Page 17 of About That Pact

Jason booed at her leaving. “If it’s after midnight, does that mean your carriage turned into a pumpkin?”

“Har, har, you’re so funny,” she told her brother.

Jason and her girlfriends went back to their conversation, but Rafe didn’t join them. He knocked on the table and announced he was leaving too. Putting his hand on her lower back, he guided her outside to where the car was waiting for her.

If he thought he was riding home with her, he was wrong. Charlotte needed some space from him. Rafe was invading her mind, and she didn’t like it.

He said something to the Lyft driver, and before she could get in, he turned her around so her back was leaning against the car. He stepped to her, his breath against her ear.

“You have no idea what your first time meant to me.”

Having Rafe this close to her was intoxicating. His teeth nipped at her earlobe, and her heart raced as she gasped in a breath. His tongue caressed where his teeth had bitten, and a soft moan escaped without her permission. “Have a good night.”

With no regard of the emotional whirlpool happening inside her, he walked away. Given their history, she should have been used to it by now. Her dreams of no hangover vanished, but not because of the alcohol. She was going to be up throughout the night thinking of him. How many times did this have to happen for her to realize Rafe was nothing but trouble?

Chapter 6

12 Years Ago

CANADA HAD A drinking law of eighteen, or so Charlotte had thought. Turned out, in British Columbia, where she was on her big family vacation, it was nineteen—and her plans of having a beer with her brother and the other kids went down the drain.

Which was complete crap.

Her nineteenth birthday was only four days away, but rules were rules. And if for some reason she got caught with a drink, she didn’t want to be one of the statistics of underage consumption. Her parents would be livid if she got in trouble.

Still, they were camping at one of the most beautiful sites, surrounded by waterfalls, unbelievable views, and warm weather. She was going to live it up.

She shared a large tent with Gabriella and Elena, Rafe’s sisters, and also Samantha, Kelly’s daughter. Samantha had a twin named Noah, but since he was a boy, he shared with Nate. The rest of the group each had their own tent. The weather was warm, so her family and friends went to the lake, but she was taking time to embrace the quietness. She planned to go on a hike and then soak up some sun off a path when she found one.

Stepping outside, she was surprised to see one other person who wasn’t at the lake.

Rafe Bianchi.

How handsome he was should have been criminal. Everyone fell over themselves to get his attention. Yesterday, some of the girls at another campsite had hung all over him, drooling over his stories from college. She wasn’t one of those girls. She had no plans to be either. Her and Rafe had moved into different territory. He was her friend, which meant more to her than being one of the bimbos vying for his affection.

“Why aren’t you at the lake?” she asked.

He stayed sitting in the back of Jason’s truck. “Same reason you aren’t. I needed a little break.”

“Your mom still nagging you about how you never date?” Charlotte hopped up and sat next to him, their legs dangling next to each other.

He didn’t answer right away, which said enough.

“I date. She just doesn’t meet them.”

Envy flushed over her. While she wasn’t going to chase for his time, she still wished she had more of it. He was smart and had a way of making people around him feel comfortable.

Okay, and he had also been her first kiss.

A kiss she would never forget.

“Are you still seeing Adam?” He turned the relationship table on her.

Yikes. They’d never talked about their love lives. And this awkwardness was probably why.

Rafe tapped his foot against hers. “Uh-oh, you aren’t admitting anything. Did you break his heart?”

“No way.” Charlotte shrugged. “We broke up a few weeks ago. He didn’t want to go to college a virgin, and I wasn’t giving it up to him. It isn’t like I’m waiting for marriage or anything, I don’t want to be a virgin in college either, but I also don’t want my first time to be in the backseat of his Honda Civic.”