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“And you were mine. You’re all I got left, man.” He looked past me.

“That’s not true. You’ve still got your mom, and…” Reality hit me like a line drive to the face.

Ben really didn’t have much anymore. It had been the two of us and baseball for a long time. And I felt like I was losing both somehow.

“I think I should go.” Ben started toward the shoreline.

“No, wait.” I grabbed his arm. “You can’t walk home from here.”

“I’m not going home.” He stopped. “This isn’t my home. I don’t belong here with these people.”

“These people”?

He shook my hand loose. “Rubbing elbows and whatever else with the rich may be your thing now, but—”

“I don’t rub elbows with the rich.” I sighed. “I’m not like them. You know that.”

“I’m not so sure anymore, man.” He shook his head. “I’ll text Brett and ask him if I can bunk with his host family for the rest of the season.”

Something cold uncoiled itself in my chest. “No, come on, Ben. Don’t do that.”

“It’s like you said. You’ve got enough on your plate this summer.” He looked into the trees and ran a hand over his face. “You clearly don’t give a shit about the pact, so I won’t either. But I will stick around to help your family win, because that promise wasn’t just for you. It may not be a Rolex, but for some of us, a promise means a lot more.” The water splashed as he left me and walked away toward the truck.

Chapter Fifteen

Eliza

“We came into the world like brother and brother, and now let’s go hand in hand, not one before the other.”

—William Shakespeare, The Comedy of Errors

Two years ago, Lauryn and I started a summer tradition to visit the Gem and Mineral Show at the North Carolina State Fair grounds, and even though this year we had rehearsal in the afternoon, we weren’t about to let it pass us by. To get there right when it opened, however, meant leaving at 7:00 a.m.

Thank God for ventis.

A couple of old carnival game tickets blew around in the back seat of the Jeep before flying out of my window, bringing me back to the insanely hot make-out session with Reed two nights ago. Naturally, I had told Lauryn all about it the very next day while I tried to focus on setting cues in the booth before rehearsal. But then the board had frozen up again and I lost an hour’s worth of work, since I had been too distracted to save as I went along.

My confidence in getting back on schedule—or having the entire show set before Tech Week—was at an all-time low. It didn’t help that Reed had stayed radio silent since that night. I figured it was to keep our families from getting suspicious, but as the hours dragged on, my nerves got the better of me and I wondered if he hadn’t texted because he regretted it.

But how could you regret something that amazing?

Unless, of course, it wasn’t amazing for him.

Oh God, what if it wasn’t?

Was I a crappy kisser?

“You gonna eat that second croissant?” Lauryn asked me from the passenger seat. She wore her hair braided and tossed over her shoulder, the lavender and blond shining in the sunlight as her sundress ruffled around her knees from the swirling wind.

“It’s all yours.” I gestured to the to-go box in between us.

She laid her head back and breathed in deeply. “God, it’s gorgeous out today. I love doing this play, but sometimes I miss just being outside, you know?”

I do. “Well, Dad needs a volunteer for the cardinal costume again later this week, if you’re interested.”

She cackled. “After wearing it on opening day, I couldn’t get the smell of Fritos out of my nose. No thanks, Pops.”

A little while later, we drove under the big “NC State Fair” banner and parked near Gate Two. I texted my parents that we arrived and grabbed my fanny pack out of the back. Why some people didn’t like these, I’d never understand. They were amazing and a hell of a lot easier to carry than a clutch or purse.