling the windows down, I started her up and started home.
"Guess tomorrow is going to be busy" Jaci laughed
"Yup. What do you want for dinner?" I asked
"Chicken" She nodded
"Ohh, remember that honey garlic chicken I made" I said
"Oh my god yes. You made that when I came to your house in Cali. Can you do that please?" She asked
"Do you remember if we used all the chicken?" I asked
"I think we did. Want to stop at the store on the way home?" She replied
Nodding, I made a left turn and headed toward town. Stopping at Walmart, we both walked in and grabbed a pack of chicken from the meat section..Obviously. Getting a few other things I needed for this recipe, Jaci grabbed some things we needed for the house and we made it through check out. Hopping back in my truck, we headed home and put everything away that wasn't going to be part of dinner. Jaci did the dishes from this morning while I started prepping everything for dinner.
"I'm going to go get a shower. I'll be down in a bit" Jaci said
"I may have dinner done by then. Depending on how long you take" I laughed
She just winked and headed up stairs. Grabbing out a good amount of potatoes, I cut them into cubed and filled the pot with water and put it on the burner. They are red potatoes, so I don't really need to peal them. Don't worry, they were rinsed before cutting. Once they started to boil, I seasoned the chicken breasts and got those in a hot pan. Okay...veggies, what did I want to do? Looking through the pantry, I found some zucchini and got that cut up and seasoned. Hmm, air fryer. Tossing those in, I set the temp and time and let those cook. Flipping the chicken, I got three shallow bowls out and set those on the island. Yeah, I can use a plate, but this dish has a garlic honey sauce that I don't want to go everywhere. Once the chicken was done I put those back on the cutting board and threw in the garlic. Adding honey and some other ingredients to the pan, I let that simmer for a couple minutes before putting the chicken back in and coating it in the sauce. Shutting off that burner, I slid the pan back and pulled the potatoes off. Dumping out three quarters of the water, I added some butter, a splash of milk, and sour cream and mashed them. Since i'm not adding a lot of milk, I kept some water in there so they are creamy.
"Juno! I need to take.. You know what. Never mind" I heard
"Hey buddy" I said petting the pup that now sat at my feet
A few seconds later, Oliver walked in and just looked at his dog and me.
"Why does he always run to you" He asked
"I'm loved" I smiled
"I know" Oliver winked
Rolling my eyes, I pointed to the silverware on the island and Oliver sighed but set the table. Once that was done, he took off Juno's gear and put that in the mud room. Coming back into the kitchen, Oliver wrapped his arms around me and kissed my cheek.
"The food smells amazing" He whispered
"I know" I chuckled
Oliver chuckled as well and kissed my neck before walking to the living room. Once I finished dinner, Jaci conveniently came down stairs and stood at the counter. Dividing the food between the bowls, Jaci and I brought them to the table and Oliver joined us as we sat down.
"Oh this smells so good" Jaci moaned
I nodded and started cutting my chicken.
"So, what is the plan for tomorrow and Monday?" Oliver asked
"Well, we close early tomorrow so I think they are coming for the dinner rush" I said
"Then Monday they are coming here to hang out" Jaci said
"You going to give a tour of the property?" Oliver asked
"Well, I figured you two could do it since you guys go out there so much. Or did you want the house to yourselves?" Jaci smirked
I choked on the mashed potatoes and Oliver's face turned red. Jaci just started laughing and I looked at Oliver. He just slowly started eating his food and I shook my head but continued eat. Jaci eventually calmed down and finished her food. I made her clean up the kitchen while Oliver fed Juno and I went and laid on the couch. Soon I was joined by the other two and glared at Jaci.
"What. You two didn't deny it" She laughed
"I hate you sometimes" I sighed
"Are you guys going to tell your parents?" She asked sitting up
I shrugged and looked back at Oliver.
"I don't know. We just moved out here..." He said trailing off while thinking
"I know Jamie would threaten you but probably be okay with it" I said
"Oh he threatened me back in high school. Then again after the dinner" Oliver chuckled
"Did he really?" I asked
"He seems like a protective older brother" Jaci said
"Yeah. I actually got threatened a few times when we were younger" Oliver said
"When...and why?" I asked
"Let's see. First time was when him and I were 16. We went on that camping trip while you were doing something with horses. All the guys were talking about girls and some of them were talking about Kiara. Cause you know, guys at 16 like to go after 18 older girls. They asked me what I thought cause I'm best friends with Jamie. I said I wasn't interested in her but a different girl in his family. I mean don't get me wrong, your sister was hot. But I liked you more" Oliver shrugged
"Aww baby love" Jaci said "I wanna know more though"
"Same" I laughed
"Hm.. When I took you to prom. The summer before when you joined us on a camping trip and got dared to jump into the lake naked. Why do you think I had your clothes.. Jameson didn't want to accidentally see you naked but didn't trust them not to take your stuff" He said
"You went skinny dipping?!" Jaci yelled
"Ah, I remember that summer" I smiled
"You didn't answer me" Jaci said
"Yeah" I laughed "We were all playing truth or dare and I was dared to strip and jump in the lake. Granted they couldn't see me from where we had the fire. Some rich kids are snotty and some are actually really cool. Oliver, I just thought you were being nice when I swam back to the dock and saw you there"
"There were some rumors going around after that one" Oliver laughed
"Like what?" I asked
"Well they assumed I saw you naked. And you swam around for a bit so they thought we did something. Especially since you hugged me in a towel and got my clothes wet" He said
"Aw. Did you see her naked though?" Jaci said
"For a brief second" He replied and his cheeks got red
"Wait.. After prom, is that why he wanted to come with us when we went to the beach?" I asked
Oliver nodded and I laughed. Jamie was being a brat about us going to the beach with out him after prom. His date didn't want to go to the beach then ended up doing something with her friends for prom weekend. So we caved and let Jamie come. The three us of stayed in a hotel room, which happened to be a McGarret hotel because they are almost everywhere. The boys shared one bed, while I got the other one to myself. When we booked, we got one with two queen sized beds. So Jamie was forced to either sleep with Oliver or sleep on the floor. We had fun though, walked along the board walk. Spent a couple days on the beach. I got sun burnt. Fun times.
"You guys had fun in high school. I went to some preppy private school and hated everyone" Jaci said
"Well you hated everyone in college too" I laughed
She just smiled and we continued to watch tv until it got late. Oh lord i'm not ready for tomorrow.
~*~
"Well the dinner rush is done and everyone is in the corner" I said as Jaci and I started putting some stuff away
"So excited. Did we get an order for them?" She replied
"Oliver is getting it now. They are fighting him about the discount" I laughed
Jaci shook her head and we finally got the ticket. Getting their food ready, we made something for ourselves and Oliver and put those in the warmer.
"Are you guys going to eat?" Jaci's mom asked
"Yeah, we have to clean up first momma" She smiled
Everyone nodded and both my brother and Jaci's brother helped Oliver clean up the dining room so we put their food in the warmer as well. Since that doesn't need to be deep cleaned. They finished first and helped us in the kitchen while Oliver went and did some work in the office. Once everything was spic and span we grabbed the food from the warmer and met our families in the dining room.
"Should I go get Oliver?" His mom asked
"I got it" I laughed "Juno!"
A couple second later the happy Mal came running over and sat next to me. He was followed by Oliver who was shaking his head.
"I swear he likes you more than me" Oliver said sitting across from me
I just shot him a smile and Juno trotted back to the office. Probably to lay on his bed.
"So is that your service dog?" Jamie asked
"Yeah. He's been super helpful. Also a good adventure buddy" Oliver smiled
He told them all about the process in getting Juno and our families were very interested. Juno made an appearance since he heard his name being said multiple times, then just decided to lay out here on the ground.
"What do you girls put in this food. It is amazing" Oliver's mother said
"It's a secret" Jaci smiled
"Of course it is" Max chuckled
Sending him a smile, we all ate dinner in a comfortable silence and I glanced around at everyone. All of our families had smiles on their faces and really seemed to be enjoying the food. I'm glad, I never really cooked for my family since we had Melanie. Granted I would help her out, and if she was sick I would take over for her. But this is different. This is me and my best friend making dishes we came up with and having everyone be so content to sit in silence and eat.
"You okay?" Oliver whispered
"Yeah" I whispered back giving him a smile
Finishing my food, the brothers gathered all the trash and Oliver took the bag to the back.
"Well girls..And Oliver. You guys have quite the place. I'm very proud of your three" My dad said
Walking up to him, I wrapped my arms around my fathers torso and he hugged me back.
"So am I. I wasn't too sure on this at first. But i'm glad I didn't stop you" Jaci's father replied
She smiled and hugged her dad as well.
"My boy left me again" Oliver's mom pouted walking up to him and holding his face "But, I will be expecting a care package now"
"I'll try to convince them mom" Oliver chuckled
"If you liked the barbecue sauce that's easy to bottle up and send" I chuckled
"Yes" Mrs. McGarret said quickly
Everyone laughed and made their way outside. The three of us did our nightly routine real quick before meeting them out front and locking up.
"We're still coming by the house tomorrow right?" Jamie asked
"Yeah. We'll give you a tour of the house and property" Oliver replied
"Can't wait" Everyone said
Parting ways, our families got back in the two vehicles and waved as they left the parking lot. After mapping how to get back to the hotel, they have no idea where they are, but I'm betting they are enjoying the views Pennsylvania has to offer. I will never get tired of the mountains and back road views when driving around. Since we all drove together this morning, the three- wait four, of us hopped in Jaci's SUV and Juno hogged the back seat. I was being nice and let Oliver sit up front, but now there is a head in my lap and paws in my face. He is on his back and i'm pretty sure trying to smack me, Malinois are so..I don't know how to explain it. So much energy and personality.
"So, do we have to clean tonight?" Jaci asked
"Should probably tidy up. Oh we are going to have to make lunch for everyone tomorrow" I added
"That's up to you two. Are you going to come by tomorrow night to prep?" Oliver asked
"We have to" I replied
"Maybe they'll want to come and see what we do." Jaci said
We all looked at each other and shrugged as we pulled up to the house. Getting out, Juno went and ran around before going to the bathroom. Oliver hung back with him while Jaci and I headed in. Our house is pretty clean, there's some dog toys sprun about the living room but there's no point in picking those up. I'm assuming we won't be letting them upstairs, so the first floor is the only concern. Thankfully, that's never a huge mess. Jaci started cleaning the kitchen and Oliver headed to the office to get some work done. I got in Jaci's was as I was trying to figure out what to make for lunch tomorrow.
"Girl, move" Jaci groaned
"I will go sit down then" I laughed
She shooed me away as I laughed and plopped on the couch. Fishing the remote out from between the cushions, I turned on the TV and started mindlessly scrolling through the channel guide. The nightly routine: relaxing, unwinding and doing nothing until tomorrow.