𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐒𝐄. - 𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐧

005. the beach race

THE WAVY HAIRED BRUNETTE girl arrives by herself wearing a pure green bikini set with bright orange jorts. The green from her bikini top peeks through her white tank top as she makes her way down to the big crowd of people.

They all wait patiently for the race to begin as racers prepare themselves at the starting line. Tatum waits on the side by herself, roaming her eyes around to look for anyone familiar. Specially one person.

The sounds of the waves, people clinking their canned beers together, and loud music create a whole vibe around the area. Tatum spots Topper first, however as much as she wants to go up to him with a big hug, she can't. All because Rafe is speaking to him at the moment. They seemed to have partnered up for this race as they always do.

Then there was John B and JJ a couple of feet away, discussing about something serious. The expressions on their faces gave it away. The announcer from the tower behind everyone commences the event and all the racers get in line.

"Welcome everyone! It's that time of the year to bet on your favorite bikers to see who wins our annual beach race of summer twenty-twenty-four! Whoo!" He gets the crowd to grow even louder.

There are plenty of girls screaming for their favorite drivers, cheering them on. "Let's go, Top!" A girl with pink straight brown hair screams for Topper's name. Tatum looks over someone's shoulders to see the girl. Definitely a new face.

"Yeah, JJ! You and JB got this!" Sarah yells loudly from afar. Sarah? Tatum speaks her mind, looking behind her. It really is her. She's waving over at her boyfriend, but doesn't realize Tatum is a couple of people away from her.

She looks so grown now. A young woman indeed. Tatum grows a smile when she watches the blonde girl cheer on the boys.

"Alrighty, turn your engines on because this is about to let lit!" The announcer chuckles with his raspy drunken voice.

Rafe smirks over something his teammate, Topper, jokes about. He then skims through the crowd cheering and chanting multiple names all at once. That's when his smile disappears as his eyes land on a familiar set of eyes. Tatum's eyes.

She looks over at him with anger, clear that her eyes have grown darker than ever. The girl narrows her eyes, hardening the eye contact between them. Tatum makes sure she isn't the first to look away.

Sarah notices the change in demeanor in her brother's body language. He looks still and unsettled, looking over at someone. "Hey... Kie, do you know who Rafe's staring at?"

Kiara feels Sarah tapping on her shoulder. She looks over at Rafe as well, noticing the same thing. He's the only racer without his helmet on right now. "No idea, but it's someone from behind us." The two girls turn their heads in the direction his eyes are staring at.

They find the person and their mouths instantly drop. "Holy shit—it's Tate. He's looking at Tate over there!" Kiara points a finger down at where Tatum is standing. Sarah is in pure disbelief. She's back home.

"She looks mad." Sarah points out the obvious.

"She has every right to be if it has anything to do with Rafe." Kiara defends the designer from a few yards away.

The racer can't handle this staring contest anymore, so Rafe can't take this anymore, shaking his head, focusing back onto the track. The announcer calls out his name to put his helmet on to get this race started. Quickly, Rafe does as he's told, grabbing onto the handles of his dirt bike.

The horns go off and the racers take off. Rafe is the first to lead the race. He looks over back at Tatum who has her arms crossed over her chest. His eyes spot something glistening on her finger, they travel down and catch on the diamond engagement ring on her ring finger.