5
Jackson drove over to the library first thing in the morning. He had overslept after not being able to fall asleep until close to five a.m. Mia was gone by the time he got up, so he hadn’t had a chance to speak with her this morning. He pulled into the parking lot to see her car, along with one other that was there frequently.
When he walked inside, Allison sat at her usual table and didn’t look up from whatever she was working on. Mia’s head popped out from between some shelves, and she smiled when she saw him.
There was no denying his best friend was beautiful. Her blonde hair was wavy. She wore a green summer dress that hugged her up top, but was loose from the waist down. It was the same shade as her eyes.
Jackson moved toward her and walked down the row where she was putting books away.
“You look beautiful,” he said.
She blushed. “Thank you.”
“Any special reason you’re dressed up?” He couldn’t help the jealousy that he tried to force down. Was she dressing up for Jimmy? Did she even have a date with him? Did she like him?
But, most importantly, why did he care? He wanted her to be happy. And if dating Jimmy made her happy, then who was he to get possessive?
They were only friends, after all.
“No reason,” she said.
Relief flooded through him. He leaned against a shelf with his arms across his chest. “Going on a date with Jimmy?”
She glanced at him before looking back at the book she was holding. “I think so. Waiting to hear from him.”
“So you’re going to say ‘yes’?”
“Yes. Unless there’s a reason I shouldn’t?”
Her eyes met his, and he tried to come up with a reason she shouldn’t, but he didn’t have one. They weren’t together. They were just friends, and unless he wanted them to become more, he couldn’t tell her not to go on a date. Especially because Jimmy was a nice guy.
“No reason. Have fun.”
Her eyes bounced between his before she nodded and turned back to the books. “I have a class coming in shortly.”
Jackson nodded. “Oh yeah. Of course. I need to get to work anyway. I was just wondering if you wanted to meet up for dinner tonight?”
“Yeah, that sounds fun.”
“Okay.” He rubbed his hand across the back of his head. “I’ll see you after work, then.”
She waved goodbye with a small smile on her face as he made his way outside. A group of students had just crossed over into the parking lot from the school, heading inside the library.
Jackson pulled himself into his truck and drove the short distance to the resort. He had a feeling the day would drag on,especially with how exhausted he felt. He got out of his truck and made his way toward the shed to get his supplies. The planters around the back of the resort still needed a lot of work. Several of them were overgrown with weeds, which had him cringing far too hard. Being short-staffed made it hard to keep up on all the chores, but this one was bugging him enough that he needed to take care of it.
Ethan stood out on the back lawn with a group of people around him as he explained the different trails they could hike. Jackson waved at him as he passed by and unlocked the shed. He pulled out the wheelbarrow and gloves before making his way to the planter closest to the back door.
“Hey,” Ethan said as he approached.
Jackson looked up from where he was kneeling. The guests had all dispersed and were taking the various trails into the woods.
“Not going on a hike?”
“Not right now. Just directing people with where to go. I have a group of bikers I’m taking up the mountain in an hour.”
Jackson grabbed the weeds around the planters and pulled them out, tossing them into the wheelbarrow as he went.
“Any plans tonight?” Ethan asked.
