Regret swam inside his eyes. “Poppy. It was … it was a stupid mistake.”
He was reaching for her, but the movement was short-lived.
She stilled, glaring daggers at him. “It doesn’t matter. Okay?” Spinning on her heels, she said to me, “Hey, who was that guy I was telling you about?”
Guy? There’s no guy.
“Um …”
Her eyes widened, urging me to think of someone. Anyone. I couldn’t let her down.
I looked over at the magazine I’d been reading, to the guy on the cover—Channing Tatum. “Oh, yeah. I remember now. Tate.” The lie tasted acrid on my tongue.
I caught the tail end of emotion that ripped across Finley’s face and felt a rush of heat press behind my skin.
“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.” She eyed him. “You don’t even have laundry with you, so you … you can’t be here. Go on. Leave.”
He didn’t move.
Neither did she.
It was a standoff. 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 arm 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.”
“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,” 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. 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.” She turned and wrapped her arms around my waist. Pressed her face into my shoulder.
I stiffened but only for a second.
I brushed 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.
“It’s been almost a year since it ended. Eleven months and twenty-two days, to be exact.” She grunted. “Why am I keeping count? Why do I unwind in his presence like some lovesick fool? I’m a fuckup 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 matters of the heart.”
I laughed with her, placing an arm around her shoulders. “We’re just figuring things out.”
She hopped onto the table, and I followed suit. I didn’t want to push her to expand more. I could tell the wound was fresh. Possibly as fresh as the day it’d happened. She was still in love with him—that much was obvious. And for him, it had all been there in his eyes. He loved her too.
Why did they fight it? It was a question I couldn’t answer because I, myself, was only just beginning to understand how complicated a heart could be.
We were silent for a few seconds, digesting it all.
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 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 hummed behind us. 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 as the sweet notes of an acoustic guitar flittered 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, hidden beneath the cuff of my jeans.
“Wow.”
We stopped at the crosswalk.
“I know, right?”
My eyes were still trained on my socks when I realized there was a white arrow beneath my feet. Every inch of my flesh began to tingle, illuminating my senses.
When I glanced up, there he was. Grayson was helping an elderly woman navigate through the crowd of people crossing the street. I couldn’t explain it—the cosmic pull that seemed to burst behind my skin, crashing like comets into the very center of me. I felt the universe in that moment, felt him and all that we could be. All that I wasn’t sure would be.
Poppy started across the crosswalk and then stopped mid-step when she realized I wasn’t behind her.
She turned her attention to what I was focused on and then her lips formed into an O.
Grayson helped the elderly woman onto the sidewalk and grinned when she patted him on the cheek.
“If only there were more gentlemen like you,” she said before tottering off down the sidewalk.
“Well, well. If it isn’t Grayson Pierce,” Poppy said, hands on her hips.
I instantly feared the devilish smirk on her features.
“Poppy?”
My thoughts and nerves skidded to a screeching halt. Wait … they know each other?
A coy smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “Still trying to iron out that bad-boy reputation, I see. Using the elderly …” She brought her fingers up together in an okay symbol. “Classic.”
“And I see you’re still the queen of assumptions,” he said with a smirk. His eyes moved to mine, as if pulled in my dir
ection, the hazel color brightening to a warm amber. “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?”
“Well, I, uh—”
“Yeah,” Poppy quickly said, moving a step in front of me. “We met at the Laundromat a while back. We started a buddy system. Safety in numbers.”
I suddenly felt hot, like the sun was pressing against my skin even though it was cloudy overhead. Poppy gave me a look that I saw out of the corner of my eye, urging me to say something.
“She only lives a few blocks from me.”
“Convenient, right?” Poppy threw in.
“It’s just good to know you aren’t alone because she’s right; the city can be dangerous.” He 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. “You?”
“Better now.”
I hid my smile.
“Hold up … 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’d intended.
I didn’t like that 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. The acrid heat that twisted in my belly. All this time, I’d opened up to her. Let her in, in ways I never even let my sisters in.
Is it all a game to her?
I turned my focus on Grayson, wanting to see his face when I asked, “How did you two meet?”
“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. Of course she wouldn’t have brought it up because to bring it up would have meant opening the ugly wound named Finley.
Dig a hole and toss me in. I was awful. The worst.
Poppy cleared her throat, straightening her shoulders. “You just missed him. He decided to pay me a surprise visit. Do me a favor,” she said, a heavy hand planted on her hip. “Tell him to stop coming around my parts of the city.”
“Poppy, you know I can’t.”
She didn’t say a word. Just stared him down enough to make him squirm a little.
“All right,” Grayson said, rubbing a hand across the back of his neck. “I’ll talk to him.”
“Good.”
He shifted his attention back to me. “Where are you headed?”
“Back to Poppy’s. We’re going to get pizza and watch a movie.”
He peered past his shoulder and then shifted a little more. “That’s cool. What about later? Maybe we could meet up and grab a drink or something?”
“Why not now?” Poppy encouraged.
I shot a panicked look past him to Poppy, giving her the what the hell do I do glance. I didn’t want to bail on Poppy. Not after what had just happened at the Laundromat. “I, uh …”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake. Go!” she 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 and 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. Confusion 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 had. There’s more to her than what she projects.”
He snorted and my temper flared to life. Roused from its cave it hardly ever left. “Love doesn’t come easy to everyone. You, of all people, should understand.”
His hand covered his chest as if I’d wounded him. “Ouch.”
Silence wedged between us, the gaps filled by the clattering song of New York City. He looked at me with a confusing mixture of intrigue and contrition. Was this the first time anyone had ever stood up to him? Called him out?
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 gone with her. This was all wrong.
“Women typically tell me what they think I want to hear,” he said, his voice taking on a thoughtful tone. “Not you though. You’ve given it to me straight. I respect that.” He pulled me to the side when a horde of people came down the sidewalk, carrying signs picketing President Trump. “And maybe I was being a little callous. I do like Poppy. She was fun to have around. It’s just … when it comes to someone I care about, I tend to get a little overprotective.”
I looked up at him, hooked by his words. Overprotective. Yes, that was 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.
He let out a sigh that seemed to melt away all the momentary tension. “Can we start over? This is serendipity after all. I don’t want to waste it on something that once was. Something that has nothing to do with us.”
Us. Plural. Him and me. Such a glorious pronoun I’d never paid any mind to. Overlooked and underrated. But hearing it from his lips gave it a power. It tethered us together.
And for the first time in my life, I realized I didn’t want to be just a me anymore.
Not when we could be an us.
I squeezed his hand. Painted a smile across my lips. “Let’s go.”
Crash into Me
Grayson
I’D BEEN CAUGHT OFF GUARD when I bumped into Poppy.
It had been almost a year since I last saw her. Since she showed up to my place when Fin was at work to pick up her things. She’d been a wreck, plowing through the apartment like a mad bull. I remembered following her around, carrying the box she’d angrily tossed items into, only to find myself on the couch, awkwardly hugging her while she’d cried it out. Which had then resulted in her threatening my life if I ever told anyone.
Though Prim had compared Poppy and me when it came to love, there was one major difference between our stories. I never had to struggle with admitting anything to myself because I never had anything even remotely close to what Fin and Poppy had. She’d been one moving truck away from living with us. They had been inseparable. Always laughing. Always playing.
She was the only woman I’d ever known who had the ability to steal the snark right out of Fin’s mouth.
I hadn’t understood when she rejected his offer. Or when he’d called up the first girl he found that night, so he could erase his hurt. The truth was, I’d always envied what they had. I’d never met a girl who twisted me inside out the way Poppy had done to Fin.
Well, not until Prim.
We headed downtown toward a taco joint. Since I’d learned of Prim’s love for tacos, I knew the first chance I had, I’d bring her to this place. It was all the rage. Lines wrapped down the sidewalk just to get a taste. Luckily, it was still early, so the rush had yet to come.
My phone buzzed in my pocket when we approached the restaurant. I pulled
it out and peered at the screen. It was from Gwen.
Harrison’s asking for you. Should I tell him you’re on the way?
I glanced back at Prim, who had stopped to drop a few dollars into the open guitar case of a musician playing. Now that we were together, I couldn’t let her go. Couldn’t pass on the opportunity fate had dropped yet again in our hands.
At that thought, a smile tore at the corners of my mouth.
Look at me … being all sentimental and shit.
No. Tell him …
I paused, trying to think of something suitable. Believable.
I’m in the middle of an interview for a new piece and that I’ll call him later.
It was a partial lie. Though I wasn’t in the middle of an interview, I had met with a clothing line rep earlier. I’d been on my way to the office to work on the post when I bumped into Prim.
“Everything okay?” Prim asked when I moved in beside her.
“Yeah. Just wrapping something up at work.”
Her headphones hung from her neck. A bright yellow among the gray of New York.
I pointed to them. “What were you listening to?”
She took them from around her neck and then placed them over my ears. The soft strings of a guitar played as a man’s voice crooned eclectic notes. “Dave Matthews Band. They’re my favorite. You?”
I placed the headphones back around her neck. “I’m a little of everything kind of guy.”
“When I was younger, I was obsessed. Ugh, his voice. It was everything. I mean, it still is, but boy, could he really reach down into me.”
“I was big on Less Than Jake. You ever heard of them?”
“I don’t think so.”
I pulled the door open, the spicy scent of meat and corn flooding the air. Her eyes were closed as she took in a large, sated inhale.
I grinned. “After you.” She crossed the threshold and then I grabbed a menu and handed it to her. “They’re a ska band. Less Than Jake, I mean.”
Love in the Headlines: A Star-Crossed Friends-To-Lovers Romance (Love in the Headlines Series Book 1) Page 10