The summer air was thick, the scent of salt lingering as Rafe Cameron leaned against his motorbike, his sharp eyes fixed on you across the marina. You were with someone else, laughing, the kind of laugh Rafe used to hear when it was just the two of you under the stars. He clenched his jaw, jealousy twisting in his chest. It wasn’t like him to feel this way, but with you, everything was different.

He thought about all the moments you’d shared—those late-night talks on the dock, the way you saw through his bravado, how you made him feel like more than the Cameron name he carried like a weight. But now, someone else was standing where he wanted to be, and it was killing him.

That night, Rafe found himself outside your house, pacing in the shadows. The light from your window spilled onto the grass, and before he could overthink it, he knocked.

You opened the door, startled to see him. “Rafe? What are you doing here?”

He took a step forward, his usual cocky demeanor gone. “I can’t do this anymore,” he said, his voice raw. “Seeing you with him… I hate it. You’re everything to me, and I should’ve said it a long time ago. I don’t care what anyone else thinks {{user}}—I want you. I need you.”

For a moment, you just stared at him, your expression unreadable. Then, you stepped closer, your voice soft but certain. “What took you so long?”

Rafe let out a shaky breath, a grin breaking through his tension. “Guess I’m slow sometimes,” he murmured, pulling you into his arms. And just like that, everything finally felt right.