Tyler's POV

I make my way through every room, scanning the sea of unfamiliar faces, but I can't find her. Damn. I get a fucking glimpse of heaven, and then it's gone, just like that.

"Hey Ty," my sister greets me, as I take a seat next to her on the couch. "Feel better after your nap?"

"Yeah, I really needed that," I say, still searching the room for my little tormentor. "Hey, have you seen a girl, in a black dress, with dark hair, and hazel eyes around here somewhere?"

Tiffany looks askance at me, and I know she's about to start giving me shit. "Well, well, well, don't you bounce back quickly," she teases me.

I give her a 'don't fuck with me' look, but she just laughs it off. "I need more description than that, half the girls here look like that," she says.

"She's,... god, I don't know," I struggle to find the adequate adjectives, nothing seems to do her justice. "...fucking beautiful," I say, closing my eyes. I already regret soliciting my sister's help.

Tiffany sits up and scans the room. "There she is!" she yells.

I feel my heartbeat jump, as my eyes fly open and follow the direction of her pointing index finger.

I know my little sister is fucking with me when I see an emaciated looking girl wearing fishnet tights and a really short tight black dress holding up a little mirror and applying excessive amounts of bright red lipstick. "That's not her," I say, resignation in my voice. "Just forget it," I tell Tiffany, and close my eyes again.

"What, did some girl leave you hanging?" Tiffany continues to pry.

"Where's Alex?" I ask her, hoping she'll get the fucking clue to drop it.

"Oh, he's just giving his friend a ride home. This girl Carrie is supposed to be like his best friend, but she has the douchiest boyfriend. Ugh, he was just like un-fucking-bearable. Such a downer."

"Oh, yeah," I say absentmindedly, "I bet his name is Jonah," I chuckle to myself at my own inside joke.

"Holy shit, yeah! It totally is!" Tiffany yelps.

I look over at her like she's nuts. "Seriously?" I ask, not knowing whether she's still fucking with me.

"Yes, that was totally his name. Jonah. What a fucking bore," she continues, and it's like music to my ears.

"Carrie," I repeat the name, and I can't suppress the giant fucking smile that's spreading across my face.

Tiffany looks at me like I'm fucking losing it, but I couldn't care less. I know her name.

"What's with you?" she asks, confused.

"Nothing," I say, not wanting to share any more details with my nosy sister. She sure has strong opinions about everything, and I don't need her two fucking cents right now.

"How do you know Carrie and Jonah? Did you hear them fighting?" she asks me, and I am all attention now.

"Fighting? Really? About what?" I ask, trying my hardest to look minimally interested.

"He didn't want her to drink, or something. Then I think he was making her leave. I don't really know what was going down, but I do know that he was uber obnoxious about it."

"And Carrie?" I prod her. I want more information about the girl. I've already written off Jonah as a hapless fucking asshole.

"She seems nice enough, I mean, from what Alex has told me. I think he said they used to date," Tiffany says, and I notice a frown knitting her brows.

"Does that bother you?" I ask, not wanting to admit that it sure as fuck is bothering me for some unknown goddamn reason. I mean, I don't even know this girl, what the fuck is wrong with me?

"I mean, it was a really long time ago, and I think I'm pretty good at reading people. They didn't have any of that energy about them. Pretty sure they're just friends and that's it."

My sister sounds confident. "Besides, did you see the way Alex looks at me? He's one smitten kitten and there's no denying that," she adds, smiling a cocky smile at me. "But you didn't answer me," she continues,  "how do you know Carrie or her d-bag boyfriend?"

"I don't," I say, without offering further explanation.

I hear the front door open and close. A thought of her returning momentarily races through my mind, but it's wiped away when I see Alex enter the living room alone. Tiffany makes room for him to join us on the couch. He scoots close to her and wraps his arm around her shoulder. She smiles up at him. It's nice to see my sister happy.

"Sorry it took longer than I thought," he says to Tiffany. She gives him a peck on his cheek and gets up, promising to return with a fresh beer for him.

"Hey Tyler," Alex says. "I thought you left a while back."

"No, I was just taking a rest for a couple of hours. Where'd you go?" I ask, pretending I don't already know.

"Oh, I was just giving my friend a ride home."

"And it took longer than you thought?" I repeat his words, hoping he'll clarify.

"Yeah, she was a little upset, so I took the long way there so we could talk about it," he explains, and my mind is racing. Was she upset about kissing me, or about her dick of a boyfriend?

"Sounds like you're pretty good friends with this girl," I say, trying to let him know he can open up and share more information.

"Hey, you don't have to worry, okay? I'm totally into Tiffany, and no one else. Carrie's just a friend," he says, clearly misreading my interest as some sort of older brother over-protectiveness.

"Tiff said you used to date her," I continue my interrogation.

Alex looks a bit uncomfortable for a second. "Yeah, I mean it was like five years ago. We were barely out of high school. Just kids, you know? It lasted like one summer," he adds, but I can't ignore that wistful look in his goddamn eyes, and I just want to fucking punch him.

Tiffany returns with a beer for Alex, and plants herself on his lap. This is getting to be too much for me, and I feel like I really need to get the hell out of here.

"I think I'm sober enough to drive home now," I tell them, and leave the two lovebirds perched on the couch.

I leave Alex's house, and welcome the cool breeze of the night air as I walk to my car. I get in, start the engine, and roll the windows all the way down. The radio is on, and Ed Sheeran is singing longingly about some love shit. Usually I'd turn this sentimental crap off, but somehow I don't mind it just now. It's after three a.m. and the streets are nearly empty. I feel the cold air rush through my hair, and I hang my arm out of the window. I come to a red light, stop, and that's when I realize that I am actually singing along with Ed. Fucking hell.