"Let's just go back to the way it was when we were on Honeymoon Avenue"
2. Mess It Up - Gracie Abrams
"I keep thinking maybe if you let me back in, we could make it better breaking every habit"
3. Close Up - Olivia Dean
"Now I'm here and we're finally alone, why do we feel so distant?"
4. stupid song - Olivia Rodrigo
"I'm a car speeding down the boulevard without a brake, and I want you more than any stupid song could ever say"
5. purple - Olivia Rodrigo
"kissed my neck, made our paths intersect, till the two lines formed a circle"
6. We Almost Broke Up Again - Sabrina Carpenter
"I know how it looks, I know how it sounds, 'least we'll give them something to talk about"
7. Thinkin Bout You - Ariana Grande
"I don't have you here with me, but at least I have the memory"
8. Come Back...Be Here - Taylor Swift
"This is falling in love in the cruelest way, this is falling for you when you are worlds away"
9. Treacherous - Taylor Swift
"Nothing safe is worth the drive and I would follow you, follow you home"
10. Out of the Woods - Taylor Swift
"We were built to fall apart, then fall back together"
11. Afterglow - Taylor Swift
"Tell me this love is worth the fight"
12. False God - Taylor Swift
"Hell is when I fight with you, but we can patch it up good, make confession and we're begging for forgiveness"
13. Maroon - Taylor Swift
"The rust that grew between telephones, the lips I used to call home"
14. The Heart Wants What It Wants - Selena Gomez
"The bed's getting cold and you're not here, the future that we hold is so unclear, but I'm not alive until you call, and I'll bet the odds against it all"
15. Sports car - Tate McRae
"I'm goin' weak in my knees, where'd you put those keys?"
16. Greenlight - Tate McRae
"I'm still waitin' at the green light, to tell you what I feel like, but I can't go"
17. stay done - Tate McRae
"I hate it that I'm tryna call you up, when you're the thing that I'm running from, the one-way street I can't get off"
18. Who Knows - Daniel Caesar
"You're pure, you're kind, mature, divine, you might be too good for me, unattainable"
19. Cross My Mind - Olivia Dean
"I could run to you but then they'd all see me fall, you're a love I don't wanna lose"
20. Drive - SZA
"I been up 'til midnight, drivin' to nowhere, bumpin' a slow song, can't get my head clear"
21. XO - Beyoncé
"Daylight's wasting, you better kiss me, before our time has run out"
22. All Night - Beyoncé
"Our love was stronger than your pride, beyond your darkness I'm your light"
23. Star Signs - Bryson Tiller
"Do we see the fireworks when we're intertwined? Should we both be giving up but we still tryin'? Are we in the right place, but the wrong time?"
24. Recovery - Justin Bieber
"Going through old emotions, tryna find a reason why we ended that way"
25. Million Dollar Man - Lana Del Rey
"I don't know how you get over someone as dangerous, tainted, and flawed as you"
26. drop dead - Olivia Rodrigo
"You're looking like an angel on the Walls of Versailles, the most alive I've ever been but kiss me and I might drop dead"
27. How You Get the Girl - Taylor Swift
"I want you for worse or for better, I would wait forever and ever, broke your heart I'll put it back together"
28. test drive - Ariana Grande
"No second guessing, checking the rearview, ain't looking back unless it's right at you"
In which the reigning Formula One World Champion and the People's Paddock Princess lose their way, only to find each other trailing the same path home.
LILIANA JADE MENDOZA was criticized by her parents for quitting her job as a Development Engineer in Vehicle Dynamics at Porsche. In layman's terms, she got paid bank for making Porsches feel like Porsches. But she realized that chasing promotions and attending redundant meetings wasn't for her, because she barely had a sense for who she was as a person—beyond the engineering degree and professional evaluations. But figuring out who she was became significantly harder after falling for Rafe Cameron.
RAFE CAMERON was riding an all-time high last season. Wearing the number seven, Cameron collected victories from seventeen out of twenty-four races, and secured the World Champion title under Porsche Motorsport GP. By his side was his exhilaratingly risky teammate, Jackson Mendoza. The only thing more dangerous than racing with him? Falling for his sister. The whole world treated Rafe like a trophy, a headline, or a brand. But Liliana Jade Mendoza treated him like a person.
HONEYMOON AVENUE is the story of Rafe and Liliana's love in smooth coasting and crisp champagne. But even the best drivers can make a wrong turn, and even the smartest engineers can make a miscalculation. What started as an open road somehow became bumper-to-bumper traffic. But can they get back to the way it was?
“You seem pretty jealous there, Rafe,” you mutter slyly, setting your plate of breakfast behind you.
Currently, the two of you were sitting at the dock, enjoying the early ocean breeze before the inevitable increase in humidity.
“Who’s jealous?” he asks simply, quirking a brow at you as he leans against the wooden railing.
You stare at him with a teasing smile, “You.”
He stares back at you, pointing a finger to himself, “Me?”
“Very.”
“Of who?” he asks. He’s gazing at you with his head tilted, eyes narrowed in interest as he remains completely unmoved, completely focused on you.
Just to piss him off, you start naming random islanders. The obvious ones at first: Kelce (the newest bombshell), JJ (who you were originally coupled with). Then just for fun: Topper (even though you rejected him in front of everyone), Cleo and Kiara (because they-
“You seem very invested in this.”
You blink. You stop talking immediately, staring at him completely taken aback.
He’s watching you intently—has been the whole time. Saw your hands gesture as you talked. Noticed how naturally you flip your hair when it brushes your neck too closely. Subtly smirked at your quick little jabs at him.
“I’m just saying,” you start again, lowering your voice just slightly, still wanting to get a reaction out of him, “You seem tense, Rafe.”
“Why would I be tense?” he asks. His face is calm, his body still and unmoved from the railing as he looks at you.
You continue, listing off various reasons why he would be jealous, why he would be tense. All the little things you noticed when he thought you weren’t looking.
And he’s listening—of course he is. But this time, what you don’t notice is the smirk creeping onto his face. And you didn’t notice the smallest intonation when he asked you.
Who’s jealous?
Why would I be jealous?
What you didn’t notice is that he had been playing you this entire conversation. Turning the tables.
Because now? You were the one listing specific reasons. You were the one explaining in detail why he should be jealous.
He thought you caught on when he interrupted you the first time. But then you kept going, thinking you had the upper hand.
In the midst of your playful rant, when you were sure that you had him backed into a corner, he cuts in again.
“You’re weirdly interested in this.”
You pause again. You don’t say anything. But as you look at him in the silence, his smirk grows into a smile.
Then it hits you.
You don’t explode into accusation, or jump to scold him. Just-
“Oh, you’re good.”
You both burst into laughter—Rafe doubling over, you leaning back against the pillows on the bench.
It’s funny because he read you like a book immediately from the title page.
“You seem pretty jealous there, Rafe.”—He saw the mischievous glint in your eye.
Just to piss him off, you start naming random islanders—He saw your change in posture, how you sat up with eagerness to get at him.
Through your fit of laughter, you playfully hit him on the shoulder (may or may not be where he got badly sunburnt yesterday). He winces, immediately drawing back, but there’s a full-on smile on his face.
You lean back against the pillows again, arms crossed over your chest with a matching grin as you finally got a reaction out of him, even though it was not exactly what you intended.
“That’s what you get,” you say smugly, still out of breath from laughing.
“Alright, alright,” he mumbles, still smiling as he walks over to you.
He leans down, wrapping his arms around your middle. He gently tugs you off the bench, closer to him, and you immediately feel the warmth of his newly tanned (but, at some parts, burnt) skin. You throw your arms around his neck, pulling him into you as you both laugh lowly.
Entangled in each other’s embrace, you both stand there for a second. Breathless and completely enamored.
“You got my sunburn,” he mumbles into your neck.
You giggle, “Did I really?”
You and him both know damn well.
His hands move on your waist, right index finger poking your sides as you immediately collapse. But he keeps one hand on your back, and you keep your arms wrapped around him.
And after the impromptu attack and a second wave of genuine laughter, you’re both sitting on the bench—your head on his shoulder and his hand on your thigh. You watch the rest of the islanders go about their day, the Fiji sun shining bright on the blue pool, the palm trees swaying in the breeze.
You kiss his shoulder softly, the same spot you aimed for earlier, mumbling, “You read me like a book.”
“Yeah, well,” he mumbles, thumb brushing over your skin, “That's what happens when somebody's your favorite chapter.”
