'Safe with Rafe' Y/N x Rafe Cameron

Chapter XLI

Rafes hand on your waist tightens at Zanes stare.
"Can I talk to you for a second?" Rafe asks as he downturns his gaze towards you.
You look at Zane as he raises his eyebrows curiously at you before back to Rafe, "uh, sure."
Rafe moves his hand from your waist to your hand, pulling you just a few metres away from the other boy.

He shakes his head at you confused as his temper rises and you knew exactly why. You slide your hands beneath his blazer and onto his waist, finally getting eye contact from Rafe.
"I thought uh- I thought you weren't drinking tonight?" He asks jittery as he quickly glances to the waiting Zane.
"It's just one martini, Rafe. It's okay." You smile whole heartedly up into his eyes as you rub your hands around his tensed abdomen. His worried tone of voice tugs at your heart as you notice his concern around Zane.
"Yeah but,"

Rafe begins to talk before choking on his words, stopping himself mid sentence.
Who was he to tell you what to do and what not to do?
Rafes head hangs low in front of you as guilt and confusion race marathons inside his thoughts.

"Are you okay?" You ask concerned at his sudden change in behaviour.
Rafe looks into your eyes with his sorrowful blue ones, "yeah. Sorry." He apologises, "I didn't mean to interrupt, I don't know what came over me."
You cup your hands around Rafes jaw, lovingly staring into his ocean eyes as he leans into your touch, placing his hand over yours.
"I'm just gonna give our family a good rep with my fathers new business partners and then I'm all yours."
Rafe visibly perks up at those last few words, making you laugh softly, "I mean for the rest of the night."
Rafe smiles as he takes your hands from his face and into his two hands, squeezing them reassuringly, letting you know that he understands.
"okay."

Your hands begin sliding out of Rafes slowly as you angle your body back towards Zane who had already finished 3 martini's in the time you were gone. You give Rafe one more assuring glance as he lets you go at last.
"Martini?" Zane offers.
"On second thought, I really shouldn't." You say, taking Rafes concern into consideration.

You genuinely cared for Rafe so the last thing you'd want is to worry him by drinking around another man that he was already not too fond of for whatever reason.
But you love him and that was enough for you.
So you trust his judgement.

"Are you sure? If you get too loose, I don't mind taking care of you for the night." He says with a wink. You smile awkwardly as you cringe at his words before turning towards Rafe who was still standing where you left him. His face already unimpressed as he listens to Zanes gutsy remarks that almost happened to jump out of nowhere.
"Yeah, no thanks." You respond sternly.
"Suit yourself." He says as he down an entire martini as if it was just a shot glass.

Rafe sits lonesomely in a plastic chair as his elbows rest on top of his knees, and his hands linked together as he observes you from a distance, dancing with Zane slowly to Janelle Monáes -Prime Time.
His heart wrenches as he watches Zane dance with you the way he had earlier in the night.
It wasn't just something you do with everybody, right? He starts to over think his worth to you.
Zanes hand gradually slides down your waist lower, and lower until it rests on the starting point of your dresses zipper which is stitched just at your back dimples that were considerably low which causes Rafes jaw muscles to visibly tense. He averts his eyes to the grass beneath him as it was far more bearable to look at than the sight of another mans hands on you.
He stares at the ground intensely until a fancy pair of oxfords come into view from beside him.

"You're gonna let my daughter dance with him?"
"Sir." He says as he stands up from his seat to meet your fathers stance.
"Well? Why isn't that you up there?" He questions, rather intimidating.
Rafe tries to speak but mutters no words as he struggles to understand what your father meant by that, the difficulty in expressing himself becomes too much. So Rafe just sighs as he glances to you again with an expression that your father had never expected from the Cameron's son.
"I don't really have a choice, do I?" He says sadly, the sight of your smile slightly uplifting.
Your father huffs a small laugh, placing a comforting hand on Rafes back as his fatherly instincts take over.
"Whether my daughter ends up with you or if it's him," he begins, earning a sigh from Rafe.
"It's all the same to me. But Rafe, my boy. You're so much better than that goose." He says as he gestures towards Zane.
Rafe glances towards your father, surprised at his words. Your father flashes a rare smile in return and gives Rafe two reassuring pats on the back before turning away again and strutting towards the beverage spot.

You look out towards the grass mid dance to catch a glimpse of Rafe sitting all alone. The sight alone makes your eyes feel heavy in remorse.
"Hey, I think I'm gonna go join my friend now, I'm sorry." You say lowly, turning towards the ecstatic Zane as his smile begins to fade.
"What? You mean that Rafe kid?" He says mockingly.
Your gentle eye contact with Zane quickly turns into a glare. His gentleman act he put on earlier was merely a fraud compared to what he was showing now, Making your lady-like act drop as well and freeing you from the shackles of being polite to a spoilt little boy that just simply did not deserve it.
"Uh, hello? If he's a kid then what does that make you?" You ask with rage evident in your voice.
"Y/N? What's gotten into you?" He gaslights with a face crumpled in disgust at your attitude.

You look towards Rafe again for emotional strength who was oblivious of the scene unfolding. Finally allowing yourself to calm down before you do anything irrational to ruin your fathers ties which you felt could be at any second as long as Zane is standing in front of you.

"Sorry." You mumble.
You force a smile towards Zane as you excuse yourself from the patio, pushing past dancing bodies, desperate to reach Rafe until a hand catches yours tightly.
"Have I done something?" Zane asks, sure to keep his grip on you tight as he has no intentions of letting you go until you patch things up with him, "like seriously Y/N. I'm a nice guy, you're a nice girl and-" he pauses as he shakes his head in frustration, his words start to scare you as he speaks menacingly about an imaginary bond that he created in his brain.
"What are you talking about, Zane?" You ask, tugging at your hand.
"I'm trying to leave a good impression on you. I thought I did? Didn't I?" He asks hysterically.

As his hold on you becomes tighter, your fathers business ties seem to grow less important.
Why should you be the one to saviour the project? Why is the responsibility on your hands?
Why is it the girl that has the burden of being desirable and the men get to act like this?

Your breathing becomes fast paced with panic and resentment midst your thoughts until a hand comes to rest on your wrist and another on your shoulder as it pulls you backwards into something hard.
You look up to see a black bow tie and a light blue haze before your eyes finally adjust, recognising the face above you.
"Is everything alright here?" Rafe asks calmly. He knows exactly what it looks like but he also knows how much this bond between your families means to you, so he keeps it short and simple.

Zane upkeeps his hold on your hand as he stares fiercely at Rafe.
You secretively reach behind you with your free hand and grasp at the fabric on Rafes thigh, which was all he needed from you to understand your concern.