Once dinner was ready, I pulled two plates out and handed her one, waiting for her to serve herself.
“You go first,” she said, stepping away from the counter and clutching the plate against her chest.
I shook my head and frowned.
“I don’t think so.Ladies first,” I replied, extending my hand as I did some weird bowing motion that she giggled at.
“Please, Pat.Just get your food.”
I took a deep breath and then let it out slowly, not wanting to pick a fight with her.
I stepped in front of her and began scooping some of the meatloaf out of the pan and setting it on the plate.Then I added some mashed potatoes and started to pour gravy, but stopped.
“Are you one of those people who like gravy on your meatloaf, or am I just weird?”I asked, looking at her over my shoulder.
“No,” she replied with a laugh.“I like it too.It makes the meatloaf taste better if it’s soaked in gravy.”
I nodded my head and grinned as I drenched the meatloaf and mashed potatoes in gravy.Once it looked like a decent-sized serving, I spun around and extended the plate to Poppy.
“What are you doing?”she asked with a nervous laugh.
“Serving you.”I raised my eyebrows at the plate in my hand and nodded for her to take it.
“Patrick Ray Hughes!That’s cheating!”Her beautiful blue eyes lit up as she tried not to laugh.
“You just middle named me,” I replied, clutching a hand to my chest as if she had wounded me as she took the plate and passed me the one she had been holding.
“You deserve it.That was a sneaky move.”
“Well, I wanted you to go first, but you refused.So, I had to improvise.”
“I shall remember this and get you back,” she teased as she set her plate down on the kitchen table and pulled out the chair.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d eaten at the table and not on the couch, but it seemed to be the thing Poppy and I did.It was really nice to sit down and focus on the conversation we were having, instead of relying on the TV for company.On rare occasions, my parents would come over, but most of the time, I would go to their condo.Aside from my niece, Daisy, no one else visited that often.I used to think I liked my solitude, but Poppy was making me question everything I thought I knew and wanted.
“Oh my God, this meatloaf is incredible,” Poppy said around a mouthful of food as she held her hand in front of her mouth and chewed.
“Thank you.I’m glad you like it.”
I lifted my fork and took a bite, nearly choking when Poppy closed her eyes and softly moaned as she chewed another bite.
Fuck.We hadn’t had sex since the first time the other day, but I had somehow managed to force the sounds out of my head in an effort to preserve my sanity as I tried to maintain a proper boundary with her.Hearing it now had my dick straining against my jeans as I remembered just how good she sounded when she loved something.I had done my best to stay away from Poppy so that my desire for her wouldn’t cloud my judgment when it came to keeping her safe, but this was pushing it.
I took a sip of water, hoping to wash down the food before Poppy realized my life was literally on the line because of her moaning.
When she opened her eyes and saw the look I was giving her, she blushed and nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
“Sorry.I umm...I sometimes get a little vocal when I’m enjoying something.”
“I remember,” I said softly, letting the weight of my words sit between us as I clenched my fork tightly so I didn’t do anything stupid, like lunge across the table and devour her.
“You know Gage is stupid, right?”she asked, setting her fork down as she leveled me with a look.
“Why do you say that?”
“Because he is.While I love him dearly because he’s my cousin, I think he’s stupid if he thinks he can stop whatever this is between us from happening.”
“It’s not just Gage,” I said, exhaling heavily.“My focus needs to be on you and helping you through whatever happens with the whole Dale thing.I can’t do that if I’m constantly fucking you—because we both know that we would be going at it nonstop if given the opportunity.”
