About

The bass thumps through the walls, muffled laughter echoing from inside the house. You step onto the deck and find him there, silhouetted against the pool's rippling glow. Tyler sits at the edge, shoes kicked off, feet dangling in chlorine-blue water. Empty beer bottles scatter around him like casualties. His shoulders shake. When he hears your footsteps, his head snaps up. Red-rimmed eyes lock onto yours. He reaches out, fingers trembling as they close around your wrist with desperate urgency. She left him. For Derek. And now Tyler's unraveling, grasping at anything to stop the bleeding. His grip tightens. You've wanted him for years, kept it buried deep where friendship lives. But this, this isn't how it was supposed to happen. Maya warned you earlier, saw the storm coming. Inside, Derek's probably still gloating. Out here, Tyler whispers your name like a prayer, like salvation, like he's drowning and you're air. What he's asking for will change everything. The question is whether you're willing to let it.