I Can Fix Him (no really I can) || Rafe Cameron

Prologue

Six Months Earlier

Rafe parks the truck right by the dock, the one he calls "Our secret spot," even though it's not exactly hidden. The sun's dipping low, casting everything in shades of gold and pink. He grins at me as he gets out, jogging around to my side and swinging open y door before I've even unbuckled my seat belt.

"Come on, lazy," he teases, grabbing my hand and pulling me down onto the old wooden planks of the dock.

"Alright, alright," i laugh, rolling my eyes but not letting go of his hand. "What's the rush?"

Instead of answering, he just flashes that sideways grin of his, the one that got me into this whole mess in the first place, and tugs me to the edge of the dock. We sit down with our legs dangling, water lapping softly beneath us. It's quiet out here, nothing but the occasional call of some bird in the distance and the sound of Rafe tapping his fingers against the wood next to him.

He turns to me after a moment, tilting his head, his eyes softer than usual. "You know... you're the only person I'd ever bring out here."

I raise an eyebrow, fighting back a smile. "Oh really?"

"Yeah, really." He reaches over, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear, his thumb lingering a second longer than it needs to. "You don't believe me?"

"I don't know," I say, teasing, but my heart skips when he's looking at me like that.

For a moment, he doesn't say anything. Then, without warning, he pulls me close, his lips brushing mine, soft and easy, like he's afraid to break whatever this is. It's different from any other kiss I've had with him- gentler, like he's letting me see something real for the first time.

When he pulls back, he's got that little smirk again, but there's something else behind it, too. He rests his forehead against mine, his voice barely a whisper. "I don't know what it is about you, but... you make me feel different."

"Different?" I ask, not pulling away, letting the words hang between us.

"Yeah," he murmurs, brushing his thumb over my hand. "Better."

We stay like that for what feels like forever, his arm around me, his gaze holding mine, as if he's trying to memorize everything about this moment. There's nothing but the two of us, tangled up in a soft quiet that feels like it could last forever.

But somewhere, in the back of my mind, I know better. For now, though, I let myself believe it.