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‘No,’ I say dismissively, staring down at the dress.

Tess studies me like she doesn’t believe it, but she lets it go. Elodie pushes herself up off the floor. Her eyes flick to me for half a second.

‘I hope you know what you’re doing, Bryn. He’s bad news, I’m telling you. It’s not normal how he’s still obsessing over you after all this time.’

‘I mean … I’m sort of obsessing over him, too.’

‘The difference is you don’t stand across the street stalking him when he’s out with friends,’ she quips.

They both stare at me. I have nothing to say back. How can I admit to them I like it? I like the obsession and the darkness, the way he watches me like the world would end if I slipped out of his sight. Maybe I’m not as innocent as they think. Maybe I don’t want ‘safe’.

Tess is quiet as she starts working highlighter along her cheekbones.

‘You deserve someone who trusts you,’ she says finally, softer now. ‘Not someone who tracks your location like it’s a hobby.’

My stomach dips. How can I tell them it’s not about trust, but about possessiveness. It’s as if I’m a treasure of his to protect, and that’s what makes it so alluring. If I said any of this out loud, they would think I’m crazy. Maybe I am.

Elodie pops up between us, now wearing a silver dress that catches every flicker of light. ‘Okay! Energy shift. We are not doing the Bryn’s Terrible Taste in Men seminar tonight.’

‘I don’t have terrible taste,’ I mutter.

They both look at me again.

I grab my clutch. ‘Let’s just go. We’re going to be late.’

People are spilling out onto the lawn when we pull up. Music thunders through the house, the bass vibrating under my heels as soon as we step onto the pavement. There’s laughter, shouting, and the potent scent of alcohol in the air. Elodie inhales dramatically, like she’s arrived at her coronation.

‘It’s my birthday,’ she declares, throwing her arms wide as if the entire house belonged to her.

The second we walk in, someone screams her name. People rush to her. I’m surrounded by glitter, shrieking, and hugs. A plastic tiara gets shoved onto Elodie’s head. As she moves further into the crowd, her smile lighting up the entire room, I slink toward the back, near the doorway. I scan without meaning to, as if Ash might be here already, waiting for me.

Tess bumps her shoulder into mine. ‘You look like you’re casing the place.’

I force a smile. ‘I don’t come to parties often. I don’t really know anyone here other than you two.’

She grabs two drinks off a tray someone’s carrying and hands me one. It’s pink and glittery.

‘Loosen up,’ she says. ‘You’re allowed to have fun.’

Across the living room, Elodie is already dancing on a coffee table, her laugh cutting through the music. People orbit her like she’s a magnet. I take a sip of the drink and grimace at the sugary sweetness.

‘Bryn?’

Turning, I find Ryan standing a few steps behind me, one hand wrapped around a plastic cup. His brows lift slightly, as if he wasn’t entirely sure it was me until I faced him.

‘Hey,’ he says, a crooked smile pulling at the corner of his mouth. ‘I thought that was you.’

‘Ryan,’ I say, a little surprised. ‘I didn’t know you were here.’

He offers a one-shouldered shrug. ‘Got dragged along by a couple of guys from work.’ His eyes flick over me. ‘You look good.’ He takes a sip from his drink, still watching me like he’s trying to piece together the girl he remembers with the one standing in front of him now.

‘Thanks, Ryan. You too.’

‘You wanna dance?’ he asks, reaching for my hand confidently, as if the thought of me saying no simply has not crossed his mind.

I should say no.

I don’t.