Maybe my voice cracks and I sound more desperate than fun.
“I plan on getting drunk and rowdy, Taylor. So watch out.” All I want is to forget my inconvenient feelings for Ryder. And if I have to use alcohol to help, I will. It might not be the healthiest of coping mechanisms. But it’ll do for now.
“This is how it ends,”I say as I flop down on Taylor’s couch many hours later. “I’m getting boring in my advanced age. We didn’t get rowdy at all. There were zero shenanigans.”
“Darling, you’re still in your twenties and in Rockhaven. It’s not exactly the hotbed of adventure. Tonight, you needed to vent about Ryder, not party. And that’s what you did.”
“Ugh,” I say. “I’m sorry I drank too much and got all in my feelings. I’m the worst.” I take a sip of tea.
“Well you listened for hours to me talk about Antonio the other night and debate whether I should move to Boston. So we’re even.”
We’ve graduated from drinks at Ed’s to tea at Taylor’s in our attempt to sober up. He lives in a small, jewel box of an apartment above his shop on Main Street. His living room is painted the deep blue of the Greek sea. Books and fashion magazines are stacked everywhere. And framed photos fill the walls. The best part of the entire apartment, though, is his view of the Atlantic. Tonight, with the full moon shining on the water, I can almost imagine being on a ship and sailing far, far away.
Doesn’t sound so bad.
“That’s it.” I set down my tea decisively. “Last year, I got hauled into the police station for swimming in a fountain. Does Rockhaven have any fountains? I need an adventure to prove I’m still young.”
But Taylor isn’t listening. He’s glued to his phone again.
“Hello, earth to Taylor,” I say.
He looks up from the screen and bites his lip. He runs a hand through his immaculately styled black hair. “Um. Is going viral enough of an adventure? Because that video of you and Ryder is everywhere. It’s up to twenty million views now. And thousands of comments. Everyone is freaking out.” He looks up. “You’re famous.”
“Wh-what? Let me see.” I hold out my hand.
He pulls his phone back. “No. First. I need to tell you something else.”
“No, Taylor. Not again.”
“The video of you and Ryder singing isn’t the only video going viral.”
“Wha-what are you talking about?”
“There’s a new video. Someone recorded us talking at Ed’s tonight and posted it on social media.”
“Who? Who could have heard us talking? There was no one around.” Then it comes to me. “That group of college girls. They were sitting next to us and staring. I spoke to one of them in the bathroom. I told her about how great Ed’s karaoke night was. She said I looked familiar.” I stop. “Fuck me.”
“She must have recognized you from the viral video, and one of them recorded us.”
“I still don’t understand how we can go viral in Rockhaven. There isn’t even a traffic light.”
“We’re not on the moon. The new clip is getting major play as well. People are sharing the two videos together. You and Ryder singing, and then you saying…well. Just watch.”
I hold my hand out again, though now it’s shaking.
He passes me his phone. I click on the new video. Taylor and I are at the bar. Archie naps on the floor next to me, exhausted from the excitement of the morning and a belly full of bar snacks, courtesy of Ed.
I steel myself for the worst. I’m not at my freshest since I came straight from the corgi party, but at least it’s a good hair day. That’s a positive win. But then I start talking.
“Why did I have to fall for my brother’s best friend, who just so happens to be a rock star? I fell in love with Ryder Black that summer we spent together ten years ago. And I’ve loved him every year since. He was my friend. He treated me like he cared. Like I was special to him. I know he thinks of me as Chase’s little sister, but I thought I could change his mind this summer living with him as a pet sitter.”
I say this all and more on video, sitting at the bar, my voice cracking.And then the clip ends. It doesn’t continue with the rest of the things I said, like how Ryder dissed me. And how I need to get over him for good.
I’m humiliated at the thought of Ryder watching this. After the conversation I overheard today, he’s going to think I’mpathetic. All the things he said are fully justified. I am a menace. I wanted to play it cool, but my inconvenient love for Ryder Black has gone viral.
I close my eyes and imagine myself in Tahiti. Bora Bora. Madagascar. I want to find the farthest reaches of the world and run farther.
“Daisy?” Taylor asks, looking worried.
