Page 70 of About That Pact

“Video games again?” Rafe was sure of it. Jason got grounded all the time for playing past his curfew.

“Yep, but I think he played without asking on purpose.”

This piqued his interest. “Who would want to get grounded?”

“Someone who doesn’t want to come to a stupid anniversary party.”

He huffed. “I wish I’d thought of that. My parents have been even more kissy than usual. They keep talking about how much they love each other. It’s gross.”

She nodded in agreement. “Ugh, I know. My parents told me that one day, they hope I fall in love and get married. That it will make me so happy.”

“Ew. I don’t ever want to get married,” Rafe confided to her.

Getting married sounded worse than not being able to ride his bike. The only girl he liked was Charlie, and that was because she was his friend. Well, most of the time. And she had shared a secret with him, how much they both loved reading.

“Let’s make a pact.”

“Okay.” Her eyes grazed around the room, unsure if this deal was worth it. “But not if it means I’ll get grounded. The last pact we made about who could eat the most ice cream sandwiches got me in trouble. I couldn’t have dessert for, like, a month.”

“Yeah, I got in trouble too. No, this pact is really for protection.”

“Protection from what? Like sunscreen?”

He grinned. His plan was perfect. “Even better—protection from marriage.”

“How do we make a pact for that?”

He took her hand in his. “If we ever have to get married, let’s marry each other. And if we get married, we can eat ice cream sandwiches whenever we want. And we’ll only ride bikes.”

She shook his hand. “I’m in.”

After they made the pact, he pulled her ponytail, and she chased him, throwing dirt at him. To him, it was already going to be a happy marriage.

Chapter 25

THIS FAVOR WAS bold, even for him. There was something about the moment he couldn’t ignore and he had to follow his heart on. Her eyes were still shining from the exhilaration of the roller coaster. There was this beautiful, carefree element about her. It was like riding a roller coaster was a metaphor to overcoming any fear she held inside.

“What’s the favor?” she asked, taking in the Vegas strip. “We only have two hours left before dinner, so this can’t be anything crazy.”

“Without a doubt, we’re going to be late for dinner.” He pulled out his phone. Where they needed to go was a fifteen-minute drive. He ordered an Uber with nervousness and eagerness pulsing through him.

“Fine, but if I’m the only one who gets the tenth degree on why we’re late, I’m blaming you.”

He stopped walking on the strip and turned to her. People were zigzagging around them, a street performer played music, shouts came from a bar. All the chaos only added to the moment.

“You and I were meant for each other,” he told her, cupping her face with both of his hands.

She nodded, a giant smile on her face. “I think we’ve both known that since we were kids.”

“Exactly. If you think about it, we’ve never gone the traditional route with each other. When we were in elementary school, we made a pact to marry each other.”

Charlotte pretended to swoon by putting her hand on her forehead. “Such a romantic moment at the young age of eight.”

He gave her a brief kiss while grinning. “When you were twelve, we made the pact I was going to be your first kiss.”

“You did play hard to get and make me wait a year. At least you didn’t do that with my virginity.”

“You see the trend though, right?” It was important for her to understand their connection and the spontaneity of it all.