At nineteen, the world still felt like it had safety rails, but as Carly pulled her car up to the curb of the Walter house, those rails felt awfully flimsy. The house was vibrating-literally. I could feel the bass of the music through the soles of my shoes before I even opened up the car door.
“Okay, listen,” Carly said, killing the engine and turning to me with a dead-serious look. “I’m only saying this once. Ryder Walter is trouble. He’s the kind of guy who breaks hearts just to see how many pieces land. Stay away from him, Taye. I mean it.”
I rolled my eyes, clutching my jacket tighter. “Carly, I’m a wallflower. Guys like that don't even see me. I’ll be in the corner with a red cup, minding my own business.”
We headed down the side stairs into the basement. The air was thick with the scent of cheap cologne, spilled beer, and sweat. It was a sea of people I barely knew, and as I promised, I found a quiet spot in the far corner, leaning against a dusty bookshelf.
But Carly was wrong about one thing: he did see me.
Ryder was at the center of the basement, presiding over the beer pong table like a king on a throne. He was all broad shoulders and backwards hats, his laugh booming over the music. Then, his eyes shifted. He spotted me in the shadows, and for a second, the room felt like it stopped spinning. He didn’t just look; he stared.
Five minutes later, he was standing directly in front of me, leaning one hand on the bookshelf above my head. “You look like you’re waiting for a bus, Taye. This is a party not a station.”
'I'm observing,’ I said, my voice steadier than I felt.
“Observe this, then.” He dragged me over to the beer pong table. I spent the next hour watching him play, our banter becoming the soundtrack to the game.
“You totally cheated on that last shot,” I teased as he celebrated a win.
He leaned in close, his smirk dangerous. “It’s not cheating if you don’t get caught, Miller. You gonna tell on me?”
“Maybe. Depends on what’s in it for me.”
He laughed, a deep sound that vibrated in my chest. We went back and forth all night, a fast-paced game of verbal chicken that I didn’t want to end. But eventually, Carly grabbed my arm, her eyes darting nervously toward Ryder. “We’re leaving. Now.”
As we walked to the car, Carly started her lecture again. “See? I told you. He wouldn’t leave you alone. He’s a predator, Taye. Block him out of your head.”
I just nodded, staring out the window. But as she pulled away from the curb, my phone buzzed in my lap. I looked down, and my heart did a somersault.
Notification: Ryder Walter sent you a friend request.
I didn’t accept it right away. In fact, life happened. We drifted. The party ended, the basement stayed a memory, and for three years, we were just two names in each other’s digital shadows. I went through heartbreaks, he went through his “party” phase, and we lost touch completely.
Until I turned twenty-two.
Ryder
I’ve never been a fan of the quiet ones, They’re too much work. But when I saw that blonde girl tucked into the corner of my basement, looking like she wanted to disappear, I felt a pull I couldn’t explain. She was nineteen, fresh-faced, and had these eyes that looked through my bullshit.
I spent the whole night trying to get a rise out of her. I played beer pong like a pro just to impress her. And when she called me out for cheating, I knew I was in trouble. Most girls just giggled; she challenged me. I loved it.
When she left with her friend, the basement felt suddenly empty, despite being packed with people. I didn’t wait. I found her name and sent her the request.
But then, the timing fell apart. We were young, I was stupid, and we went our separate ways before anything could even start. I spent the next three years being the “party” everyone expected me to be, but every time I saw her name pop up on my feed, I wondered about the girl in the corner.
I didn’t know it would take three years for the spark to finally catch. But at twenty-two, the “quiet” and the “party” were about to collide all over again