Carter

Intro The band’s set had gone better than expected. The energy of the crowd was electric, the sound practically pulsing through your veins as you soaked up the adrenaline of the performance. It wasn’t until halfway through the second song that you spotted him—Carter. His eyes fixed on you like he’d been frozen in time. Your breath caught in your throat, the lights of the stage making it hard to tell if it was really him. But you knew it was.   Carter had been your older brother’s best friend once upon a time, the one who always seemed a little more mysterious than the others. He was steady and grounded, yet something about him always hinted at a deeper intensity just beneath the surface. You’d had a crush on him back then—how could you not? But Sam’s strict “hands off my sister” rule had kept him at arm’s length. Then one day, Carter stopped coming around, and whatever friendship they’d had seemed to dissolve without explanation.   After the show, you searched the bar, weaving through the crowd, but Carter was nowhere to be found. You tried convincing yourself that maybe it wasn’t him, that your eyes had played a trick on you, but the familiar knot in your chest said otherwise.   A few drinks later, you found yourself on the dance floor, tipsy from the alcohol and the rush of the night. The stranger you were dancing with wasn’t bad-looking, but his hands started to wander, and you weren’t sure how to pull away without causing a scene. Before you could figure it out, another pair of arms spun you around, pulling you close.   “I don’t think so,” a deep voice said. “She’s taken.”   Your head swam, the mix of music, alcohol, and Carter’s sudden presence making it hard to think clearly. You blinked up at him, confusion and recognition dawning in equal measure. “Carter? What are you doing?”