I blink twice, three times, my mouth opening and closing. I didn’t think Jett noticed me at all. It’s not like he everasked. We’ve always been like parallel lines, existing in the same space but never getting close.
“Tell you what. Go get comfy on the couch and I’ll make you a tea. I won’t even make you talk to me if you need some quiet time to rest,” he says.
That sounds perfect, and the last bit of tension leaves my shoulders, my mouth lifting into a soft smile.
“Okay.”
I head over to the large, plush couch. I let myself flop down and draw my knees up to my chest. When I pull out my phone, there’s a text from Wren. Actually, there’s a string of them, and a missed call. I haven’t looked at my phone since before the event.
WREN
Your solution is JETT??!!
POPPY
ANSWER YOUR PHONE
Hudson SAW YOU TWO ON TV and I said I won’t believe it until you confirm it.
I start typing out a response but delete it multiple times before deciding this can’t be a text conversation. Any explanation for our current situation sounds absolutelyabsurdwhen I see it written out.
I’ll call you later and explain everything. Could you go and feed Cordelia for me? I won’t make it home tonight. XO
Jett walks over to the living room with a steaming cup of tea, so I quickly hit send and tuck my phone beside me onthe couch. I take the mug from Jett, and cup it with both hands, taking a long inhale of the earthy, floral scent.
Outside, the big fluffy snowflakes have turned into a swirling blizzard, and although a part of me wishes I was home with Cordelia, the other part thinks this might not be all that bad.
CHAPTER 12
JETT
“It’s probably not asgood as you make,” I say as Poppy takes the first sip of her tea.
She’s all curled up in the corner of the couch. Her hair is messy from being in her toque all day. But she looks cute in her leggings and oversized sweatshirt, her wool socks pulled up on her slender calves.
“It’s great,” she answers.
I turn around to the basket on the other side of the living room and reach for a blanket to cover her up with. Then, I find my beer and switch on the gas fireplace before sitting down next to her.
I don’t say anything, because I can tell that Poppy is tired, and I’m very aware that this situation is bizarre.
Her, having to stay here, the fact that in public we’re supposed to act like a couple, but behind closed doors, she’s still just Poppy to me. She was like a pesky little sister a lot of the time. That’s how Hudson and the rest of my brothers saw her, anyways.
Poppy is sitting opposite me with her feet tucked upunderneath her, the blanket covering her lap. She cups the mug I gave her in both hands, and I watch her bring it to her lips. Those soft, plush lips that I wanted so badly to press mine into earlier.
It would have been so easy to lean down and put my mouth on hers after my run today. But I couldn’t stop thinking about it being Poppy’s first kiss.
“What’s it like?” Poppy asks me, lowering her mug back down into her lap. “Going off those big jumps? Isn’t it terrifying?”
I weigh her words for a moment.
Mostly, I get a rush that feels like a high. Pure, unfiltered adrenaline. Everything in my field of vision is high definition, colours are more saturated. I’m more aware of everything around me and within me, even the blood coursing through my veins. But ever since last year…
“It is a bit terrifying,” I admit.
I’ve never said that I’m scared out loud before. I’ve always put on a cocky, arrogant persona, but truthfully? I don’t feel as invincible as I once did. I’m one trick closer to retirement every competition, every jump I take where my knee screams at me on landing.
“Ever since I hurt myself last year, I think that every jump could be my last. I came so close to never being able to ski again and I’m very aware that it could all be taken away with one bad choice on the hill. One bad landing could be the end of my career.”
