His Choice - Rafe Cameron

19. Father Dearest

Rafe wasn't lying when he said that he will be here in a minute. His black Range Rover pulls up behind me and I walk over to the passenger side. 

"Thank you for giving me a ride home. Again."

"This seems to be a recurring thing." He says and his eyes drop down to my arm. He reaches out and his large hand wraps around my bicep. His hands are nice and warm against my cold skin. "You're freezing."

I laugh at him stating the obvious. "That is correct."

"I swear you are always cold."

"That is also correct."

I am dressed in a white sleeveless playsuit which ends mid-thigh. It was warm when I left home, but it is much cooler outside now. I didn't expect to be walking home so I didn't bring a sweater with me. 

Rafe reaches into the back seat and retrieves his white cashmere sweater. He drops it on my lap and starts driving without saying another word. As we reach the end of the street, he briefly looks over at me. 

"Are you going to put it on or are you going to continue staring at it?" He snaps in an annoyed tone. His features are dark beneath the dim lighting and I watch as his hair creates darker shadows on his face. 

I lift the sweater over my head and slip my arms in through the sleeves. I close my eyes and inhale the scent. I can smell both the laundry detergent and his cologne. This sweater smells exactly like Rafe and I'm enjoying it. 

I cross my arms over my chest, appreciating the warmth that the silky fabric is providing me. 

"How are you?" I ask him, not just to make conversation but because I am genuinely curious. When we were walking along the beach last night, Rafe mentioned that his head hurt because he was dealing with too much. 

Ward has drowned him in both work and personal matters. 

"I'm fine."

"Why just fine? You should be better than fine."

He holds his hand out. "Look Scarlett, I don't want to do this small talk shit. You made me go out my way to give you a lift home. I would appreciate if that can be done in silence."

Hurt by his blunt tone, I decide not to make another comment. Instead I sit in silence and stare out the window with my body twisting in the opposite direction from him. 

When we reach home, Rafe's car lights shine directly onto the dock. I feel my eyebrows moving together as I stare intensely at the dock in shock of what I am seeing. My body turns numb and my thoughts become foggy when I see the familiar initials carved into the boat.

L.M.

"Did JJ buy a new boat?"

"No."

"Then whose boat is that?"

I clear my throat uncomfortably. I feel like I am having an out of body experience right now and not in a good way. Shivers run down my spine and I cannot control my thoughts. Seeing that boat has sent me into a wave of shock. 

"Scarlett?"

I snap out of my trance and turn to look at Rafe. "I'm not sure." I reach for the door. "Thanks for giving me a lift. Sorry to have wasted your time." I refer to his comment from earlier which made me feel like a burden. 

"You didn't- I just-" he sends me a sympathetic look which makes me think that he regrets his earlier choice of words. But he still said them and I know that he meant them. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yep." I push open the door and get out of his car. After closing the door, I wave to Rafe and slowly walk towards the house. I turn around when I notice that Rafe's car hasn't moved yet. I wave to him once more and this time he starts backing up. Once Rafe's car is out of sight, I walk up the front steps and see that the door to the house is already wide open.