THE PICTURE OF YOU -rafe cameron-

039; the mainland part 2

Myra and Rafe walked along the streets of Charleston, the sun shining above them. Myra could feel the breeze from the ocean stroking her cheeks before it blew through her blonde waves. She gazed up at Rafe, seeing his expensive sunglasses resting upon the bridge of his nose. He held his head high, his chin tilted up. He walked like he owned the entire city, his shoulders pushed back. Myra felt a sense of comfort as she strolled next to him. She almost felt safe too, somewhat protected by him. The warm rays of the sun danced upon his tanned face, making him look almost godlike.

"Are you hungry?" Rafe asked as he slowed his speed down, gazing at Myra. Always, she thought to herself. Hunger had become so normal to her over the years that she had learned how to just ignore the aching feeling in her stomach and she wobbling of her legs. It sometimes made her feel dizzy too, it was all part of it. "Eh, a little" Myra shrugged, trying to play it off as if it wasn't a big deal when in fact she hadn't eaten anything today, "are you?". Rafe stuck his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. "Yeah, a little" he answered, agreeing with her. Rafe, who had grown up with a stocked pantry at all times, had never felt real hunger. He hadn't gone for days without eating, just feeling his stomach turn itself inside out. He had never known the bitter taste real hunger left on one's tongue, and probably never would.

"You're the one who knows this place like the back of your hand" Myra hummed, drawing in a nervous breath, "do you have any recommendations?". Rafe thought for a moment, his lips pushed together. He dragged his feet against the concrete pavement as he gazed around. He then stopped, making Myra almost bump into him. He was quick to reach his hands out to grab onto her upper arms, offering her some stability. Myra looked up at Rafe, seeing a pleased smirk spread across his lips. "Actually..." he trailed, taking his sunglasses off, "I want to take you out tonight"

Myra raised her eyebrows, a joyous smile forming on her lips. She couldn't hold it back. He wanted to take her out, it wasn't anything she had heard before. "I thought we were already out" Myra teased, gazing around the city of Charleston, hinting to Rafe that they had in fact travelled to a new place together. Rafe rolled his eyes playfully. She was almost as stubborn as he was. "Yeah, but I wanna take you out to dinner" Rafe explained, staring straight at her with his ocean blue eyes. They were mesmerized, which inevitably drew Myra in. "Really?" Myra kept on teasing as she put her hands on her hips. "Yeah really" Rafe spoke assuringly, leaning in a little, "like a proper... you know..."

"Date?"

Myra felt her heart beat harshly inside of her chest as the simple word slipped out of her mouth. Her hands remained firmly on her hips as she tried her hardest to just stand still. She could feel her whole body tense up as Rafe pushed his lips together, looking a little dumbfounded. Her heart skipped a beat, and then another one. And another, and another. It felt as if it was going to continue beating like that until it eventually broke though her rib cage and skin, landing on the paved street before her. And that would be her end, that's how dramatic it felt. It was as if a million years passed them by as she waited for Rafe to answer, or move or do anything. In fact only a second or so had gone by, but it still felt like torture. But then suddenly Rafe managed to register what she had said. His surprised and somewhat dumbfounded look turned into a smile, showing off some of his teeth. "Yeah" he nodded, biting onto his bottom lip as to contain his wide smile, "like a proper date"

Myra was internally freaking out. The mere thought of a real date with kook prince Rafe Cameron both terrified and excited her. She had gone into the whole trip thinking that it was some kind of a date. A unspecified one. One they didn't exactly name or speak out loud about. Their relationship as drinking buddies existed on that very same basis. It was unspecified and not spoken out loud about, it just was. Rafe had asked to take her out earlier that day by the wharf on the cut, but he hadn't mentioned the word date until now. This made it feel all the more real to the both of them.