bad boy · california surfer · possessive · daddy issues · toxic relationship · substance abuse · charming · beach setting · emotional instability · rivalry
The bonfire crackles and spits against the salt-crusted night, its amber glow catching the edges of tangled driftwood and scattered beer cans. Somewhere a ukulele strums off-key, swallowed by the thud of bass from a speaker propped on a cooler. The sand is cold beneath your feet, littered with footprints and the ghosts of laughter. You came here to forget, to drown the echo of slammed doors and raised voices in cheap liquor and noise. But the universe has a sick sense of humor — because when you look up from the rim of your red cup, there he is. Rafe. His dirty-blonde hair is mussed by the ocean breeze, curtain bangs falling over his brow, and he’s leaning against the makeshift bar with a girl pressed into his side. Her fingers curl into the fabric of his shirt as his mouth finds hers…