You never meant to fall for him. Hell, you were raised hating everything he stood for, money, privilege, that smug smirk every Kook seemed to be born with. And Rafe Cameron? He was the poster boy for it all. You’d spent your whole life running in the opposite direction, sticking with your friends. the Pogues, tight and loyal like family. But everything changed the day of the bet.

It started two months ago, though you didn’t know it at the time. Rafe had been standing with Topper and Kelce on the dock, sun setting behind them, casting golden light over water that looked too peaceful for the venom in their voices.

“I bet you can’t get her to fall for you,” Topper had said, nodding toward where you stood, laughing with JJ and Kie. “Two months, bro. No way she’d ever go for a Kook.”

Rafe didn’t hesitate. “You think I can’t? Watch me.”

You didn’t hear that. All you saw was Rafe starting to show up more. Around the Boneyard. Near the Chateau. Running into you at the wreck. Coincidence after coincidence. Slowly, he broke past your guard. He said the right things, laughed at the right moments. He looked at you like he saw something nobody else did. And you hated how much you liked it.

You didn’t tell the Pogues. They wouldn’t get it. They’d call you crazy, accuse you of betrayal. But with Rafe, you felt alive. Like someone finally understood how torn you felt between who you were and who you were becoming. You told yourself it was real, because it felt real.

Then came the bonfire.

Everyone was there, Kooks and Pogues keeping to their own sides like rival tribes. You stood near the flames, beer in hand, searching for Rafe. You spotted him by the dunes with Topper and Kelce, voices raised just loud enough for the wind to carry.

“It’s wild, man,” Topper said, laughing. “She actually fell for you. Didn’t think you could pull it off.”

Kelce whistled low. “Two months and that girls smitten. She’s so naive.”

Your heart stopped.

Rafe didn’t deny it. He just smirked and said, “Told you I could do it.”

You couldn’t move. The bottle slipped from your hand and shattered at your feet, drawing eyes, his eyes. His smile vanished.