Chapter 40
Nick
When I see Poppy walk into the diner wearing my jersey, I slide out of the booth, grab her by the waist, and kiss her.
When we break apart, my teammates are whistling and hollering at us.
She touches her bottom lip as she gazes up at me. “Hey.”
I kiss her cheek and smile. “Hey.”
I take her by the hand and lead her to the table. We sit down and order when the server comes.
“Your boy was on fire tonight,” Blake says to Poppy.
She turns to smile at me in the booth. “He really was.”
I slide my arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to me. “It was all because of you.”
“Seriously though, you played damn good,” Leo says to me.
“So did you guys.” I down the rest of the water in my glass right as the server drops of the banana and peanut butter milkshake I ordered when we first sat down.
I offer some to Poppy but she says no thanks. I take a long pull from the straw, moaning softly at the sugary flavor.
I catch her chuckling.
“What?” I say.
“Nothing. I just think it’s cute that you, a tough college hockey player, like drinking something so cute and colorful.” She nods at my milkshake, which is topped with a huge dollop of whipped cream and rainbow sprinkles.
I just grin and take another sip. “I had one of these last night, and we won. It’s my good luck charm.” I glance down at the black Hollis U hockey jersey she’s wearing. My jersey.
“You’re my good luck charm too, wild girl,” I say. “I had an assist and a goal after I saw you wearing my jersey.”
Her cheeks flush and her smile turns giddy.
“Cheers to that,” Blake says, tapping his glass of Coke against my milkshake. “Whatever you did to play like that tonight, keep it up. We’ve got regionals coming up soon, so let’s get a winning streak going.”
“Especially since it sounds like scouts will be there watching us again,” Leo says.
“Coach talked to you guys about that, too?” Travis asks. Both Leo and Blake nod.
“Scouts for what?” Poppy asks.
“For the pros. They’ll come watch us play sometimes. See if any of us are worth signing to a team in the NHL,” I say.
Poppy’s expression brightens. “That’s amazing. Well done, you guys.”
She turns to me. “They must have been blown away by you tonight.”
“Yeah, maybe. Hopefully,” I say, trying not to get my hopes up.
“Don’t downplay yourself,” she says. “I saw how well you played. You left the other team in the dust.”
I smile and shrug. “Scouts see a lot of great hockey players. You have to be really, really good to play pro. I don’t wanna get too cocky.”
I expect Poppy to tease me about being so cocky all the time. But she doesn’t.
Instead, she looks at me with warmth in her eyes. She slides her hand in mine and gives me a gentle squeeze. “They were impressed by you. I have zero doubt. You were incredible.”
Joy bursts through my chest at the way she’s looking at me and how she speaks about me. The conviction in her tone is undeniable. She’s speaking from her heart, I can tell. There’s pride in her eyes. She’s proud of me. And that means everything.
I press my mouth against her temple and kiss her. “Thanks, wild girl.”
The server drops off our meals. Poppy’s eyes go wide when she sees the dozen plates piled high with food.
I chuckle and kiss her temple. “We’re really hungry after we play.”
“I can imagine,” she says.
She eats a single blueberry pancake while the guys and I demolish the food on our plates. Blake finishes a massive slice of pumpkin pie in three bites.
“You really like pumpkin pie,” she says.
“Oh, yeah. It’s my favorite,” he says. “That’s why Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. All the pumpkin pie I can eat.”
Leo elbows him. “He’s been counting down to Thanksgiving since the end of the summer. Thank fuck it’s next week so he can finally get his fill.”
We all laugh.
“That was impressive, guys,” Poppy says while staring at our clean plates ten minutes later.
The check comes, and Travis hands over his credit card.
“We’ll Venmo you our share,” Leo says. We all grab our phones and send Travis the money for our meals.
“I’d better get going,” Travis says. “I’ve got an essay due tomorrow.”
He slides out of the booth, and we tell him bye. Leo and Blake finish their drinks, then say they need to head out too.
“Yeah, I need to go home soon, too. Early class in the morning,” Poppy says.
When we all slide out of the booth, Leo and Blake leave the restaurant. I tell Poppy I’ll just be a sec while I run to the restroom.
When I walk back out into the main area of the diner, I spot her standing at the front entrance talking to some guy. I can tell right away that he’s interested in her. The way his gaze slides from her face to her chest is a dead giveaway.
Honestly, he looks more her type than I do. He’s got glasses and a clean haircut, and he’s wearing a button-up flannel and jeans. I bet this guy has never gotten lower than an A- in any class he’s taken.
Jealousy flares up inside of me. Poppy and I are just friends who are hooking up and pretending to be a couple, nothing more. I don’t have any claim on her. If a guy wants to flirt with her and chat her up, he can.
She doesn’t like this guy, though. I can tell.
Her smile is tight. I can see how forced it is, even though I’m standing a dozen feet away. She crosses her arms over her chest and hunches her shoulders slightly. Then she takes a step back, clearly wanting to create some space from him.
But this dude is clueless. He steps toward her, still talking and smiling.
Or maybe he knows he’s making her uncomfortable and doesn’t care.
Protectiveness surges through me. I walk over to the two of them and slide my arm around her waist, pulling her against me.
I gently take her chin in my hand and tilt her face up to me. Then I kiss her. Hard.
When we break apart, I smile at her. “Hey, honey.”
“H-hey,” she says, her voice breathy.
I turn to the guy. “Sorry, what was your name?”
He clears his throat. “Nolan. I’ll, um, go.”
He walks into the lobby of the diner, while I lead Poppy by the hand outside, into the cool, crisp autumn evening.
“That was a little possessive of you,” she says, her tone amused.
“You’re my girlfriend. Fake girlfriend,” I say when I catch myself. “I reacted how any guy would have if he saw some dude trying to flirt with his girl.”
“It was pretty hot,” she says after a second.
I turn to her. “You liked it?”
“Yeah. That guy was being a little pushy, and I didn’t know how to leave politely.”
“You don’t owe a pushy jackass politeness, Poppy.”
“I know. It’s just that sometimes, as a woman, we have to be careful how we reject a guy. You don’t know how he’s going to react. If he’ll be cool and understand, or if he’ll get mad and do something bad…”
I stop walking and look at her, my body tense at what she’s said. I feel like a jerk. Of course it’s not that simple. Of course she can’t just walk away. Some guys are pieces of shit and might get physical with a woman when they get turned down.
I feel sick just thinking about it.
“Has that happened to you before?” I ask, making sure my tone is soft and steady so I don’t sound as angry as I feel.
“Yeah, once. Thankfully, nothing physical happened,” she says in a quiet voice. “The guy just called me a stuck-up bitch when I wouldn’t give him my number, then walked off.”
Fire zooms through my veins. I wish I could track down this asshole and punch his fucking face in.
I take a breath and push aside those feelings. This isn’t about me. It’s about making sure that Poppy feels safe and understood.
I cup her face in my hands. “I’m sorry that happened to you.”
“You don’t need to be sorry, Nick. Not like it was your fault.”
“I know, but I’m sorry that you have to deal with that as a woman. It’s not fair. And also fucking infuriating.”
A second later, her expression eases as she looks at me. “Guys like you help make up for it.”
I kiss her softly. Then I grab her hand in mine and keep walking.
“If you ever see that guy who called you a bitch, point him out to me, and I’ll run him over with my car.”
Poppy snorts out a laugh. “You’re such a caveman.”
We walk the rest of the way to her apartment. As we make our way to the entrance, I notice a guy in a suit in front of the building holding a small box, standing just a few feet away.
Poppy frowns at the guy. “Dad?”