23. Chapter 23
Iheld it together until after my after-sex pee. I washed my hands, flopped down on the toilet lid, and wept. Thankfully, with my damp hands over my mouth, I didn’t make much noise.
What are you doing Poppy?
This has to end.
This will end.
Stop being stupid.
Stop.
Being.
Stupid.
Once my composure had more or less returned, I cleaned my face and walked down the hall in search of Summoner. I found him in the kitchen preparing cups of coffee.
“Biscuit?”
He seemed none the wiser to the storm inside me. With a sniffle, I sat at the counter. Along with a steaming mug of coffee, he slid a plate of chocolate chip cookies toward me.
“Moore made them in anticipation of your arrival.”
My heart swelled. It was these little things that nudged my feelings along. A cup of coffee and a cookie could obliterate a bathroom pep talk.
“…How did he know I was coming?”
Summoner shrugged. “I think he just figured you’d show up eventually. You’re like a homeless puppy.”
“Whatever. I’m just glad he isn’t here now.”
“Why?”
“Cause…you know.”
Summoner shook his head.
“You know,” I pressed. “Our dick appointment…”
“Dick appointment?” He chuckled. “We’re all adults here, sweetheart. But I can assume he knows what we get up to. You’re not a quiet lover, Poppy.”
I nearly choked on my cookie.
“I’m not?!” I coughed.
“Nope. But I like it that way. Enthusiastic.” He winked.
“Perv.” I stuck my tongue at him.
Before Summoner could come back with a snappy retort, his phone chimed. I bit into a cookie while he looked at his phone. His face fell.
“… Uh…Poppy…My daughter is here.”
Daughter. Shit.
The yummy cookie turned to mud in my mouth. I forced it down with a hard swallow. His family hated me. In their eyes, I drowned bags of puppies in my spare time. Dealing with any of them was something I very much didn’t want to deal with…ever.
“You don’t have to meet her if you don’t want to,” he blurted out.
He was sweet to offer. But seeing her was for the best. It would help interject reality into our situation. Like ripping off a bandaid.
I sighed. “Might as well get it over with.”
He gave my shoulder a quick squeeze before heading to the front door.
My stomach knotted as I listened to muffled voices down the hall.
Despite the levelheadedness I presented to my boyfriend, I was fucking terrified.
Also, I was massively selfish because I wanted him all to myself.
Smiling wide, Summoner returned to the kitchen with his daughter Daisy in tow.
The willowy blonde commanded attention. Her hair was pulled up in a high bun except for blunt bangs that cast a shadow over bright green eyes.
She was dressed down in high-end clothes.
Ripped jeans tucked into high-heeled boots and a chunky sweater.
God.
She was stunning. A perfect blend of her mother and father molded into her own person.
Daisy Elliott was an actress and director.
Nepotism got her a foot in the door, but her own talent kicked the door off its hinges.
The SOS Summoner fan boards used to moan about her being outspoken about everything but her dad.
There was even speculation that Summoner disowned her, or he might not be her biological father.
But all of that was clearly sour grapes.
The way Summoner smiled at her was the type of smile I craved from Dad.
That glowing smile evened out as he leaned against the counter and looked at me.
“Is this her?” Daisy asked.
“Poppy, this is Daisy. Daisy, this is Poppy,” Summoner introduced us.
With a warm smirk, she stepped forward and pulled me into a hug.
My arms dangled awkwardly at my sides for a moment as my brain had to catch up with the scene unfolding in front of me.
Eventually, I embraced her while my heart pounded.
She smelled like peaches. The woman was a fairytale that was about to rip me apart with hate.
“So, she doesn’t seem like much of a home wrecker,” she noted as we pulled apart.
“Uh, thanks?” I shrugged.
“The way Mom and Evan were going on, I was expecting you to be seven feet tall, have H sized implants, fangs, and breathe fire breath.”
Summoner rolled his eyes.
“If I did, I have to admit, it would be kinda awesome,” I giggled.
“Oh my God, it would be totally awesome! Like a modern-day Medusa! Robbing the rich to pay for herself! Somebody needs to write that story!”
“Poppy could do it,” Summoner said.
“I write listicles. I’m not really a writer.”
“I disagree. Besides, I really liked the one about red flags in his record collection,” Daisy said.
I blinked. “You’ve read my work?”
She nodded. “Mom did a background check on you.”
Of course she did. Feeling slightly violated, I slumped back into my seat. Summoner hid his face by drinking from his mug. Daisy grabbed a cookie, none the wiser.
“What are you two up to tonight?” she asked.
“Not too much. You?” Summoner asked.
“I was going to see Wayne, but honestly, I think it’s time to move on.”
“Good. He’s an arse and you can do better.”
“Of course I can do better, but I kinda liked him. He’s fun.” She pouted.
I sipped on my cooled coffee and watched in amusement as the pair had an all-too-common argument between parent and child. Summoner narrowed his eyes at his daughter in the way that parents do when they question their kid’s judgment. The dynamic was always amusing to watch from the outside.
“Poppy, is your dad a hardass about who you date?” she asked.
“Eh, I don’t really date,” I admitted.
“Yet you’re here,” she laughed.
“Well—” I pointed at Summoner— “he’s really good at cunnilingus. Munches for days.” I deadpanned.
Summoner bellowed with shoulder-shaking laughter. Daisy pinched her nose as her face twisted in sour disgust.
“Nope! Don’t wanna hear about my DILF of a dad! Tell me anything else. Tell me about you, Poppy.”
“Don’t you already know everything?” I asked. The fact that I was a subject of a background check needled into my side.
“It’s always better to hear from the real person instead of reading it off a piece of paper.”
She had a point. I filled her in the broad strokes of my life, peppering in things that might not have been on my background check, like getting my English and media degree from Queen’s College, floating through several shit jobs until I landed at Popbyte, and my feelings on listicles becoming a dying format.
Daisy munched on another cookie as she listened to me blather.
Chewing aside, she listened intently. I couldn’t help laughing when she noted listicles, nostalgia fluff pieces, celebrity PR stunts, and personality quizzes were oddly placed alongside heavier journalism about corruption, sexual abuse, and human rights abuses.
“It gives me whiplash!” she laughed.
“It gives you whiplash?! Imagine what it does to me! I work there!”
She smacked a hand on the counter. “Okay, so rapid-fire round. Favorite color.”
“Green.”
She nodded as if my answer was acceptable.
“Favorite cozy comfort movie?”
“The Princess Bride never fails to cheer me up.”
Her eyes went wide. “Same! It’s a perfect mix of funny and swoony! If we could all be so lucky to find a love like that…”
My chest clenched.
If only…
“Daisy, I can’t say I appreciate you giving Poppy the third degree,” Summoner interjected.
“I just want to know more about her. You never date, so I figure she’s gotta be pretty amazing to force you out of your shell!”
“She is pretty amazing.” Summoner smiled at me, and my heart did that all-too-familiar flip-flop of exploding joy.
“Okay, Poppy, last question.” Daisy stopped herself from grabbing another cookie.
“Shoot.”
“What are your thoughts on sushi?”
“Love it. An all-time favorite food.”
“Fuck yeah!”
We high fived before bursting into giggles.
“Okay, that’s settled. I like you. You like sushi. We’re going out!” She grinned.
I blinked as my brain attempted to catch up. “What?”
“Get your coat, we’re going out!” Daisy grabbed my wrist and dragged me up.
As she pulled me down the hall, I looked over my shoulder at a hapless Summoner who only offered a shrug of his shoulder as a way of explanation and a show of sympathy.
“…I don’t really have the money to go out for sushi…” I admitted in the back of a cab.
Better late than never to speak up for oneself. I figured there was still time for me to duck and roll out of the cab as we slowed near the curb.
“A platinum record is buying us dinner tonight, so don’t worry about it, Poppy!” Daisy winked.
Well, there’s that. Ooooh, I wonder what record?
My phone buzzed. To my surprise, it was Shay.
Shay: What up girly?! Miss u! What r u doing tonight?!
My lips crunched.
“You alright, Poppy?”
“Uh. Yeah, I’m alright. My girlfriend was just seeing what I was up to tonight. We’ve been too busy to hang out lately.”
Daisy’s eyebrows shot up, vanishing behind her bangs.
“Too busy to hang out with your friends, but not too busy to hang out with my dad, huh?”
I wanted to shrink into the cracked cushions of the pleather seat.
“It’s not like that.”
“Sure, it isn’t…The hickeys on your neck say otherwise.”
“Hickeys!?” I shrieked and slapped a hand to my neck.
Daisy cackled, and I suddenly didn’t know if I wanted to date her dad anymore. Like a maniacal fashion-forward villain, she let me stew in that embarrassment. I swallowed and looked out the window at the crowded traffic. My phone buzzed again.
Shay: :(
My jaw clenched.
“She like sushi?” Daisy asked.
“She likes free sushi,” I chuckled.
“Who doesn’t? Give her the address and have her meet us.”
“You sure?” I asked.
“Yeah. No better way to get to know someone than through their friends.”
Daisy was crafty. I pondered that statement as I texted Shay the address of the restaurant.