"Come on, Slater. You never want to play tennis anymore," Maeve whined, swinging the racket in her arms.

"That's not true," Slater replied. "We played yesterday. Just ... go find one of your friends to play. I want to sit by the pool."

Maeve rolled her eyes and trudged off, leaving her older sister to lay out in her bikini.

As soon as Maeve was out of earshot, Slater pulled out her phone, typing out a quick message. She gathered her things and stood, leaving the pool area and heading for the parking lot.

She'd be back before Maeve even noticed.

He was waiting in his truck, a graduation present from his father. The windows were tinted, so she couldn't see inside, but she knew it was him. Her stomach did a little dance as she walked up to the passenger side door, pulling it open and climbing inside.

"Hey," she said, flashing him a shy smile.

"Hi." He looked her up and down, his eyes lingering on her red and white bikini. "Nice outfit."

She leaned over the center console, waiting for him to kiss her like he always did, but he pulled away and put his seatbelt on. "I thought we could try something different today," he said.

Slater raised an eyebrow. It was always the same thing with the two of them -- making out in the front seat, and hooking up in the back seat. Then they'd head back into the club -- Slater to the pool, where she waited for Maeve, and him to the bar, where he waited for his dad.

"What did you have in mind?" She asked, leaning back against the cool leather seat. It sent goosebumps down her bare spine.

"Tannyhill is empty," he said, shrugging. "It'd sure beat being cramped in the backseat."

Slater nodded. Hooking up in a mansion sure did sound better than cramming into the backseat of a truck. "Okay. I just have to be back by three. My sister will get suspicious."

"We wouldn't want that, would we?" He said, smirking as he shifted the truck into drive. His hand landed firmly on Slater's bare thigh, giving it a squeeze.

He tore out of the country club's parking lot, reaching the nearby Tannyhill in only a few minutes. As he drove, his hand slid up her thigh, causing Slater's insides to melt like butter. As soon as they parked in the driveway, he had her pressed up against the truck door, and she was kissing him.

Slater would have loved to have a proper tour of Tannyhill, but by the time they made their way through the front door, his hands were in the waistband of her bikini and hers were tangled in his blond hair. He lifted her by the waist, carrying her up the stairs so quickly that she barely noticed the expensive artwork hanging in the hall.

"Much better than the backseat," she noted as he quickly undid her bikini top, flinging it across the room.

He let out a low chuckle as his lips grazed her neck. "Fuck the backseat."

--

When Slater returned to the deck, Leanore and Rose were exchanging opinions on flowers, while Wheezie and Maeve were huddled in the corner, laughing at something on Wheezie's phone screen.

Rafe sat alone at the patio table, tapping his fingers anxiously against the table. Slater assumed that he was waiting to go snort a line, but his stepmother had probably told him to stay outside.

Slater didn't want to talk to him, but in that moment, his company was better than that of John B and his sister's, so she slid into the seat across from him, pretending not to notice the way his eyes lingered on her body.

"Hey," she said, looking out at the marsh.

"Hi." He smirked at her and shook his head. "It's been a while since I've seen you here, at Tannyhill."

Her cheeks warmed, and she turned away. "Was hoping I wouldn't ever be back."

The sight of Rafe's blue eyes used to send her stomach into butterflies. Now it made her slightly nauseous.

"You looked nice last night," he said, offering a rare complement, though Slater couldn't help but wonder if there was an insult hidden somewhere.

"Thanks."

"Quite the surprise to see your pogue friend here, isn't it?" Rafe asked, looking at her.

Slater nodded. "Yeah. I thought your sister was dating Topper."

Rafe shrugged. "I can barely keep track of who Sarah hangs out with anymore."

"I suppose you're aware he pushed John B off the Hawk's Nest, then?" Slater asked.

Rafe's eyes drifted to Slater, a steely blue. "I heard he fell. You know how those pogues like to overindulge."

"Right." Slater rolled her eyes and leaned back in her seat, wishing that she was anywhere but Tannyhill. "I'm sure that's exactly what happened."

The back door burst open, revealing Ward and Vic, each with a glass of whiskey in their hands.

"Look at our lovely families, bonding," Ward said, clapping Vic on the back. How much had they had to drink already?

Vic chuckled along with Ward as the two men made a beeline for Rafe and Slater, joining them at the patio table.

"Why are you two moping around like this? Rafe, why don't you go show Slater the boat or something?" Ward said, giving his son a nudge. "C'mon, make yourself useful."

Rafe's eyes flashed with anger at his father's jest, and his eyes flicked over to Slater.

"Slater, you'd love to see the My Druthers, wouldn't you?" Vic added, smiling at his daughter. "You've never been on a boat like that before, have you?"

That wasn't exactly true -- she and Rafe had hooked up in the boat last summer, when they'd come back to Tannyhill only to find Rose hosting her bookclub in the living room. They'd had to make do elsewhere.

"I'm okay, really," Slater said, plastering a polite smile on her face.

"Aww, come on. Slater, you've really gotta see the boat," Ward said, gesturing behind him. "She's truly breathtaking."

Slater frowned, looking between her father and Ward. What exactly had they been talking about in Ward's study?

Just as Slater was about to protest, the doors opened again, revealing John B and Sarah, who were whispering and laughing to themselves. That sight also made Slater nauseous, so she looked to Rafe and shrugged her shoulders.

"Fine, let's go."

She followed Rafe down to the dock, her stomach twisting. She didn't want to be alone with Rafe, but she also wasn't a fan of her father's buddy-buddy act with Ward, or Sarah and John B acting like a couple.

"You're not high or anything right now, are you?" She asked, slightly nervous about him driving the boat in such a state.

"No," Rafe replied, stomping down the dock. "I wish."

They boarded the My Druthers, and Slater joined Rafe in the wheelhouse. "Since when are our fathers such great friends?"

Rafe shrugged. "My dad always likes to have the cops on his good side."

Slater snorted and turned back towards the house. Her dad was making a fool of himself in front of Ward, just so Ward could use their friendship to his advantage. Typical kook behavior.

"Well, this is the boat." Rafe said, turning towards Slater. "You've seen it before."

"I have, but I wasn't about to explain to my dad why," Slater grumbled.

He grinned and shook his head. "I'm certainly better company than those pogues you keep around, aren't I?"

Slater rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't say that."

He studied her for a moment, his jaw clenched. "What's going on with you and Maybank?"

Slater scoffed. "I don't really think that's your business, Cameron," she said, standing to face the marsh, her arms crossed over her chest.

He moved behind her, lightly tracing his finger down her shoulder. "We had fun though, didn't we?"

Slater turned to face him, her eyebrows arched inquisitively. "I thought you regretted last summer, Rafe."

He shrugged, a cocky smirk dancing on his face. "I wouldn't say those words exactly." His hand moved to her face, his fingers tilting her chin upwards. "Maybe I missed you, Slater," he said, leaning down to graze his lips against hers.

She stood there for a moment, temporarily frozen, though she wasn't immediately sure with what emotion.

"Rafe ..."

He kissed her roughly, his hands gripping her hips tightly beneath her dress. She let him kiss her for only a moment before she pulled back, pushing his chest away from her.

"Don't."

He smirked, licking his bottom lip as he watched her, clearly amused. "Just as I thought. You've gone pogue."

"You don't get to kiss me," she said, glaring at him as she marched off of the boat. "Not anymore."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ author's note ✫・゜・。.

haha this was a fun chapter to write. i've been dropping little hints about slater and rafe all along, but this chapter gives us a deeper dive into their past relationship.

thoughts?

thanks for reading!

xx,

madi