He Texted, I Ghosted—Then He Proposed

He was my childhood friend—the boy who ruined my ranked matches, hijacked my birthday parties, and sent 99 desperate texts when I ignored him for a night. But when I finally told Carter I liked someone, he laughed it off—then lost his mind guessing, jealous of every name except the one that mattered. Now my birthday’s here, secrets are boiling over, and Carter’s dramatic, rose-filled confession is about to turn the campus upside down. But will his over-the-top proposal be enough to win me over, or will our parents’ schemes and a meddling rival ruin everything before I can say yes? When the games end and the spotlight falls, can childhood friends ever become something more—or will a single confession change everything forever?