Good Days •Rafe Cameron•

Sleep Over

My brown skin glowed against the blue light radiating off of my laptop as I cozied up in bed watching Netflix.
My cat, who I have yet to name, laid quietly on the bed. Her tiny ear twitching as she purred in her sleep. It was around two in the morning. Most nights I stayed awake for hours trying to pass the time by bingeing shows. I was currently watching Poetic Justice. My favorite 90's black love movie that I always had on replay.
I continued to stuff my face with leftover noodles from the Asian Market. My eyes stayed glued to the screen until I heard a small tap at my window.
I paused the movie, listening for the sound again. A short few moments passed before I heard the tapping sound again.
I quickly hopped out of bed. Cutting my lamp on. My naked legs were immediately covered with goosebumps from the AC.
I slowly walked over to my window seat; where the sound came from. My fingers pulled the curtains back. A small gasped left my lips. Rafe Cameron sat on the roof. His hair was wet from the slight drizzle from the rain outside. His eyes widened and he blinked several times before mouthing. "Can I come in?"
I opened the window. "Rafe, what are you doing on my roof?" I whispered. "Can you just let me in?" He sighed. I roll my eyes. "Alright, but be quiet. Kiara's room is right next to mine." I say, taking his arm, helping him inside. His muddy shoes dirtying up the cushions on the window seat.
Once Rafe is fully in, I close the window. "What's going on?" I asked. Rafe's eyes travel down my body. I then remembered that I am only wearing an old oversized t-shirt. He stares at my bare legs, biting his lip in the process. "Cute pj's." He teased.
"Why are you here, Rafe?" I repeat my question. I open one of my dresser pulling out some shorts to slip on.
Rafe takes a seat at the window. "My dad kicked me out." He says, quietly. "He caught me stealing money from the safe. So I told him everything. I told him about Barry. And he helped me get the money to him. But he told me not to come back home. And I just did know what to do. So I decided-." I cut Rafe off.
"So you decided to come here?" I stated, crossing my arms over my chest. "Why?" I sassed. He shrugs. "I honestly don't know. You were just the first person I thought of. And...and I was hoping you would let me stay the night?" He asked. His big blue eyes turned to the size of tennis balls as he waited for me to answer.
     "Rafe, I don't think that's a good idea." I explained. "I promise, I won't be a bother. I'll leave first thing in the morning?" He says, standing up. He once again towers over me.
     "Please, Be." He begged. "Don't make me regret this." I say, giving in. A huge smile immediately appears on Rafe's lips.
    He quickly pulls me into a tight hug; which caught me off guard. My arms are stuck between his embrace, while my face is smushed against his chest. I can hear his heartbeat slowing down to a normal pace.
    "Can you please let go of me." My voice is muffled against his shirt. "Yeah, of course." He smiles, pulling back from the hug.
      The two of us stand awkwardly in the middle of my room. The soft purs from my cat being the only sound in the room.
    Rafe begins to look around. He walks over to my desk; which is decorated with pictures. He picks up a frame.
      "When was this?" He asked. I walk over to him, looking over his shoulder at the picture. "That was a few years ago." I answered. It's a picture of me and Kiara at Folly Beach in 2017. "We were on a family vacation." I state.
     Rafe picks up another frame. "And this one?" He says. "That was a few month ago before my parents passed." I say. "That's the Lake Murray Dame in Columbia, South Carolina." I tell him.
     In the picture, I'm smiling with my mom. Instead of looking into the camera her eyes are on me. She's holding me in her warm embrace. Sunlight peaking through her curly afro.
I smile at the memory; remembering my dad was the one taking the picture.
"She's beautiful." Rafe comments. I nod. "She was." I say, quietly. I take the picture from his hand setting it back down in its place.
     "Having a late night snack, I see." Rafe smiles. He points to my bed seeing the food and movie. "I couldn't sleep." I say, pulling the cat into my arms.
    "Have you named her yet?" Rafe asked. I shake my head. "Nothing has come to my mind on what to name her." I rock my body back and forth cuddling the cat close to my chest.
    Rafe reaches to pet her head. "How about Echo?" He hums. "Echo?" I question. "Yeah, you don't like it." He says. "No, I love it. It's kind of perfect actually." I smile up at him. "Yeah?" He asked. "Yeah." I nod.
     I sit Echo next to the window. She buries her body against the cushions. "So do you have a certain preference on which side of the bed you sleep on?" Rafe suddenly asked. I knit my brows together. "What?" I asked. "Which side of the bed do you sleep on?" He asked again.
     My brain suddenly clicks. I didn't think he would actually want to sleep through the night. Let alone in my bed.
     "Oh, um...I'm usually spread out. But I guess I'll take the left side, near the window." I whispered. "Perfect." He flashes me a smile. "I like the right side." Without thinking Rafe pulls his shirt over his head.
    I suddenly feel my cheeks heat up. I'm thankful for my brown skin, so that he won't see how terribly red  I am from blushing.
     His muscles flex with every move he makes. I run my eyes down his chest; staring at his abs. The tension in the room is heavy. And I unknowingly bite my lip.
     Rafe doesn't seem to be bothered at all. He kicks off his shoes before pulling down his pants; leaving him in his boxers. Lord, have mercy.
    "Do you like what you see?" Rafe suddenly asked, breaking me out of my thoughts. "I...um...I'm gonna make sure the door is locked." I quickly skip past him locking my door, just in case anyone decides to walk in unannounced.
      I turn back to face Rafe. He's already laying under the blanket. His arms are rested behind his head as he gives me smirk. "You coming?" He says. I slowly walk to my side of the bed. I pick up the box of noodles and laptop, setting it on my desk.
    I decided to keep my shorts on. My fingers pull back the blankets, before I climb into bed; turning the lap off.
    The two of us are silent. I try to keep my body as still as possible until I feel Rafe's feet brush against mine.
     "What are doing?" I whispered. "Just making sure you're still here. You're so quiet." He whispers back. I kick him. "Ow!" He yelps.
    Without thinking I cover his mouth with my hands. "Be quiet." I scold. Rafe moves my hand. "You shouldn't have kicked me." He states. "You're insufferable." I sigh. Turning my back to him. I close my eyes trying to get some sleep. But instead I feel a ton of weight shifting behind me.
    Rafe's hands slither around my waist. "Rafe!" I yelp this time. "Be!" He mocks. "Why are your arms around me.?" I struggle against his hold. "Shhh." He hushes me. "Just let me hold you." He hums. I can feel him burying his face into the side of my neck.
     "If I would have known you wanted to cuddle, I would have told you to leave." I sigh. "So what's stopping you from telling me to go?" I can't see Rafe's face, but I know he has that stupid smug look on his face.
     I don't say anything. Instead, I relax my body into his embrace, closing my eyes. His fingers begin to travel under my shirt, strumming my belly. His hands move further up my torso; but I quickly stop him; grabbing his hand and pushing it away.
    "Rafe." I warn. "I'm sorry." He quickly, apologizes. "I think I'm a little high." He chuckles. "You think." I scoff.
      Rafe's hands go back to my waist; holding me close to his chest. Our breathing soon begin to sync. I can feel the rise and fall of his chest against my back. Our legs tangle with each other as we lay together in comfortable silence.
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  I blink my eyes open several times before the sunlight blinds me, causing my arm to go up, covering my face.
I stretch my body, until I realize a certain figure still lingers behind me. Rafe's quiet snores fills up the room. I slowly turn my body to face him.
He looks younger. His face smushed against my soft green pillows. His hair sitting perfectly loose above his eyes. And a slight smirks resting on his lips.
      I turn my body over slowly, careful not to wake him. My fingers reach for my phone so I could check the time. I click the screen and immediately jump out of bed.
      "Get up!" I shout, hitting Rafe with a pillow. He groans, frustrated as he rubs the sleep from his eyes. "Hurry up. It's eleven." This time I hit him harder across the head.
     "Yo! What the fuck!" He shouts, immediately sitting up. The blanket falls, exposing his hard chest. "Rafe, you over slept. You said you would be gone first thing in the morning." I whine.
     "Oh, my God." He roles his eyes, laying his head back down. "You're such a fucking buzz kill." He says. His morning voice was deep and decrepit as he turned over facing away from me.
      "No, no, no." I run to his side of the bed, grabbing his arm as I try to pull him out of bed. "Get up." I struggle. "You need to go before someone sees us." I demanded.
     "Fine." Rafe huffs. "I'm up." He says, pushing me off his arm. He scoops up his pants from the floor; quickly slipping them on, along with his shirt.
     "Where are my shoes?" He hums to himself looking around my room. I quickly look under my bed. "They're right here." I say, grabbing them and handing them to Rafe.
     "Okay, now go." I panic; pushing him towards my window. "Calm down, girl." Rafe smirks. He maneuvers himself from my hands slipping away. "Do you think I could sleep over again?" He asked. His blue eyes flash a sense of vulnerability.
      "I don't think that's a good idea Rafe." I bite my lip. "Why not." He whines, giving me a fake pout. I can feel my heart beating against my rib cage.
     "I'll text you later if I change my mind." I say. Rafe playfully roles his eyes. "Okay." He hums. "I guess I'll see you later." He smirks.
    "Just go." I push him towards the window. "Alright, I'm going." He says, opening the window and climbing onto the roof. He steadies himself along the edge before taking hold of a tree branch that near. I watch him climb down the tree until he's out of view.
    I finally exhale a breath of air that I did not realize I was holding.