Finally

1

don't be confused!! we're mixing real with fictional here

Y/N

A knock comes at the door, and you know it's Rafe. You get excited and shout to the girls, "He's here!" and they all go, "Woo!" You're all a bit tipsy already from a couple of glasses of wine. It was your idea to get together tonight—you, Kiara, Sarah, and Rafe. But you told Rafe to come an hour and a half after you'd told the girls to come over—you wanted to warm up first, which meant you needed a couple drinks and to get the mood ready.

Kiara opens the door for you since you're busy in the kitchen. She loudly greets Rafe, who steps inside and immediately finds you. He's holding a big, brown paper bag and says, gently, "I, uh, brought..." He pulls out a bottle of wine.

Sarah, from the floor in the living room, gasps. "Oh my God, that's the good stuff."

Kiara snatches it from Rafe's hand. "Let's open it up!"

You catch Rafe's eye and smile at him, apologetic. When you invited him, you didn't mention that Kiara and Sarah would be here, too.

"You guys already started," he says, looking around. He comes to stand beside you, and his natural scent—one of the things that makes Rafe uniquely himself—wafts up your nose and dizzies you.

You smile because the wine and his accurate observation has gotten to you.

"Sorry," you say. "But you've brought more, and I have another bottle, so you can easily catch up."

Kiara has taken his bottle of wine and brought it to the coffee table where Sarah is still on the floor.

"Let's order Chinese!" Sarah says. She's probably the farthest gone at this point.

You walk over, and Rafe follows like a lost dog, or a friend you've invited over for the first time to meet your other friends. But he knows Kiara and, obviously, he knows Sarah. The both of you settle down on the floor around the coffee table. Rafe sits beside you.

"Alright, before I get too drunk," you say, "everyone give me their orders so I can call."

"Yesss." Sarah's eyes are all glossy, and she hasn't seemed to yet notice that her brother is in the room. Then again, they're not that close.

Everyone drinks and talks, except for Rafe—he pretty much keeps quiet, which you notice like a weight on your shoulders—until the food comes. Rafe gets up after you to help carry it, and probably to make sure you pay the guy the right amount and don't say something stupid—you've had plenty more to drink since you put the order in.

As soon as everyone gets what they ordered, you all dive in and groan with pleasure at the first bites. Of course, you, Kiara, and Sarah are certainly past tipsy. Rafe, on the other hand, barely seems tipsy at all. You keep meaning to talk to him, but something always distracts you.

"God, this is so good," you say, stabbing at a piece of chicken. To Rafe, you say, "How's yours?"

He nods, chews, then swallows. "Good."

It's the first time he's spoken this clearly and pointedly since he got here, which was an hour ago. For a moment, you wish you didn't invite the girls over. You know it's because they're here he's not as talkative and relaxed.

"So, Y/n." Sarah smiles with a twinkle in her eye. "How's JJ?"

You know it's because she's drunk that she sounds like she's making fun of your boyfriend, or the fact that JJ is your boyfriend. Still, it stiffens the lighthearted mood.

"He's good," you say, simply.

"He was at the fishing docks today," Kiara says. "I saw him there when I went to visit Heyward's."