Ambivalently Yours

Money

"Oh shit," Liz says, raising her eyebrows as you finish recounting what happened with Rafe last night. It was late in the evening after you'd gotten home from Kildare Island, and you really should've been in bed by this point, but you had to talk to someone about everything that went down. "So what now?"

You give her a questioning look. "What do you mean?"

"Your boy's a mess and clearly has some heavy family drama he's dealing with. Are you thinking of breaking it off?" she asks.

"What are you talking about?" you ask. "Why would I break it off with him?"

"So you don't become involved in all that fuckery. Ward sounds like the literal worst. The fact that he was so nice and stuff at first is even more telling. The guy's a walking red flag," she says. "You might want to get out while you still can."

"That's the thing," you say with a sigh. "I don't want out."

"Oh, honey, no," she says dramatically. "You're not even a month in."

"I know," you say frustratedly. You run your hands down your face. "It's happening already."

"I never thought it would end up this way," she says. "Like, I pictured you and Rafe having some angry hookups and maybe you'd have a little fling for a while, and now you're telling me you're already in the trenches? What happened?"

"He happened," you explain. "The bastard is weaseling his way into my heart."

"This is the enemies to lovers story I've been waiting for," she says, and despite everything, you laugh.

"That's what this has turned into, isn't it?" You lean back on the couch and run a hand through your hair. "I really like that stupid asshole."

"Yeah, I can tell," she replies. "And you're sure you're willing to have all this background drama going on just to be with him?"

"As crazy as it sounds, yeah, I am. But I may have to unload on you sometimes," you say. "Where there's one incident, there will be more."

"I'll always be here to lend an ear."

~

Your Monday morning alarm makes you want to throw your phone against the wall, and you're dragging major ass as you pull up in the parking garage before class, with Kelce and Rafe right behind you. You only had three weeks of classes left before finals, and now wasn't the time to start falling off the wagon. You really wanted to, though.

When you see Rafe in class that afternoon, he looks exhausted. The dark circles under his eyes are prominent, and he gives you half a smile when he comes to sit down behind you.

"Rough day?" you ask.

"I called my dad between classes earlier," he says. "Let him know the little stunt he pulled was absolute bullshit."

"Oh?" you respond, not quite sure what else to say.

"You know what he said? He said he brought up all that shit to test you."

"To test me? What does that even mean?" you ask.

"To see if you could 'handle' me," he quotes. "As if I'm some difficult person to be around," he adds with a scoff.

"You're certainly difficult, but not for the reasons Ward mentioned," you say, and he gives you a deadpan look, making you backpedal. "Sorry, I'm used to saying the first thing that pops into my head with you."

His expression softens. "I'm difficult on purpose," he says, a grin slowly starting to tug at the corners of his mouth.

"I gathered that much long ago," you reply.