1. Will You Marry Me?

~~SORAYA~~

Three years. Three pathetic, hopeful years.

That’s how long I’ve been in love with my best friend, Dax Carter. And tonight, I’m finally going to tell him.

At least, that’s the plan.

I repeat it to myself as I climb the steps of the sprawling off-campus clubhouse hosting Sterling University’s annual Athlete Mixer, trying not to think of how fast my heart is beating. It’s somewhere between excitement and cardiac arrest.

I’ve been finding reasons not to tell Dax for years. He was sleeping with someone else. Then I was too scared. Then he started dating Brenna Crawford a year ago.

But tonight is different. I can feel it.

Dax and Brenna broke up four days ago, and he said he was completely done with her. Since then, he’s gotten more attentive, spending more time with me than before.

Then, hours ago, he called me and said the words I’ve been replaying in my head ever since.

“Come to the Athlete Mixer tonight, Raya. I have something important to tell you. Something I know is going to make you really happy,” he said.

The Athlete Mixer.

The biggest sports party of the semester, packed with hockey players, soccer players, swimmers, basketball players, and athletes from several nearby universities.

But that isn’t why the invitation means so much to me.

It’s because, in the three years I’ve known him, Dax has only invited the girls he’s dating to this party. Never me.

Until tonight.

Loud music greets me as I finally walk into the clubhouse. Heads turn toward me, girls whispering to each other, and I suddenly want to walk backward.

I know why they’re staring at me. Not only have they never seen me at such a party, but I’ve also never worn anything so daring—a black bodycon dress with a plunging neckline that hugs my curves like a glove.

My bright red hair is swept to one side of my neck, leaving the other side bare.

“Raya.”

I could recognize that voice in my dreams.

I look up, and there he is. Dax Carter, captain of the Sterling hockey team, the university’s golden boy, the guy who’s made my heart somersault every time I’ve seen him for the past three years.

He’s wearing his jersey with the sleeves shoved up to his elbows, his veiny forearms bare. He looks at me with his mouth open.

“Wow.” He steps closer, and the familiar scent of him washes over me. “You look spectacular.”

“Thanks for inviting me.”

“No, thanks for coming, Raya.”

“You said you had something to confess.” The words come out too fast, but I don’t care. I’ve waited too long for this moment.

“Yeah. Yeah, I did.” He glances over his shoulder, where a few of his teammates are watching us with weird, knowing grins.

“Give me a few minutes. I need to—” He gestures vaguely toward the middle of the room. “Don’t go anywhere, okay?”

“I’ll be right here.”

He squeezes my arm once and disappears into the crowd. I let out a breath and walk over to the counter to order a martini, just to have something to do with my hands.

I keep my eyes on the space where Dax vanished, telling myself not to lose my nerve. I’ve waited for three years. I can wait a few minutes more.

The hairs on the back of my neck suddenly stand. Someone’s watching me.

I move my gaze among the crowd until it lands on the culprit, leaning against a pillar with a drink in his hand like he owns the place.

Cade Carter.

Captain of Eastwood College’s hockey team. Renowed Fuckboy. Dax’s stepbrother.

Dax’s very insufferable stepbrother.

He’s tall enough to make almost everyone around him look small, his broad shoulders stretching the captain’s jacket he’s wearing, his dark hair tousled around his head.

We’ve crossed paths a handful of times because of Dax, enough for me to know he’s an arrogant, blunt, self-assured prick.

Dax’s Little Shadow. That’s what the jerk calls me every time he sees me. And I detest him for that.

Our eyes meet. He doesn’t look away. Neither do I, because looking away feels like losing, and I don’t lose to Cade Carter. Amusement flickers across his face. I glare at him.

The music suddenly stops, and the dancing crowd begins murmuring in confusion.

I finally look back toward the center of the room, and my heart skips a beat. Dax is standing in the middle of the room, and everyone’s turning to him.

I look toward his teammates, and they’re grinning and filming with their phones, like Dax is about to do something big.

I swallow hard. I’d hoped Dax would confess to me tonight, but he’s doing it in a bigger way than I expected.

“Alright. Alright. So I don’t fucking do speeches. But I’ve got something to say, and it won’t wait.” He exhales, running a hand through his hair.

“I recently came to the realization that you lose things you don’t value. It made me realize I’ve been wasting time on things that don’t matter. So I’m done wasting time.”

My heart is going so fast I can feel it in my ears. He’s talking about me. He has to be talking about me.

“Brenna.”

The floor drops out from under me.

I follow his gaze, and there she is, standing by the bar with her friend, in a red dress, hair done, laughing like she knew this was coming all along.

I turn back to Dax just as he goes down on one knee, a small red box in hand.

“Brenna, I love you.” He opens the box, revealing a dainty, glinting ring. “Will you marry me?”

Brenna’s friend shoves her forward. She stops in front of Dax, both hands over her mouth, and nods and nods and says yes, and the room explodes with cheers and claps.

I’m clapping too. Somehow my hands are moving, and my mouth is stretched into something that’s supposed to be a smile, and I’m clapping with everyone else because that’s what a best friend does.

That’s what I’m supposed to be. His best friend. His little shadow. Not whatever I’d allowed myself to imagine tonight.

I watch as people swarm them to congratulate them. Watch as Dax’s teammates hug and pat him on the back excitedly. Watch as Brenna flashes the ring around like a trophy.

I can’t breathe. My chest is too tight, and I know my face is going to give me away in seconds if I don’t get away.

I slide backward through the crowd, careful not to bump anyone, careful not to look like I’m running away. I open the first door I see.

The air hits me as I step onto the balcony. I immediately grab the railing with both hands and breathe. In and out. In and out. My eyes are burning, but I refuse to cry.

I deserve this. I deserve this for being delusional enough to think Dax suddenly loves me when he has always made it clear he only sees me as his best friend.

“Running away, Little Shadow?”

I whip around.

Cade is leaning in the doorway, one shoulder against the frame, drink still in hand. He takes a slow sip and watches me over the rim.

“I’m not in the mood for you, Cade,” I say and turn back to the railing.

“Shouldn’t you be inside celebrating?” He steps out onto the balcony, and the door swings shut behind him, muffling the noise from the party. “Or did I miss the part where you looked happy for your best friend?”

“I am happy for him,” I bite out. “It just felt stuffy in there, so I came out for some air.”

“Stuffy.” He repeats the word like I just told a joke. “So stuffy that you couldn’t congratulate him before coming out?”

I turn to face him, and there’s that look again. Those icy grey eyes stare back at me like they can see straight into my soul.

“It’s none of your business.”

His eyes scan my face for a long, unnerving moment. And then he speaks.

“Does my stepbrother know you’re in love with him?”

My heart drops.