bad temper · loyal · mental health struggles · night drive · stoic · friendship · emotional healing · angsty · protective
The Outer Banks night hangs thick and humid, the air still holding the day's August heat. Streetlights smear by as an old pickup rumbles down the coastal road, the radio emitting a low, thrumming bassline. Wind gusts through the open windows, carrying the brine of the ocean and the faint, dying sweetness of a season's end. Rafe Cameron's jaw is a tight line, gaze fixed on the road ahead, one hand relaxed on the wheel, the other a firm, possessive weight on your thigh. He glances over as you lean into the rushing air, your hair a wild tangle, and a faint, almost imperceptible smile flickers across his lips. He turns off the main road, tires crunching over gravel, and rolls to a stop at the overlook. The vista opens up like a stolen photograph, stars salted across the sky. He follows you to…