She raises her bottle in a toast before sipping it, which makes me chuckle.
The four of us talk about how midterms went. A half-hour later, the front door opens, and Anna walks in with her suitcase. We all say hi. She and Poppy hug.
“I’m so glad I’m not the only girl here,” Anna jokes.
“Me too,” Poppy says. “How did your last test go?”
“Fine, other than the fact that it was scheduled at four, which meant by the time I finished and grabbed my stuff from my apartment, I hit rush hour traffic on my way out of the city,” she says.
The two of them sit down on the couch to visit. Leo takes one of the pizzas out of the oven and slices it up. We’re all chowing down in the living room when Travis walks in.
“You finally made it,” I say, standing up to greet him.
“My last final was at four-thirty. It sucked,” he mutters.
I hand him a beer can. Blake offers him a plate of pizza. He sits down in the armchair next to the couch and inhales a single slice. I catch Anna wrinkling her nose at him in disgust.
“Let’s toast,” Blake says, holding up his can of beer. “To finishing midterms and spending the next few days having fun in the mountains.”
We all cheer and toast with our drinks.
“And to the massive hot tub on the back deck,” Leo says.
“I can’t wait to get into it,” Poppy says.
“I can’t wait to see you wearing a tiny bikini, all wet,” I whisper into her ear so no one else can hear.
She fights a smile. “Behave yourself,” she says softly.
“Sorry, wild girl. I can’t help but go crazy when I’m around you.”
She rolls her eyes, but I don’t miss the way her smile turns giddy.
We finish dinner, then take our suitcases to the room we’re staying in.
“Who’s ready for the hot tub?” Leo hollers from the living room.
“Me!” I shout.
Poppy unzips her suitcase. I close the bedroom door and pull my swim trunks out of my bag. Then I plop down on the edge of the bed, lean back on my elbows, and look at Poppy.
“What are you doing?” she asks.
“Watching my girlfriend change into her swimsuit.”
She tilts her head at me. “Seriously?”
“Hell yeah. I have a front row seat right here.”
I lick my lips, and she shoves my shoulder.
“You’re shameless,” she says with a laugh.
“Damn right I am. Now lose the clothes.”
She rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling. “So bossy.”
She slips off her sweater and tosses it on the ground. My gaze fixes on the light blue lacy bra she’s wearing, how it barely contains her gorgeous breasts.
