The server walks over and asks if Poppy wants anything. She orders a club sandwich. I order a piece of coconut cream pie.
“Okay, so, the rules,” Poppy says. “No PDA.”
I shake my head. “That’s not gonna work for me.”
She frowns.
“Poppy, I’m an affectionate guy. When I’m out with a girl, I’m all over them. No one’s going to believe I’m with you if I never touch you.”
Worry flashes through her hazel eyes. And that’s when I realize just how insensitive I’m being. She probably thinks I’m going to use our fake relationship as an excuse to grope her. My stomach churns.
“I don’t want to do anything that makes you uncomfortable,” I say, softening my tone. “What makes you comfortable? What do you like to do with your partner when you’re in a relationship?”
“I like holding hands,” she says shyly.
I smile at the sweetness in her voice. “I like that too. So you’d be okay with me holding your hand when we’re in public together?”
She nods, looking more relaxed.
“What else do you like?” I ask.
She glances off to the side like she’s thinking hard. “Kisses on the cheek are nice.”
“You sure? You stiffened when I kissed you on the cheek a minute ago.”
“That’s because I was caught off guard. But now that we both agree, I’m fine with you kissing me on the cheek. Just no kisses on the mouth.”
“Okay. You can kiss me on the cheek too, whenever you feel like it.”
A soft smile plays on her lips. “We’ll see.”
“Hugs okay?”
“Yeah, I like hugs.”
I nod once. “Hugs, holding hands, and kisses on the cheek. That sounds good to me. You?”
She nods, then clears her throat. “Look, I know that you’re someone who hooks up a lot. And I don’t mean to tell you what to do, but if we want to be a convincing couple, you can’t hook up with anyone while we’re fake dating.”
“I know.”
She blinks at me. “You’re okay with that?”
“Yeah. I mean, I’m gonna be busy this semester studying a lot. I need to get my grades up if I want to keep my spot on the team. And now that you’re my tutor, I’m guessing you’re going to be giving me a lot of work. I won’t have time for hooking up.”
“Okay, yeah, you’re right. And I won’t be hooking up with anyone either, in case you were wondering.”
I smile. “I figured that. So how often should we get together?”
“I was thinking we could meet twice a week for tutor sessions.”
I shake my head. “I mean, yeah, I’m good with that for tutoring, but outside of that. We need to be seen in public as a couple going out on dates.”
“Oh. Right.”
The server drops off our food. We thank her, and I dig into my pie while Poppy takes a small bite of her sandwich. She’s barely three bites in by the time I finish.
Her eyes go wide, staring at my empty plate. “Wow. You eat really fast. That was a huge slice of pie.”
