Page 21 of The Pact

The wounded expression in my best friend’s eyes convinces me that he isn’t lying. “Look, believe what you want. I knew she was shaken by what happened last night. I’m not that much of an asshole, ok? And she kissed me back.”

I exchange a look with the other two. This is our chance to call him out on his ridiculous dibs. We aren’t ten years old anymore. “Right. I believe you. So if she kissed you back, how come you didn’t invite her to tonight’s party?”

His answer surprises me. “Because I fucking forgot, ok?” His tone is dripping with frustration. “She was so soft, so fucking sweet. She got me hard with one kiss and I was so worried about scaring her off that I—”

We all laugh.

Fuck. I’ve never seen Kelley so taken with a girl since his first and only girlfriend junior year. Sara, the one who broke his heart.

I smile. “Well fuck, you know the rules of the game, right? If you call dibs but then you don’t get a date at the first chance, the girl’s game for everyone. And before you start bitching about it, I don’t care that you forgot. You kissed her, so you had your chance. Dibs are gone.”

The others agree and Kelley rakes one hand through this damp hair, evidently pissed off.

“So what now?” he asks with a murderous look in his eyes.

I can’t hide my grin. “Now we play,” I state. “I’m gonna start by inviting her to tonight’s party and we all can try our luck. Of course I don’t need to fucking remind you that we need to make sure that she likes all of us before we ask her to play. No points are up for grabs until the game has been explained to her and she accepts. So that also means no fucking her until then. Agreed?”

The energy between the four of us is palpable. We’re all excited, including Kelley, despite the annoyance still etched all over his face.

After all, even with our best efforts, we haven’t been able to find a girl we all agreed on since the championship races in London.

Ausra is the first girl we all want. Now we just need to find out if she’s interested in all of us or if she just likes Kelley.

As if summoned by our conversation, I see a small figure approaching us as we lock the shack.

Under the light of day, Ausra looks even prettier than she did last night. The sun is shining over her blonde hair, lighting it up like a halo around the perfect oval of her face.

She isn’t tall but her legs look shapely and long as she walks toward us in a short denim skirt and a tight tank top that exposes the fair skin of her shoulders and arms.

We all stand there, no doubt checking her out, until she stops a couple of steps away from us.

Her smile is shy and the redness that spreads across her cheeks as she shows us a plate covered in Saran wrap is adorable.

“Hey guys, I was hoping to find you here. I made some brownies for you, to say thank you for helping me yesterday. If you hadn’t found me, I don’t know ...”

Her blue eyes skim over us all, finally settling on the sand as her voice fades. She looks embarrassed, as if she somehow blamed herself for what happened last night.

I’m the first to talk, taking the plate out of her hands and passing it to Kelley while I envelop her in a hug. I’m pleased when she doesn’t step away from me.

She smells like flowers and the wind. Clean and fresh. I tuck a strand of her light blonde hair behind her ear as I step back from her soft body. “I’m glad to see that you’re all right, Ausra. I was worried about you and I wish I’d gotten your phone number last night, so I could check on you.”

Yeah, I know. Smooth AF. I grin at Kelley’s eye roll. You snooze, you lose, asshole.

“And I’m happy you found us, so I can get your number now and text you while I’m on my way to pick you up tonight.”

She looks confused. Her eyes widen as she gets her phone from the back pocket of her skirt. “Pick me up?”

I nod, quickly putting my number in her phone and texting myself from it. “We’re having a party here on the beach. A bonfire kind of thing. I’d love for you to go with me.”

Redness spreads across her cheeks, she’s so fucking adorable that I get why Kelley even forgot to ask her out. When those light blue eyes are set on you, she makes you forget about the rest of the world. So now we’re all looking at her and the weight of our stares makes her blush more intensely with every passing second.

“I, uh ...” Her gaze flicks up to Kelley, probably to see if he says anything.

So she does like him.

He averts his gaze, knowing full well that I asked her first so he can’t interfere. But all of a sudden, his attention shifts to a point in front of him.

“What the fuck are those weirdos doing here?” Kelley is looking a few yards away from the showers on one side of our shack.

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