Summer Love✔️

Never Too Late

Chapter Three: Never Too Late

Unsurprisingly, Mitchell got along amazingly with the guys. It was getting to the point where I was beginning to wonder if they remembered that I was still here, and that I knew next to nothing about cars and baseball.

We left Dave's right around ten to continue tradition and walk along the beach.

"So Mitchell, where are you from?" Benji asked casually. Benji, Mitchell, Marco, and Weston were walking four across while Miles hung back to walk with me.

Uncharacteristically for us, we were silent, listening to the guys in front of us talk and joke, laughing occasionally.

"What's up, Hal?" Miles asked, turning his head to look at me, but I kept mine on the waves for a moment.

"Nothing's up." I replied to him, finally turning to meet his gaze.

"BS. You're so much quieter than usual, and I'm thinking it has something to do with him." He jerked his thumb at Mitchell.

"I'm just tired I guess, double shift really wears you out." I replied with an over exaggerated sigh.

"You love the beach." Miles countered.

"I'm still getting used to guarding again, school just got out a week ago." I replied simply, doing my best to paint a convincing look on my face. I should have known, however, that my best friend wouldn't buy it.

"See, I just don't buy that." Miles replied, raising his voice slightly, and throwing a sheepish smile at Benji, Miles, Wes, Marco, and Mitchell when they glanced back.

"You good?" Benji asked, looking between the two of us.

"Yep, all good." I replied cheerily, flashing a fake smile.

When they let it go and turned back around, I turned to Miles. "Okay fine, you're right. It does have to do with him."

"What'd he do?" Miles asked concerned.

"He's my ex-best friend. And, it's just weird, you know?"

"I knew something was up between the two of you!" Miles shook his head, his face was almost proud that he had figured it out, but it was also contemplative. "Why is he here?"

"I don't know! That's what I've been trying to figure out. They're staying with us the whole summer, Miles. Not just a week for a visit, they're like, living with us." Luckily they were far enough ahead of us now that we could talk freely and not worry about any of them looking back and hearing our conversation, especially because they were being so loud themselves. "Why now?"

Miles was silent for a bit, just letting me process my thoughts. It was like he knew I wasn't done talking, and I wasn't.

"I mean, I left and he acted like nine years of friendship meant nothing to him. And now he's back in my life and I'm expected to act like everything is normal? To just time skip back to the middle of sophomore year and pick up right where we left off?" I questioned turning to him, pleading with him to give me an answer. "He-he was my rock when my dad overdosed in my freshman year, a-and I was his while his aunt was going through chemo. And the last thing he ever said to me was 'that sucks.'"

"I know, I know." Miles comforted, pulling me into a hug.

"Why do guys do things like that?" I asked as I buried my face in his shoulder and struggled to hold back my tears.

"Because we're stupid. And we make mistakes that we don't know how to fix." Miles replied with candor, which elicited a giggle from me.

"You're not stupid, Miles."