by Devney Perry
Since the game was always the third weekend in November, more often than not it was cold as fuck. These past few years, I’d skipped the chaos of the stadium and just watched the game at my parents’ house during their annual party, but this year, I was braving the cold with Poppy by my side so she could finish Jamie’s list.
Today, she was going crowd surfing.
“Damn, I wish I had a ticket,” Jimmy sighed. “I’d love to go up with her. Do you think she’ll get on TV?”
The glint in his eyes made me laugh. “I’m taping the game at my house just in case.”
Leaving Jimmy and Randall to bicker, I went to the register as a customer came up to pay. After ringing up the tab, I weaved around the tables, offering coffee refills.
I’d been pitching in at the restaurant lately. Whenever I was here, I did my best to help Poppy and Molly. I only tackled the little things, like filling coffee cups or waters. Cashing out tabs. Everything with the actual food I left for the actual employees. But helping with the minor tasks made me feel like a part of The Maysen Jar—something Poppy seemed to love just as much as I did.
When she came out of the kitchen and spotted me making a new pot of coffee, her smile made my heart skip.
Inside and out, Poppy was the most magnificent woman in the world. My life began the moment she’d walked into the dojo and captured my soul.
“Thanks.” She stood on her tiptoes, tray in hand, to kiss my cheek.
“No problem.”
She set down her tray and began unloading jars into the display case. “Would you do something for me?”
“In a heartbeat.” That always made her smile.
“Would you try the banana bread I just made? It’s in the kitchen. I added chocolate chips and I don’t know if I like it or not.”
“Why does he always get to try the new stuff?” Randall complained. “You should let some of us who will actually give you an honest opinion try it.”
Poppy stood and planted a hand on her hip. “He gives me his honest opinions.”
Randall rolled his eyes as Jimmy choked on his coffee.
Bastards. They were trying to get me in trouble.
Poppy’s mouth fell open as she looked to me. “You’ve been lying?”
“No way.” I held up my hands. “I always tell you the truth. I love your food.”
She gave Randall a smug grin. “See?”
“Can I just get the damn banana bread or what?”
“Make that two,” Jimmy ordered.
A young man next to Jimmy cleared his throat. “Sorry to interrupt.” The kid was probably only twenty and his eyes were trained on me. “Officer Goodman, um . . . I don’t suppose you remember me.”
I set down my coffee and stepped up to the counter, offering my hand. His face I recognized immediately, even though he’d grown up, but it took me a moment to recall his name. What the fuck was his name? Adam? Eric? “Isaac?”
“Yeah.” He grinned. “I didn’t mean to intrude, but I saw you and just wanted to say hello before I left. And to say thanks. What you did for me back then? Giving me a once?” He held up one finger like I’d done the night I’d given him his once. “I’ve never forgotten about you.”
I shrugged. “It was no big deal.”
“It was to me.” He held out his hand again. “Anyway, I’ll let you get back to your conversation. Nice to see you again.”
“Same to you.”
He nodded once more, then turned and left. Poppy’s, Jimmy’s and Randall’s eyes were on me, waiting for an explanation, but I stayed quiet and watched as Isaac left the restaurant.
When the door closed behind him, I picked up my coffee. “So, banana bread with chocolate chips? I’ll go get them.”
Before Jimmy and Randall could ask about Isaac, I ducked into the kitchen with Poppy right on my heels.
“What was that about?”
“Oh, nothing much. Just a kid who needed a break way back when.”
“Is that what a ‘once’ is? A break?”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “I had someone give me a once, and ever since, I’ve tried to pay it forward.”
“Oh,” she hummed. “Can you tell me about it?”
I didn’t like talking about how I’d nearly fucked up my life, but Poppy deserved to know. So I pulled out a stool from the table in the kitchen and took a seat, confessing something only a handful of people even knew.
“I always knew I wanted to be a cop. Ever since I was a kid. After high school, I wanted to go straight to the academy, but my parents wanted me to go to college and get my degree. Dad said that if I had my bachelor’s, it would help me move up the ranks on the force, so I agreed and enrolled at MSU. But I didn’t take it seriously. At least, not at first. I skipped too many classes and went to too many parties.”
Poppy took the stool next to mine. “Did you flunk out?”
I chuckled. “No, but I wasn’t pulling As, that’s for sure. But the partying got me in trouble. My freshman year, I went to a house party out of town. I had too much to drink but thought if I stayed on the back roads, I’d be fine. On my way back, I swerved to miss a deer, ran my truck into the ditch and got stuck in the snow.”
My stomach rolled when I thought about that night. I was lucky things hadn’t been worse. That I hadn’t hurt someone. That I hadn’t hurt myself. As it was, I hadn’t even wrecked my truck.
“The officer who found me could have taken me right to jail. She could have given me a DUI, and my future career as a cop would have been over. But she didn’t. She put her finger in my face and said, ‘This is your once.’ Then she drove me home, not to the dorms but to my parents’ house, and kept my truck keys for a month.”
“Were your parents pissed?”
“Worse,” I sighed. “They were disappointed.”
And from that night on, I’d tried to never disappoint them again. I’d gotten serious about school. I’d brought up my grades and kept myself out of trouble through graduation and into the academy. All because I’d been given a chance.
“So, you got a once and now you give them.”
I nodded. “If the situation calls for it. I respect the law and we have rules for a reason, but not everything is black and white. Some people, like Isaac, deserve a second chance.”
Poppy’s hand came to my face. “How’d I get so lucky to find you?”
“It’s the other way around, beautiful.”
She leaned forward, pressing her soft lips to mine as the kitchen door swung open.
“Kissing again?” Molly snickered.
“Always.” I wrapped my arms around Poppy’s waist, pulling her off her stool and between my legs to take her mouth. This time, there wasn’t a thing gentle or sweet about our kiss. This one was hot and deep—a kiss that left Poppy panting, Molly rolling her eyes and my dick hard behind my zipper.
“You’d better get me that banana bread,” I whispered. “Otherwise I’ll find something else to eat and we won’t be going to the football game.”
Poppy leaned in to my ear. “I’ll make you a deal. You taste the banana bread, and later I’ll do some tasting of my own.”
I groaned against her lips. I loved this woman.
And since I still wasn’t sure if I should say it, after the game, I’d show her just how much instead.
“What if they drop me?”
I kissed Poppy’s worried forehead. “They’re not going to drop you. If you feel like you’re starting to fall, just set your feet down.”
We were standing in a sea of people. Seventeen thousand Bobcat and Grizzly fans all had their eyes aimed on the football field, but I couldn’t look away from the beauty at my side.
After we’d left the restaurant, Poppy had pulled on a thick black beanie, and her hair was rolling over her shoulders in a loose cascade to her waist. Her nose was pink from the cold and she’d bundled up in her gray winter coat. Her jeans were tucked into a pair of black, knee-high snow boots.
She looked happy.
/> And I had the picture to prove it.
I’d taken a lot of pictures for Poppy these last few months—ones that she could count as her daily photo—but today’s was a favorite. It ranked just as high as the picture I’d taken a month ago of her and Nazboo cuddling together, asleep on my couch.
A cheer from the crowd snagged my attention away from Poppy. It was just a first down, but the Bobcats were getting closer to the end zone.
“The next time we score, I’ll hoist you up.”
“Okay,” she breathed.
We turned our attention back to the game and stood quietly as the kids around us cheered for the players and cursed at the refs. When we’d gotten to the game, I’d chosen to abandon our ticketed seats and squeeze into the jam-packed students’ section. It was wild and crazy—noisy as fuck and I had to stand sideways—but it was the best place for Poppy to do her thing.
Just as I’d suspected, it didn’t take long for the Bobcats to march down the remainder of the field and score a touchdown, sending the stadium into sheer pandemonium.
“Up you go!” I grabbed Poppy by the waist and hoisted her high.
The mass of fraternity guys in the rows behind us didn’t let me down. They kept her high, sending her up the rows as she laid back flat.
Crowd surfing like a badass.
I laughed and held up my phone, taking a few pictures as she went higher and higher. When she finally reached a group of people that set her down, I pushed past the students in my row to the aisle. Then I took the stairs two at a time, meeting her on the steps.
I stopped one step below her so we were almost at eye level, giving me the perfect view of those cornflower blues.
“Fun?” I asked.
“Yeah. It actually was.” She laughed and threw her arms around my shoulders.
I wrapped my arms around her tight, dragging in a few deep breaths of her hair. It smelled like vanilla and cinnamon mixed with the crisp air and everything Poppy.
“Thank you,” she said into my ear. “For everything.”
I let her go and leaned back.
The stadium was still deafening, but it was all just a dull buzz in the background when Poppy was in my arms. The cheers, the clapping, the whistles, it all just faded away.
There was only her.
I lifted a hand to her face. “Like I’ve told you, I’m glad to help you with the list.”
“No, I’m not talking about the list. This is about everything else. Because of you, I wake up smiling. I look forward to each and every day. Because of you,” she took my hand off her cheek and pressed it against her heart, “this only has happy beats.”
She held my hand against her chest as her bright blue eyes sparkled.
I loved this woman. I loved this woman so damn much it consumed me.
What the hell was my problem? Why was I holding back from telling her how I felt? Because I was scared that she was still in love with her husband? News flash, Cole. She would always have a special place in her heart for Jamie. That didn’t mean she couldn’t love me too.
He had her past.
I was taking her future.
I’d get to buy her another dog. I’d get to watch her have our babies. I’d get to dance with her at our golden anniversary. Because I was never letting her go.
As long as I lived, Poppy would be mine.
It had taken me a hell of a long time, but here in the deafening stadium, I finally got a clue. It was time to tell Poppy how much she meant to me—regardless of her response.
Behind us, the Bobcats kicker must have scored the extra point because the stadium erupted again. It was too loud for her to hear, so I mouthed my next three words. Three words that would only ever be hers.
I love you.
She smiled and mouthed, I love you too.
She loved me too.
Her lips had barely stopped moving when I crushed mine to hers. I thrust my tongue inside, devouring her mouth as she dueled right back. When I finally pulled away, her lips were wet and red and just how I liked them.
“Ma’am! Excuse me, sir!”
I tore my eyes away from Poppy’s as a man scurried to our sides. He was wearing a neon-green vest with SECURITY written on the breast pocket. “I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to ask you to leave, ma’am,” he told Poppy. “You can’t crowd surf in the stadium.”
“Sorry.” She giggled, grinning at me before turning to walk up the stairs.
I laughed too, which just pissed the security guard off, and followed behind Poppy. By the time we reached an exit gate, the sounds from the stadium had dulled and I could hear again.
“I guess we’ll be kind of early to your parents’ after-game party.”
I threw my arm around her shoulders, steering her toward the parking lot. “I’ve got an idea how we could kill a couple of hours.”
Her eyebrows quirked. “Oh, yeah?”
“Oh, yeah.”
Chapter Twenty-One
25th Birthday: Write a letter to myself in ten years
POPPY
“Cole,” I gasped, arching against his chest. I was on my side with him at my back. One of his arms was under my hip and his fingers were at my clit. The other hand was across my chest, rolling a nipple between his fingers. And while his lips were kissing my neck, his cock was thrusting inside.
“Come on, Poppy. Get there.” He rammed his hips against my ass, sending his cock even deeper.
My legs trembled as he stroked harder, hitting the spot inside that would send me over the edge. The thunder of his heartbeat against my spine matched the rhythm of his hips. Every nerve in my body was alive—Cole had sparked them all to life with his burning touch.
“I’m—”
My orgasm hit hard before I could give Cole a warning. All of the muscles in my body convulsed as my hips bucked with every pulse of my sex. I forced my eyes open, blinking away the white spots and tears dancing in my vision.
“Oh my god,” I panted as Cole slid out and rolled me to my back. When he slammed back inside, I nearly came undone again.
He pressed his hips hard against mine. “You feel so fucking good.”
I hummed my agreement, closing my eyes to savor the feel of Cole on top of me. He found a new pace in this position. One that never failed to work me back up to another blinding release.
“I’m there, beautiful.”
Speaking was impossible since I could barely breathe, so I just nodded and let go. Wave after wave rushed over my body. Incoherent whimpers escaped my lips at the same time Cole’s roar echoed through the bedroom. His hot release slickened between us as his strokes slowed.
As we both came down, Cole slid out and collapsed by my side. The comforter had long since fallen onto the floor and the sheets were balled up by the footboard.
“I fucking love vacation.”
I giggled and rolled into Cole’s side, tossing a leg over his. “Me too.”
He kissed my hair. “It was nice to see your parents, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little glad they’re gone. I missed you.”
“I missed you too.”
It was the week between Christmas and New Year’s and Cole and I were finally back together in his bed. My parents had come to Bozeman for a week, and rather than stay in a hotel, they’d stayed at my house. I hadn’t wanted to leave them alone since I rarely saw them, so I’d stayed there too while Cole had stayed at his place.
The unspoken boundary around my house had kept us apart for seven nights, but we’d dropped my parents off at the airport this morning and immediately come back to his house. With a trail of clothes leading from the door to the bedroom, we’d wasted no time making up for a week of nights apart.
And now we were having a mini-vacation.
We’d both taken two extra days off of work to spend together. Our plan was to barricade ourselves in Cole’s bedroom, other than going to dinner at Brad and Mia’s house. Since Cole had spent actual Christmas Day with me and my family, we were celebrating
with his family tonight. Cole’s sister, Evie, and her husband, Zack, would be there so we could all have a nice dinner and exchange gifts.
Then it was back to bed.
“What time do we need to leave?”
Cole looked at his alarm clock. “An hour.”
“Then I’d better get in the shower.”
His hand traveled down my hip to squeeze my bare ass. “Want some company?”
I smiled, loving Cole’s ambition. We’d already had sex three times today, but far be it from me to deny my man a shower.
“Yes, please.”
“So what did Cole get you for Christmas?” Evie asked.
“A whole new set of Williams Sonoma pots and pans for his kitchen.”
“Pots and pans? Oh, brother, no. You don’t buy your girlfriend cookware for your first Christmas together.”
I laughed. “Probably not most girlfriends, but for me, it was the perfect gift. His pots and pans were atrocious and all my good stuff is at the restaurant. Since I’ve laid claim to his kitchen for my recipe experiments, they were just what I wanted.”
She looked at me like I was crazy for not wanting jewelry. “What did you get him?”
“A tool chest for his garage. Your dad actually helped me pick it out.”
Cole had started searching for an old car to restore and I wanted him to be able to work in his own garage this time. That way, when I was in the kitchen with my new gear, he could be in the garage with his.
“Tools.” Evie shook her head. “You guys are the least romantic new couple on the planet.”
I smiled. “Maybe.” Or maybe not. If she had any idea what we’d been doing all day, she’d probably think differently.
But I kept that to myself and took a sip of beer.
Evie and I were sitting at the island in Brad and Mia’s kitchen. Mia had refused to let me help cook, so while Evie and I chatted, Mia was at the sink peeling potatoes. Cole, Brad and Zack had all gone to the basement—with Nazboo at their heels—to get more drinks from Brad’s wet bar.