Chapter 19
Poppy
Ifinish skimming Nick’s research paper.
“Nice work. This is solid,” I say.
He grins. “You really think so?”
“Definitely. You cited your sources correctly, and you explained your points well.”
I go over the last page and point out a few parts where he could tie in the evidence more concretely.
When I hand him back the paper, he’s still smiling.
“I’m getting good at this school stuff,” he says.
I chuckle. “You are. See? School work isn’t so bad.”
“You’re the reason I’m managing, hot tutor.”
I roll my eyes, but I’m smiling.
“I’m serious. Homework and studying sucked for the longest time. But then you became my tutor, and it’s a million times more fun.”
That dimple in his cheek pops when he flashes a handsome grin. That familiar giddy feeling loops through my tummy.
I can’t help but be smitten by Nick’s sweetness. Before, I’d just assume he’s screwing with me or trying to get a rise out of me. But I can tell he’s being genuine. Just like the other night when he comforted me after that phone call with my dad.
Every time I think about how pissed off Nick was, how he defended me and praised me, I get a warm feeling in my chest.
I didn’t expect him to react that way, to act so offended on my behalf when I told him about my parents’ high expectations of me.
But he didn’t hesitate to tell me how unreasonable they were—and how amazing I was.
When I think about that flash of intensity in his mahogany eyes as he held my gaze and told me I was perfect, I swoon.
When I think about how he held my hand and cupped my face to comfort me, I swoon even harder.
Every single thing he said and did in that moment to comfort me felt real. I could feel it in his stare and in his touch just how much he meant what he said.
You’re perfect. You’re amazing.
It felt like he wanted nothing more in this world than for me to believe all the good things he said about me. I do now.
But it’s not just his words of praise that have stuck with me.
It’s okay for you to want different things from your parents. It’s okay for you to follow your own dreams.
He’s the first person to ever say that what I want matters, too. And ever since he said that, I’ve been wondering what exactly I want.
I check the time on the clock at the Writing Center. It’s nearing the end of our session.
“Want to review for your Algebra quiz?” I ask.
“Yeah, sure.”
Nick pulls out his textbook from his backpack while I close the tabs on my laptop and check the views on my YouTube channel.
As I skim my page, my gaze snags on my follower count.
I gasp. “Oh my god!”
Nick turns to me. “What? What’s wrong?”
I cup my hand over my mouth and let out a giddy squeal. “I’m one follower away from a hundred thousand followers!”
“Are you serious?” Nick drops his book and turns to look at my laptop screen. He grins wider than I’ve ever seen. “Fuck yeah!”
He scoots his chair so he’s sitting next to me. “We’re going to sit here and wait until you hit one hundred thousand.”
He fixes his gaze on my laptop screen.
“No, that could take forever.”
He turns to look at me and lifts an eyebrow. “We’re going to sit here and wait, Poppy.”
Goosebumps flash across my skin at his bossy tone.
“Fine,” I say, my voice on the edge of breathless as I try to ignore just how sexy his voice is.
“Besides, it’s not gonna take long,” he says.
“How would you know?”
“Because you’re awesome, your channel is awesome, and everyone thinks so, so of course you’re going to hit one hundred thousand.”
I bite back a grin and watch my laptop screen. A minute passes, and refreshes the home page. No change. My nerves kick up.
“Nick, I don’t know about this.”
He shakes his head, gaze still glued to my computer screen, his posture relaxed.
“It’s coming, hot tutor. I can feel it.”
I fight a smile. A second later, he refreshes the screen.
My eyes go wide, and I gasp right as Nick pumps his fist.
“Fuck yeah! One hundred thousand!” he hollers as he jumps up out of his chair, knocking it over.
I let out a squeal and cover my face in my hands. I’m smiling so hard, my cheeks ache. I can’t believe it. I have one hundred thousand subscribers.
A second later, Nick pulls me up and wraps his arms around me.
“I knew you’d do it,” he says while hugging me tight.
I’m speechless as my brain struggles to process this moment. This moment that I thought would never happen. But it is. It’s happening right now.
When we break apart, he’s holding me by my shoulders, that giddy smile plastered on his face.
“I can’t believe it,” I say through a laugh of sheer disbelief.
“Believe it, Poppy. You did it.”
He looks so happy as he gazes at me. So genuinely thrilled. For me. It makes my heart tumble around in my chest.
“What are you doing tonight?” Nick asks.
“Studying.”
He shakes his head. “Not anymore. We’re celebrating.”
Ten minutes later, we’re walking across campus.
“Nick, we really don’t need to celebrate,” I say, walking faster to keep up with his long stride. “I have a test at the end of the week that I should be studying for.”
“We absolutely need to celebrate, Poppy. This is huge. You’re a YouTuber with a hundred thousand followers. You’re a big freaking deal.”
A small group of students walks past us.
“Yo, St. George! Good game the other night,” one of the guys hollers.
“Thanks, man,” Nick hollers back. “Hey, my girlfriend’s YouTube channel just blew up. You should check it out. It’s called Poppy The Tutor.”
I smack his shoulder. “Nick! What are you doing?”
“That’s cool, man. We’ll check it out,” the guy hollers back.
“You don’t need to tell total strangers about my YouTube channel.”
He slows down his walking pace so I can keep up with him. “I absolutely do. We gotta get you to one million subscribers next.”
I can’t help the grin that pulls at my lips at how he’s pumping me up.
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” I say. “I thought we were celebrating one hundred thousand followers first.”
“You’re right,” he says. “What do you usually do when you ace a paper or get a perfect score on a test?”
“Nothing.”
He stops walking and turns to me. “Nothing? Are you serious?”
I hold the straps of my backpack and nod. “It’s really not a big deal. Good grades were expected of me my whole life. I didn’t get rewarded for it because it was baseline.”
Nick’s brow furrows the slightest bit, like he’s sad. Then he shakes his head. “All the more reason to celebrate. You did something amazing, and you deserve to make a big deal out of it.”
That warm feeling from earlier resurfaces. He’s being so sweet to go out of his way like this for me.
We keep walking. “You and Anna used to get ice cream in high school when you’d ace a test in your hardest classes, right?”
I almost trip over my own feet, surprised at how he remembers that.
“Yeah, we did.”
“We’re getting ice cream.”
We end up at a new ice cream shop that just opened on the edge of campus called Sweet Cheeks.
“Have you been here before?” I ask as Nick opens the door for me.
“I’ve been to their downtown location and their shop in Cherry Creek a bunch of times,” Nick says. “They just opened this place this summer.”
We walk through the small lobby, which has hot pink walls and a pink-and-white checkered tile floor. I breathe in the sweet smell of homemade waffle cones and scan the display of all their flavors.
“They all sound so yummy,” I say.
“This is the best ice cream in the city,” Nick says.
A pretty woman in her thirties with long auburn hair walks over to us behind the counter. She smiles at us. “What can I get you two?”
“We’d like the waffle cone tower, please,” Nick says. He nods at the image on the display, which is a huge bowl of five ice cream scoops with waffle cone pieces layered through it. It’s topped with a pile of whipped cream and three cherries.
I start to laugh. “No way, that’s too much.
“It’s exactly the right thing to order when you’re celebrating,” Nick says before turning to the worker. “My girlfriend just hit a hundred thousand subscribers on her YouTube channel.”
The woman beams at me. “Oh my gosh, congratulations!”
“Thank you.”
“What kind of YouTube channel is it?” she asks.
“An educational channel. I talk about all sorts of topics in history, math, science, and literature.”
Nick steps closer to me and slinks his arm around my waist, pulling me against him. “It’s really cool. You should watch it. Her channel’s called Poppy The Tutor.”
That warm feeling swirls through my chest at how proud he is of me.
I smile up at him before looking back at the ice cream shop worker. “Sorry, my boyfriend is a little excited.”
She chuckles. “I think it’s sweet how proud he is of you. He’s a keeper for sure.”
Nick flashes a sexy, lopsided smile and winks at me.
“I’ll definitely check out your channel,” she says.” Also, I love your name. Poppy is my baby niece’s name.”
I smile. “Really? That’s so cool. I’ve never met anyone else with my name before.”
Nick kisses my cheek. “Beautiful name for a beautiful woman.” He turns back to her. “Your ice cream shop is awesome, by the way. Best ice cream I’ve ever had. When I heard you were opening a location near campus, I was stoked.”
“I’m so glad to hear that,” she says. “What’s your name?”
“Nick.”
“Good to meet you both. I’m Tori, the co-owner of Sweet Cheeks. I’m in charge of the Hollis U shop.”
“You’ll be seeing us a lot then,” Nick says.
She grabs a metal ice cream scoop. “What flavors would you like for your waffle cone tower?”
We choose five flavors: chocolate chip, coffee, hazelnut, caramel, and cookie dough. She tops it with giant pieces of waffle cone, whipped cream, and cherries, and sets it on the counter. Nick pays, and we sit down at a small table for two.
“There’s no way I’m going to be able to eat even half of this,” I say.
“That’s why I’m here. Ice cream’s my favorite food. I’d eat this every day if I could.”
I gesture for him to dig in, but he shakes his head. “You take the first bite.”
I dig my spoon into the ice cream and take a bite.
“Oh my god, so good…” I moan at the rich flavor.
He grins wide and digs in. I eat until I’m full, and leave the rest for Nick, who finishes it in no time.
“If hockey doesn’t work out, you should be a competitive eater,” I tease.
He laughs and wipes his mouth with a napkin. We get up from the table and tell Tori thanks again before walking out of the shop.
“I’ll walk you home,” Nick says.
We head in the direction of my apartment a mile away. It’s dark now, and there’s an early autumn chill in the air.
I cross my arms over my chest and rub my arms over the thin long-sleeve top I’m wearing. I should have brought my jacket, but it was warm this afternoon, and I didn’t even think about it.
“Cold?” Nick asks.
“A little, but I’ll be okay.”
He stops walking, slides his backpack off, then pulls off his hoodie.
“You don’t need to do that.”
“If you think I’m going to just stand there while my girlfriend is cold, you’re wrong.” He looks at me. “Come here.”
I step forward, and he slips his Hollis U hockey hoodie over my head.
Gently, he pulls it over me. It’s huge on me—the hem hits halfway down my thighs, and the sleeves go inches past my hands.
But I love it. It’s so soft and warm and cozy.
And it smells like Nick. I breathe in and get a lungful of his spicy, woodsy scent.
“Better?” he asks, his gaze warm and fiery as he looks at me.
“Yeah,” I rasp, my heart beating faster in my chest.
We continue walking. He scoops my hand in his. I look down.
“We’re on campus. People are watching us. They need to see us as a couple, remember?” he says. I nod.
We walk the rest of the way to my apartment in comfortable silence. No need to fill up the quiet moments with chatter. It almost feels like we’re a real couple taking a walk together on a crisp autumn night.
Except we’re not. It’s all fake, remember?
I try to ignore that gnawing feeling in my stomach at that quiet reminder to myself.
“You sure you’re not going to be cold in just a T-shirt?” I ask, focusing on something else.
He shakes his head. “Nah, I run hot. It’s why I’m so good at hockey. I like the cold.”
I chuckle. We make it to the front of my apartment building and stop at the entrance.
I turn to look up at him. “Thank you for the ice cream. And for going out of your way to celebrate me. That meant a lot.”
His mouth curves up in a warm smile that reaches all the way to his beautiful bourbon-brown eyes. “It’s my pleasure, Poppy.” His smile fades, and his expression turns intense. “You deserve to be celebrated. You deserve to feel special.”
His eyes scan my face, resting on my mouth. He reaches up and cups my cheek in his massive hand.
“Do you know how amazing you are?” His voice is a low growl that makes me shiver and hot all at once.
I shake my head. His eyebrow lifts, and he shakes his head. “You are so fucking amazing, Poppy,” he rasps. “So smart and pretty. So fucking pretty.”
My breath catches in my throat.
He runs his tongue along the seam of his lips, his gaze on my mouth once more.
I’m not breathing. I can’t. Not when he’s staring at me with hunger in his gaze.
And that’s when it hits me: he’s going to kiss me on the mouth. The thing we agreed to never, ever do.
Raw want surges through me. My entire body is buzzing, waiting for him to put his mouth on me.
He swallows hard, his stubbled throat bobbing. He leans down and presses his mouth gently to the corner of my lips. My eyelids fluttered. I’m instantly hot, aching for more.
But he pulls away. He blinks and clears his throat. “Goodnight, Poppy.”
He walks off and I stand there, my head spinning, wearing his hoodie that smells so much like him, wishing more than anything that he had broken my rule and kissed me.