IT’S LATE. I DON’T know how late, but if I took a look at my phone, I’d bet on it being two or three in the morning. Poppy sways side to side next to me as we make our way back toward our cabins. I think it’s safe to say she had a little too much to drink. While some guys might find that unattractive, she’s a fucking adorable drunk.
If her giggles and hiccups weren’t enough, the way she keeps looking at me certainly is. Almost the way she used to look at me when we were younger.
“Careful there.” I tuck her tighter into my side when she trips on her own flip flop and stumbles forward.
“Careful, smareful,” she slurs, laughing at herself.
I slow to a stop at the bottom of the front porch steps that lead to Poppy’s cabin.
“Well, here we are.” I turn, tugging her into my chest.
“Are you hugging me?” Her voice vibrates against my chest.
“Is that okay?” I whisper into her hair, taking a deep inhale of her sweet scent.
“As long as that’s all you plan on doing,” she murmurs, pulling her head back to look up at me.
“You know, eventually I am going to have to touch you in front of people.”
“You were touching me tonight.” She taps my nose playfully.
“Not the kind of touching I’m talking about.”
“I am not having sex with you, Callum.” She hiccups.
“Pretty sure no one said anything about sex. I was more talking about kissing.”
“You want to kiss me?” She draws back.
“Want has nothing to do with it. No one is going to believe we’re together if we don’t show a little PDA.”
“So you don’t want to kiss me?” She pouts out her bottom lip, and it takes everything in me not to lean forward and suck it into my mouth.
No matter what the circumstances are, the fact still remains that I am a guy, and Poppy Harris is a very attractive woman. I’d have to be blind not to be tempted.
“I never said that.” I chuckle. “I simply said want has nothing to do with it. Doesn’t matter if I want to kiss you or not, it will be happening. So the sooner you wrap that pretty little head of yours around that fact, the sooner we can move forward.”
“Hey, bitches.” We both startle at the sound, Camila and Tripp coming into view moments later.
“Where the fuck have you been?” Poppy slurs, shrugging out of my embrace to turn toward her friend.
“We went down to the water. You guys should have come down. There are tons of people down there.”
“Is April still down there?” Poppy asks.
“April went to bed like an hour ago.” I lean in to tell her. “Remember, she came and hugged you goodnight.”
“Oh, yeah!” she says way too loudly, laughing at herself.
“Um, how much did she have to drink?” Camila asks me directly.
“Apparently more than she can handle.” I chuckle.
“Ya think? Lord.” She steps up next to Poppy and grabs her hand. “Come on, girl. Let’s get your ass to bed.”
“But wait.” Poppy hesitates on the bottom step before turning back to me.
One second she’s on the step, the next she’s in my arms, hugging me tightly.
“Thank you for tonight,” she whispers against my neck.
I don’t respond. I simply wait for her to pull back before laying a light kiss to her cheek.
“Goodnight, Poppy.”
“Night.” She smiles wide before turning back toward Camila, the two disappearing inside moments later.
“Well, well, well.” Tripp squeezes my shoulder.
“What?” I shake off his grip and swivel on my heel, turning toward our cabin.
“So, is it official?”
“Is what official?” I ask, climbing the stairs.
“You and Poppy.”
“Yeah, I guess it is,” I confirm, knowing that by this time tomorrow the entire school will know. If you want something out there, Tripp is your guy. I think it’s about time I used his big mouth to my advantage.
CHAPTER SEVEN
POPPY
“UGH.” I GROAN, ROLLING onto my back.
My head feels like it’s being hit from the inside with a sledge hammer. My throat and mouth feel like sticky sandpaper. And I can physically feel my stomach turning on itself.
“What the hell did I do last night?” I ask aloud, forgetting that I’m sharing a cabin with two other people.
“Well, let’s see.”
My eyes pop open to see Camila, fresh out of the shower, leaning against the doorframe of the bathroom door with a toothbrush hanging out of her mouth. She turns to spit the toothpaste into the sink, rinsing out the bristles before finally continuing.
“You drank like a fish. Grinded on Callum on the dance floor like you were trying out for a job as a stripper. And puked all over my favorite flip flops as I was trying to help you to bed.”
“Oh god.” I cover my face with my arm. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t apologize to me. I’ve seen worse. You might want to apologize to April though. When she said she was going to bed last night, apparently she did not mean alone.”
“What?” I throw my arm back and prop my head up.
“Her and Brock were in the middle of you know what when you started yacking your guts out all over the floor.”
“Oh my god.” My face heats in embarrassment. “Where is she?”
“She ran to that little tackle shop down the road to get coffee. I think she figured you’d need one this morning. I told her she could take your car. Hope that’s okay.”
“Of course.” I nod, flopping back down on my pillow. “God, why did I drink so much?”
“You were having fun. You know, that is allowed.”
“Well, I’m paying for it today.”
“Suck it up, buttercup. You need to get it together. We’re meeting the guys down by the lake in thirty.”
“Wait. What?” I croak, feeling like there’s no way I’m going to be able to pull myself out of bed anytime soon.
“You don’t remember? It was your idea.”
“Never let me drink again.”
“You say that every time you drink.” She laughs.
“I mean it this time.”
“Sure you do.” She pours a shot of mouthwash into the cap and tips her head back, emptying it into her mouth. She swishes the liquid around a few times then spits it out, wiping her lips on a hand towel as she turns back to me. “Now get your ass up.”
“I don’t wanna,” I whine.
“Well too bad. I’m not going to let your hangover prevent me from spending a day in the sun with a certain hot football player.”
“Speaking of which.” I force myself upward. “You and Tripp?” I arc a brow.
“It’s your fault,” she tells me, smiling as she slides on a sheer cover-up over the top of her bright yellow bikini. The color looks amazing on her brown skin.
“My fault?” I stand, having to grab the railing of the steps leading to the upper bunk to steady myself. Jesus, I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck.