She leaned back with a predatory smirk, skimming through the article laden with pictures of Grayson. “My. My. That man has an ass so tight I bet he could squeeze a diamond out of coal. You’re lucky, Cherry. What I wouldn’t give—” It wasn’t until a picture of Harrison popped up that she froze.
And so did everyone else, waiting for her next move.
“What did he have to say?”
I wasn’t sure who she was asking about. Scratch that… I knew who, but I feared to answer.
“Who?” I squeaked.
“Harrison. Who do you think?” she barked. “Surely you were introduced. Harrison leaves no woman unturned.”
“We did speak, briefly. He introduced himself. Asked a little about me.”
“And?”
“And I told him nothing.” I left out every other detail for fear of what she’d do to her laptop and every other breakable thing in the office.
Her eyes narrowed. “Watch yourself. Now that he knows you’re with Grayson, he’ll surely come sniffing around. It’s in his nature. Every moment in that man’s life is an exhausting game of chess. He always has to be one move ahead.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She gave me a look.
“Sorry.”
Her gaze flittered over to Poppy. “Go get my book.”
Poppy practically leapt to her feet before Houdining out the door.
“You know, there’s extra credit in this for you,” Quinn said, eyes still fixated on Harrison’s picture as he was mid-waltz with some woman.
“What do you mean?” I almost didn’t want to ask.
“Dirt. I’m sure he has some. And I’m sure as you work your magic and he falls for you, you could learn a lot about his employer. Maybe even write an expose?”
“Quinn…”
“Does Grayson know you work for me? The truth.”
My gaze dipped down. “No.”
“Good. I want you to keep it that way.”
“But don’t you think it’s wr—”
“You do want to be a journalist, don’t you?” she spoke over me. “This is a part of it. Learn what you can, and report back to me.”
I was grateful the moment Poppy reappeared in the doorway holding Quinn’s Holy Grail of topics.
“It’s time for this sucker to find a new home.”
“She doesn’t like the book staying in one place for too long,” Poppy whispered.
“Brinley,” Quinn said. “You seem to have your shit together again. Here.”
Brinley’s face paled as white as a ghost.
“Oh, go on. Take it. It doesn’t bite,” Quinn said, pushing it toward her.
“Quinn, I—”
“You’re going to take excellent care of it, right?” Quinn spoke over her, nodding slowly, puppeting Brinley to move with her.
Brinley followed the action, placing it carefully on her lap.
“Good.” She looked to me. “Soon, you’ll have your shot if you play your cards right. Now go on. Do what you’re paid to do.”
The Dick Wanderer
“I hate laundry days,” Poppy said from her seat on top of a washing machine.
I flipped the page to the magazine I was reading. An article on what to wear on a first date had me glued to the page. “It isn’t so bad,” I muttered, noting every word.
“Says the virgin.”
Lowering my magazine, I nudged her. Laughed when she pretended it was a hard shove and dramatically fell from where she was sitting. She reminded me so much of my youngest sister Hazel. She was always getting into trouble. Always playing pranks on us, blaming it on everyone else.
“You’re insane, you know that?” She couldn’t sit still. It was like every nerve in her body was on constant alert, in need of outlet.
“Hey,” she said with a mischievous whisper. “Want to see something really insane?”
“I’m not sure I should answer that.” I hopped off the washing machine.
She pulled me to the back of the laundry mat, then pointed to one of the dryers. “Bet you dinner you can’t fit in there.”
I shook my head, laughing. “You’re out of your mind.”
“I’m not!” She paused. “Okay, maybe just a little. Come on. Try it.”
“No way!”
“Fine. Bet me dinner I can’t.”
With an eye roll, I nodded, fancying her. Peering left, then right, she opened the door and proceeded to cram her small body inside the machine. It took a couple of attempts, but she fit right in. Even pulled the door toward her for good measure.
“Okay, Poppy. Get out before they see you and kick us out,” I hissed on a comical whisper.
I’d never been kicked out of somewhere before, and I surely didn’t want to start today.
Getting out seemed to be harder than getting in. I had to tug on her arms until her body finally gave way and plopped onto the ground like a tuna hauled over the edge of a boat.
We both fell, laughing so hard a Charlie horse formed in my abs as I gasped and sputtered for air. A giggling fit of hysterics, which was followed by a round of hiccups.
“You’re insufferable, Poppy Hayes.”
The raspy male voice pulled our attention from our tangled bodies on the floor. Snuffed away all laughter as I sat up, pulling my glasses off so I could clean them.
I didn’t miss the tension that coiled through Poppy’s shoulders at the mention of her name, despite her efforts to hide it. She was up on her feet in a matter of seconds, her laughter left somewhere on the ground, leaving me scrambling to catch up.
“Finley.”
Finley’s sure stance sank at the curt notes in her voice. He was tall and lean, and looked like he lived in a bar. A sleeve of tattoos covered his slender left arm. Down his right. A permanent five o’clock shadow shaded his jawline, and a tuft of curly black hair covered his head, unruly strands falling against his forehead. Black jeans hugged his thighs, ripped at the knees. The band of his Calvin Klein underwear stuck out, and a bare chest covered in the words Live Free spread across a washboard of abs.
“How have you been?” he asked, sincerity sloping the words.
I stayed behind them, watching as Poppy shoved her clothes from the dryer into the linen bag she brought with enough fervor to fill the room. “I’ve been fucking awesome, you know?” Emotion clung to her words. “That little stint of yours really kicked my ass into gear.” She paused, placing a hand on her hip as she faced him. “Who knew moving on would be such a piece of cake?”
I watched as a shadow spread across his features, regret swimming in his dark eyes. “Poppy, you know it meant nothing.”
He was reaching for her, but the movement was short-lived.
She stilled, glaring daggers at him. “It doesn’t matter to me. Okay?” Spinning on her heels, she said to me, “Hey, who was that guy I was telling you about?”
“Tate?” I said nervously, catching the pull of emotion that ripped across Finley’s face.
“Yeah.” She moved away from Finley. “Tate. We’ve already been on two dates. Two.” She shoved past him.
“Poppy, please—”
“Don’t you have somewhere to be? Another woman to play around with?”
His eyes darkened. “You’re being unfair.”
“And you’re being annoying. Leave! Okay? I was here first, and I don’t care if that sounds childish.”
He didn’t move.
Neither did she.
It was a stand-off. A testing of wills.
And then, her head dropped. “Just, please, Fin. Go.”
The agony on his face morphed into a pain so deep it almost transformed his features into something more beastly. He reached out for her one more time before dropping his arms and turning.
“Is he gone?” Poppy asked as I watched Finley’s form disappear out the door.
“Yeah.”
“Good.” She jammed quarters into the machine as if it were his face. “I can’t stand him. He’s always showing up in the
spots of the city he knows are mine. Always trying to apologize as if I care where his dick wanders to.” She snorted. “He’s a fucking dick wanderer, you know that?”
“Poppy…” I tried to follow her as she paced down the hall toward the soda machine.
“I mean, it’s not like it matters to me, you know,” she continued, now punishing the soda machine with her coins. “We were hardly dating. And now… now we’re definitely not. He can pork whomever he sees fit.”
I placed a hand on her shoulder, which seemed to pull her back to a reality she didn’t want any part of.
Her eyes were rimmed in red when she faced me, pressing her back against the machine. “He’s stupid, you know? Not even cute. Not even funny. Not even remotely romantic or hot. And definitely not sweet.”
“Maybe he’s just—”
“And I can have any guy, you know? Any guy.” She moved past me, the emotions warring on her face pulling at my heart. “He knows it, too.”
“What happened?”
She stilled, her back to me, palms flat against the folding table. “He took what little bit of my heart I had to give and stomped on it.”
“But I thought—”
“That I didn’t date?” Tears glossed her eyes when she finally looked at me. “I don’t. And he’s the exact reason why.”
When she wrapped her arms around my waist and pressed her face into my shoulder, I stiffened, but only for a second. I wasn’t prepared for the emotion she offered. Whenever my sisters cried over their broken hearts, I was never the one they ran to. Why would they when I didn’t have the first clue about what it meant to be heartbroken? I was always the body in the corner, watching as they leaned on each other. Offered advice to one another.
“Truthfully,” I said, brushing my hand through her hair like I’d seen my sisters do so often to each other, “I think he still cares about you, Poppy. Definitely regrets what happened. Whatever it was.”
She sniffled. “I bet he does.”
I pulled back. Cupped her cheek.
“I wasn’t honest with him,” she admitted, shame reddening her cheeks. “He told me he had feelings. Asked me if I wanted to be his girl. I was…” Her gaze fell. “I was a coward, Prim. I ran from what I felt.” Her eyes lifted, clarity pushing through the tears, “But then I realized I felt it, too. I wanted to be his girl. I went to his place the following morning to confess, only to find him walking another woman out of his apartment with the scent of a one-night stand wafting around him.”
“Oh, Poppy.” I pulled her into my arms again. Grateful for her friendship that trusted me enough to let me in.
“I’m a fuck up when it comes to love, Prim.” She made a watery attempt at a laugh. Sniffling. Wiping under her nose with the back of her hand. “Look at us. Two messes that found each other. A virgin when it comes to sex, and a virgin when it comes to relationships.”
I laughed with her, placing an arm around her shoulder. “Looks like we both have something to teach each other.”
She hopped onto the table, and I followed suit. A few quiet seconds settled between us. She pointed to the forgotten magazine and said, “Learn anything?”
A relieved smile passed between us. “Yeah. That Adam and Eve really screwed us when they decided to eat that fruit. Why do clothes have to be so complicated? Don’t show too much skin. Don’t show too little. Wear complementing colors, but nothing too bright. Black is too formal. Like… can’t I just wear jeans and a nice blouse? Nerves are already going to be on the table. Why go uncomfortable to something that’s already going to start out that way?”
She nudged her shoulder into mine. “What will you wear?”
I knew she meant when I’d finally accept the date with Grayson because, eventually, I’d have to.
“That’s why I have you, isn’t it?”
That made her smile. “Yep.”
The dryer buzzed. She hopped down.
“Saved by the buzz.”
We spent the rest of the time folding and talking about nothing in particular. When it came time to leave, our stomachs grumbled in unison. Wrapping my headphones around my neck, I followed her out into the city, sweet notes of an acoustic guitar flittering up through the speakers.
“I could really go for a slice of pizza. Something greasy and bad for you,” she said as we headed down the sidewalk toward our apartments.
“Mmm… pizza.” I pointed to my socks, sporting the beloved slice of heaven, which was hidden beneath my jeans.
“Wow.”
We stopped at the crosswalk. “I know, right?”
My eyes were still trained on my socks, a smile worming across my face, when I realized there was a white arrow beneath my feet pointing forward. A strange tingling stirred in my stomach.
When I glanced up, there he was, helping an elderly woman cross the street. Poppy started across the crosswalk, then stopped when she realized I wasn’t following. Her gaze followed mine, landing on him.
“Well, well. If it isn’t Grayson Pierce.” I instantly feared the devilish smirk on her features.
Grayson helped the elderly woman onto the sidewalk before spinning in Poppy’s direction. “Poppy?”
Wait… they knew each other?
A coy smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “I didn’t know you had a thing for the elderly.”
“You should try it sometime. I find it’s… rewarding.” His eyes moved to mine, as if pulled in my direction. I didn’t miss the way they lit up. “Prim?”
“Hey, Grayson,” I all but stuttered. I was too busy trying to piece together what I was missing to worry about using my words.
“Wait,” Grayson said, his gaze pinging between Poppy and me. “You two know each other?”
I said no at the same time as Poppy said yes.
Grayson’s grin shifted into confusion.
“We met at the laundry mat,” Poppy quickly lied. “A while back. We started a buddy system. Safety in numbers. You never can be too careful in the city, can you?” she finished with nervous laughter.
He looked at her strangely, then fastened his attention on me. Closed the space between us, sucking what little air I was able to breathe. “How are you?”
“I’m good,” I said, shifting my weight. Trying to keep my balance under the beauty of his smile. “You?”
“Better now.”
I hid my smile.
“Wait… you know Grayson?” Poppy’s voice was riddled with artificial shock.
“I could ask you the same,” I slung at her with a little more bite than I intended. I didn’t like she’d never mentioned knowing him. Was she another one of his conquests? Was he hers? I couldn’t explain the bitterness that flooded my taste buds. So what if they had hooked up? Who was I to judge? I turned my focus on Grayson, wanting to see his face when I asked, “And how is it you two know each other?”
“A guy she used to…” He paused. “Well, he’s my roommate.”
“Finley,” Poppy said.
Everything I needed to know was delivered in that one name. The bitterness retreated, overtaken by shame for even doubting her.
“So he’s still shacking up with you?”
If he heard her, he chose not to answer. “Where you headed?”
“Back to Poppy’s. We were going to get pizza and watch a movie.”
He peered over his shoulder, then shifted a little more so he could block Poppy from my gaze. “Listen, I know you have plans, but what about later? Maybe we could meet up and grab a drink or something?”
I shot a panicked look past him to Poppy, giving her the what-the-hell-do-I-do glance. “I… uh…”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake. Go!” Poppy said. “I’m a big girl. I can walk myself home.”
“You sure?”
After taking my bag of laundry, she shooed me on with her hands, then crossed the street, not giving me any other option.
“You’re really friends with her?” he asked as we watched her form shrink in the distance. Confu
sion dotted along his eyebrows.
“You ask like it’s a bad thing.”
He gave a sort of uncomfortable snort. “It’s Poppy. I mean… the same woman who almost got arrested for streaking around my building after losing a bet with Fin. She has no boundaries. She’s impulsive. You’re like opposite ends of the spectrum.”
A prickly sensation roused beneath my skin, heat stinging my cheeks. “Honestly, she’s the first true friend I’ve ever had. There’s a lot beneath what she projects.”
He snorted.
I spun on him. “I’m serious, Grayson. Love doesn’t come easy to everyone.”
“So you know about her and Fin?”
“Enough to say you shouldn’t be one to judge considering.”
I let his history say the rest for me.
His hand covered his chest as if I wounded him. “Ouch.”
A slew of silence wedged between us, the gaps filled by the song of New York City. He looked away, chewing on what I’d said. A shadow brewed in his gaze.
Though I might have made things awkward, I didn’t regret what I’d said. It was one thing to judge, but entirely another when he lived in a glass house. When it came to friendship, I defended it like a knight defended a king. Poppy might have been a lot of things, but deep down in her core, she was the purest soul I’d ever met, and I’d have her back through anything.
Even this.
I folded my arms across my chest, suddenly wishing I’d just gone with her. This was all wrong.
“You know… women typically tell me what they think it is I want to hear. Not you, though. You’ve given it to me straight. I respect that.” He pulled me to the side when a hoard of people came down the sidewalk carrying signs picketing President Trump. “And maybe I was being a little callous. I liked Poppy. She was fun to have around. It’s just… when it comes to someone I care about, then I tend to get a little overprotective.”
I caught his gaze, hooked by his words. Overprotective. Yes. That’s how I felt. I wanted to protect Poppy from the hurt. Protect her reputation. Anyone who couldn’t see how magnificent she was could take a hike.
And he was the same way toward Fin.
I reached for his hand. Felt the sweet burn of heat beneath my palm when his eyes met mine.
Virginal Headlines: Love Between The Headlines Page 9