“Who’s that?”
I pinch the bridge of my nose as my sister gestures for me to open the door, raising her eyebrows at me questionably.
“Are you gonna answer that or sit there like a frozen woolly mammoth?”
I scoff at the analogy before staring at the door. I don’t have any other choice.
I pull it open.
Mae stands on my porch with a bunch of ingredients in her arms, and she strolls in. “I bought some stuff to make some carbonara, and then I was thinking we could stop by the shelter and take Radish for a—oh.”
She gazes at Poppy wide-eyed, and my sister’s mouth hangs open. She shuffles off her stool and laughs out loud. “So, she knows the code to your gate, huh?” A loud hum fills the room. “I see.”
“Poppy, it’s—”
“Don’t try and tell me it’s not what it looks like.” She’s grinning ear to ear. “Renee would have a meltdown if she knew about this.” My sister doubles over as she laughs, bracing her hands on her knees. “I had my suspicions, but I love this.”
Mae rolls her eyes and dumps the ingredients on the counter. “Poppy, okay, I’m not even going to try and deny it, but you seriously can’t tell anyone.”
My sister fake scoffs. “What do you take me for? My mother didn’t raise no snitch.”
“Right,” I say, bracing myself against the kitchen island. “I know you love gossip, but please keep this to yourself. I’ll buy you a new laptop for school if you promise not to say anything.”
“I can’t believe you’d even try and bribe me into silence, and just because you did, I’ll take that laptop as payment.”
I cock an eyebrow. I’ll buy her the most expensive one there is. “Done.”
I want nothing more than to announce to the world that Mae is mine, but then I’ll have to kiss the Missarali Storks goodbye. Those boys are my life. They keep me—mostly—sane. And if I’ve come this far just to fall at the last hurdle, I don’t know how I’ll feel.
I also know Mae doesn’t deserve to be thrown into the limelight. She doesn’t deserve to be part of some scandal. Not when she’s working so hard to find a vet practice that’ll take her.
Poppy shrugs on her coat. “Well, I should get going.” She shoots Mae a wink. “Please wait until I’m off the premises before you start fucking. As much as I love you both, it’s the last thing I want to hear.”
I release a strained chuckle and walk my sister out, making sure she is indeed off the premises before I throw Mae over my shoulder and onto my bed, sinking into her and making her come over and over again for me.
The way she smiles at me with adoration when I clean her up reminds me how much l love this. How much I want this.
But it’s always the things I want the most that I can’t have.
The girls have just finished practice, and we cross over as ours is about to begin. My father’s been calling me nonstop today, but I haven't picked up. I’m usually good at putting up with him, but with my head feeling as frazzled as it is, I don’t have the patience to deal with him today.
I should be excited about getting closer to the Super Bowl. But I know that one step towards it means another away from Mae.
She appears dead behind the eyes as I cross her in the tunnel. She tries to force a smile, but it doesn’t fool me. It’s the way she looks whenever she leaves practice with her mother.
Defeated.
She may get over it quickly, but I can’t help but feel infuriated with Renee Bexley. Her words hurt her daughter, and even though I know Mae’s learned to enjoy cheerleading now, her mother doesn’t make it easy for her.
I attempt to catch Mae’s gaze again, but Sophia’s already slung her arm over her shoulder and is asking if she’s okay.
Poppy catches my wrist as the others head to the locker room. “Renee was extra hard on her today. Said some things that were just plain nasty. Just so you know.”
My eyes shift to Renee straightening her tracksuit—because even the tiniest crease disgusts her—and I release a sigh of frustration.
“Thanks, Poppy.”
My protectiveness flourishes. No one is going to make Mae feel less than perfect, especially not her control freak of a mother.
