“You dating Mia yet, Jackson?” Ethan asked.
Jackson rolled his eyes. His family constantly asked him when he and Mia would start dating. It was the longest running joke in their family, and it was annoying as all hell. Despite him constantly letting his family know they were just friends, they continued to ask. He wasn’t sure if it was to annoy him or if they actually believed the two of them would end up together.
“Har har. I will not entertain that with an answer.”
Jackson dug up his bush and Ethan came over to grip it and help yank it out of the ground before they deposited it in the wheelbarrow. The bushes were large, but they could fit two in before needing to empty it.
“But for real, have you hung out with her lately?” Ethan asked.
“Of course. She’s my best friend.”
Jackson didn’t miss the look Ethan and Noah gave each other, but he ignored it. They worked side-by-side, tearing out the bushes and taking turns emptying the wheelbarrow into the back of the resort work truck to be disposed of at the dump later.
After an hour had passed, Miles came out the front door carrying a tray with a pitcher of ice water and some sandwiches. The guys all pulled their gloves off and sat down on the tailgate of the truck and a nearby bench to take a break. Miles joined them, this time without his chef’s coat on.
Jackson’s mind moved to his conversation with Mia about what she had found in her diary. It occupied most of his thoughts that evening as he tried to remember why they made the pact. Eventually, the memory came back to him.
Mia saton a bench in front of the middle school, waiting for her mom to come pick her up. Jackson sat beside her, watching his best friend as she fought the emotion she was trying to hide.
He bumped her shoulder with his. “You okay?”
She nodded and let out a shaky sigh. “Just humiliated.”
“I don’t think it was personal.” Josh had turned her down because he was interested in someone else. It didn’t technically have anything to do with Mia.
“Still humiliating.” She twiddled her thumbs in her lap. “I don’t think any guys will ever like me.”
Jackson raised his eyebrows. Mia was perfect. He couldn’t imagine any guy not wanting her. Except for himself. She was his best friend, after all.
“That’s not true. You’ll find a guy when we’re in high school. I’m sure of it.”
She quickly swiped a hand across her cheek. Under the lamplight, he could see the streak of water from her tears.
“Yeah right.”
Jackson leaned forward and rested his elbows on his thighs. “Look at me, Mia.”
She turned her head, and the tears she fought so hard to keep back were glistening in her eyes. His heart hurt seeing it.
“When we are thirty, if neither of us is married, let’s marry each other.”
She looked at him incredulously. “What?”
He smiled. There was no way she’d still be single by then, so he knew the time would never come for it to happen. The feelings weren’t there for him. There couldn’t be. No way could he marry his best friend and risk a friendship. That would be crazy!
“Let’s get married when we’re thirty, if we’re both single.”
A van pulled up to the curb, interrupting their conversation. Mia’s mom waved from the driver’s seat.
Mia held up a finger at her mom, signaling to wait a moment. “Are you serious?”
“Deathly.”
The smile he hoped to see bloomed on her face. “Okay. It’s a deal.”
She held out her hand, and he took it in his, giving it a small squeeze before they shook on it.
“Earth to Jackson.”
