Against your better judgement, you'd come back.
You'd managed to escape Kildare Island for nine whole months, spending your freshman year of college on the mainland with your best friend Allie. You'd both met new people, had new experiences, and did your best to forget about all the nonsense that came with living in an incredibly small town. And that included your ex.
You and James had tried to do the whole long distance thing; he had gone to college in Florida and you had stayed in North Carolina, albeit a different city. You'd made it until October before it became too much. He ended up cheating on you with a girl he met at school, then had the audacity to cry about it over FaceTime as he begged you to take him back. You were not the type of girl to take back a cheater, no matter how much he promised he wouldn't do it again. Your trust had been destroyed, along with your heart.
You had wanted to find an apartment on the mainland that you could move into right as you had to move out of your freshman dorm, but your parents begged you to come home for one last summer before you "grew up on them", and Allie wanted to have one last summer back on Kildare Island. You'd given in to both parties and moved back home just this past weekend.
"There's a party tonight," Allie says as she's sprawled out on your bed scrolling through her phone.
"Of course there is," you say dryly. "There's always a party."
"Yeah, and we're going," she says definitively. "It starts at 9:00."
"It's going to be a huge one, isn't it?" you ask.
"Oh yeah, definitely. Everyone's back home for the summer, none of us have seen each other in almost a year, and it's time to reunite," she says enthusiastically. "Why aren't you excited?"
You sigh. "I mean, I am, in a sense. But you know James is going to be there. I haven't talked to him in months. It's just going to be awkward, you know?"
She waves you off. "Babe, don't worry about it. This summer is about having fun. Do not let your ex get in the way of that. There are plenty of other fish in the sea."
"The sea that is Kildare Island is pretty desolate, considering we know everyone," you reply.
"Just try? For me?" Allie pouts.
"I'll try. No promises though," you warn.
She grins. "That's the spirit. Now, why don't I help you pick out a hot outfit before I have to leave to go get ready?"
+++
As expected, the stretch of beach known as the Boneyard is absolutely packed when you arrive. It seemed like your entire graduating class was there, plus all the other local kids from the island. You force yourself not to scan the crowd for your ex as Allie drags you towards the kegs for a beer.
It wasn't that you wanted to see him, you just knew it was inevitable. Allie still followed him on Instagram, and she had told you he had moved back home around the same time you did. You knew he would've heard about the party, so you steeled yourself for the unavoidable run-in with him.
With a fresh beer in hand, you and Allie wander along the beach, saying hello to different people and stopping to chat here and there. It doesn't take long for you to relax and get into party mode. You down three beers without realizing it, and as you stop to fill up your cup for the fourth time, you hear your name called from behind your back. You look over your shoulder to see Rafe Cameron approaching you.
"Oh, it's you," you say in disgust as you hand the tap to Allie. You were a little surprised Rafe was even speaking to you. You'd never exactly gotten along. He was a popular jock that acted like he owned the place (and, to be fair, he kind of did), but because you didn't fall in line with everyone else and fawn over him, he didn't seem to like you much. It certainly didn't help that you called him out on his douchey behavior whenever he exhibited it, which had been almost daily back in high school.
"What's up?" he asks.
You shrug. "Uh, just getting drunk. This is a party, you know," you say, gesturing around you dramatically at the people milling around with red plastic cups in hand.
He rolls his eyes. "Yeah, I know. Who's idea do you think it was?"
"Oh, silly me, should've known you were behind this," you say sarcastically.
"I'm always behind the biggest parties," he says with smirk. "So, how's school? You're at NC State, right?" he asks.
"Yeah," you say, surprised he knows that. "In Raleigh."
"I'm at Duke! Research Triangle neighbors," he says with a laugh.
"Great, neighbors," you say dryly, taking a long drink. "So glad to know that even when I'm on the mainland, the worst part of home is still only minutes away."
"I'm the worst part of home?" Rafe asks with a smirk. "I figured it would be James."
"What do you know about James?" you ask, genuinely curious about how he might know your business.
"I know he cheated on you," he says casually. "Which, by the way, is super shitty of him."
You scowl at him. "What do you care?" you ask harshly.
A flash of emotion you don't recognize takes over his face before it goes back to his usual cocky smirk. "I don't really. Just saying that cheating on someone is pretty shitty. No one deserves that. Even someone like you."
"Oh, someone like me? What is that supposed to mean?" you challenge.
He laughs. "Um, well—"
"Rafe!" a voice bellows from behind him, cutting him off. You look past Rafe to see Topper Thornton, his best friend, walking over.
"Top, hey man," Rafe says as Topper approaches.
"I thought you were getting a refill and coming right back," Topper says.
"I am," Rafe replies. "Just stopped to talk to y/n for a minute."
Topper looks you up and down before giving Rafe a look. "Hmm, right. Well, wrap it up, you're up in pong soon," he says after a pause.
You roll your eyes. "Well, this was an unproductive conversation. See you around," you say as you start to walk away.
"Wait, where are you going?" he asks.
"To find Allie," you say, stating the obvious.
He nods. "Oh, right. Later, I guess."
"Yeah, later," you respond, waving him off. Why on earth Rafe approached you, you had no idea. You're shaking your head to yourself as you search the beach for Allie.
"Why were you talking to Rafe?" Allie asks when you literally bump into her a few minutes later.
"He approached me," you tell her. "Just made small talk."
"Since when does Rafe make small talk with you?" she asks, the doubt written all over her face.
"Beats me," you say with a shrug.
She laughs. "You two have always made me laugh. I almost hope he gets drunk later and acts like a jackass so you can yell at him for it," she says. She takes a thoughtful sip of beer and looks off in the distance. She immediately frowns. "Shit, it's James. Incoming," she says, turning away slightly. "Act natural."
Your ex comes sauntering up, acting way too calm about approaching you after what he did. "Y/n, good to see you," James says, stepping into your personal bubble to give you a hug. You leave your arms limp at your sides.
"James," you say evenly.
"It's been so long since I've gotten to talk to you," he says.
"Mm, yeah, that was on purpose," you respond, and he frowns.
"Right. Uh, so... what's up?" he asks.
"Not much. Just hanging out," you reply.
He nods. "Are you home all summer or just visiting?"
"For the summer," you tell him. "One last summer at home."
"Oh," he says casually. "Any particular reason? Anyone you came home for?"
You give him a questioning look. "No?"
He frowns. "Oh, okay then."
"Why would you even ask me something like that?"
"Well, I mean, I'm single now, thought Allie might've mentioned it. I thought maybe... we could hang a little? I miss you."
You make a face. "What happened to Lauren?"
"Oh, uh, we broke up a couple weeks ago," he says. "It wasn't going to work out anyway."
"Oh, too bad things didn't pan out with the girl you cheated on me with," you say with mock sympathy.
"Yeah, about that. That was so stupid of me. Like beyond fucking stupid. But I'm so, so sorry, and I was hoping we could take this summer to talk everything out. Maybe give us one more try?"
You laugh loudly, throwing your head back for dramatic effect. "I have never wanted to not do something more than what you've just suggested. Like are you serious? You've gotta be fucked up in the head to think I would even consider taking you back."
"But y/n, I—"
You feel a presence at your side, and a heavy arm drapes across your shoulders, causing you to look up. "Hey babe, we're up next in pong, are you ready?" Rafe says, leaning down to kiss your cheek. "Go with it," he whispers, his voice low enough so only you can hear.
"Yeah, I'm ready," you say, unsure why you're playing along, but grateful for the distraction from your conversation with James. Your blood pressure was rising just at the sight of him.
James's eyes flicker back and forth between you and Rafe, a look of confusion taking over his features. "Since when are you and Cameron a thing?" he asks, sounding almost hurt.
"Uh, what's it been, like a couple weeks?" Rafe asks, looking down at you. "We just kind of got to talking one day, and now here we are."
"But you hate each other," James says, clearly unconvinced.
"Not quite. Is this cool with you, though? I mean she said you broke up a while back," Rafe says. "I get that it could be a little weird to see your ex with someone else, but it's been since like the fall, right, y/n?"
You have no idea why you are letting this situation unfold right now, but you answer before you can think about it. "Yeah, we broke up on October," you reply.
James gives you an incredulous look, clearly not wanting to believe what he's seeing. "Uh, yeah, I guess it's okay," he says finally, turning his gaze back to Rafe.
Rafe nods. "Cool," he says casually. "Come on, lets go, y/n, Topper and some touron are waiting for us."
Allie's mouth drops open as she looks at you, and you give her the tiniest of shrugs, not really knowing what to say. You give James a little wave as Rafe turns the two of you around to head towards the beer pong table that's set up, and once you're out of earshot, you question him.
"What the hell, Rafe?" you ask, looking up at him. He still has his arm slung around your shoulders as he leads you towards Topper and some bottle blonde who's clearly had a little too much to drink.
"James is an asshole," he says, dropping his arm from your shoulders. His hand rests on the small of your back as he leads you toward the table.
"Okay, but why did you let him think we're seeing each other?" you ask.
"Why not?" he asks. "We can pretend for one night."
"That's the thing, Rafe! We're all here all summer. He's going to catch on pretty quick that we're lying, and then he's going to give me shit for it!" you exclaim.
"He doesn't have to know you're lying."
"Are you serious?" you ask incredulously. "He's not stupid."
"He cheated on his girlfriend of two years," he says with a shrug. "Sounds pretty stupid to me."
You scowl at him. "Whatever. Let's just get through this party and worry about the consequences of your actions tomorrow."
"The consequences of my actions? I saved your ass," Rafe says. "So if anything, you should be thanking me! I know James fucking hates me. If he thinks you're with me, he might just leave you alone."
You pause for a moment, considering this. You're clearly drunk, because why else would you even entertain the idea that Rafe might actually be right?
"You might be onto something," you admit begrudgingly.
"Oh, you're actually admitting that I'm right? I'll have to mark this on my calendar," he says, pulling out his phone and making a show of opening his calendar app.
"You're obnoxious," you say.
"Obnoxiously right," he points out. "Listen, I can make this work in my favor, too. Charlotte comes back to the island in a few days."
Charlotte was Rafe's on again/off again girlfriend for most of your high school career. She was perfect in every way; perfect hair, perfect face, perfect body, perfect grades. You name it, she was number one in every category. Their relationship was incredibly toxic; she was dramatic and attention seeking, and Rafe was, well, Rafe. They broke up what seemed like a hundred times; public fights in the cafeteria during lunch, because Charlotte wanted everyone to see. You actually felt bad for him for how she treated him, but he always got back together with her, so that was on him. You'd heard through the rumor mill that she was coming back for the summer, but she was off at some school out west and she didn't get done with classes until this coming week.
"What does Charlotte have to do with this?" you ask.
"She's been texting me. She hinted at wanting to be friends with benefits for the summer. I'm not into the idea, but you know how she is if you tell her no," he says.
You nod. You did know. Girls like Charlotte didn't take no as an answer. You knew she was used to always getting what she wanted, and clearly Rafe wasn't wanting to give in.
"So, like, maybe we could actually do this?" he suggests. "We can pretend to date to get our exes to leave us alone."
You frown and furrow your eyebrows together in thought. You weren't sure how the conversation came to this, or where in the world Rafe even got this idea, but something in your gut told you to go with it, despite how utterly ridiculous the notion of the two of you being a couple was.
"So you're suggesting that we pretend to be a couple?" you ask for clarification. "In front of all these people we have known since high school, who watched us be at each other's throats for four years?"
"If you'd rather spend your summer dodging James, that's fine, I just thought..."
"Fine," you huff. "I'll be your fake girlfriend."
Rafe laughs. "That's the spirit!" he says enthusiastically. "We should probably iron out some of the finer details at some point, but for tonight, be my pong partner? I actually need one," he says.
"Sure, Cameron," you say. "I'd be glad to show you how to run the table."
With a grin, he slings his arm around your shoulders again, leading you over to Topper and his bottle blonde sidekick, both of you oblivious to how complicated this situation you've somehow gotten yourself into will become.
authors note:
!!!! I'm excited for this! What do you guys think of the intro chapter?