The next few weeks had been too good to be true. Rafe and I haven't had a single fight, mostly because we were too tired to fight anymore and I wanted to help him feel more comfortable whenever he was with me, helping him find an escape from his life at home.
Today found us on his father's yacht, along with Topper and Kelce. Sarah was nowhere to be found, but I knew she was hiding something from her boyfriend. She didn't tell me where she was, but I was certain that she was going to tell me when the time came.
I was sunbathing and listening to music, while the boys were swimming around the boat. I felt my eyes grow heavy, welcoming the sleep that was about to envelop me, but the water droplets that hit my hot skin made me jolt awake.
"What the fuck?" I groaned as I opened my eyes. I rubbed my face with my hands, glaring at Rafe. He laughed, laying his wet body on mine. He was incredibly cold, making me scream. "Get off, Rafe." I said, trying to push him off.
He didn't move, his arms resting on either side of my head, keeping himself over me. I stopped as I made eye contact with him, his gaze held so much emotion, making me smile at the warm feeling that was enveloping me. He leant his head towards mine, slowly kissing my lips. Our moment was passionate, filled with something so close to love, that you couldn't tell it apart. Our lips moved in sync, perfectly with each other.
"Get a room, you guys." Kelce laughed as he saw us. Rafe groaned, moving off of me. I smiled at my fake boyfriend, amused at his dramatic behavior.
——
After our boat ride, we all came back to Rafe's house. I was getting worried, because Sarah hadn't replied to any of my messages all day. But before I'd sent her yet another one, she walked in through the front door. I exhaled quietly, relieved that she was okay. I sat up at the same time as Topper, whose face was already incredibly red from anger. He pierced her with his gaze, making her stop in her tracks.
"Where have you been?" He yelled at her. Rafe and Kelce were unbothered, but I stepped in front of him, trying to protect Sarah.
"Out. With some friends." I raised my eyebrows at her, seeing through her lie.
"Why wasn't Y/n with you?"
"I told her I had plans with you guys. And leave her alone, she's here now." Topper scoffed at my words, turning around and going back to his friends. Sarah nodded her head towards the stairs, quietly asking me to come after her. She mumbled a 'thank you' on the way to her room.
"Where were you?"
"Promise me you won't tell anyone. Not even Rafe. Especially not Rafe." I nodded slowly, sitting next to her on the bed. "I was with John B." My eyes widened, gasping loudly, but covering my mouth with my hand.
"You were- what?"
"He needed my help to get into the archives. It was so fun! We sneaked on a tug boat, we dressed up extremely fancy and then we acted like some incredibly rich people!" She was so excited, making it hard for me to keep from smiling.
"I thought you've never spoken to him."
"I know, but today was incredible! And I- I kissed him- we kissed, actually. But Topper can't find out."
"Of course not. Do you like him, you know like really like him?" She smiled, nodding.
"I think so. I felt so comfortable with him, you know? I thought he was just a generic surfer dude, but he's so much more than that." I smiled at her. She had the right to find happiness, even if that meant life with a Pogue.
We spent some time talking about her adventure and it made me wonder how it actually felt to do something like this. I didn't have too much time to ponder this idea, because we had to leave. Tonight was the annual outside cinema. It was an event where everyone from the island could come and enjoy a movie together. Sarah and I were really excited to see this one. We also made the boys join us, wanting to make it a double date of sorts.
Once we arrived, Sarah and I claimed four good seats while the boys went to fetch us some drinks.
"What's taking so long- Wait- Aren't those JJ and Pope?" Sarah asked curiously. I looked towards them, nodding when I recognized them. "I wonder where John B is." She whispered, making me shrug. I didn't have time to reply, because the boys were coming our way.
"What's got you so serious?" Topper asked Sarah as he caressed her face. She shrugged, slightly moving away from him. I worriedly watched their exchange, furrowing my brows at Sarah's action. If she wanted to keep it a secret, then why was she acting like that.
"Are you okay?" Rafe whispered in my ear as he noticed my face. I nodded, smiling at him. I met his eyes with fake confidence, making him raise his eyebrows at me. "You don't seem okay."
"I'm fine, thank you." I said, sitting down and pulling him next to me. He wrapped his arms around my waist, holding me as close as possible.
After the movie started, Sarah and I didn't talk at all, too impressed by it to do so. However, Rafe's action made me pull my attention from the movie to him. He removed his arm from around me, trying to catch Topper's attention. Once Topper turned to look at him, Rafe pointed towards the screen. They quickly stood up, not saying another word.
"What's wrong? Where are you going?" I caught Rafe's hand, stopping him from leaving. He turned to look at me, but decided against replying and just grabbed Topper's shoulder and left. I watched them go behind the screen, but I couldn't see though it. Something was obviously happening, but I didn't want to alarm Sarah, so I sat there and pretended to watch the movie.
In just a few minutes, the screen caught on fire, making me jump out of my seat and grab Sarah's hand. I pulled her after me, away from the fire. We got to my car in record time, even though we struggled not to lose each other in the chaos. We waited for the boys next to it for what felt like hours, but after checking my watch, I found out that we'd been waiting for only ten. Everyone had left by then, so we decided to go back and try to find them. They were nowhere to be found, so we called their phones, but neither one answered. We stayed there for a half an hour, hoping that they'd come back, before deciding to go to my home.
We kept calling until one of them answered. Topper was the first to do that, making both Sarah and I exhale in relief. He sounded rough, but told us they were fine. He didn't want to say where they were, making my best friend yell at him, but the only thing he did in return was to hang up.
I drove Sarah home, knowing she was tired from everything she did today. As I returned home, I found Rafe waiting for me in front of my house.
"Oh my God, what happened to you?" I gasped when I was close enough to see his face. His cheek was cut and it was bleeding. His eye was a little bit swollen, making me slowly raise my hand and caress his face.
"I'm fine." He shrugged.
"You're obviously not. Are you hurt anywhere else?" He shook his head. "Okay, let's go inside and fix you up." I grabbed his hand and started pulling him towards my home.
We went to my bathroom, knowing we had more privacy there. I told him to sit on the counter, so it would be easier for me to tend to the wounds on his face. I stood between his legs as I pressed rubbing alcohol on his cheek. He hissed in pain, making me quietly apologize. I opened my mouth to ask him what happened, but the look in my eyes gave away the question before my words could.
"It's better if you don't know." He said, shaking his head. I sighed, knowing that if I wanted to avoid another fight I shouldn't say anything.
Just as I walked away from him to throw the dirty tissues in the trash, he grabbed my arm, pulling me back towards him. He wrapped his legs around my waist, keeping me close to the counter he was sitting on. One of his hands found its place on my cheek, the other resting on the side of my neck. His face came closer as he guided my head towards him. He kissed me sweetly, leaving it innocent and short. I took the lead this time, deepening it. I rested one of my hands on his shoulder, the other going to his hair. His legs tightened around me, pulling me even closer. He let out a groan at the contact, but stopping to look at me.
"We don't have to do anything if you don't want to." He said, his eyes never leaving mine. I smiled at him,but breaking eye contact as I pulled away from him.
"Thank you. But I'm sorry, I don't think I'm ready yet. I don't want to move too fast." I rambled, avoiding his gaze by looking at my hands. He jumped off the counter, coming in front of me. He grabbed my hands, pushing them at either side of me. His eyes searched my face as he pushed it upwards, with his other hand.
"It's fine, you don't have to apologize."
Author's Note: Hi!! This is longer than usual, but I like it!! Hope you enjoyed!!