"I was ridin' shotgun with my hair undone
in the front seat of his car.
I grabbed a pen and a old napkin...
and I wrote down our song"
August 3rd, 2021.
Charleston, South Carolina.
𓇼 𓇼 𓇼 𓇼 𓇼
Music surrounded the luxurious car. His hand held onto my thigh while his left hand rested on the steering wheel in front of him. Looking at each other occasionally and stared around at the green environment that surrounded us as we drove for multiple hours on end. Talking about how excited we were to head into downtown Charleston to go line dancing, eat dinner with each other, and hang out on his family's farm land. It was exciting to be away from the coast despite that it was all that I knew. I didn't know what country life was like. I had only known the surf life, since my father had me surfing since I was around four years old. Rafe had shuffled the songs from the aux that plugged into my phone. Our Song by Taylor Swift played around us which made me feel like a young girl again. My mouth opened to sing along to the country song, the fake country accent overcoming my voice to try and sound like Taylor's country accent.
Rafe looked at me with his eyebrows narrowing as we passed into a town that was outside of Charleston. "Oh, you're a Taylor Swift girl?" He asked before glancing back at the road in front of us. He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel as I smiled at him in excitement. "Oh absolutely. She's my favorite artist." I told him while he held onto my thigh with the tips of his fingers. The tips of his fingers ran small circles around my skin, creating a goosebump sensation across my body. He shook his head at me and glanced towards me for a split second. "You don't like Taylor?" I asked him and sat up in the seat after leaning back for multiple hours as he drove out of North Carolina. He shrugged his shoulders at me before I leaned my head onto his shoulder, my arms wrapping around his muscular arm that held onto my thigh. "Not the biggest fan." He explained before I gasped in dramatic detail to him telling me that he wasn't a fan of Taylor Swift.
"Oh baby, you have to become a fan. She's perfect. I love her, she's like my childhood as a whole." I told him and laughed gently before he kissed the top of my head. His eyes glanced back towards the road that was seemingly empty on the way to Charleston. "I'll do anything for you, if you're a Taylor Swift fan, so am I." He laughed and threw his pointer finger up on his left hand while he held onto the steering wheel in front of him. He leaned back in his seat in relaxation as he kept his eyes on the road. I hummed along to the song that surrounded us. The song represented summer. Summer romance that Rafe and I had. The romance that was so beautiful and fun, exciting to be in. It felt as if the both of us were so alive and happy to be with another. Our Song was the song that reminded me of all the summers that I had, but knowing that this summer was so perfect for this exact song. Even if Rafe and I didn't have "our song" towards another. He started to hum to the song after he heard a couple of the lyrics repeat itself. "I'm going to get you introduced to all of her music." I told him with a large smile that showed the dimples in my cheeks.
He nodded his head and kept his eyes on the road. I reached for my phone, going through my music playlists to find more songs that were made by my favorite artist. I shuffled through her music, singing to the songs that would randomly play on the radio. It fulfilled a sense of happiness that I wished the entire summer was. Feeling like a hopeless romantic with the most perfect songs playing in the background, the thought of being kissed by the guy that I was madly in love with — all the worries in my life had faded away whenever I was with Rafe. We talked about all the things we were so excited for to happen. Excited for the upcoming fall for us to see the baby growth in my stomach. He would place his hand against my stomach, rubbing it with a soft touch on his large hand. His eyes would glance up to me with happiness forming inside. It broke my heart that I would ever have cheated on the love of my life. He was so happy with me. He kept his pure heart in our relationship, protecting me and keeping me for himself. He loved me. He was so in love with me.
His presence made me feel alive. All the anxiety and stress would fade away whenever he was nearby. I knew he would protect me, comfort me, and love me throughout any time. He was the best thing that had ever happened to me, even though when I met him, he was quite the asshole to people around him — but wasn't to me. He was sweet and open. He was shy at first, his attitude covered his face but he had a soft spot for me. I kept my head laid on his shoulder, my hand grasping onto his muscular arm. He leaned his head onto mine to let me know that he was there. Relaxing to the music that played around up. He listened to the music intently to be able to listen to her music.
9:30 pm.
The lights of the large farmhouse we walked inside of were flicked on by the muscular boy in front of me. He kept his eyes in front of him while he carried some of the luggage out of the car. His family lived in the house beside the one we were staying inside of. The dim lights shined against our skin as he wandered around the home, searching for the master bedroom we wanted to use. Portraits of family members lined the hallway. Their families were dated back to the eighteen hundreds. They were dressed in unique clothing that showed their wealth from the south. South Carolina was home to the Deep South, a rich culture that had an awful past but now was beautiful and breathtaking. The state made sure to educate others based on the horrific past. I loved the south and the beauty that was surrounding everyone that lived in the states.
Rafe loved the countryside as much as he was a city boy from OuterBanks. His family that lived next to the home, were sleeping through the night before we would go over to their house in the morning to eat breakfast. It would be the first time that I would be meeting his family that was on his fathers side since he never had contact with his own mother.
He hated the fact that he was technically without parents. His mother walked out of the family after having Sarah, which left him to believe that their family was the issue and his mother didn't want him. Meanwhile his father would feed into the issue, making him feel bad and blaming him for why his mother had left the family. His family was a big part of his life growing up until his father moved to the OuterBanks. Ward's parents were in South Carolina, only twenty minutes away from the family vacation house that was farmhouse styled. The house seemed updated within a couple of years. Cozy feelings surrounded us while Rafe turned on the lights to the master bedroom. He put my suitcase off to the side and sat my bag down beside it. "You can unpack if you want, or we can go grab some groceries at the store." Rafe spoke as he bent down to kiss my forehead with his blush colored lips. I smiled up at him. "Do we need to bring anything tomorrow for breakfast?" I asked him and stared up towards him. He narrowed his eyebrows while shaking his head almost as if he didn't know if he was supposed to bring anything.
"I'm going to take that as a yes but you didn't know. Let's go to the store." I told him lightly as I laughed at him. He nodded his head. "Let me go grab the rest of our stuff from the car and then we'll head out." He commented. I nodded my head at him and walked towards the master bedroom bed that sat in the middle of a large room. The house was modernly decorated. Shiplap was plastered onto the small old school fireplace that sat in the middle of the bedroom, across from the bed. Multiple large windows were placed across from the bed, covered with white curtains that were meant to be pulled back. The sheets and comforter were white along with white pillows. A couple of throw pillows and a blanket in the color of blue was laid on the bed. I fell back on the bed and laid myself out in a starfish position that was comfortable. "Getting comfortable I see." Rafe laughed his raspy laugh that made my stomach drop. I sat myself up with my hands and stared at him as he placed his suitcase down beside my own. I nodded my head at him, tilting it off to the side and showed him the dimples that sat deeply into my cheeks.
He looked at me with his tired blue eyes. His pupils widened at the sight of me. He smiled widely after glancing directly at me, sprawled out still on his bed. "Ready to head out to get groceries?" He asked and raised an eyebrow. I pushed myself up out of his bed while my feet pressed against the wooden floor of the room. I nodded my head at him and followed behind him as he turned his back to me, walking out the bedroom door. I followed behind him as I grasped onto his forearm. He had turned to face me with a large smile on his face. "I love you, Rafe." I cooed to him in a gentle voice after I forced the poor man to listen to Taylor Swift for continuous hours. He bent down to kiss me. He smiled the large smile he had, and pressed his lips on mine. I smiled into the kiss. "I love you too, my girl." He told me in his same raspy voice out of the tiredness that formed throughout his entire body. "You always look good, do you wanna talk about that?" He spoke as he bit his bottom lip out of his concentration of staring at me. I shook my head and laughed aloud. "You're so flirty." I told him and kissed him once again, pulling him behind me after disregarding what he had commented towards me.
He followed behind me while we walked towards the front door once again. He trailed behind me with the same large smile on his face. His eyes had followed me and trailed up and down. "So what do you want to do when we come back?" He asked as I opened the door and pulled him behind him. He had dangled his keys in between his fingers. He shut the door behind him, pushing the key to the house into the lock and turning it until the car locked. I stood behind him under the bright lights that surrounded the house. His family's house next to the large farmhouse was brightened by strung lights that hung from the large trees surrounding the acres of open land. The family shared a farm house painted white in the middle of the acre of land, having horses, sheeps, chickens, pigs, and cows. The herd of animals were placed into their own separate areas of the barn. The sound of cows cooing echoed around us every once in a while as if they were tired, yawning almost. Rafe walked to the car that sat in the large driveway of the home.
I walked to the passenger side door and pushed myself up into the luxurious car. He got into the driver's side, putting the keys into the ignition. "It looks much prettier in the morning." Rafe spoke as we started to drive towards the city that was only a couple of minutes away from the home we would stay in for a little while. "It's beautiful even at night." I responded to him and smiled. He nodded his head and held the steering wheel, tapping his fingers against the leather. We stared out at the world that surrounded us and soaked in the warmth that came from a beautiful southern town. The town felt comfortable. We passed bars on the side of the road, boutiques that were made from a small business, and stores. People were dancing with cowboy boots outside of a restaurant that had a live band playing. The men spun their women around and laughter erupted from their mouths. They were like dancing and swaying around with each other to the country music that played. Men tipping their cowboy hats at the band that played perfectly on the makeshift stage. "We'll go there tomorrow if you feel up to it." Rafe commented as we passed the small restaurant that held line dances every night.
I smiled and nodded at him. My eyes couldn't take themselves away from the city of bright lights that shone around us. "This is so beautiful." I told him and tucked strands of hair behind my ears. "More beautiful than you remember?" He asked while he narrowed his eyebrows. He took his eyes away from the road and glanced at me while I sat next to him. I nodded my head again. "So beautiful. Thank you for taking me here." I told him as I reached over the center console, grasping onto his thigh that was covered with the dickies he had been wearing. "It's all about you, baby. I just wanted to treat my beautiful girlfriend and mama of my baby to something fun." He explained and glanced at me once more before he started to slow the car down in order to turn into a parking lot that belonged to a local Trader Joe's. "What should we get here? Your mom told me she shops here. I want to make you feel like you're at home." Rafe commented and parked in the parking spot right outside the front of the small store. I smiled at him from his sweet comments he made towards me.
He made me feel like the only girl in the entire world. He was so gentle. He wanted to make me feel at home, going out of his way to ask my mother what brings me comfort. It made my heart grow much larger than it ever could before. "You're so sweet." I told him as he turned the keys out of the ignition and placed them into his pockets. He got out of his car, then walked over towards the passenger side to open the door for me. He had his eyes widened at the surroundings. He opened the door and laid his hand out to grab mine. I unbuckled myself from the black buckle and put my hand into his. I stepped out of the car, him shutting the door behind me before he stuck his hand into his pocket to lock the car. People had been shopping late at night, getting groceries or snacks for the week. We walked beside one another to head into the store. I grabbed a cart in order to put our items in them. Rafe had gone inside, releasing his hand from mine. He bent down towards flowers that were in large bouquets and picked one up to small the nectar that hung onto the petals. He had turned towards me with the bouquet in his hands.
I glanced around at the surroundings that were calm and friendly. The workers welcomed everyone as they were walking in. "For you." He told me with a sweet smile forming on his face. I nodded at him in love while staring at his sweet face that lingered with tiredness. "I love you." I told him once again as he kissed my forehead, setting the flowers down into the cart. We started to walk towards the isles that consisted of drinks. He narrowed his eyebrows while he looked at drinks that surrounded the aisle. Stopping myself in the middle of the aisle off to the side, I looked at all the combinations of drinks that sat on the shelves in front of me. "We could make mocktails with dinner one night if you're into it?" I asked my boyfriend as he stood off to the side of me completely immersed with seeing a Trader Joe's for the first time in his entire life, or at least being inside of it. He stared at the items that sat on the shelves. "What type of cocktail do you have in mind, my love?" He asked and took his hat off his head to run his fingers throughout his blonde hair that was unwashed. "We could try a couple out for fun? My mom used to make an Island Surfer, Sensation, White Sandy Beach." I told him to answer his question that he had asked me. He laid his hand against my waist while listening to me.
He narrowed his eyebrows and took in what I told him during that moment. He smiled. "You know what, you do what you want baby. I have no idea what any of that is." He laughed lightly before he pressed his lips against my forehead. He took his hand away from my waist and watched me laugh a light laugh at his response. I nodded my head at him, turning myself back towards the drink shelves while remembering all the drinks that my mother would make as summer treats for me growing up. She would always serve them at my old house after Kiara, John B, JJ, Pope, and I would get out of the somewhat large pool that my father built in the backyard. It was refreshing after a long day of intense swimming, constantly messing around by throwing each other into the pool. JJ would put me on his shoulders while we played chicken, Pope kept his eyes on us to make sure that we weren't cheating when we went against Kiara and John B. JJ would always find some way to cheat for the both of us to win. We would be outside in the sun from the morning time up until the sunset. We would constantly reapply sunscreen onto our tan skin, letting the sunshine hit us for multiple hours.
My teenage years consisted of hanging out in the sun almost every single day. Besides training for volleyball season throughout the entire year, I was surfing on a regular basis. My friends and I would wake up early to play pickleball on the beach. We would curl up with another on a picnic blanket, eating the cold watermelon I cut up and placed in the freezer before going to the beach. JJ and Pope would throw grapes into each other's mouths, their laughter mixed with Kiara's, John B's and mine. It was better than anything I had ever dreamt of. Now that I was growing up and growing a small child in my stomach, had a boyfriend, and more friends, I had dreamt of other things. I planned on my child having my friends in its life as uncles and aunts. I knew that my child would be loved and cared for by my own friends, just as much as I would love the baby itself. Sarah and Kiara were already extremely helpful with taking care of me even though I was able to do it myself. Sarah started to consider the baby shower, excited to become an actual aunt by blood. Kiara was along for the ride as her childhood best friend was going to have a child — it made her scared but she was happy for another life that she would be able to be in.
Rafe grasped a hold of fresh produce that sat on the shelf. He held a pineapple, batch of strawberries, and pomegranate seeds in his arms. He walked over to the cart and sat them down into the bottom of the cart. I grabbed a hold of pineapple juice and put it in the cart. "What do you think about breakfast, lunches, dinners?" I asked him and raised my eyebrows while looking up at the tall boy that stood in front of me. His muscles held tightly to his shirt. He placed his hands inside of his pockets. "Whatever sounds good to you. I'll do the snacks." He responded with his charming smile that made goosebumps form up on the top of my skin. I nodded my head at him and started to push the cart more. He trailed behind me. "Now that you're a month pregnant, do you have any of those weird cravings?" He asked and raised an eyebrow while he looked around at the items on the shelves. I shrugged my shoulders, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "Not yet. I crave French fries every once in a while." I laughed at his question and kept walking before something caught my eye.
The shelves were covered with organic foods that made me feel at home. Rafe stopped behind me after I did, looking at the item I had been. Cheese puffs that were made from scratch. I turned to him and then looked back at the bag, grabbing it from the shelf and placed it in the cart. "I heard about these women that would wake up in the middle of the night craving things and their husbands would go get it for them." He explained almost like he had read it online. I shook my head and laughed at him once again. "Oh really?" I asked him and started to walk again. He started to trail behind me while we were looking at dinner and lunch ideas over in the area for those types of meals. I looked at the pre-packaged food that would be easy to make for the both of us but still contained all the nutrients we would need. "I also heard that pregnant women need to keep exercising throughout their pregnancy so it makes the baby want to come out." He added and laid his pointer finger on his lip. He rubbed it with the tip of his finger. "I don't think it works like that, baby." I laughed at him and looked at him while he looked at me almost like he was confused.
He was such a sweetheart. Innocent when it came to real life things. Things that he didn't learn when he was growing up. He was just so loving when he wanted to be. "I don't know that's what the baby blog online wrote." He shrugged and smiled at me. His blue eyes widened every time he looked at me almost like he was insanely in love with me. He was obsessed with just looking at me during certain moments, unable to take his eyes away from mine. "You're so cute." I told him before reaching over the edge of the shelf, grabbing a hold of a teriyaki chicken that my mother would cook for dinner sometimes. I dropped it into the cart. "Me cute? I'm just preparing to be a dad." He said as he laid his hand on my back. I walked a little bit over from the teriyaki chicken and picked up fried rice that was beside it. I put that into the cart next to the goodies that we collected. "Our baby is very lucky to have a dad like you." I told him and smiled at him once more. Making his pupils widen when he looked at me, I could see his heart melt by the words that I had given to him. Almost like his heart stopped at the comment I had made. It made him so happy to hear the words he never thought he would hear.
"You mean that?" He asked with a gentle tone in his raspy, tired voice. I nodded my head at him while we kept pushing the cart further down the lunch and dinner shelves. His blue eyes became puppy dog eyes almost like something healed in his heart. It made me broken hearted about the things that I had done behind his back. I was sick to my stomach thinking about the fact that I allowed myself to be manipulated by my own best friend, but I think my heart belonged to Rafe. I knew that my heart belonged to him in the long run. "I do." I told him and grabbed another dinner item, placing it into the cart once again. He smiled widely with an excited expression. It made him proud that I said that to him. He knew how much I had loved him at that moment, enough to tell him the sweet words that came out of my mouth. "That made my day even more." He spoke as he kept wandering away from me to look at the items that sat comfortably on the shelves, untouched. Some shoppers walked around us and in other aisles. He grasped onto a bunch of different snacks that he thought he would enjoy while we were here. He placed them into the cart and followed me around while I picked out lunches, dinners, and breakfast meals.
10:35 pm.
Rafe and I unloaded all the groceries into the large fridge that sat in the kitchen. He had gone into the bathroom, starting a warm bubble bath after he insisted that he would allow me to relax before we would go to bed. The sound of the television filled the air while I sat on the bed inside the room that we would be staying in. He turned on the fireplace that was electric, allowing it to heat up the room that felt cold. The windows were shut and the house was locked up for the night. Lights lingered on in the hallway and in the kitchen in case we had to get up in the later evening. I stood up from the bed, walking to my suitcase that laid open on the floor. Rummaging through the suitcase that held my clothing and other items that I would need for the rest of the trip.
I pulled out a silk slip black night dress that came to my mid thigh when I wore it. I grabbed a pair of the clean undergarments from my suitcase and sat it on top of the night gown. Rafe stuck his head out of the bathroom door. "The bath is ready." He said with a soft tone as I left my clothing on the floor in the bedroom. I smiled and stood up from the ground. Walking towards him, he opened the door to show himself half naked. He had worn shorts on the bottom part of himself while his shirt was off. He moved away from the door and allowed me to go into the bathroom. "I'll be in bed if you need me." He stated as I stood on my toes to reach his lips to thank him for pampering me. "Join me?" I asked him and smiled as I got closer to his lips. Our breath grasped onto each other's skin while we were close to another. His eyes dilated when he had made eye contact with my own eyes. "Please." I told him with a small whine in my voice to make it known that I wanted him around. He smiled widely as he nodded his head. He shut the bathroom door. Moving away from him, I stood in front of the large bathtub that was full of soapy bubbles filled to the brim. I stripped myself from the sweater that laid on my petite body.
I allowed the sweater to hit onto the wooden floor in the bathroom. My bare feet relaxed while I felt his blue eyes admire my body from the backside like he had done the night we conceived. My hair laid against my bare back after I had thrown my bra onto the floor. The freckles along my back were examined by my boyfriend as he felt heat forming in his bloodstream. He was in love. I unbuttoned the bottom of my shorts, letting it fall down to my ankles before I kicked it away from myself and off to the side where the sweater was. "You're so beautiful." He spoke with the same raspy tone in his voice. I smiled to myself and took off my underwear, repeating the same steps as I had done before. He walked behind me in silence. His warm hands pressed underneath my breasts. He kissed the side of my neck with a gentleness. "I love you." I told him in response to him kissing my neck and the sweet nothings he consistently told me to reassure me. "I love you so much." He responded to me before I moved away from him with the same smile on my face.
I climbed up onto the small stairs that lead into the bathtub. I kicked my leg over the side and sunk down into the warm bathtub. His eyes watched me. He couldn't take his eyes away from me. My heart had pounded against my chest while he stared at me. "What are you waiting for?" I asked him and stared at him while he stood there half naked in the middle of the large bathroom. He shrugged before I had dunked myself into the warm water. Feeling the warmth heat up my cheeks and throughout my hair. I released myself up to the surface, running my fingers through the blonde curls that started to shrink from the water. He dropped his shorts to the bottom of his ankles. He pushed it off to the side where my clothes had been. He walked himself towards the bathtub, kicking his feet over into the tub. I moved away from the middle of the bathtub to make room for the tall male. He sank down into the bathtub in comfortability. I moved myself in between his legs and rested my bare back against his chest.
He rested his hands against my stomach, the large hands covering most of my petite body. My head sat on his chest before he kissed the side of my cheek. "Being with you is the best thing I could ever do." He explained as his finger tips ran themselves across my stomach and up towards my breasts. My skin created goosebumps against the top layer. "I feel the same way about you, my love." I told him as I laid my head off to the side so that I could still look at him every once in a while. He stared ahead of me to where our feet laid on the opposite side of the bathtub. "Whenever I'm with you, all my fears fade away." I told him once again and felt his lips press themselves onto my shoulder. The bubble suds laid on our tan skin, moving around with the water that swayed. "The best choice I ever made was falling in love with you." He spoke aloud while I sat my hands on top of his own that laid on my stomach and underneath my chest. Our bodies laid with one another in sync, almost like we were meant to be with each other no matter what would ever happen to us.
We were destined to meet at some point or another but I knew that this was the best thing that ever happened to the both of us.
"I love being in love with you and loving you." I spoke to him with gentleness while I turned my head towards him. I pressed my lips against his own, feeling a sense of comfort overcome my body. Our lips intertwined with each other with passion. Almost like our lives depend on it.
"I love you."
"I love you more, my darling."
_______________________________
Leave your thoughts!!