.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Juliet fell asleep in my arms a few hours ago. I toss and turn well after midnight before finally deciding to try and walk around.

I slowly inch my way out of the bed, being extra careful not to wake her up. I quietly walk toward the door and softly close it behind me.

The wooden floor creaks as I make the trip down the hall to the master bedroom. I anxiously stare at Rose to ensure that she doesn't wake up during my walk to the closet.

I inspect a few of my dad's watches before moving on to his clothes. I sift through some coats until I find a black one that I quickly recognize. As I take a closer look, I see the familiar emblem stitched onto the front pocket— the symbol that represents the Knights of the Rhododendron.

My dad got coronated as their Guardian during Midsummers. It's the whole reason why my family was so ecstatic to be attending this year, even though we regularly go anyway.

"I'm going to check on a few things but I'll be back. You guys sit tight, alright? You all look great," a worker said to my family.

We'd been waiting in the lobby of the Island Club for a few minutes. We were told to go in at a certain time for our 'special entrance.'

Midsummers had always been stupid to me, but that night, it felt different. Maybe it was because of my Dad's coronation, or because I was planning on asking Juliet to be my girlfriend. Either way, I felt nervous for the first time in forever.

Sarah nudged me. "Hey."

I turned around to look at her. "What?"

"Why'd you wait so long to tell me that you're macking on my friend?" she said with a giggle.

I scanned our surroundings to make sure that nobody was listening. "I usually just wait until you find out about my personal shit from other people."

"Don't mess it up with her," she cautioned, suddenly dropping her smile.

I pursed my lips. "Thanks."

"I'm serious, Rafe. She's really sweet. I don't want to pick up the pieces of a Rafe Cameron heartbreak, especially not with her."

"I know she's sweet," I said.

"Is that the only part you listened to?" she asked.

"I'm not gonna do anything to her, Sarah."

"Thank you." She looked around before speaking again. "Is there anything else you wanna say to me, Rafe?"

I looked down at her and pursed my lips.

She raised her eyebrows, waiting for an answer.

"Thank you," I finally said.

"For what, exactly?" she continued.

"The gazebo set up thing," I admitted.

"And?"

"And the rose petals."

"And?"

"And the candles. And music."

"What else?"

My nostrils flared. "Thank you for teaching me how to make a flower crown."

"You're so very welcome, Rafe," she beamed.

I shook my head as the worker came back over to us. Holding the medal for guardianship in his hands, he placed it around my Dad's neck. "For you, sir."

Sarah and Wheezie promptly lined up behind Rose while my father stayed behind with me. He looked over at me while we all waited behind the double doors.

"You'll get one of these someday, son," he had said, pointing to the medal.

"You think?" I asked.

"Not a doubt in my mind." He patted me on my shoulder before walking through the doors and waving to the crowd.

I take another look at the emblem on the coat. It's the same award from Midsummers, my dad just got it stitched onto a blazer.

Now that he's gone, it might as well be mine. I've become the man of the house, and he seemed to think that it fit me.

I slide the coat off of the hanger, slowly put both arms through the material, and stand in front of the mirror, staring at my reflection. For a second, I see a glimpse of my father. It freaks me out to think about this new level of responsibility that I'm clearly not ready for, but my dad seemed to think that I was. For the first time, I feel like I could be capable. Maybe I can run the Cameron family.

✧ ˚ 　· 　　 .
↴juliet's point of view

After groggily opening my eyes to find Rafe's bed empty of him, I quickly shoot up. Throughout the dark, I look around his room briefly before deciding to go downstairs. I walk through the entryway, living room, and kitchen until a door just off the hallway stands out to me. I know it's not the pantry, so I walk closer to open it. It's not a closet like I thought it might've been, because I'm instead met with a spiral staircase.

"Hey," Rafe suddenly whispers from down the hall, behind me.

I whip my head around as if I've been caught. "Sorry."

He starts the walk over to me. "No, I just..."

"You were gone, so I was trying to find you, and then I realized that I didn't know where this door led to, so I—"

A grin forms at the corner of his mouth. "It's okay."

I close the door behind my back, still looking up at him. "What are you wearing?" I ask, stifling a giggle.

"My dad's blazer."

My face hardens. "Oh."

He shakes his head. "I know it looks weird, a suit coat with boxers and a t-shirt."

I smile again. "It looks good."

He laughs and tucks my hair behind my ear, his palm brushing the edge of my jaw. "Do you wanna see the basement? I can give you a tour."

I focus on the feeling of his hand on my skin as I nod. "What's down there?"

"Mostly just storage," he replies, now opening the door and starting down the spiral staircase. "And the wine cellar."

I follow him and close the door behind us, leaving no light left. He feels for my waist and keeps me close as we blindly make our way to the bottom.

"Is this your secret hookup spot or something?" I ask lightly as he flips the light switch on.

He smirks. "You're the only girl I've ever brought down here."

I beam at him, which makes him lean down and gently plant his lips on mine.

He grabs my hand and leads me toward the first door. "Storage," he says blandly before pointing at the next door. "More storage."

"But storage for what?" I ask curiously. "Are there, like, a hundred more blazers just like that or something?"

A laugh bubbles out of him. "I'd say closer to two hundred."

I smile before looking at the last door. "You said there was a wine cellar?" I remind him.

He nods. "Mm-hmm, right here."

The moment we walk in, my jaw drops. "Oh... my god."

The entire back wall of the rectangular room is full of every kind of wine you can imagine. As if that isn't enough, there's dozens of crates sprawled out across the room that contain their own bottles.

"My dad collected wine," he says.

"That's the Kookiest hobby I've ever heard of."

He kisses my cheek before picking up two wine glasses. "Do you want some?"

I look away from the display back to him and hesitate.

"I know you don't really drink," he says as he picks up a bottle of red wine and starts to fill up one of the glasses. "But there's not too much alcohol in it compared to, like, tequila or vodka."

I hold back a gag at the last words. "Yeah, I'll try it," I finally decide, realizing that being alone at Rafe's house is much better than being vulnerable at a massive party.

He smiles as he fills the other glass and hands it to me.

When the liquid hits my lips, I immediately notice the dark taste. "It tastes like... black cherries or something," I say.

"Do you like it?" he asks after taking his own sip, putting the bottle of Pinot Noir back.

I shrug. "It's okay."

"How about you pick one you want to try?" he suggests. "Anything."

My heart lights up at the thrill, so I turn to the wall and search for something I'd like, even though I don't even know what that would be. However, when my eyes catch a pink bottle, I pluck it from the rest and hand it to Rafe.

"I knew you'd pick the Rosé," he says with a laugh, using the wine opener to screw the cap off. Once he's gotten it loose, the cork almost fully popped out, he uses his teeth to pull it the rest of the way.

A heavy feeling grows in my lower belly as he holds eye contact with me. He pours a new glass and instead of handing it to me, he holds it up to my mouth, slowly lowering the liquid inside. It takes everything in me to not move the glass and replace it with his lips.

The sweet taste of strawberries and flowers momentarily shocks me out of his spell. "Oh my god, that's good!" I say excitedly as I take the glass in my hand to pour more in my mouth.

He watches it travel down my throat before peeling his eyes away to down his own cup.

"Is that your favorite?" I ask as he grabs himself another serving of the Pinot Noir.

He lifts his shoulders. "One of them."

I finish off the pink liquid in my hand before motioning to the wall. "How many of these have you tried?"

"Every single one."

"Really?"

"Easily," he says confidently, taking another swig. "Not a doubt in my mind, actually."

"Tell me how sure you really are," I say sarcastically.

His pupils dilate as he closes the space between us, looking down at me. "If you picked a random one and drank it, I would be able to tell you the name of it just by the taste of your mouth."

Just like that, any possible response is sucked out of my lungs. I think that's the hottest thing I've ever heard in my life.

And he can definitely tell, because he puts his free hand on my lower back, pulling me flush to him. "Do you want me to prove it to you?"

The words leave my mouth before I can even think them over. "Please prove it to me."

He laughs lightly, and the noise is like a drug to me. I want to hear that sound on repeat for the rest of my life, preferably directly in my ear.

"I'll turn around while you pick one," he says, already walking to the other side of the room.

"No cheating," I remind him, to which he lifts his hands up in innocence.

My heart flutters with anticipation as I search the wall of wine. There's all kinds of bottles, from deep red to white, even shades of pink and orange. I eventually decide on a dark bottle that has a red top, along with the brand name on the front that Rafe has to guess.

I use the wine opener to unscrew the cork, mirroring what I watched him do a few times. Once it's off, I pause. "Straight from the bottle?" I ask.

"Straight from the bottle," he confirms, his face still against the wall.

I tip the liquid back into my mouth, immediately noticing it's strong, dark flavor as it slides down my throat. "How many sips?" I ask.

"One, Jules, please, you're killing me."

I laugh as I set the bottle down and hide it out of sight. "Okay, done."

He turns around and walks over to me with a giggly smile, making me immediately smile, too, as he puts his hands on my waist to kiss me. He starts slow before his tongue finally finds my mouth. I smile wider as he tastes me, but it doesn't take long before he pulls away. "Penfold's."

"Oh my god!" I lightly hit his arm. "You kissed me for maybe five seconds."

"Pick a harder one, babe."

"Go," I say, pointing to the corner.

He laughs as he jogs to the other side of the room, planting his nose in the corner.

I sift through different types of wine again, checking label after label, until I find a bottle that clearly contains a lighter-colored liquid. It says Champagne in cursive along the front, right above the brand name. I grab it and pull it down, hoping that maybe he's less familiar with champagne than he is red wine.

I open the bottle and take one fruity, vanilla-y chug before setting it back down and turning the label away. "Ready." I announce.

As he turns around and walks over to me, I notice a new red flush that has branched from his neck to his cheeks. His slightly tipsy excitement is evident as he cradles my face in his hands, angling me up to him. I feel tingly from my feet all the way up to my head, unsure if it's from the wine or his rough hands on my jaw.

Before I can decide, though, I'm winded by his mouth engulfing me. I instinctively hold onto his stomach, breaching the fabric of his shirt as I touch his bare skin. He draws my lips open with his tongue, and I have to open my mouth up wider to let him in. He roughly walks the line between kissing me normally and desperately trying to taste me, all while I'm trying not to fall over from the all-consuming reality that is being slowly savored by Rafe Cameron.

I almost forget that he has to name a brand until he slows the kiss to a stop, still holding my lips up to his. "Dom Pérignon," he whispers into my mouth, full french accent, before sealing his answer with a sultry, final kiss.

I think my eyes roll to the back of my head before Rafe finally lets go. His giggle buzzes inside my brain as he steadies me.

He gently presses his lips behind my ear. "You taste so goddamn good," he whispers. "And it's not just the champagne."

I have to hold onto his shoulders. "Again," is all I can say.

He does his light laugh again, finally right next to my ear, before walking back over to the corner.

After another sip of wine, followed by an unnecessarily long make-out session, he guesses correctly in his french accent before deciding he wants to flip the roles.

"But I don't know any of the names, Rafe."

"I'll make it easy on you," he whispers, the wine almost making his voice softer, sweeter. "You just have to guess the color. Red, white, orange, pink—"

"Right, right." I drag him against me for another kiss before making my way to the corner.

"This way we won't be unevenly tipsy," he says as he presumably looks around for a bottle.

"I think I'll be good at this," I announce, bouncing on the balls of my feet.

I end up guessing incorrectly, but there's no chance for me to try again, because Rafe just kisses me again after informing me that my answer was wrong. He quickly hoists me up onto the wooden table as I drown in his taste. Within seconds, we're practically fighting to take off each other's clothes, both wearing gleeful smiles on our faces. He kisses every corner of my body as I try to fight the embarrassing noises that he pulls out of me.

We drunkenly make love until the early hours of the morning. On the floor in the midst of crates of rich wine, up against the door, on the cabinet that holds the bottles. We stop when we're tired, and start again when we've recharged and gotten a few more sips in. It's likely the alcohol talking, but feeling Rafe through a foggy cloud of chardonnay is comparable to a dream. Every touch, every kiss, enhanced by the lush ambience of wine flooding both of our systems. I want to do this forever.

When we finally put our clothes back on, it's almost like I can still hear him cursing my name breathily against my skin, and it's enough to make me feel dizzy all over again.

"Rafe, oh my god, I can't walk."

He chuckles softly. "From the wine or from me?"

I match his laughter. "I don't know."

"Come here," he says, opening up his arms with a bright smile.

He picks me up and carries me, bridal-style, all the way to his room. I hang my arms around his neck and giggle into his chest as the morning light casts a yellow glow on our skin. We both laugh uncontrollably about nothing in particular until he finally lays me down on his bed. I pull him down next to me and hold onto him as tight as I can to prevent him from going anywhere.

"Sleep," I mumble against his cheek.

He runs his hand along my thigh. "Sleep," he agrees with slurred words.

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ
↴rafe's point of view

"I can't find the account numbers. They're not anywhere," Rose says as I enter the room.

Still tipsy, I feel myself sway. "The account numbers... I think it's Hank at Coastal."

"The Swiss accounts, Rafe," she snaps. "The gold?"

Her eyes have a layer of mascara under them, signifying her evident stress. I wonder if she can see any physical signs of how my night went, the way I can read hers.

She sighs loudly. "Ward didn't leave anything behind. There's no record of it."

My heart starts to beat faster. My dad didn't leave any money for us?

"I've talked to the banks, I've searched the computer, there's nothing," she continues.

I can feel my heart rate increasing. "Can't you call? I don't understand."

"Call who, Rafe? We don't know the bank, and there's no name on the account." She stares at me while pointing at the computer. "What don't you get? There's no record of it."

I suppress my anger and sit down next to her, sifting through the stacks of papers. "Alright, well, there's gotta be something."

"I have looked everywhere!" she cries as she stands up and starts to pace the room.

"We're gonna find the gold." I nod my head, attempting to convince myself. "In the meantime, we still have Cameron Development. I'll step in, I'll do the job. It's gonna be okay." I stand back up and push my chair in.

"No, Rafe, we don't have Cameron Development. It's not gonna be okay."

"What?" I ask, dumbfounded.

"Cameron Development is in debt. The banks called in the loans." She takes a few steps closer to me. "Why do you think your dad was doing the things he was doing?" she whispers.

Anger joins the wine in my veins, both fighting for dominance over me. There's no way my dad would do this to us.

Noticing my dazed eyes, Rose holds onto my shoulders. "Rafe, hey! We have to get the gold."

I move her hands off of me. "You're kidding, okay? It cannot be that bad—"

"—We have one month to come up with 1.7 million dollars," she says desperately, grabbing onto me more forcefully this time.

I finally shove her away and let the anger take over my body. I frantically look around the room for something to hit or break, something to blow out my frustration on.

"Hey, don't you freak out on me, Rafe!" she says, but her voice becomes muddy in my ears.

"Fuck!" I let out a scream as I punch right through the wall closest to me, leaving a massive hole behind. I pull my fist out in shock and drunkenly stagger out of the room.

✧ ˚ 　· 　　 .
↴juliet's point of view

I wake up to a loud smash that sounds like it came from downstairs. I immediately notice the empty bed as I sit up to grab my phone.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘∘₊✧──────✧₊∘∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

jesse james🐉

hey where are you? i just dropped by and ur
mom said she thought u were with me lmao

yeah sorry i told her i was at the chateau

what did you tell her?

i said you werent

bc your not

where does she think that i am?

idk???? me and ur mom are in the same boat juli

we both don't know where u are

shes worried ur at rafes but i ashured her thats
the last place u would be

assured

what

i'm with sarah

ok u just pulled that out of ur ass

ur not like actually at rafe's right?

juliet francis moreno

respond to me

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘∘₊✧──────✧₊∘∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

When my phone buzzes with a call, I groan and put it to my ear.

"Tell me where you are," JJ demands.

I take a deep breath, but the words won't leave my mouth. I can lie to JJ over text, but when he's closely listening for my answer, I just can't do it.

"Oh my god, Juli," he says.

"His dad just died, and if I hadn't gone to see