Charlotte is a pogue, but one day she realizes she has eyes for a kook she's known since middle school. Will his short fuse scare her away, or pull her in closer?
Rafe is a Full blown kook who has found himself falling for his sister's best friend...
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It was a really nice day for a bike ride. The wind from the ocean made the summer heat tolerable, and I was on my way to get a slushie from the ice cream shop in town.
I pulled up downtown, leaving my bike at the stand in front of the surf shop. The ice cream shop was only a few storefronts down. I headed in and ordered my favorite, a large cherry slushie. Since it was the middle of summer the shop was full, so I opted for a seat on the curb outside. This part of town favored pedestrians, though a road ran through it with parking in front of all the stores. People preferred to park in the lots around and walk in the beautiful weather.
I enjoyed people-watching. The island was small enough to know people but not feel so seen all the time. The average person here was kind, but not in your business all the time. I liked living here even in my current circumstances. I couldn't imagine being anywhere else.
Not that I had a chance to. A large pickup truck whipped into the spot right next to me, making me jump as I was ripped from my subconscious mind. Before I could question my beliefs on the islanders I was just calling nice, Rafe opened the door and stepped out.
"How the hell'd you get here?" He laughed as he said it. "I have a bike" I responded, looking up at him. He moved slightly to the right to block the sun from my eyes.
"Ah. Does Barry know or is he on his way to interrogate me again?" Rafe crossed his arms. I didn't know how to respond to that. What did he care? Surely he wasn't afraid of my brother. "He knows I left." Rafe nodded his head, still standing there. "Actually, he asked me to leave." I continued.
Rafe took a second to digest what I had said. I didn't want his pity or concern, so I spoke again before he could. "What are you doing in town?"
"Me and the boys are throwing a party tonight. Figured I should get stuff earlier than later." He said. I looked down to sip my slushie. I couldn't understand the appeal of parties. Drinking with your friends is fun, but Rafe would throw these huge events where he didn't even know half of the people there.
"If you have nowhere else to be, why don't you come?" Rafe asked.
I looked back up at him. I hadn't heard from the pogues today. I suppose there was no harm in spending the night at Sarah's again. She usually hung around for Rafe's parties, as to appease her kook friends. I'm sure she'd be happy to have real company. It would serve Barry right if I didn't come back, maybe then he would consider how he treats me.
"Sure, why not?" I stood up. We hopped in the truck and headed down the street to the liquor store.
During the drive I updated him on Barry and what he said. I only gave him surface-level information, just enough to let him know I wanted to have a fun night. At this point, I could use it.
Mid-conversation, Rafe turned to look at me at a light and laughed. "What?" Maybe i should be careful around him.
"Your mouth is red." He said. Well, now my cheeks were too. I put my slushie down and playfully crossed my arms. "Okay, I'm done talking."
He looked ahead as the light turned green. "I always thought Cherry was always a better nickname for Charlotte anyways."
We pulled up in front of the liquor store and I stayed put as Rafe got out. "Are you not coming?"
I looked at him like he was crazy, not that that was unusual. "Rafe I'm 19." He walked around the truck and opened my door. "This guy is cool, c'mon." He put his hand out to help me again.
The store was surprisingly large from the inside and empty. The man at the counter greeted Rafe by name and walked to the back to grab a keg for us.
"What do you want?" He asked me. "I don't know, whatever you're getting." He was walking ahead of me, looking over his shoulder to make sure I was behind him. He passed through every aisle, turning slightly to see if I was eyeing anything. I watched him the whole time. We got to the section full of boxes with fruity malt beverages and seltzers. "Do you like this kinda stuff?" I crossed my arms. "Anything is fine really." He turned to face me.
"Okay, but you have to like something. I know you drink, I've seen it." He said. Was he watching me at midsummers? I only drink with the pogues. "I wanna get you what you want," he continued as he leaned down to look at the flavors, "money's not an issue, just pick something."
"Fine. I like this brand, the pina colada ones." I said. He grabbed two of the big 24 packs and headed to the counter. It was impressive how he could hold all of that with no effort.
"Anything else, Cherry?" I blushed again. I couldn't decide if he was being friendly or flirting with me. I also couldn't decide which I was hoping for.
He paid and the man helped load the drinks in the truck. We were about to head out of town when I remembered my bike.
"Oh wait, I left my bike down at the surf shop." In one swift motion, he turned the truck around in the middle of the road. There was no one around, so that impressed me too. I was starting to realize how little I knew about him. We practically grew up together, I've seen him every weekend for years. He was a popular topic amongst pogues yet, here I was sitting three feet from him, seeing freckles I'd never seen before. Specks of color in his eyes I never thought to look for.
He wasn't a nice guy by any means, but he had shown me nothing but kindness these past few days. I wonder if he could tell I needed it.
When we got to the house I grabbed one of the boxes of drinks while he grabbed the keg. We went into the kitchen where Sarah was eating a snack with Rose. "Oh hey, Lottie. You're back? With... Rafe?" Sarah looked at us, confusion plastered across her face.
Rafe spoke over me. "She was hitchhiking downtown. Told her id buy her alcohol if she helped me bring it in." Sarah furrowed her eyebrows in thought. "Lottie, are you gonna come to the chateau tonight? Pogue meeting." She asked. Of course, Rafe didn't save me this time. He left to get the rest of the drinks.
"Uh actually, I was thinking of staying for the party. Aren't you?" I said.
"N-No. I was going to the pogue meeting." I pleaded with her in a look only she would see. "I could ask if they wanna come here instead?" I knew I could count on Sarah.
"Yeah, that would be awesome. I kinda just want a night to, I don't know. Relax and have fun." She smiled at me. "Okay. I'll text John B. Is Barry cool with you staying?"
