Bad Habits (A Rafe Cameron/OBX story)

Chapter 25

It's been three days. Three whole days without my friends. Haven't heard a word from them.

Tomorrow is the start of a new week, which means that midsummers is only a few days away. And that also means that I have to find a dress. One that matches Rafe's suit. He sent me a picture of the suit he is wearing and I'm fully prepared for a mental breakdown while I'm trying to find the perfect dress. This kind of thing always stresses me out. The thought of having to perfectly match colors makes me so anxious. What if the colors aren't perfect? What if he hates my dress? What if I love the dress today, but hate it on Friday? Damn it! This is too much.

On a typical midsummers week, Sarah and I would go shopping together to find our dresses. But this time, mom will have to do. We have an appointment tomorrow at one of our local shops to find my perfect dress. I've never enjoyed going to these events but this year will be different. I have my man by my side. No one can take that away from me.

I texted Rafe this morning, asking him if I could come see his suit in person. I need to get a good look at the color of the actual fabric, not just a picture. He says that's fine, that he will be home all day anyway.

After breakfast at home, I get ready to go to the Cameron's house. The drive there is filled with dread. I don't want to run into Sarah. I don't have all of my speech together, yet.

Oh yeah, I'm getting a speech together to 'present' to my friends. Hopefully it will work and they will forgive me. If not, it was worth a try.

I pull into the driveway and Rafe is outside cleaning his truck and motorcycle. He smiles when he sees me, immediately dropping what he's doing to greet me at my car. He opens the door, "Hello, my love. How are you?"

"I'm pretty great." I smile, giving him a kiss as I get out of my car. "What have you been doing?"

"Not much. Avoiding my sister but other than that... nothing."

My face falls, "Same here."

His hand snakes around my waist, pulling me next to him. He kisses me on the head, "Let's go look at my suit."

"Alright."

We walk to the house. Upon entry, my stomach drops thinking about facing Sarah. Luckily, the only person we run into is Wheezie. "Hey, Wheeze. Haven't seen you in a while."

"Yeah. Whatever." She gives me a snide remark.

Rafe snaps, "Wheezie! Don't be rude!"

"What? I'm mad at her." She rolls her eyes at me. "Okay fine, only because of Sarah. But I can be mad too."

Wheezie turns her nose up and walks away. Well... I lost her too.

Rafe grabs my hand, "Don't listen to her. She still loves you... if it makes you feel any better, she hasn't really talked to me either."

"It doesn't help... but thanks for the effort, babe." I pat him on the shoulder.

We walk upstairs toward his room. He opens the door, letting me in and I sit on his bed. He looks in his closet and pulls out a garment bag. Rafe unzips it, revealing a light blue suit. This color will pair perfectly with his beautiful blue eyes. I smile thinking about how much fun we are going to have on Friday evening. Rafe asks me, "Do you think you can find something to match?"

"I will try my very best."

He puts the suit away, joining me to sit on the edge of his bed. My head lays on his shoulder, thinking about how to approach the topic I've been dreading to speak with him about.

I take a deep breath, "Babe?"

"Yeah?" He asks.

"Can I talk to you about something?"