Page 2 of The Bro Pact
Another perfect idea comes to mind, so I decide to sweeten the pot. “I bet my old man would even let us borrow the RV he just brought in. It needs some work, but if I fix it up for him off the clock, he won’t be able to say no to the free labor. I’m sure of it.”
I’m not sure of it, but I have to cheer him up and take his mind off Marissa.
“Really?” he asks, sounding hopeful for the first time all night. “An RV trip,” Kyle muses, his lips just barely ticking up on one side. He straightens in his seat, and a shimmer of excitement rolls through his gaze. “Okay. Let’s do it.”
“Fuck yeah!” I shout, jumping up from the folding lawn chair I was sitting on, causing it to topple backward. I’m completely hyped up right now. Can’t help it.
“We have two weeks until the semester ends. You can sit down and chill, Ren,” Kyle chuckles before chugging the rest of his beer and grabbing another. His eyes are turning glassy, but I’m not his mama, so he can drink however much he fucking wants after his girlfriend just dumped him.
“Which doesn’t give me much time to diagnose any engine problems and source parts. But don’t worry, consider it handled.” I’m completely confident in my abilities as a mechanic.
“If you say so,” Kyle mumbles with a slur, once again staring into the bonfire. I think I’ve lost him.
Kyle has always been the one who has his shit together, knowing exactly what he wants out of life and keeping to the straight and narrow. I tend to stray, taking the path less traveled and zigzagging through life like I don’t have a care in the world. Or a plan.
I’ve never seen Kyle quite like this; his confidence rattled. I don’t like it at all. He finishes off another beer, so I grab two more, popping the tops before I hand him another frosty bottle.
Feeling the need to distract him yet again, I propose a semi-drunken toast.
Chewing on my tongue ring, I imagine how much fun this road trip will be—just the two of us, like old times, before we were even interested in the opposite sex. I hold my beer toward the moon, staring intently at my best friend and his sad blue eyes. “To a summer filled with fun, friendship, and most importantly,nochicks.”
Kyle pauses for a moment before his hesitant smile blooms, growing into something true and authentic. The skin around his eyes crinkles like it always does when he’s genuinely happy. “To best friends,” he says quietly, returning my sentiment with soft, fervent words. “To the one person who can always make me smile, and always has my back.”
For some reason, my heart kicks at his toast, but I ignore my thumping pulse as we tip our bottles back, drinking to what’s sure to be a summer to remember.
CHAPTER TWO
KYLE
Ican’t believe Marissa fucking dumped me. Just like that. As if we weren’t each other’s firsts. As if I meantnothingto her. She wants to spread her wings and not be tied down at nineteen, and I get that, but it sucks to be the one left behind.
Everything was planned; my future laid out. I wanted to go to law school, get married, have two-point-five kids, and a white picket fence. I thought I found that with Marissa, but I guess I was wrong.
“Rise and shine!” a smooth voice calls out before the curtains are yanked back and bright sunlight assaults my closed lids.
I tug the covers over my head, blocking it out. “Go away, Ren. I’m still sleeping,” I mumble in a groggy voice.
“I’m tired of waiting for your lazy ass to get up. I’m bored.It’s noon.” Something crunches as he moves around my room, messing with shit.
“So?I’m moping. My girlfriend just dumped me. Leave me be.”
My covers are ripped away, the intense light temporarily blinding me until my senses adjust. “Hey! I could’ve been fucking naked under here, dude!” I whine, annoyed that he won’t let me wallow alone.
“And that was a risk I was willing to take, now get your ass up! It’s a beautiful Saturday morning—sunny and warm, with a perfectly clear forecast. You know what that means. Throw the bikes in the back of my truck and let’s hit the trails.”
That’s what we do in Haven Creek, Colorado. We mountain bike in the summer and snowboard in the winter. Warren and I have been doing both since our training wheels first came off. But today . . . today, I just don’t feel like it.
Warren doesn’t give up. He never does. “Do you remember our conversation by the bonfire last night?” When I don’t answer right away, he sighs in exasperation. “Ky, you’re such a lightweight.The pact?Ring any bells?”
Oh. Right. The pact.
“No girls for three months,” I murmur, trying to imagine what that might actually mean for me this summer.
No girls. No sex. No complications.
“Yup. And an epic RV road trip with your best friend that you’ll be able to tell your grandkids about one day. You won’t even think about what’s-her-face. We’ll be too busy having the time of our lives.Trust me, Ky.”
I’m still not completely convinced. Ren always has these crazy ideas, but Idotrust him. And as I sit here on my childhood bed, in the Spiderman pajama pants my mom bought me last Christmas, I come to an important conclusion.
