The Friendship Pact

Ainslie Matthews start in her new school got off to a rough start. She hadn’t made any friends and now, while swinging by herself, the class bully made her a target. Thankfully, three boys showed up chasing the bully away and asking Ainslie if she wanted to play with them. Maverick Harden, Damien Kaheli and Blake Stronghold had added her to their tribe without a moment’s hesitation. The four of them made a pact, a Friendship Pact, saying that they would be friends forever and be there for one another when needed. It was everything Ainslie had hoped for.

The Friendship Pact held true to its tenets as they remained friends all throughout high school, with Maverick, Damien and Blake coming to Ainslie’s rescue whenever she needed them. When the three boys began to develop feelings for Ainslie that went beyond friendship, they reluctantly modified their pact, without Ainslie’s knowledge, to always keep her in the friend zone. Otherwise, they felt they would run the risk of their friendship disintegrating. Not knowing this, Ainslie could never understand why at least one of them hadn’t ever asked her out.

Fast forward eighteen years. Ainslie had left for college and a career on the mainland. Damien had joined the military and was who knew where. Maverick and Blake had remained on the island, were still friends and had kept up their weekly get together where they caught up with one another. One night, Damien showed up without any warning and the gang was back together, well almost. Six months later Ainslie made her appearance without warning. How the boys, now men, treated her when she came back into their lives was nothing like Ainslie had ever anticipated.