The College Rafe Series

when worlds collide

REQUESTED: tbaby013 

Summary: your dad's birthday brings you and Rafe together with the family again, and your world gets a little smaller.

•••

Your dad was approaching his golden years. His fiftieth birthday was coming up, and your mom had called you midweek to see if you would come back to Charlotte for the party she was throwing him.

"I've rented out one of the private dining rooms at his favorite restaurant. It'll be dinner, drinks, and desserts. Semi casual, some work people, family, friends. It's next Saturday at 5:00. Can you and Rafe make it?"

"I like how you just assume Rafe is coming," you say with a laugh.

"I'd be surprised if he didn't," she says, laughing with you. "So, will you guys come? It's been a while since we've seen you."

"I'll talk to Rafe, but I'm sure we can both make it," you assure her.

•••

A week and a half later, you and Rafe make the 2+ hour drive to Charlotte for your dad's dinner party. Unlike the first time the two of you had gone to a function together that included your parents, Rafe was visibly more relaxed. He'd already won them over at the initial meeting, so it was smooth sailing this time around.

You arrived at the restaurant at ten til 5:00. As you pull into the lot, you see several cars you recognize already parked. You lead the way inside the restaurant, telling the hostess what you're there for. She leads you back to one of the private rooms.

"Thank you," you tell her as she departs. "Mom, dad!"

They look up from their conversation with your aunt and uncle. You guys say your hellos; hugs and handshakes all around as you are welcomed to the party.

"Thank you guys for coming," your mom says enthusiastically.

"We wouldn't miss it," Rafe says.

She beams. "Aren't you just the sweetest?" She turns to look at you. "Samantha is back from Germany, you should go find her and say hello. She's excited to see you."

"Oh, cool, yeah. I'll go find her now," you tell your mother. "We'll see you guys again in a bit."

"Who's Samantha?" Rafe asks as you look around the room.

"My cousin. Sam's our age, and she studied abroad in Germany for like... several months? She wasn't at the wedding because she was still over there," you explain. "She lived in Charlotte until we started middle school, and then she moved to Virginia Beach. We stayed pretty close through the years."

"Oh, cool," Rafe says.

"There she is. Sam!" you call out.

Your cousin turns at the sound of her name and spots you, waving enthusiastically. "Y/n!" She hugs you as you approach. "It's good to see you again!"

"Yeah, same. How was Germany?" you ask.

She shrugs. "You know, German." She laughs. She gives Rafe a curious look.

"Oh, shit, sorry, Sam, this is my boyfriend—"

"Rafe Cameron," she finishes for you. "What an incredibly small world," she says, shaking her head.

"You guys know each other?" you ask, looking between them.

Rafe chuckles. "Sam's dad runs the Virginia Beach branch of Ward's fishing excursion business. We've met several times over the years."

"You've known my cousin longer than you've known me!" you say in disbelief.

"It's been since high school that we've seen each other. You were dating that bitchy girl... she wouldn't stop calling and texting you the entire weekend you were gone. She thought you were going to cheat on her with me," Sam says, throwing her head back as she laughs.

"She thought I was lying when I told her you were gay," Rafe says. "God, she was horrible."

"Glad you upgraded," Sam say, nodding her head towards you. "You should say hey to my dad. I bet he'd get a kick out of seeing you."

"Was he at the wedding? I don't remember seeing him, but I met like a thousand people," he says as he looks at you.

"He and my aunt were in Germany visiting Sam during that weekend, so they weren't there. Come on, we can go say hello," you tell him. You give Sam a quick hug and promise to catch up with her later before walking over to your uncle Kevin.

"Uncle Kevin," you say as you approach him and your aunt. He looks away from their conversation, and a look of shocked realization takes over his features when he sees Rafe with you.

"Rafe! Hey man, how ya been!" he says, giving him a firm handshake.

"Good, sir, and yourself?" he says politely.

"Great, great. You know, I just talked to your dad the other day. That's... it's so wild! You know y/n?"

"He's my boyfriend," you explain. "We met at school."

"That's so crazy to me... of all the people to run into at a family function, the boss's son!" Kevin says with a laugh. "And dating my niece." He wraps his arm around your shoulders in a quick hug. "You taking care of her for John? She can be a handful."

"I am not!" you exclaim.

Rafe laughs good naturedly. "Uh, I'm trying."

Kevin starts asking Rafe questions about the business, so you slip away for a moment to grab a (nonalcoholic, unfortunately) drink. You bump into your mom on the way to the bartender.

"Is Rafe networking or something?" she asks as she gets a refill on her white wine.

"Diet Coke please," you tell the bartender before turning to answer her. "No, he knows Kevin and Sam. The excursion business he franchises? It's Ward's business. Rafe used to go on business trips with him when he was younger. Him and Sam used to be friends."

"Wow, small world we live in," she says. "Kevin and Rafe's dad knowing each other, Sam and Rafe being friends, then you guys meet in college and start dating. Funny how that all worked out, huh?"

"Yeah," you agree.

Rafe appears at your side a few moments later. "So, as luck would have it, Kevin got a phone call from my dad as we were talking. I can't even imagine the look on his face when he found out we ran into each other. Anyway, here in a couple weeks, I'm gonna have to go to Virginia Beach with him since I 'need the experience of business meetings'," he says, using air quotes and rolling his eyes. "I'll be gone a few days."

You frown. "Well, that sucks, but it's only a couple days, right?"

He shrugs. "I guess."

"It won't hurt for you to miss me a little," you tease.

"I miss you when I'm in my apartment and you're across the parking lot in yours," he groans.

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder," you continue in the same teasing tone.

"Fuck off," he says, but there's no malice behind it. He pulls you into a hug. "Come on, it looks like people are taking their seats for dinner. It's been like five hours since you ate anything, so I know you're going to start getting cranky soon."

"You're an ass," you say, swatting at his arm. "But you're not wrong. I am hungry."

"You love me right?" he teases.

"I guess," you say dramatically.

"Good. Now let's go sit with the birthday boy."

authors note:
this ended up shorter than I intended, however it sparked an idea for a three part scenario that I'm going to start writing after my next smut piece lol so be ready for that