Chapter 2

Tessy’s POV

“Tristan,” I whispered to myself, a smile tugging at my lips.

He was sitting alone on the stairway,looking effortlessly handsome. This is it. I quickly smoothed down my hair, took a breath, and started toward him—only for a group of girls to swarm him at the last second. I froze mid-step.

“So, have you seen him yet?” Sophie’s voice pulled me back as she appeared beside me. She glanced over and shrugged. “Oh, he has company. That doesn’t matter.”

I stared at the cluster of girls laughing and flipping their hair around him. “Seriously… look at them.”

Sophie turned to me, her expression softening. “Hey, we aren’t doing this tonight, okay? You look perfect. You’re way better than them. Stop doubting yourself and just go talk to him.”

“I will,” I muttered. “When he’s actually alone.”

Sophie sighed. “Oh, Tessy, you can be such a  handful sometimes…”

“Sophie, come over here!” Owen’s voice cut through the music.

“I’ll be right back,” she said with a sheepish smile before slipping away.

My gaze snapped back to Tristan. The girls were finally leaving. My pulse quickened. This is my chance—

But he stood up too.

No, no, no. I pushed through the crowd, heart hammering. People pressed in from every side, laughing and dancing, nearly knocking me off balance. I squeezed through the bodies, desperate not to lose sight of him.

By the time I broke free, I spotted him stepping outside. Relief washed over me. I straightened my shoulders, lifted my chin, and walked forward, ready to finally tell him how I felt.

Before I could get a word out, he turned around.

My heart dropped. My eyes widened. The world tilted as I lost my balance, legs suddenly unsteady.

“Hey!” Tristan reached out and caught my hand, pulling me forward. I stumbled straight into his chest. Heat rushed to my face as I instinctively smiled.

“Are you okay?” he asked, voice warm with concern.

I pulled back quickly, flustered. “Y-yes, I’m okay. Thanks for catching me,” I stuttered.

“I had to,” he said, a small smile playing on his lips. “It’d be a shame to let a pretty girl fall.”

Pretty. The word made my heart flutter wildly.

“Wait,” he said slowly, studying my face. “I know you” my stomach flipped.

“You’re the girl who served my coffee, right?”

A nervous laugh escaped me. “Yes, I’m the coffee girl—I mean, yes, I served your coffee.”

“The coffee was great, by the way.”

Oh my God, I’m actually talking to him.

“That’s great! I can make your coffee anytime, you know… since I’m the coffee girl,” I blurted.

What the hell did I just say?

Tristan gave me a faint smile and a small nod. He started to turn away.

Panic surged through me. I had to say something—anything.

“Hmm… you don’t want to be inside like everyone else?” I asked quickly.

“Nah, parties aren’t really my thing,” Tristan said. “I’m just here because my buddy is hosting and the entire team showed up.”

“Oh, I mean… you’re the team captain. It’d be sad if you didn’t show up,” I replied. He gave me a strange look, so I quickly added, “For the team, I mean.”

Tristan’s faint smile returned. “I’m not the team captain.”

Wait—what? I had been so sure he was.

“But it’s nice that you thought I was,” he added, his smile softening. “Did you come here alone?”

“I came with my best friend,” I answered quickly.

He opened his mouth to say something else when a loud voice cut through the noise.

“Tristan, buddy! Come on!”

“Gotta go,” Tristan said with a grin. “The captain’s calling.” He walked off, leaving me standing there.

I turned and spotted Ryder Kings—the actual captain. How did they pick such an arrogant guy as captain?

Shaking my head, I headed back inside. The moment I stepped through the door, I saw Sophie and Owen full-on making out in the middle of the crowd, completely lost in each other.

“Okay, five minutes are up,” Ryder called out. They didn’t stop. “It’s okay, you two,” he added with a chuckle.

They finally broke apart. Sophie’s eyes met mine, sparkling with pride as she walked over.

“Best five minutes ever,” she declared.

“I think it was more than five,” I said. “So… are you guys like a thing now?”

“Oh, Owen and I aren’t a thing,” she replied, excitement clear in her voice. “We just like making out most of the time.”

“Ohh.”

“You have to play this game,” she said suddenly, grabbing my arm.

“Absolutely not.”

“This could be your chance to make out with Tristan,” she whispered.

“I am definitely not doing that.”

“Tessy is gonna join this next game!” she announced loudly to the group.

Please kill me now.

Before I could protest, Sophie grabbed my wrist, dragged me forward, and gave me a little push. I stumbled straight into Ryder’s chest.

Strong hands caught my waist before I could hit the floor.

“Careful,” he drawled, his voice laced with amusement. “Do you always crash into strangers, or am I just lucky?”

Heat rushed to my face. I quickly stepped back, avoiding his gaze.

“S-sorry.”

One corner of his mouth lifted into an annoyingly confident smirk.

“Cute.” He murmured.

Before I could figure out whether he was mocking me, he turned to the crowd.

“Okay, Miss Tessy,” Ryder said smoothly. “The game is simple. You get to choose anyone here and kiss them for five minutes.”

My heart dropped. The room suddenly felt too hot, too crowded. This is sick. I feel sick. I couldn’t kiss anyone in front of all these people. I’d already had my first kiss, but not like this. Not here.

“I’m sorry, my friend is mistaken,” I said, voice shaky. “I’m not playing.”

The crowd immediately started booing. “No fun!” someone shouted.

“Are you a party pooper, Miss Tessy?” Ryder asked, that smirk still in place. “If you can’t do it, then you have to drink this half  bottle of whiskey.”

“Are you insane?” I blurted.

Ryder just nodded, as if it were the best idea in the world. My eyes darted to Sophie. She mouthed “I’m sorry” with an apologetic air-quote gesture.

“So what are you going to do?” Ryder asked, that smirk still firmly in place.

Before I could respond, Tristan’s voice cut in.

“I’ll drink it on her behalf.”

My head snapped toward him. He stepped forward, took the bottle from Ryder’s hand, and tipped it back. The crowd erupted into cheers and whistles as he steadily drank the entire thing down. How is that even possible?

When he finally lowered the empty bottle, he looked straight at me. “Thanks for getting me out of practice,” he said with a wink before disappearing into the crowd.

My gaze stayed glued to him, my heart hammering so hard it felt like it might burst from my chest.

Ryder’s lazy voice snapped me back to reality.

“You look at him like he hung the moon.”

I blinked and turned toward him.

“What?”

He shrugged, idly spinning the empty whiskey bottle between his hands.

“Nothing.” A knowing smirk tugged at his lips. “Just don’t look so disappointed when he walks away.”

Before I could ask what he meant, he turned back to the game, already barking out the next player’s name like our conversation had never happened.

I frowned after him.

What was his problem?

Shaking the thought away, my eyes drifted back to where Tristan had disappeared.

Maybe Sophie was right.

Maybe tonight really was the beginning of something.