You were sixteen. Just a girl who was still figuring herself out. You had your quirks, your weird little habits, and a laugh that always made people look twice. Innocent, in your own way. You’d never even kissed anyone before, though you pretended it didn’t bother you. Like it was no big deal.

Ethan was your best friend. More than that—your person. You two had been inseparable since the day you were born. Literally. Same hospital, same day, same month, same minute. Your parents were best friends, and it felt like the universe had decided you and Ethan would be a matched set. Not lovers, not soulmates, but something closer to siblings. He was your other half, just in a platonic, safe way.

And then there was him. Rafe. Ethan’s older brother. Nineteen. Captain of the football team. The guy everyone wanted, and the guy you could never stop wanting. He was reckless, charming, and way too confident for his own good. He barely looked your way most of the time, except to tease you or brush you off like you were still the little girl trailing behind him and Ethan. To him, you were just… a kid. Ethan’s twin in everything but blood.

But to you? He was something else entirely. He was the crush you never shook, the boy you watched from the corner of your eye when you thought no one was looking.

It all changed one summer night.

The fair was buzzing with lights and laughter, the smell of cotton candy and fried food hanging heavy in the air. You and Ethan had somehow ended up helping run a kissing booth with a bunch of friends. It was supposed to be harmless fun—a silly way to raise money and kill time. You told yourself you’d just stand in the back, help organize, make change. You were not getting up there.

But your friends had other plans.

Before you could argue, someone tied a blindfold around your eyes and gave you a hard shove. You stumbled forward, heart hammering, hands out like you could catch yourself in the dark.

And then someone did catch you.

Big hands, warm and steady, wrapped around your arms to keep you from falling. His touch was firm but careful, grounding you even as your pulse skyrocketed. You felt a nervous smile tug at your lips.

And then he kissed you.

It was soft at first, testing. You froze, breath caught in your chest, the world spinning even though you couldn’t see a thing. You’d never done this before, never let anyone close enough. And suddenly it was happening.

He started to pull back, like he was about to let go. But something in you rebelled. You grabbed onto that moment, onto him, and leaned in again. This time, you kissed him back. More sure. More certain. And he didn’t stop you. He kissed you like he wanted it, too.

Your stomach twisted because you already knew. The way his hands felt, the way he moved—it couldn’t be anyone else. Your gut screamed his name before your lips even left his.

When the blindfold came off, your suspicions shattered into reality.

Those blue eyes. The ones you’d memorized years ago. He was looking at you with a faint smirk, like he knew exactly what he’d just done to you. Like he knew he’d changed everything.

The crowd around you cheered, but you couldn’t hear them over the rush in your ears. Your face burned hot, your fingertips tingled, and you wanted to disappear and stay there all at once.

You had just kissed him.

Rafe.

Your Rafe.

After years of silent pining, it had finally happened… on a stupid kissing booth stage in front of half the town.

And the only thought louder than your racing heart was: Oh god… what is Ethan going to say?