New Light | Rafe Cameron

rules

"So... Rafe Cameron is your boyfriend," Allie says, her eyebrows knit together in confusion. The two of you were recapping last night's party, and of course she was dying to know what happened after you "abandoned" her (her words, not yours) to spend the rest of the party with Rafe.

"Fake boyfriend," you reiterate.

She rolls her eyes. "Right."

"What?" you ask.

"Babe, I've seen this movie and I know exactly how it ends," she says. "And I think you do, too."

"Stop. I have no idea what you are talking about," you say. "Anyway, I need to go soon." You get up off her bed and look around in her mess of a bedroom floor for your sandals that you'd kicked off haphazardly when you arrived.

"Where are you going?" she asks.

"To Rafe's," you answer. "We have to figure out the parameters of our fake relationship."

Allie raises her eyebrows and chuckles. "Seems like a lot of work to fake date Rafe Cameron," she muses. "Wouldn't it just be easier to date him for real?"

"Be serious, Allie," you scoff.

"I am! Look, I know that the whole 'being enemies' thing is what you guys do, but you have seen him right?" she asks. "You cannot sit here and tell me that you've never noticed how cute he is."

"Maybe you should date him," you comment, sidestepping her remark about his looks. You silently cheer when you find your right sandal under the bed.

She laughs. "If your fake relationship doesn't work out, maybe I will ask him out."

You chuckle and shake your head. "I'll let you know when you're in the clear."

+++

Rafe could already see the mess he was creating. He wasn't sure what had come over him last night at the party, and now you were five minutes away from walking through his front door to discuss faking a relationship with him.

There had always been something special about you to Rafe. He'd never told a soul, but he admired the way that he didn't seem to have an effect on you. With everyone else, he always got his way with the simple snap of his fingers, but with you? Forget about it. You were stubbornly opposed to giving in to his charming ways and his good looks, and it was a breath of fresh air to have one person that didn't cater to his every desire and serve up all his wants and needs on a silver platter. You'd humbled him with your words more times than he could count.

He feels like an absolute tool as he checks his reflection in the large mirror in the foyer, making sure he looks presentable. He wasn't even sure why he cared what he looked like, it's not like you were coming over to visit for fun. Today's visit was transactional. His thoughts are running a mile a minute as you knock at his front door, making your presence known.

"Hey, come on in," he says as he opens the door, stepping back to make room for you to walk in.

You walk into the house, trying your best to be subtle about looking around. You'd been here before, several times in fact, but never when it was just you. Rafe had thrown quite a few parties back in high school, and you had come to every one of them. While you weren't a huge fan of him, you could admit that he threw one hell of a party, and you always had fun.

"What?" he asks, amused that you're looking around his house.

"Nothing," you say, bringing your gaze to him. "Just looks a little different here when I'm sober."

He laughs. "Sober and not surrounded by loud, drunk ass people," he adds.

"Exactly," you reply. "So, are you ready to figure this out?"