Wicked Game - Rafe Cameron X OC

Chapter 5.

Katherine stood ankle-deep in the marsh, her phone clutched tightly in her hand. The moonlight reflected off the still water around her, casting an eerie glow on the reeds swaying gently in the breeze. Her heart pounded in her chest as she stared at the screen, the familiar name flashing in front of her. She was tempted to hit decline. Being out here in the marsh with her friends should've been enough for tonight—no kooks, no drama, just peace. But Rafe had a way of getting under her skin, making it impossible to ignore him.

Her finger hovered over the decline button, but, against her better judgment, she swiped the screen and pressed the phone to her ear.

"What do you want, Rafe?" Katherine's voice came out sharper than she intended, trying to mask the slight tremble in her tone. She could hear her friends behind her, JJ's laugh breaking through the otherwise quiet night, the splash of water as he and Kiara joked around in the distance.

Rafe's response was annoyingly calm, like he knew he had her attention. "What makes you think I want something?"

"Because you never call unless you do," she shot back, rolling her eyes. Her eyes flicked toward the others. JJ was skipping stones across the water with Pope, oblivious to her conversation, while Kiara stood further out, looking up at the sky. Katherine turned away from them, stepping deeper into the marsh to get some distance. She didn't want to drag them into whatever this was.

She could practically hear Rafe's eye roll over the phone. "Look, I'm calling to see if you wanted to go to this party Topper's throwing. Sarah asked me to invite you."

Katherine blinked in surprise, her grip tightening on the phone. Sarah? Why would Sarah want her at a kook party? She wasn't exactly on friendly terms with Sarah's crowd—especially not with Topper and Rafe. She looked out at the still water in front of her, trying to decide how to respond.

She stayed silent for a few seconds, wondering what game Rafe was playing, why he thought she'd want to come. Her instincts told her to say no, but she wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of hearing her back out.

"Hello?" Rafe's voice broke through her thoughts.

"I'll ask my friends if they want to come," she said, keeping her voice neutral before ending the call abruptly. She wasn't going to let Rafe drag her into some weird head game tonight.

Katherine stared at her phone for a moment after hanging up, feeling a mixture of frustration and confusion bubbling inside her. Rafe inviting her to a party at Topper's house? Sarah asking him to invite her? It didn't add up. The Camerons weren't exactly known for reaching out to her group unless there was some kind of agenda behind it.

She turned and waded back toward the others, her mind spinning with questions she didn't have answers to. As she approached, Kiara was playfully shoving Pope while JJ, sitting on the boat, watched with an amused smirk. John B had drifted off, his beer resting lazily in his hand.

"What's up?" Kiara called out when she saw Katherine's expression.

Katherine bit her lip, wondering how they would take the news. "That was Rafe."

JJ groaned immediately, leaning back on the boat's edge. "Oh, great. What does Captain Crazy want now?"

"He invited us to a party at Topper's," Katherine said, crossing her arms as the wind picked up slightly, rustling the marsh grass around them.

"Topper's party?" Pope echoed with disbelief, shaking his head. "That guy never has parties without some sort of drama. Last time, Kiara almost got into a fight with him, remember?"

Kiara rolled her eyes. "Topper's a jerk, but if Sarah's going, it might not be that bad."

Katherine raised an eyebrow. "Sarah's the one who asked Rafe to invite me. So maybe it's legit?"