𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐑 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄, RAFE CAMERON

16.

| Chapter Sixteen |

"You're telling me that two of the hottest men on this Island are head over heels for you but you've turned your cheek and decided to ignore it?" Kie's voice rang through the husky wind as we sat in her backyard, swinging in a hammock underneath a few trees that provided shade.

She'd texted me the day before and asked if I was free to hang out with her to which I agreed and woke up early that morning before coming over. We had briefly seen each other a few times since my time back but I hadn't had the chance to fully hang out with her.

I took a sip from my drink before laying my hand underneath my head, staring up at the leaves adorning the tree branches. A smile grazed my lips as a soft chuckle escaped my mouth. "That is so not what I just said! How in the world did you get that out of the explanation I gave you?!"

She laughed as well and pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head before giving me a stern look. "Rafe Cameron, the Kook King, and Cassian Snow, the second hottest and richest guy on the Island, are fawning over you. I would say I don't believe it but you're stunning, who wouldn't?"

I huffed and waved a hand at her, "You flatter me. But it's not the truth, or I believe it isn't. They're both genuinely nice and I wouldn't dare lie and say they're both not attractive." I shrugged.

"I've lived here all my life and Rafe used to be the biggest asshole on the Island but I haven't heard anything about him in the time you've arrived back. I can't really say anything about Cassian since he's always been nice." She countered.

I let out an exasperated sigh at the topic and closed my eyes, "Can we talk about something different, please? What's up with you?"

"You remember Pope, right?"

"Of course."

"I slept with him two weeks ago."

"Best friends to lovers. Understandable."

"And I slept with JJ on accident yesterday."

That made my head turn up and my eyes open wide as I stared at her in disbelief. She held a hand over her mouth in fright before we both burst out laughing, mine more so in confusion and shock.

"Accident? How do you accidentally sleep with someone?" I knew the question had a million answers but it was still reasonable to know her answer.

"Well, when Pope and I did it, it was blissful and full of passion that had been built up from the previous years. JJ and I were drunk and I assume the tension we shared had just exploded and I kissed him. I don't know what I was thinking but I did and...it felt amazing. I don't know what to think of myself, truthfully." She giggled, running a hand down her face.

We sat there in silence as I took in the information, trying to find a reasonable response. "So...you feel more comfortable with Pope when the thing with JJ is just purely lust?" I assumed, my eyebrows furrowed.

She sighed and shrugged, looking at me for help. "I don't know. I love both of them, not like that, but as my best friends and I feel as though if I reject one, they'll see I wanted the other."

My lips formed a straight line and I glanced around us in the silence. "You'll either need to figure out your feelings or reject both of them to avoid the oncoming drama."