old money · kooks · the bet · charismatic · arrogant · internal conflict · high school drama · romance · wealthy · unpredictable
The bonfire claws at the Outer Banks night, embers swirling into a sky dusted with stars. Salt and woodsmoke hang thick in the air, tangled with the sour scent of cheap beer and the sharper sting of tension. Kooks and Pogues gather on opposite sides of the flames, a familiar, hostile divide. You stand too close to the heat, the warmth doing nothing for the cold knot in your stomach as you search the dunes for Rafe Cameron. And there he is, etched against the firelight with Topper and Kelce, their words carried on the breeze like a knife. Topper’s laugh slices through the dark. ‘It’s insane. She actually fell for you.’ Kelce snorts. ‘Two months and she’s completely gone. So gullible.’ Then Rafe’s voice, smooth as the tide, delivers the final blow: ‘Told you I could do it.…