Right Now | Rafe Cameron

09: nothing has changed.

NINE

nothing has changed.

Percy's apartment was on the top floor, so it was just one set of stairs from the open door of his apartment to the rooftop. The party flowed loudly on two floors. You could hear the music on the street, in the stairwell, and probably in every single apartment in the building. Percy had bribed everyone to allow him to have his birthday party without being disturbed by the police. Plus, half of the people in the building only lived there in the winter. They were the kind of people that stayed in the Hamptons for the summer holiday. And as a gift from the heavens, Ms Kravitz was out of town.

Rafe straightened his black button-up in the elevator and pulled on his hair. His phone pinged.

                    Sarah

Everything ok?

                                        Yeah, why?

Just checking in. Wyd?

                                    Party at Percy Whilkis.

From college.

Cool.

Have fun.

Not too fun.

Love u.

                                        Don't worry.

                                            xx

"You good bro?" Jake asked and patted his shoulder hard. Rafe had picked up Jake and Adam at the airport and taken them to their hotel where his friends had pre-gamed at the bar. They were just the right level of rowdy to see their friend Percy from college.

"Yeah, fine," Rafe dismissed, already tired of them.

Suddenly, he felt so much older than his friends. He didn't need to go to a party to have fun. Plus, he didn't drink and that made everything sort of... obsolete.

And she was going to be there. He hadn't told her that she was going to the party. He was going to, but then she said that thing about changing her clothes to hook up with people. It irritated him that they had just pretended like nothing had happened between them at her place the other day.

As they walked out onto Percy's floor and the smell of alcohol and sweat, and the pulsing noise of music and footsteps hit them, Rafe smirked to himself wondering how Percy had gotten rid of his rude neighbor.

"Perce!" Jake and Adam yelled and lifted Percy up from the floor into the air. Rafe laughed and shook his head.

"Who let these frat boys in," Percy said and pointed at Rafe.

"Welcome boys, to my soiree," Percy said in the air like a king and gestured around him.

"Some soiree," Rafe said to Percy when he'd been let down.

"I had to go all out when Ms Kravitz finally went to see her nephew in Florida," Percy said and took a swig on his martini. "This will never happen again. Unless someone disposes of her," Percy suggested. "My money's on Billie." Rafe's breath hitched at the mention of her name and he carefully looked around.

"Is she here?" Rafe asked, trying to sound as casual as possible and scratching the back of his head, not meeting Percy's gaze. Percy smirked knowingly at him. Has she told him anything? Anything, Jesus Rafe. There's almost nothing to tell. She can get anyone she wants.