“Why do you think I’m always going to get arrested?”
“Your track record, bud. When you get around Poppy, shit happens. Bad shit. Shit that gets you thrown in jail. You’re already on thin ice, aren’t you?”
I shrug. “Sort of, I guess. My parole officer said if I do one more thing to fuck up, I’m gone. I’m not exactly sure how I feel about it.”
“You should feel scared… maybe even terrified. I could go on.”
“I’m not scared of prison, Rich. Quite the opposite.”
He rolls his eyes. “It’s your home away from home. Just promise me you won’t do anything stupid tomorrow night. I don’t want to have to pay for this place on my own.”
“You have absolutely nothing to worry about, Rich. Tomorrow night, I’ll be on my best behavior… I promise.”
The sad part was, we both knew I was lying straight through my teeth.
Poppy Kiplinger brings out the best and the absolute worst in me, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Chapter Nine
Poppy
I can’t believe I agreed to this bullshit.
Not only am I stuck sitting across from Amber and Eddie while they pretend to be in fake relationship bliss, but they brought Wesley along, and he hasn’t shut up since we got here.
Eddie hands Amber a drink from the bar, then slides another in front of me, which I guzzle so fast it makes my head spin. “Thanks,” I mutter.
Wesley grins, watching me with deep fascination as I swirl the empty glass between my fingers, making sure to note all the exits in the building so I can slink out of here undetected.
“Damn, I’m gonna need another,” I announce, throwing a glance Wesley’s way, hoping he catches on that I want him to leave so I can catch a breath.
For some reason, when Wesley’s near me, it feels like suffocation, like at any minute I’m going to stop breathing on my own.
“I’ll get it for you!” Wesley jumps up from his seat so eagerly he nearly face plants on the step beneath us. To my dismay, he doesn’t trip, and that famous smile of his is thrown my way, teeth glittering in the neon lights, that slight dimple dotting hischeek. It’s exhausting how good looking he is. “Wait right here!” he adds, motioning to me like I’m some kind of wild animal that’s about to jump up and run away. It’s exactly what I want to do, but I don’t. I stay seated, my anger and absolute hatred for him building.
Amber gives me a sympathetic look. This was supposed to be a date with Rich, not Wesley.
“God, I thought he’d never leave,” I grumble, glaring at her like I’m contemplating all the ways I could murder her in her sleep tonight. “You owe me for this one, Amber, like really owe me.”
“I’m sorry!” she shouts, holding up her hands in surrender. “Eddie told me he was bringing Rich!”
Eddie laughs. “Like Wesley would let that happen. Why don’t you give the guy a chance, Poppy? You two look good together.”
The guy should stop smiling. If anyone’s getting murdered tonight, it’s going to be Eddie for fucking with my best friend, my sister, and God knows whoever else in this world.
“Why in the hell would I give a guy like him a chance for anything with me? In six months, I’ll be at Stanford working on my doctorate. Someone like Wesley would only hold me back. Could you imagine what my father would think? Me, his golden child, dating a two-time thug?” It’s an overexaggeration, but it’s the only defense mechanism I have to ward people off from the truth. About the home life nobody is ever privileged to see. I moved out of my parent’s house for a reason, and it’s not because they were strict… it’s because they don’t care, especially about me.
“He’s not a thug, Poppy. Has he made mistakes? Sure, we all have, but that doesn’t make him a bad person.”
“Hisrecordsays otherwise, Eddie.”
Eddie looks wounded. “Damn, I’d hate to hear what you think about me and Rich.”
Shrugging, I pick at my nails before firing off another blow. “Rich is tolerable. Mostly because he doesn’t speak.”
“Poppy!” Amber chastises. “Why are you being such a bitch right now?”
Eddie holds my gaze. He knows I know something, and he’s just waiting for me to spill his dirty little secret.
