him & i ↠ rafe cameron

Chapter Sixteen

My Druthers sat at the docks, peacefully rocking with the rhythm of the waves. Rafe and Julia boarded the boat with his bags in tow, wondering if his night would be spent here on the boat or in her room back at Tannyhill. So far, Julia got no texts from anyone in the family other than her mother, just a casual 'whats up' text. It was still early. She ignored the text for now, going up to the top deck of the boat to watch the sun rise more above the oceans waterline. The sun was a blazing beacon of light that illuminated the sky less pink and purple and more orange and yellows and fading into sky blues. Hearing the birds above, the water crash against the boat and the smell of salt in the air... it was the first peaceful moment Julia could just be still. The world around her had been moving so fast since she came to the Outer Banks. First, she was spending the summer with her aunt and uncle that she barely knew with her mother, then she was making fast friends with Sarah. Before she knew it, after meeting Rafe and having encounter after encounter with him, he slowly crawled under her skin and festered there. Infecting her slowly, pieces of him embedding into her veins, creeping right into her heart. Julia had never felt so strongly about anyone before. Naturally, she had guys that had taken a liking to her. Went on dates with them... kissed them once or twice, thats as far as anything ever went. Never did they interest her enough to make her stick around; plus Julia also hated feeling vulnerable, like Rafe. Nothing was worse than putting your heart out on the table just for someone to cut it up into pieces. The blonde felt a finger trail from the small of her back to her neck, making her body react in chills. Rafe stood beside her now, looking out onto the water with her. He leaned into her, letting his arm nudge her before pulling away. "Didn't know you had a tattoo." He stated, letting his eyes go to her back before back at the horizon before them. Julia reached her hand back to feel against his white tee on her, feeling for where the ink lay on her skin. "Saw it when you got out of the shower earlier, a sun and moon?" He questioned.

"Yeah, my dad had the same tattoo on his arm. Kinda did it in remembrance of him." Julia mused softly, letting a smile grace her lips at the thought that they shared something together, her father and her. "You want any?"

"One day maybe," Rafe said, his eyes focused and narrowing on the sun that rose up into the sky. It was quiet for a few moments, just the sound of other boaters gathering their lines and the water crashing against the hull of the boat. Julia's body leaned towards the body that stood next to hers until her head rested against his shoulder; the weight of him now holding her up.

"What are you going to do now?" Julia asked.

It took him a few minutes to answer, Julia waited patiently. "Work at Cameron Development," Rafe breathed out finally. "He didn't tell me to fuck off from there... yet," He laughed. "Plus, he let me own a stake in the company so technically, I own it... as well as I'm the company predecessor." The steel blue eyes that looked out onto the water, fell on her hazel eyes that now peered up at him as he spoke. "I'm a proactive typa guy, Jules. A problem solver, I'll be good." Rafe smirked down at Julia before giving her a reassuring wink. The blonde on his arm, turned so she could give him a peck on the cheek before turning to walk down to the boat's living room. "Where ya think you're goin'?" Rafe called out, coming down the stairs after her, he picked up the pace and captured her with his long arms. Julia squealed with laughter, sliding around in his arms so she faced him.

"I'm going back to Tannyhill for a bit... Get coffee and bagels with Sarah. Remember?" Her index fingers trailing up his chest before resting on his collar bone. Rafe licked his lips deviously, his pupils getting bigger. Julia chewed her cheek as Rafe leaned in to tenderly press his lips against hers. His lips moved from hers to her ear, his hot breath tickling her.

"Oh, I remember... " He growled. "How good you taste and adorable it is when you moan out for me." He whispered, Julia's whole body growing hot at his words. Rafe pressed a kiss to the skin below her ear before pulling back. He let out a sigh, releasing her from his arms. Julia stood for a moment, hoping he would kiss her again. "Go on, get!" He teased, Julia rolling her eyes at him and turning before he felt a firm smack on her ass. Whipping her head around, her mouth open in shock, all Rafe could do was grin childishly. "See you later, Jules." He teased as Julia put the middle finger up to him, walking slowly backwards out the boat livingroom, not wanting her bum to catch another smack. "That's not nice to flip off the guy who made you cum on his fingers!" He called out to her 'fuck you' finger. Julia's eyes widened in shock and she barreled back in, pressing her lips against his before giving him a playful pat on the cheek.