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It had been a couple of days since Imani had seen Rafe at the party, but the memory of that moment still lingered in her mind. They had almost kissed. Almost.
Imani never imagined that she would share a moment like that with Rafe of all people.
The tension between them had been so thick, so unexpected, that she could still feel her heartbeat speed up whenever she thought about it. She hadn't planned on thinking about him this much, hadn't meant to let her thoughts wander back to the way his eyes had locked onto hers or how close he'd leaned in.
Sighing, Imani found herself sitting on her bed, mindlessly scrolling through Instagram. She had friends to talk to, messages she could answer, but instead, she kept aimlessly flicking her thumb across the screen. It wasn't until she scrolled past a familiar name, Rafe Cameron, that her thumb stopped.
She'd never really paid much attention to him on Instagram before. Sure, he was popular—everyone knew the Cameron's, but she had never bothered to look through his page. The notification that she had followed him must've been months old, and until now, it didn't seem important.
But now, she hesitated, a curious pull guiding her thumb back up to his profile. Before she could second guess herself, she tapped on his name.
Rafe's page loaded, and the first thing that hit her was how different he looked in these photos compared to the person she'd seen face to face. The first image was a candid shot, his sharp jawline and confident smirk captured as he stood next to his boat. Typical Rafe; rich, confident, and every bit the Outer Banks elite.
She scrolled further, stopping at a black and white photo of him leaning against his father's Range Rover, the image giving off a vibe of old money.
Imani's stomach fluttered in a way that made her uneasy. She wasn't supposed to be feeling this way about him, right? This was Rafe—troubled, unpredictable Rafe. But the more she scrolled, the more intrigued she became. She clicked on a photo of him at some party, laughing with friends. His smile in that moment was relaxed, almost soft, a side of him she rarely saw in person. It was strange to think that the guy whose page was filled with moments of carefree luxury had looked at her with such intensity just a few days ago, as if there was no one else around.
As she scrolled down further, Imani's finger hovered over a picture of him on the beach, shirtless and looking out at the ocean. Her breath hitched slightly.
"Fuck me," she whispered.
Without thinking, she clicked back to his most recent post and hovered over the like button. Her heart raced. Would he notice if she liked it? Would that mean anything to him? A hundred thoughts rushed through her mind. Before she could change her mind, she quickly double-tapped the photo and tossed her phone onto the bed, feeling a rush of nerves she hadn't anticipated.
