Rafe (3 page)

Chapter 3

Lucy

My heart was pounding in my chest as I walk towards the door, after telling Maisey and Gunner that I need to home and that I would explain tomorrow. I here Rafe’s amused voice, “Well ladies, it looks like she can’t handle some Phoenix skin. Oh well, more for all you lovely hotter ladies.” I turn to face the stage, where he is standing at full height now. I feel the tears fill my eyes, my body freezes and I hear people laugh. The tears roll down my face. The smile falls from his face as I feel my stomach drop through my feet. I just stare at him, unable to move until he says my name, “Luce.” That brings me back to now. I shake my head and take off towards the door. I see Kyle looking at me with sympathy in his eyes.

“Fuck sweetness. Okay, hang tight I will call you a cab.” I shake my head no. Unable to speak, I take a deep breath and clear my throat.

“It’s fine, Kyle. I can walk. It’s a nice night I’ll be fine.” He shakes his head.

“Oh I don’t think so, Missy. I will call you a cab. You live too far away to walk by yourself, especially at night” I smile and look at the floor.

“Fine, call me a cab.” I roll my eyes and Kyle smiles at me.

Twenty minutes later I’m at my apartment door. My phone dings and I retrieve it from my back pocket, look at the screen and see it’s Maisey.

Monty:
U home yet? U didn’t text me!!

Me:
Home. Going 2 bed. Luvs u xx

Monty:
Just remember you love me BIG TIME

Even though I haven’t known Maisey that long I can read her like a book and her me. We have a true connection.

Me:
What did you do Maise?

Monty:
I gave Rafe your number. You love me right????

Me:
No I don’t love you right now. Ask me again tomorrow. He had better not contact me. Night babe

Monty:
Night babe xx

I put my phone on my bedside table and go into my bathroom for a quick shower. I wipe myself and get into my bed shorts and cami. I love bedtime slogans on my pjs. On tonight’s cami it says, “Keep Calm and Snuggle.” Tru bought me a pair a year ago and it’s now a small addiction, just like my Peace sign addiction. Every day I have to wear a peace sign, whether it’s clothing or accessories. I brush my hair and blow-dry it. I climb into bed with my Kindle and get back to the book I was reading this afternoon. It’s a great book, mommy porn they are sometimes described as, but to me they are love stories with some sex or a lot of sex. Sometimes though, I like the really mushy love stories. Tonight I’m reading ‘The Boys Who Sneaks in My Bedroom Window by Kirsty Moseley. Liam is freaking hot and so damn sweet. He loves his Angel. I need me a Liam. My phone dings with a text message. I really hope that it’s Maisey telling me that she is staying over at Gunners tonight. Oh. My. God. Gunner lives with Rafe, Reeve and Ryder. Fuck, that means Monty has stayed over there with them. Shit. How the hell has this never some up before now?  We have known each other for a while.

I reach for my phone to check who has texted me. Damn it, unknown number. I bet its Rafe. I slide the bar across the screen to open the text.

Unknown:
Hi. Can I explain please?

Me:
Explain what? Who is this?

Unknown:
It’s Rafe. Maise gave me your number. That okay?

Me:
Didn’t have a choice did I? What do you want Rafe?? I have an early shift tomorrow I need sleep.

Hopefully that will make him leave me alone. Ping. Great, no such luck. Before I read the text I add his number to my contacts.

Rafe:
I want to explain about tonight. I was a dick. Can we meet up and have a chat? Where do you work, I can come see you?

Me:
Rafe just leave it okay. Yes you were a dick, but that’s just you. Good night Rafe.

I go to turn my phone day off and then realize that I need an alarm. Do Not Disturb setting it is then.

I place my iPhone and Kindle on my bedside table and snuggle down to sleep.

I wake before my alarm this morning, but it isn’t anything unusual. My nightmares were getting better until seeing Rafe last night. Seeing him has brought him back to my dreams. I always have the same dream where I’m sitting on a bench watching the waves roll in and I hear a little boy with curly blonde hair calling me. I look over to him and he is calling me ‘Mommy’. He looks just like Dallas, besides the hair color. I shiver and stand to walk to him but he stops just out of reach and tilts his head to one side and looks so sad. “You lost me mommy, why did you lose me?” I start to cry and reach for him but Dallas always appears and takes him from me. Dallas is always laughing in my dream. He tells me, “I took something from you, Lucy and you will never forget what I did.” Then I wake up, sweating and crying. He is right though, I will always grieve for my baby boy and I will always link him to Dallas. I was fourteen weeks pregnant when I miscarried. The doctors told me it was a boy. My parents wanted to know if I wanted to name him and we had a little memorial for him at our house. I named him Shane.

I shower and get ready for work. I work in a small clothing and shoe store called ‘Imagine.’ It sells vintage and second hand clothes. My parents still give me a weekly allowance while I’m here but I was brought up learning that
even though I came from money I was to earn it as well. Plus, it helps with my experience. I’m pulling my white Converse on when there is a knock on my front door; I glance over at my clock and see it’s only eight-fifteen. Who can be here this early? I pull my hair up into a messy ponytail and head for the door. I look through the peephole.

Fuck. Shit. Dammit.

It’s Rafe fucking Phoenix. I swing the door open and look at him, looking all sexy rock-star like. I’m in so much trouble. He is leaning across the hall from my door, arms folded across his not overly build chest, one leg is bent so that his foot is resting flat on the wall. He is wearing faded blue jeans with a black v-neck t-shirt, his aviator glasses hooked into the V. God, he looks freaking delicious. I mentally shake myself from my wayward thoughts of Rafe.

“What are you doing here, Rafe? It’s like eight-fifteen, shouldn’t you still be wrapped up in some groupie slut from last night?” I smirk at my boldness. If the summer taught me anything it’s that I needed to toughen up and not take shit from anyone.

“Groupie slut? That’s a new one. I like it, baby.” Baby? Did he just call me baby? Like, what the fuck. It pisses me off.

“I’m not your baby, Rafe. I’m not one of your sluts that you can call ‘Baby’ so you don’t have to remember her name while you fuck her.” Go Lucy. God, I’m on a roll this morning. He smirks at me and lets out a little laugh. I shiver from the sound. Why did he have to be so damned hot? “What Rafe? What is so funny?” He points to me.

“You are bab...Lucy. I don’t fuck groupies.” I raise an eyebrow and cross my arms across my chest “Okay, I used to but I don’t anymore. It gets old. Not knowing the names of half the girls I have sex with. I need more.” He shrugs his beautiful shoulders.

“Well, good for you bud. But I have to get to work, so if you’ll excuse me…” I go to close the door but Rafe puts his hand on my door.

“Can I walk with you? Please, babe.” He shakes his head, “Shit sorry ... Lucy. We can talk on the way” He gives me a pleading look, so I nod yes.

“Let me just get my bag and phone.” I stroll back to my bedroom, grabbing my bag and picking up my iPhone and Kindle off my bedside table. Yes, my Kindle comes everywhere with me.

Don’t judge me.

I come out of my room only to find Rafe in my kitchen drinking a can of soda. Rude much? “Help yourself, why don’t you.” I shake my head. I head for the door and he follows. We head down the sidewalk towards my store. Lucky for me it’s only a twenty-minute walk. I enjoy walking and running. I took up running during the summer. It helps me clear my head. I turn to Rafe and study his profile. His jet-black hair is shorter than before that summer. Still hot though and just long enough for me to run my fingers through it. Where the hell did that come from? His green eyes still look like emeralds. He is clean-shaven today. I like it. As if he senses me looking at him, he turns to me.

“Still like what you see, Snowflake?” I laugh out loud. God, I hope he doesn’t know I have had a crush on him for years.

“Still? Snowflake?” I laugh and look at the stores we are passing by.

“Yeah, I know you had a huge school girl crush on me in high school.” I laugh, I can’t believe how cocky he is, but then again he is a Phoenix.

“In your dreams bud, I have grown up since then
, Rafe. Plus I wasn’t the only girl who was crushing on you.” I give him my best girly smile. He throws his head back laughing and I can’t help but chuckle with him.

“Baby
, I know you wanted me. I was told by a little pixie one night at a party.” Fucking Kenzie. I stop and look at him.

“Okay I will admit I kind of liked you for a while but that was over before we left.” I shrug and start walking again. I hear him laugh again. He catches up to me and puts his arms around my shoulder and pulls me into his side. Wow, I can feel the heat flowing off his arm around me. Okay, it can’t be normal to get turned on just touching like this, surely. As I’m about to shrug his arms off we collide with someone walking out of a store.

“Whoa dude, watch where you’re going.” I look up at the guy who walked into us and smile.

“Hey, sweetness. How you doing this morning?” I smile and go to step to him when Rafe tightens his grip on my shoulder.

“Who the fuck are you? You don’t hit on a girl who is out with her man.” I look up at Rafe and back to Jack. Jack is one of my best friends here at Cali but Jack is as gay as they come. I smile at Jack and he looks shocked.

“Boyfriend? Last time I saw you, you were single.” Rafe stiffens even more.

“And when was the last time you saw Lucy, exactly?” I look from Jack to Rafe and go to explain but Jack opens his mouth.

“Mmmm. Let me think.” He taps his finger on his chin and gives Rafe and me a full mega-watt smile. “I believe it was Wednesday night, am I right, babe? I believe it was a hot and sweaty night.” I try to hold in my laugh but Rafe seems to be getting angry and I think I need to put a stop to it.

“OK, Jack that’s enough, babe. I don’t fancy spending my day in the ER after Rafe beats your cute little ass down.” I look up at Rafe again and see total confusion on his beautiful face. I laugh. “Jack, meet Rafe Phoenix, not my boyfriend by the way. Rafe meet my best friend, Jack Taylor. My very gay best friend.” Jack’s mouth hits the floor with shock. It dawns on me that I have talked to Jack about Rafe.

“THE Rafe Phoenix? Like from back home, like the guy that...” I don’t let him finish.

“Yes, Jack, that Rafe.”

I hug Jack and Rafe relaxes next to me. He lifts his hand to Jack and they do the whole manly handshake thing. Lucky for me, Jack is an awesome guy. He shakes Rafe’s hand. “Listen, Jack. I really have to get to work. Give me a text later and we will meet up, yeah?” He hugs me and kisses my cheek and this time Rafe doesn’t tense up.

“Okay sweetie, catch you later. Bye, Rafe, it was nice to finally meet you.” He nods and walks down the street. The awkwardness is back between us, but not for long.

“So, what did you and Jack do to get all hot and sweaty the other night?” I laugh at his question.

“We run; we can do up to ten miles a night. We sometimes run in the mornings as well. It helps clear my head, you know?” I walk off towards work. Again, Rafe watches up with me, and we walk in silence for a few steps. It’s like I can hear my mind working, and I can also feel that Rafe wants to ask me something. Even though Jack is never a threat, I kind of like Rafe being all alpha male over me. As I see my workplace come into view, my stomach knots a little. Just the thought of not spending some more time with Rafe makes me feel a little sad.

“So, how’s the band going? Inside Noise has quite the following.”  He turns and smiles at me; I can see the pride in his eyes when I ask about the band.

“We are doing really well. We toured up and down the California coast over the summer and we do gigs here and there. It was nice to get out and about. Our name is building and we have a decent following now. ‘Groupie Sluts,’ I believe you call them, but not all of them are like that.”

I can’t help but laugh at his face, which is filled with amusement. “Well, for all us normal fans who don’t want to get in your rather low riding je
ans, we can be called ‘Insiders.’ What do you think of that?” I give him my biggest smile I can. Rafe smiles back places his arm around my shoulders and pulls me tight to him.

“Fucking love it. I have to tell Reeve and Ryder about this. We are going to have to get some merchandise made up for the ‘normal fans’, as you say. But, baby, I don’t want you to be a ‘Groupie Slut’ or an ‘Insider.” I look up confused.

“What do you mean?” I frown and Rafe raises his eyebrows once and smiles.

“I want you to be a ‘Rafer.’” Okay, even more confused now.

“Huh?” He stops in front of me and places his hands on my shoulders. I look into his emerald eyes and feel my stomach tighten.

“You weren’t the only one in high school to have a crush, Lucy. I have liked you for God knows how long but the timing was all wrong. Before Dallas….” I wince at his name. Rafe slides his hands from my shoulders up to brace my face. He gently rubs his thumb over my bottom lip, “I’m sorry for what he did you to. He was a grade A-prick and we all knew it. But before him you used to ignore people like me, the wrong crowd and all. You were all preppy, you know. Both parents with high-end jobs, you were Queen Bee at some point. Am I right?” I look down at my feet and nod. I feel shame for the way I used to be.