“Again. Dumbass teenager.”
She lets a small smile break free.
“I was really nervous to talk to you, Poppy,” I say. “I’d hear you and Anna talk about your homework and projects. It was always way over my head. I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold my own in a conversation about school, so I stuck to the stuff that I knew. Joking around and hockey. And for the record, I liked it when you rolled your eyes at me. That’s how I knew I had your attention.”
Her smile grows, and she rolls her eyes. A quiet moment passes between us.
“You should have seen how nervous I was to ask you to prom,” I say, the heat of embarrassment crawling up my neck and cheeks. “I couldn’t sleep the night before. And I threw up that morning.”
Her smile fades, and her expression turns pained. “I thought it was a joke because you never tried to sit with me during lunch. But that day, you strolled into the lunch room and sat down across from me, all cocky and smiling. And after you asked me, you started laughing.”
“Because you didn’t say anything. You just stared at me and went quiet with this really serious look on your face,” I say. “I thought you were pissed, so I tried to save face by laughing and playing it off like a joke.”
Recognition flashes in her sparkling hazel eyes. “That’s why you laughed and walked off? Because you thought I rejected you?”
“Yeah.”
“Nick, I was quiet at first because I couldn’t believe you were asking me to prom. I didn’t think you liked me like that.”
“Oh…”
It all makes sense now. We misunderstood each other. And instead of talking it out, we handled it like typical teenagers—too nervous to have an honest conversation, so we both just shut down in our own ways.
Her shoulders hunch, and she looks down at her bare feet. “I couldn’t believe a guy like you would ever be interested in someone like me. You were the star athlete. You were popular and charming. Everyone knew you and wanted to hang out with you. I flew under the radar. I was a huge nerd. The things I liked—reading and watching documentaries and studying—weren’t very cool.”
“Hey.” Gently, I touch my fingers to her chin and tilt her face up to look at me. “You had the highest GPA in our wholeclass. You were the valedictorian. You were a million times more impressive than me.”
Her pretty mouth curves up in a soft smile. There’s a warmth in her eyes when she gazes at me that I haven’t seen before. It makes my heart do funny things in my chest.
Her smile turns sad. “You ended up taking that girl, Samantha, to prom, right?”
“Yeah, but it was a disaster. She ended up making out with her ex-boyfriend halfway through the dance.”
“Wait, really?”
“Yeah. I was pissed at first, but then Travis and I left with our teammates and went to a party at a hotel, and I realized I didn’t care about Samantha all that much, so I was fine.” I swipe a chunk of her hair out of her face. “You went with someone else, didn’t you?”
She nods. “Danny Breslin and I went as friends.”
“Right.” I remember seeing the two of them dancing together and feeling insanely jealous that he got to go with her.
“The way he looked at you on the dance floor was a little more than friendly,” I say.
Her brow lifts. “You remember the way he looked at me?”
“Of course I remember. I had a huge crush on you and some other guy was getting to touch you and hold you the whole night.”
I touch my fingertips to the hinge of her jaw, savoring how her skin feels like satin. “I still have a huge crush on you, Poppy.”
She’s quiet again.
“If you hadn’t walked off, I would have said yes,” she finally says.
“Really?”
She nods. “Yeah. I had a big crush on you, too.”
I just stare at her. “You’re kidding.”
