As soon as you entered his apartment, you heard the familiar sound of yelling.

“You have to be fucking kidding me right now,” he said into the phone.

As you made your way to the living room from the sound of his voice, where he was no doubt pacing as he continued to talk to whoever was on the other end of the line, and by his patronizing tone, you had a feeling it was Topper. 

Topper had only come around the apartment a few times, never to hang out, just to talk to Rafe about things that apparently couldn’t be discussed over the phone. The first time he came over was when your initial inkling of Rafe being in trouble was confirmed, but you weren’t quite sure what he was embroiled in. What you did know was that it seemed very involved and very dangerous. Yet you didn’t stay away because, against your better judgment, you were in love with Rafe, not that you’d ever tell him that. What the two of you had was delicate. One wrong move, and it could shatter into a million pieces, and you weren’t sure how to deal without him in your life. 

Days passed, and quickly, you found yourself entwined with one another after work, and eventually, days turned into weeks, and suddenly, the two of you were starting TV shows together and making dinner together. Months later, you spent most of your time with him, yet whatever was going on between you wasn’t defined. 

You’d only asked him once, and he artfully eluded answering the question by changing the topic. How he turned to you asking about whatever this situationship was about, you going on about your favorite show, you weren’t sure. After that, you never asked again because his response was telling, and you weren’t ready for this to end. 

It was also when your irrational side took over as you started to think that maybe he was hooking up with other girls. Realistically, you knew the chances were low considering how much time the two of you spent together, but you weren’t sure what he did when you were at work, especially since he worked from home, only having to go into the office a few times a month.

You knew better, you really did, but the thought of him being with other girls was something you were actively trying to suppress when you were trying to focus at work or when you were sitting right next to him. Which is why when Dylan asked you if you wanted to get drinks after work so you could meet his girlfriend, you jumped at the idea. 

It had been a while since you’d been to a bar, let alone drinking, but maybe just for a night, having a few drinks and hanging out with friends would calm the voices in your head.

You had already made it to the entrance of the bar when your phone started to play an instrumental version of Delicate, it was a little too on the nose, but you still set it as his ringtone, but you were surprised he was calling. 

“Hello?” you questioned

“Where are you?”

“I’m walking into a bar… Why?” you asked.

“I thought you were coming here.”

“We didn’t make any plans, and someone from work invited me out, so I figured why not.”

“Who invited you?” he questioned

“Dylan...” you trailed, unsure what he was trying to get at. 

“The Dylan that asked you out?” he questioned

“The same one…why?”

“No reason,” he said before hanging up. 

You weren’t sure what his deal was, but tonight you were just going to enjoy yourself, and as soon as you saw Dylan’s table, you headed towards the booth he occupied, set on having a great time and getting him out of your head.

“I’m glad you could make it!” Dylan smiled before he introduced you to the girl sitting next to him, “This is Amy.”

“I’m so excited to meet you!” you said as you leaned over the table to give her a quick hug.

“All good things, I hope,” she smiled.

“Of course! He told me a little bit about your research. If you don’t mind, I’d love to hear more about it from you because the methodology is also a unique approach for this type of research.” you asked

As she started to talk about her research, you could see the tension melting away as she found herself in familiar territory, and when you briefly glanced at Dylan, he offered you a thankful smile. He’d told you about how anxious she was to meet you, and the last thing you wanted was for her to be anxious about the three of you grabbing drinks, so you asked her a question that you knew would help her relax and would also take up a chunk of time, and it turns out it was working. 

The evening was going great until you heard a familiar voice behind you.

“I don’t want to impede here, but would you mind if I joined you guys?” he asked with a smile, but you saw past that. You knew that his question lacked any sincerity. 

And before anyone at the table could even respond to his question, he had already scooted into your side of the booth before throwing his on the backside of the booth, just inches away from where your back was. 

Rafe was just good like that. He’s able to get away with glib questions or answers like that, with the other person completely missing the lack of sincerity behind his words and smile. 

“Rafe, right?” Dylan asked.

“The very one.” he smirked, “So…How’s date night?” as he looked between you and Dylan.

“Rafe,” you admonished before continuing, “This is Dylan’s girlfriend, Amy…”

“That’s my bad. When she told me she was hanging out with Dylan, I just assumed it was a date since he asked her out a while ago.” he chuckled. 

Shaking your head slightly, you apologized to them and excused yourself and Rafe from the table, all but pushing him out of the booth so you could get out as well.

“Follow me,” you mumbled as you made your way to the empty spot in the back.

Turning around to face him, “What was that!” you questioned.

Rolling his eyes, “I should be asking you that because If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought this was a date.”

“Yeah, well, you know better.” you scoffed, “And even If it was a date, why would it matter? It’s not like we’re together.” you stated before continuing, “Besides, even if I was dating, it’s not like you’re not going out with other girls.”

“I would never betray you like that,” he said firmly.

“How would I know that? Like I said, Rafe, we’re not dating.” you countered. 

“Don’t be an idiot.”

Sighing, you stared up at the ceiling, trying to calm yourself down because as much as you wanted to mitigate his feelings, you were beyond pissed. He has no right to come in here and act this way.

“If I didn’t care about you, I wouldn’t spend almost every moment I can with you. I wouldn’t tell you about my day and how Topper’s always badgering me about shit.”

Cutting him off, you said, “But I barely know anything about what you do!” you exclaimed, “You tell me you share everything with me, but I don’t even know what you do during the day! It’s always vague answers, and the occasional times when you ask me to corroborate something for you and Topper, you don’t even tell me why. You just tell me not to worry about it. Yet, for some goddamn reason, I still do it.”

“It’s just better if you don’t know. You don’t need to be fucking involved with that shit. Besides, you know the shit that matters. You know what I like, how I feel, there’s so much I share with you that I’ve never shared with anyone else. I know it’s probably not what you want, but it’s the best I can do.”

“But I am involved, Rafe! I know what you do probably isn’t above the board, but I have no idea what kinda shit you’re into.” lowering your voice, “You could be a murder for all I know.”

Looking down at his shoes, Rafe broke eye contact with you, and the silence spoke louder than any words he could have said. Of course, he’s probably killed someone, and for all you know, you could’ve given an alibi for it. Yet, you were still standing here before him, unafraid that he’d do something to you. 

Years ago, if someone told you you’d be standing in front of a miscreant like Rafe, you would have laughed in their face, but here you were, convinced that if it was anyone else, you would have already gone to the authorities, but Rafe was an anomaly that you’d throw everything out the window for. 

Letting out a deep breath against your better judgment, you said the words that you’d been thinking for months, “I love you… I don’t know why, but I do.”

His head snapped up at your words, eyes wide, and his mouth parted a bit. The disbelief was evident in the way he was looking at you. 

Slowly, a grin replaced the confusion on his face as he repeated the words that you’d been dying to hear for months. 

“Get your coat, we’re going home.” 

Nodding, you made your way to the table and apologized to Dylan and Amy before shrugging your coat on and making your way toward Rafe, who was waiting for you by the door. 

As the night drew on and endless chatter filled the room, you tried to justify leaving early since all of the chatter was leading to nowhere. Talks of business deals that their companies have made, how they just re-did the inside of their home, and parading their children around to boast about their accomplishments. All things meant to flex their wealth to the other residents of Figure 8. It was an unspoken competition because nothing was ever enough. The exorbitant pool of wealth meant nothing if the other residents didn’t hold them in high regard, at least higher than the others in the room. 

It was a show and dance you'd participated in for as long as you could remember. Your parents were always pushing you to participate in after-school activities or receive the best grades, not because they wanted to see you succeed but to flaunt you to the other residents and put you against the other kids your age. One of them being Rafe Cameron.

Rafe Cameron, for years, had been the main person your parents pitted you against. Always having to be better than the Cameron kid, as they would say. Any time you tried to get some leniency in your academics, it would be quickly shot down with the question you'd been hearing for most of your life. 

"Do you think Rafe Cameron expects his parents to take it easy on him? Don't you think he's self-motivated to achieve these big accomplishments?"

It was the same song and dance every time, and every time you never had the answer. What was Rafe Cameron like? What were his goals? Were his parents treating him the same way? They were questions that you didn't find the answer to until the two of you went to the same university.

While the two of you went to Kildare Academy, there were never any shared classes and two very different sets of friends, so seeing him at freshman orientation was jarring.

During your senior year at Kildare Academy, your parents never mentioned where the Cameron boy was attending university. It was one of the few times in your life that he wasn't brought up when you talked about graduating and attending the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill. So you didn't question it. You enjoyed the lack of competition, now going out with your friends to get ice cream or go to the beach, things your parents always looked down upon. They were typically partial to you staying inside and working or being out and volunteering, while you were partial tohanging out with your friends and having fun. As far as you were concerned, both could be achieved at the same time, but any mention of that was shot down with the same excuse about what Rafe Cameron would be doing right now.

Yet, when you saw him at freshman orientation, you weren't sure what to expect. Maybe you expected him to discredit your achievements and the fact that you were attending the same school as him based on how your parents spoke to you about him, but it was the opposite. The boy was kind and not in a diplomatic way. He was the archetype of the perfect guy and not at all like your parents made him seem. Maybe it was because the two of you didn't know anyone else yet at the school, but you became inseparable, and after being a few months into the semester, your shared friends had no problem bringing it up with the two of you. Hinting that with the way the two of you acted, there had to be feelings there. 

Their hints went unacknowledged by you and Rafe, opting to change the topic, which always resulted in your friends rolling their eyes. They also went unaddressed because you and Rafe always had partners, always at least for a few months, never single at the same time. That is until senior year. 

Senior year brought an air of discrepancy with your academics, preparing to graduate and not plan out your next semester. In your case, you had been applying to graduate schools since the applications opened in September. Rafe was supportive the entire time, and the shift in your relationship was gradual. The late nights studying turned into something more. The two of you sat close as though you were each other's lifeline, and in a way, you were. It wasn't until late October that you crossed the lines of being best friends. Rafe had been helping you write your statement of purpose for your grad school application when he was sitting next to you as the two of you were reading the Google doc when you turned to face each other. Except, there was barely any room between you. Nose brushed, and when Rafe met your eyes, he asked if this was ok, and with a quick nod, your lips met. 

That had been around seven months ago. Seven months filled with plans for the future and more joy than you could have ever imagined. Part of that was because neither of you told either of your parents about your relationship. It wasn't that you were afraid they would disown you or be angry, but that wouldn't stop the passive-aggressive comments or any effort to undermine your relationship, so you kept it hidden from them. Everyone else knew except for them. Which is one of the reasons tonight was so awkward.  

Neither of your parents were modest about college achievements as they talked to each other. Leaving you and Rafe a few steps away from where they stood. Five minutes later, you saw Rafe gesture toward the entrance door. Mouthing, "Let's get out of here." with a nod, you turned away towards Rafe and faced where your families were talking. 

Tapping your finger on your mom's shoulder, you said, "I didn't want to be rude and disappear, but I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to the ladies' room."

"Don't be too long," she said before joining the conversation again.

Briefly winking at Rafe, you made your way toward the bathroom, which was conveniently near one of the side entrances. Nearly five minutes later, you saw Rafe head in your direction. As soon as he was close to you, he brought you in for a hug before resting his forehead against yours. 

"Ready to get out of here?" he asked.

Beaming up at him, "With you, always." 

His hand was settled on the silky material that covered your hips as he guided you through the room, occasionally stopping to chat with a few people. 

It was the first midsummer party that the two of you had been to in a few years, an event that the two of you didn’t want to attend, but the party aligned with your trip to the Outer Banks, that Rose wouldn’t let the two of you get out of it, because apparently the two of you had to make your official debut as an engaged couple to figure eight. Which was absolutely ridiculous considering that the two of you had been together for years, and the residents of Figure Eight already knew the two of you were together, yet according to Rose, it was completely different than everyone seeing you while you were dating. Rose being Rose meant she couldn’t be reasoned with, so you decided to appease her by agreeing to go for an hour or two and not for the entire party. 

After a while, you ran into some of your friends, and after chatting for a few minutes, Rafe whispered, so only you could hear, “Do you want a refill?” glancing down at your empty cup.

Nodding, he excused himself before taking his cup and heading towards the drink table. It wasn’t long before you excused yourself from the conversation to make your way to where Rafe was standing in line at the drink table for a refill. However, you were stopped by a familiar voice coming from behind you.

“I heard you were back in the Outer Banks,” 

Turning around, you were met with your ex-boyfriend James. It had been years since you last saw him, it was the night he broke up with you, to be exact. Your relationship with James was rife with tension, with you always being the one to accommodate to what he wanted, with him having what seemed like a strong aversion to anything that you took an interest in. 

Smug look in place, he continued, “I’m not surprised though, you were never made for the world outside of figure eight, despite how much you were working to get out of here, guess that hard work didn’t pay off. No one told me how attractive you were.”

You were shocked at how brazen his words were and the assumptions about your life, a life he knew nothing about, and as you stood before him, as you listened to him talk, you were shocked that you didn’t see how egotistical and how much of an asshole he was when you were together. Despite your shock at his words, you knew he was trying to elicit a reaction from you, but you couldn’t give him the satisfaction.

Calmly, you said, “Actually, I’m just for the week. What are you doing back?”

“I guess the abridged version is that I dabbled in politics…” 

“Oh, look who we have here,” Rafe said as he took his place next to you, handing you your drink before resting his hand on your hip, making a silent statement across from him.

Unfazed by Rafe’s place next to you, he turned back to just face you to continue talking, but before he could get a word out, Rafe cut him off, “Oh fuck off. The only thing you’ve done is come back to your parents' house with your tail between your legs after your failed congressional run.” Rafe said before continuing, “I’m not surprised, considering your parents bought your way in the debates, where you could barely handle a single question. No wonder you had to drop out before the primaries and your fiance ended the engagement…and not fucking talk about my girl like that.” he said as his jaw clenched.

Chuckling, James said, “Never thought I’d see the day that Rafe Cameron was being this chivalrous to his flavor of the week .” 

“I knew you were an idiot, but I wasn’t aware you were this much of an idiot… but then again.” Rafe said before smirking, “That title fits you perfectly, considering how you didn’t realize what you had at the time, and by the way, she’s my fiance.”

Shocked at Rafe’s words, he didn’t have time to mutter out a response as Rafe lowered his voice, “Stay away from my girl and from me. If I even see you trying to talk to her again, I’ll make sure that every invitation you’ve received for an event here will be rescinded, and your social life here will be done.” he threatened before growling, “Got it?”

Lost for words, James looked petrified at Rafe’s threats, only offering a quick nod before walking in the opposite direction. 

Leaning into you, Rafe whispered, “What do you say we get out of here? That dress has been driving me crazy all night, and as much as I love it on you, I’d like to see it somewhere else.”