Valerie P.O.V.

"Hey beautiful," Kean greeted as he came over to hug Ellana hello with a big smile. Aw, that was sweet.

I glanced over behind them, as I saw the stranger start walking in my direction. Oh Shoot. Act natural Val. He was attractive, with dark hair and chocolate brown eyes, not as attractive as Carter though, I thought. Ugh brain, why are you always betraying me?! The three of them rolled in looking like a boy band sent from heaven, they could have a million girls fall at their feet. Who were these people seriously?!

"Hey, I'm Alec," he smiled as he sat down to introduce himself.

"I'm Valerie," I smiled back.

"It's nice to meet you, I'm a friend of Kean's and Carter's," he explained.

"Nice to meet you too," I held out my hand for him to shake, as he took it in his.

"You know, you seem really nice... I can't imagine you driving Carter a little nuts," he chuckled. I scrunched my eyebrows at his response. I've been driving Carter nuts? Huh... Nice to know that little tease worked then.

"Thanks," I chuckled, "and I have?" I asked a little confused, hoping he would elaborate.

"Yup. You've been avoiding him huh?" he gave me a knowing look as I nodded with a sheepish grin. "Thanks for knocking him down a pedestal. I think he's met his match in you, he thinks he's lost his game," Alec said amusedly, as we both broke out into laughter and looked over to our main topic of conversation.

Carter looked better than ever in a black muscle tee, chinos and a pair of sneakers as he stood chatting to a few people. He turned his gaze to the both of us, before his eyes hardened and his lips pressed into a flat line.

"Okay... well I'm gonna go catchup with some friends and pretend I didn't just expose him in front of you," Alec said, noticing the glare directed at us. "Good luck," he winked over his shoulder. Hmm, I like this guy.

"Thanks Alec," I waved before he made himself scarce.

Carter sauntered over and sat smack bang right next to me. Oh boy. After two weeks of successfully dodging him, we finally encountered each other in person. The air began to buzz with tension as soon as he was within the vicinity.

"So what happened, you broke your phone or something?" He enquired.

"Sorry, I was a little busy with my exams and work."

Lie. I was busy chanting the no Carter mantra.

"Sureee." He didn't believe me. But I don't believe me either. No one could ever be too busy to send a 15 second text.

"So, what was with those little evil eyes earlier?" I asked him curiously with a hint of devilish glee.

"Nothing," he shrugged nonchalantly. "Didn't know you and Alec were close."

"What?" I quirked an eyebrow at him. "Are you... jealous?" I smirked, narrowing my eyes to watch his expression. He let nothing slip, as he continued to sit there and shook his head lightly. Hmm....

"You're on summer break now right? That must be a relief," he noted, switching subjects as he casually leaned back on his arms. Oh god. Don't look at his arms Val! I couldn't help it though, the muscle tee was literally showcasing all his hard work at the gym.

Clearing my throat, I replied: "Yeah, now I have more free time on my hands."

"Great, then you'll finally pick up whenever I call." He said matter-of-factly.

"Excuse me, what makes you think I want to pick up?" I scoffed with an unimpressed look on my face at his arrogance.

"Your little act on FaceTime told me otherwise," he shot back, leaning in closer, daring me to admit it, as we engaged in a mini-staredown contest.

I hadn't realised I was leaning into him too, before we broke apart after hearing a couple of shutter clicks near us, courtesy of Sommer.

Peering down through the camera screen to inspect it, she quickly exclaimed; "You guys look so cute!" initiating a rush of heat to my cheeks and an embarrassed laugh. "Let's play a game or something! I need y'all to be doing more interesting things," she shouted to the group.

"Spin the bottle truth-or-dare?" Alexys piped up, earning a chorus of 'yeah why not,' 'haven't played that in ages' and 'sounds good.'

"I think I'll grab some of my stuff to shoot as well, I have a film camera in my car." Carter said as he stood up from his seat.

"Yaaas, that'd be good Carter!" Sommer replied enthusiastically as he began heading indoors. "You in Valerie?" she turned towards me with a questioning glance, as the others began shifting furniture to form a circle and placed an empty bottle in the centre of the table.

"Mmhm!" I nodded, "I just gotta go wash my hands first."

"Oh! Do you mind bringing this back in as well? Kitchen's just round the corner from the living room we passed to get out here," she said, handing me the empty platter of food.

"Sure, no problem." I grabbed the plate (that I probably devoured single-handedly) from her and made my way back up the deck steps.

I found the kitchen with ease, plopping the plate down on the bench before washing my hands in the sink. I wiped them dry on a tea towel as I took in my surroundings. Wandering over to the fridge, I stood there for a minute observing the little bits of art and polaroids stuck to door. Her place was so cute, it was nicely decorated and gave off a very vintage vibe. Totally aesthetic. Turning the corner to leave, I spotted Carter standing with his camera trained in my direction, walking closer with a roguish grin on his face.

"Hey! Noo, go capture someone else!" I protested, holding my hands out in front of my face.

"Too late, already caught ya." He shrugged. "Now I gotta finish the scene of you cutely staring around the kitchen." He laughed as I tried to skip around the other side of the bench, giggling as he kept filming me.

He reached out with one hand and tugged my arms downward, I couldn't even put up a decent fight with the feeling of his touch on my skin, my arms weakening from their resolve.

"You got your footage yet?" I tilted my head at him and scrunched up my face in a little pout.

"Nope, nowhere close," he replied with a smug smile, fiddling with some of the buttons on his camera as he continued to follow me.

"Agh! Mm... will you stop if I tell you I'll try to answer whenever you call me?" I bargained. "Just give me that first!" I nodded to the camera.

"Okay," He smirked and agreed to the compromise, outstretching his hand. I snatched the camera out of his palm and ran away, placing it down on the empty sofa, before turning around to yell triumphantly: "Just kidding, I lied!"

Carter came around the corner as his eyes darkened with a predatory gaze. Oh no. He took a step forward, minimalizing the distance with every dominating stride, as I froze in my spot. My breath hitched as his arms finally encircled my waist and his eyes locked with mine. In one swift motion, he flipped my body so my back was pressed against his chest and his hands gripped the curve of my hips.

"What game are you trying to play at Valerie?" he spoke in a husky voice.

Goosebumps danced along my skin as his hot breath fanned against the shell of my ear and his fingertips lit a trail of blazing heat along the length of my arm.

Mentally shaking myself from the trance of that which is Carter Bryson, I tilted my head towards him and whispered, "One where you'll lose." Quickly escaping his hold on me before the tension became unbearable, I spun on my heel to face him and slowly backed away towards the exit. "Good luck though." I added mischievously.

With a smirk and a devilish glint in his eyes that coulda give hell a run for its money, he replied; "I'm not a player though, baby. I'm the gamemaker."

Ensuring my expression remained neutral, despite the lump in my throat and rapidly beating heart, I exited hastily, but not without the lingering afterthoughts that convoluted into one big question.

What have I just done?

Was I playing a game? Or was I just having some fun? A little harmless flirtation? I do admit I have been giving him the hot and cold treatment. Even after countless of hours of me trying to push him away, he drew me in easily, every. single. time. I never liked when people played games and toyed with other's emotions, but here I was inadvertently creating one between us. Was I being unlike my usual self? Unstable and emotionally manipulative? I really hope I've grown past that.

Outside, spin the bottle passed on without a hitch as people got up to do some hilarious dares like ding dong ditch, prank calls and their best imitations of the weird Fortnite dances, which were all conveniently recorded by Sommer and Carter. I felt thrilled, as I sat smiling at the group before me. It was nice to be included and have their interest with no underlying costs.

Time quickly passed by into 'golden hour' as Sommer called it, which was around 7pm here in L.A. She wanted to do some photoshoots with us all, as this was when the lighting was the nicest. After a whole lot of persuasion, she convinced me to partake in a few of the shots, joining in with the other girls and Ellana.

"Try to act naturally, pretend you're just lounging around but at the same time you're feelin yourself in a cute outfit," Jess said with a smile as she saw how stiff I was. "Fake laughing always makes a good photo too." She added as I tried to relax into it. Hmm... I guess it wasn't all too different from taking regular photos. Just with a professional photographer, a way better setting and a little more posing.

I looked out towards the deck where I saw Carter playing with his film camera again. Noticing me, he shifted the camera away from his face and looked straight back at me, lips slightly tugging up at one corner. He was beautiful. The sunlight streamed down bathing his skin in a warm glorious glow, as a faint look danced in his hazel eyes; wonder I think it was. I drew in a deep breath, because whether I liked it or not, Carter had made some sort of indent in my life and I don't think I could stop it from happening.