Bad Habits (A Rafe Cameron/OBX story)

Chapter 16

After waking up from my nap, we are about an hour away from home. My head raises from Rafe's shoulder. I turn around to see Sarah awake and watching a movie. When I look back at Rafe, he is sitting up, asleep. He looks so cute when he sleeps and it makes me smile.

I decide to get up and join Sarah back in my original spot. She looks up at me, "You slept with Rafe?"

My heart drops to my feet and all color is surely drained from my face, "Wh-what?"

How would she fucking know that?!

She points back to where he is sitting, "You sat with Rafe to take a nap, right?"

"Oh, yeah. You were trying to spread out so I had to find somewhere else to sit. He was the only one awake at the time and he offered the seat beside him." Relief washes over me when I realize what she actually meant.

"Oops... sorry. You know I like to stretch my legs out." She apologizes and laughs.

My eyes roll as I take my seat back beside my friend. We finish watching whatever movie she has on and I don't even bother to ask what it is. I'm still foggy from that long ass nap I just took.

An hour later, we land back home in the North Carolina. Oh, how I've missed this place. There's nothing more I want to do right now than to lay in my bed. When I get home, that's exactly what I'm going to do. It's about five in the evening so it's close to bedtime anyway... kind of.

Each one of us grab our bags from the plane and put them in the SUV. Ward turns to me when we are all loaded up, "I can drop you off at home, Haley."

"Thank you, Mr. Cameron." I say.

No one really says anything during our ride back, we are all exhausted. We pull up to my house after a couple of minutes of driving. I climb out of the SUV and Rafe offers to help me get my things. What a gentleman. I walk up to Sarah's side of the door to tell her and the rest of the family bye and thank them for the trip. Meanwhile, Rafe has already gotten all of my things from the back of the SUV and is carrying them for me. I reach out to grab my bags and he stops me, "I've got them."

I smile and thank him. We walk up to my garage door and I open it with the keypad. He follows behind me when it opens, I'm presuming so that he can bring the bags inside for me. Before I open the door, he drops the bags at his feet. I'm turning around to face him when he grabs me and plants a kiss on my lips. His arms wrap around my body and I almost fall limp from the feeling of him holding me. I place my hands on the base of his neck while we continue the kiss. He lets go first, burying his face in my neck and giving me a tight hug. My eyes are closed, taking in the feeling of him being here with me.

I mumble against his shoulder, "You better get back, they are gonna wonder what you're doing."

"I'll just tell them your parents were talking. They will believe that." He laughs.

I pull away first from the hug to see a pouting face. "What?" I ask him.

He frowns, "I wish we could just be a normal couple."

A sad smile falls on my face, "Me too. Maybe someday we can be."

Rafe nods and gives me one last kiss before he lets go. He grabs my bags and sits them inside by the door. Before he walks out of the garage, he turns back and blows me a kiss. I do the same as he smiles and walks back to the vehicle. My smile is taking over my entire face, I just know it.