Golden Hearts | Rafe Cameron

17

17

An hour later, I stand right where Rafe told me to stand, unsure if I should have listened to him. What if he's just trying to trick me now? He loves to mess with me, so it wouldn't surprise me if he suddenly does something crazy soon.

I told Sarah that I needed to go home and help my mom with lunch, hoping she'd believe me, which of course she did. I wait a few more minutes and start to question if this was really a good idea. Maybe I should just go home? Whatever Rafe is planning, it didn't go very well last time we did something he planned.

"Good that you came," Rafe says, putting his arm around my shoulder. His mood has really improved now. He walks towards the pier, and I begin to wonder what he has planned."I have some ideas for what we can do," Rafe says as we walk along the pier towards the Cameron's big boat. He helps me up onto it even though I could have managed fine myself, and then he releases the boat.

"What are we going to do on the boat?" I ask.

"You'll see," Rafe says with a smile and heads towards the helm where he can drive the boat and starts driving away. I didn't know he could drive a boat too. I learn new things about him every day.

I sit on a couch  Va behind Rafe as he stands and drives. I sit quietly for a while and watch TikTok, but my 'for you' page is just about a bunch of boring stuff, so eventually I get tired and put down my phone in the back pocket of my shorts. I stand up and stand next to Rafe.

"When did you learn to drive a boat?" I ask.

"A few years ago," Rafe says, focused on the water ahead of us. Something I hadn't thought about until now is that we're quite a way from the Outer Banks.

"Are you planning to kidnap me?" I ask.

"No, I'm taking us to the mainland," Rafe says, laughing a little.

"Why?" I ask."

"Must you ask so many questions? Just be quiet and you'll see," Rafe says, and I nod, sitting back on the sofa and returning to my phone. I open Instagram and post a picture I took earlier in the week.

It takes a while until we reach the mainland, and neither I nor Rafe say much during the whole trip.
I had hoped for a somewhat more social Rafe, but no. When Rafe has moored the boat, we walk along the pier towards the mainland. I've been here many times before, but not this year. I really enjoy being here, though. It's much bigger than home, and all the houses are a hundred times more luxurious than even the kook houses in Obx.

"Where are we going?" I ask, but Rafe ignores me and leads me towards the town. After a while, I start to see lots of carousels and other things, and I begin to wonder if that's where we're headed. We arrive at a big fence with a sign that reads 'Tivoli'. Rafe approaches the man standing at the fence.

"Two ride bands, please," he says and pays. I hadn't expected this from Rafe. Are we going to the amusement park together? Did he bring me here to go to the amusement park with me? It's actually quite cute when you think about it.

The man at the counter puts on my ride band, and I can't help but smile when I see how Rafe looks at the man while holding onto my arm. We then continue into the area. I'm not usually at amusement parks. My parents don't like such places.

"What do you want to do?" Rafe asks, but instead of answering, I start laughing, and he looks at me as if I'm completely crazy.

"This is just so weird. Don't you think?" I say.

"Maybe, but be grateful that I brought you here," he says and starts walking towards a place where you can use a gun to shoot down wooden plates to win a prize.