Country Club Living - Rafe Cameron

Chapter Eighteen - Trip to Figure Eight

A few weeks later the Pogues were out on the beach, the HMS Pogue tied to the nearby dock. Ivy had a thin shirt wrapped around her torso to hide her insecurities about her stomach and a fashion magazine beside her which Kie scowled at stating that the glossy pages of the magazine were part of the climate crisis. It had become a regular occurrence for Ivy to hang out with the group with Pope crowning her a 'part-time Pogue' much to JJs dismay. They stayed far enough that Ivy's parents didn't catch her but not so far away that she would cross paths with her cousin again. Another good thing about hanging out with the Pogue's is that Ivy got a break from thinking of Rafe 24/7, since the night of Midsummers she had thought of him non-stop but fearing it was just a one-time thing, kept quiet so she didn't look like a woman obsessed. The flashbacks from that night made Ivy close her thighs together a little tighter. Not far from the girls, JJ and John B stood arguing with Pope.

"My dad is going to kill both of you one day" Pope grumbled

"Let him" JJ shrugged shovelling the remainder of a bag of chips into his mouth

Pope shot them a look "I have to work for one more hour and then we can leave I swear. Please just let me stay out of trouble for one night"

"You signed away those rights when you became our friend" John B noted

"What are we up to tonight?" Sarah asked

"The same as every night. Get stoned at the chateau and disappoint our parents" Kie chimed

"We should do something fun. Something different" Ivy spoke

"If you're paying Ivy League" JJ shrugged

"There's a party on figure eight we could crash" Ivy suggested remembering seeing it mentioned on one of her former friends Snapchat stories

The group suddenly all looked at Ivy, sitting up straighter "Okay yeah that will definitely keep me out of trouble" Pope scoffed

"Come on, they're not gonna say anything if me, Sarah and Kie show up. We'll just sneak you guys in"

John B bit at the skin on his lip while he pondered "Could be pretty fun, free beer. The good kind too"

"Rich drunk assholes who won't know where they put their wallets loaded with cash, hmm. I'm in" JJ agreed

"Seriously? Why would you even want to hang around with those assholes" Kie grumbled clearly not interested in the idea

"You guys gotta look the part, I can steal a few of Rafe's polo shirts" Sarah shrugged

"Why do you assume I don't have my own?" John be said feigning offence

Sarah smirked at his response "Do you have your own?"

"No" he grinned

The group had decided that they would attend the party much to Kie and Pope's dismay. Sarah was off home to retrieve a few of Rafe's shirts without him noticing and Ivy had tagged along. Creeping around Rafe's room while he was out felt wrong, surprisingly his room was clean and tidy however it smelled very strongly of cologne that caught in the back of Ivy's throat slightly. As her eyes fell onto the badly made bed she couldn't help but think of her body laying where her eyes landed. Sarah's voice snapped her out of her sinful thoughts as she motioned to the three shirts in her hands and then to the door. It was obvious to Ivy that the reason she even wanted to attend the party was to see Rafe, it was against her better judgement to invite the Pogue's, but she knew if she showed up herself questions would be asked.

Later that night the six friends pulled up to the large house on figure eight in Ivy's car. Sarah opting to sit on John B's lap due to the car only having five seats, the boys dressed like the thing they hated most with their hair styled neatly.

"I look like a douche" JJ whined

"So no change to your regular self?" Sarah asked poking him in the ribs

When they exited the vehicle they could hear the music blasting from outside the mansion-esque home.

"I fucking hate house music" Pope cringed to which the rest of the group nodded in agreement

The party was loud and crowded, the lights were dim and there was smoke everywhere, perfect for the boys needing to fly under the radar, they headed straight for the kitchen grabbing a red solo cup each and filling them up generously with liquor. All bar Ivy. She had opted to drive and therefore didn't want to drink or do anything that could make her a worse driver than she already was. Retreating to a secluded corner where there was no sign of Rafe, Topper or Kelce the six resided and danced along to the music that neither one of them seemed to enjoy. JJ had already managed to steal 40 dollars and a leather wallet and John B, and Sarah didn't really seem to mind where they were as long as they were together. Kie and Pope however were not enjoying themselves, Kie was constantly on edge and looking around to see if anyone had noticed their presence and Pope was constantly checking his watch to see when they could leave. Ivy however was looking around for a completely different reason and hoping she would catch a glimpse of Rafe. Giving up hope, she made her way to the kitchen, filling up a cup with water, she sipped it silently before her peace was interrupted and she heard the voice of Topper from behind her.

"Do my eyes deceive me? Has Ivy blessed us with her presence?" he gasped

She rolled her eyes and swivelled around on her heels, her breath catching slightly as she spied Rafe standing just metres away holding a red solo cup. This was the closest they had been in weeks; Ivy had thought about this since the night in the island club. His eyes avoided hers and looked elsewhere. Kelce and Topper made comments about the fact that Ivy wasn't drinking while Rafe absentmindedly looked anywhere but at her, avoiding her completely, she felt hurt. She walked away and pulled out her phone, going to her Instagram app and typing in Rafe's name.

Ivy.Rutherford

?? Thought you would've at least said hi after midsummers

rafecameron_

Idk what you mean

Ivy.Rutherford

In the coat check?

rafecameron_

Did I see you at midsummers? I think you're confused

Ivy gripped her phone in her hand tightly, she should have known that everything Rafe had said was a load of crap, he was just doing what he did best. Trying to get into a girls pants, and Ivy felt used. Feeling defeated she headed back to her friends and put on a fake happy attitude. She had dragged her friends to this party under the guise of a joke just to see someone that only a few weeks ago she had despised. She proposed the idea of leaving to her friends who had decided while she was away that they did in fact want to stay and were having a good time, with Ivy being their ride she knew she couldn't just abandon them and sat down on a comfortable leather chair sober and utterly humiliated by the hands of Rafe Cameron once again.

A few hours later everyone was buzzed, all except Ivy. The Pogue's had managed to keep a low profile and JJ was now 150 dollars richer. Ivy looked around the party at everyone having fun and felt more alone than she had during all those summers that she stayed in her room herself. Despite her friend's efforts to get her to dance or take a minuscule swig of a beer she just wasn't up for it. Trying to push the upset thoughts she took Popes hand and danced around the small area of space they had designated the safe zone, just as he twirled her under his arm she caught a glimpse of Rafe and a redheaded girl she knew to be Ava Fischer, the girl who was hosting the party. He had his arm around her and was whispering into her ear something that either shocked or intrigued her, her arms wrapped around his neck and his hands dropped to her ass as they pulled one another into a kiss, Ivy looked on in disgust. When Rafe pulled away his eyes clocked Ivy and they stared at each other for a moment before she turned around JJ and wrapped her arms around him, kissing him messily. And in doing so, she alerted Rafe that the Pogue's were in attendance. His eyes fell on the group, including his sister and he scoffed, pushing past some of the crowd, heading straight for the group of misfits in the corner.