Broken ties, p.27
Broken Ties, page 27
“I’m fine.”
“You look nervous.”
“I’m fine.”
“It’s okay if you’re nervous.”
“Mom,” I snapped, “I’m not—”
Fuck.
I was.
I was nervous.
But I wasn’t just hanging out with Poppy tonight, I was taking her on a date.
Our first real date.
The first of many, I hoped.
Mom came closer and smoothed her hands over my shoulders, smiling at me in the mirror.
“Mom…” I tried to shake her off but she smiled.
“You know, I’ve waited a long time for this. Your first date.” She shook my shoulders gently. “And with Poppy no less.”
“You aren’t… worried?”
“Aaron, sweetheart. Love isn’t something you can control. It’s wild and boundless and it springs up in the most unlikely of places.” She turned me in her arms. “She’s your person, baby. The one your soul calls to.”
“Okay, Mom… you can drop the high school counselor routine.”
“Hey, that was my best mom routine.” She brushed the hair off my face and beamed at me. “So do I get to know your plans or are they top secret?”
“My lips are sealed.”
“Well, if you’re anything like your father, I’m sure it’ll be extremely romantic.” Her eyes twinkled. “He’s quite the—”
My cell phone vibrated indicating my ride was here.
“Okay, Mom.” I grabbed her shoulders and backed her up. “Good talk, but I need to go.” Before she started giving me safe sex advice. I loved her dearly but there were some conversations a guy did not need to have with his mom.
“Say hi to Poppy for me,” she called as I headed out.
McKay was waiting outside his truck.
“You clean up good,” he said with a knowing smirk.
“What, this old thing?” I ran a hand down my navy plaid shirt. I hadn’t wanted to go over the top, not for what I had planned. But I’d wanted to make an effort.
“So you finally pulled your head out of your ass and asked Poppy out?”
“Something like that.”
“Well, she’s all yours.” He handed me the keys. “Just promise to look after her.”
“I will and thanks for this, I owe you.”
“Any time.”
“I’ll bring your truck back tomorrow.”
“No problem, now quit stalling and go get the girl, Bennet.”
A smile played on my lips. “That’s the plan.”
My heart was in my fucking throat as I stepped up to the Fords’ door and rang the bell.
Coach knew—he knew where my head was at regarding his daughter. I’d stood in this very spot less than five hours ago and laid it out for him. And he hadn’t throttled me on the spot, so I was taking that as his blessing to date Poppy. But even so, I really liked my balls and wanted to keep them firmly attached to my body.
A shadow appeared beyond the frosted pane in the door.
Please be Poppy, please be—
“Aaron,” Coach said flatly.
“Coach, I mean… sir. Mr. Ford.” I stuttered, and he smirked.
“Nervous, son?” he asked.
“I…”
“Because you should be.”
Fuck.
I ran a hand through my hair and down the back of my neck, hoping like hell that either Poppy or Mrs. Ford would appear and put me out of my misery.
“I need to make something clear to you, son. Just because I’m entertaining this doesn’t for one second mean I like it. And if you so much as hurt a single hair on her head, I will—”
“Dad.” Poppy appeared, and the air sucked cleaned out the room.
Holy shit, she looked beautiful.
I’d always thought it. All that long glossy hair, her pale-green eyes, and full lips. But looking at her now was different.
I’d wanted her before tonight, in the dark hidden places inside of my soul. But I’d never freely allowed myself to imagine being with her.
“Pick your damn tongue up, kid.” Coach practically thumped me on the back and I choked on a breath.
Poppy pressed her lips into a thin smile. “Hi,” she said.
“Hi.”
“Okay, let’s go over the rules.”
“Rules?” My head whipped over to Coach as Poppy sighed, “Dad, we already talked about this.”
“And we’ll talk about it again. Rule one—”
“Okay, babe.” Mrs. Ford breezed into the room. “Time for you to leave the kids alone now.” She grabbed his shoulders and started steering him toward the door. “Have fun, and don’t stay out too late.”
“Fee, baby, you can’t just—”
Their voices disappeared as Poppy came closer, gazing up at me. “You look very handsome,” she said unabashedly.
“You look… wow. I thought you looked amazing last night but is it weird I think I like this better.” I ran a finger over the soft, pale-pink oversized sweater, letting the tip linger on the curve of her neck.
I wanted to kiss her so fucking badly. But not here, not like this.
And not until she forgave me.
“Aaron,” she breathed, staring up at me with parted lips and lust-filled eyes. “We should—”
“Go, we should go.”
I offered her my hand and the second her palm slid into mine something clicked into place inside me.
“What?” she asked.
“Thank you for agreeing to come out with me tonight.”
“After that impressive piece of poetry?” Her brow lifted with humor. “How could I not?”
“I’m never going to live that down, am I?”
“Probably not, Aaron the Greatest. King of the Teams.” She smirked, but her gaze landed on McKay’s truck. “Why is Gavin McKay’s truck in my driveway?” she asked.
I looked at her and grinned. “You’ll see.”
When I’d considered where to bring Poppy on our first official date, the lake had been the only place that made sense. It was my spot—our spot. But the weather was turning, the air cooler at night.
Sitting in my car overlooking the lake didn’t seem all that romantic but lying under the stars in the back of McKay’s truck was the perfect compromise.
“What do you have back there?” Poppy asked as I leaned over to retrieve the basket Gav had picked up courtesy of Penelope at The Junction, the diner where she worked.
“Dinner for two,” I said, dragging the small crate over and unpacking all the containers.
“Aaron…”
“Don’t thank me, it was all Penelope. I have no idea what’s in here,” I confessed.
“Well, whatever it is, it smells amazing.” She helped me serve up the food, and we ate side by side, to the background music playing out of my cell phone.
“Do you wish we’d have done something else?” I asked, feeling a tad insecure.
“No, it’s perfect.” She gazed at me and I couldn’t resist reaching out for her and brushing my thumb across her jaw.
“You’re perfect.”
“Aaron…”
“I know.” My stomach dipped. “There’s still a lot we need to talk about.”
“There is.” Her eyes dropped to my mouth.
“Poppy?” I whispered, and she lifted her eyes to mine in question. “I really, really want to kiss you.”
“I really want you to kiss me too.”
“You do?” I lowered my face to hers, still brushing my thumb back and forth. She nodded, her eyes slightly glazed. “Words. Poppy. Use your words.”
Because I didn’t want to get this wrong. I didn’t want to fuck up again.
“Kiss me,” she breathed and it was all the permission I needed.
Sliding my hand into Poppy’s hair, I tilted her face to mine and kissed her. Slow and sure, teasing the seam of her mouth with my tongue. “Mmm,” I murmured. “You taste so good.”
It would have been so easy to let the kiss become something more, but we did need to talk… about a lot of things. So I flicked my tongue against hers, pressing one final kiss to Poppy’s mouth and broke away.
“You stopped,” she said.
“We need to talk, and if I don’t stop now, I might never stop.” Because despite the cool temperature, my body was on fire, burning from the inside out.
I ran my hand along the side of her neck and touched my head to hers, breathing her in.
“You’re shaking,” she said, wrapping her hand around my arm. “Are you cold?”
“Not cold, Poppy Star,” I rasped.
“Oh.”
“You’re cute when you blush.” I stole another kiss because she was looking at me like I hung the fucking moon. And it was so much more than I deserved.
“I didn’t sleep with Zara,” I blurted out. “The guys, they thought it would be funny to leave me out there and have her help me out.”
“Help you out?”
“Yeah, you know… since I’m a virgin and all.”
“You were half-naked and covered in her lipstick.” Poppy pulled away and a cold blast of air filled the space between us.
“I was. When I told her it wasn’t going to happen, she tried… well, I guess she tried to seduce me.”
“You didn’t kiss her?”
“I didn’t kiss her back, no. I swear. She got pissed at me, untied me, and left. I didn’t know she’d used my cell to text you, Poppy, I swear.”
I should have listened all the times Cole and Ezra told me to watch my back with a girl like Zara, but I didn’t think she was manipulative enough to do something like that.
“She said she, ‘Gave you the ride of your life.’”
“Fuck.” I winced at the hurt in Poppy’s voice. “She didn’t, I promise.”
“And before… the two of you fooled around?”
Shit.
“Poppy, I— yeah,” I confessed. “I knew I couldn’t have you and you were hanging out with Eli. It was stupid and I regret it, but it meant nothing.”
Poppy glanced away and that single action splayed me wide open.
“I hate her. I hate her so much, Aaron. And watching you with her, knowing you… did things with her, it hurts.”
“I know.” I palmed her cheek and gazed down at her. “But I love you, Poppy June Ford. I’m in love with you.”
“You love me?”
I nodded, swallowing over the lump of emotion in my throat. “I think I’ve loved you ever since you told me someone’s first kiss should be epic.”
“Aaron, we were twelve.”
“I know. But hearing you talk about your first kiss, how you wanted it to be… all I could think was, it should be me. It should be me. But I was so scared that it would mess everything up, so I told myself I was being stupid. You were a girl and I was a boy, of course I was going to feel things sometimes.”
“We wasted so much time.” She sighed.
“We did.” I pushed the hair off her shoulder and tucked it behind her ear. “But maybe we needed time to grow, to realize that it was real.”
“Aaron, it took me dating someone else for you to realize.” Her lips curved into a sad smile.
“Because I’m a fool, Poppy Star. Aaron the Fool.” I leaned in again, touching my head to hers, needing to be close. “It’s always been you, Poppy. I waited… for you.”
“I just keep thinking if I hadn’t started dating Eli we wouldn’t even be here…”
“I guess we can never know that.” My stomach churned. “But I think we would have found our way to this point eventually. Because you’re mine, Poppy. And I’m sorry it took Eli for me to see that… but I’ll spend every second of every day trying to make it up to you, I swear.” I brushed my nose along her jaw, kissing the corner of her mouth. “You’re mine, Poppy Star. And I want the world to know it.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Poppy
His.
I was his.
I wanted to believe it. Part of me did. But how was I supposed to just forget the last few weeks? All the pain and heartache and crushing disappointment?
“You’re quiet,” he said, gazing down at me.
“I… There’s a lot to think about.”
He stilled, pulling away slightly. “You… you don’t feel the same?”
“You know I do. But you hurt me, Aaron. And it’s not about punishing you or making you work for it, it’s—”
“Poppy, look at me.” He gently gripped my chin and held my face there. “Do you love me?”
I nodded, a rush of emotion overwhelming me.
“And do you believe I love you?”
Another nod. Aaron loved me, I didn’t doubt that. But sometimes love wasn’t enough.
“Then it’s that simple.”
“It isn’t—”
“Yes, it is. I messed up. I know I messed up. But I’m going to fix it. I’m going to prove—”
“Stop, just… stop. It isn’t about proving anything, Aaron. I know you regret what happened. I know you’re sorry about hurting Eli. But so much has happened.” I dropped my gaze, and he slid his fingers under my jaw refusing to let me hide from him.
“Poppy?” Fear shone in his eyes.
“I kissed him Aaron. After I found you and Zara, I… I kissed Eli. I almost—”
“I know I fucked up. I know I pushed you into his arms. But what happened between you and him, I’ll never hold it against you. I swear. Just tell me what I can do. Tell me what I can do to fix this?”
I inhaled a shuddering breath. It wasn’t that simple, was it? To forgive and forget.
But it was Aaron.
My Aaron.
The boy who had unknowingly stolen my heart and never given it back.
He owned a piece of me—he always would.
“I’m scared,” I whispered, my confession hanging between us. Filling the cracks.
“You don’t need to be. I’m right here, Poppy. I’m all in.”
My breath caught at that.
All in…
“That sounds kind of serious.”
“Oh, it is.” He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I’m talking glued at the hip, can’t get enough, missing you like crazy when we’re apart, serious.”
“Aaron.” Soft laughter spilled out of me.
“I know you’re scared, Poppy. I know I fucked everything up. But I need you. I love you. And I’ll do whatever it—”
I pressed my lips to his, cutting him off. His hand cupped the back of my neck, deepening the kiss as our tongues tangled together.
God, kissing him was everything.
I climbed over his legs and seated myself in his lap. His hand slid around my waist and down over the curve of my ass. “Fuck, Poppy. You’re killing me here.” He pulled me onto him and I felt him, right there. Hard and thick through his jeans.
A bolt of pure lust went through me.
“Do you know the single best moment of my life?” he breathed the words onto my lips. “It isn’t winning state last season or being named captain. It was watching you fall apart, hearing you cry my name. I’ll never forget that as long as I live. And when you—if—you ever gift me with that chance again, I’ll be Aaron the Luckiest.”
“You did not just say that.” I chuckled, toying with the hair at the back of his neck.
“Too much?” He grinned.
“Way too much. But I kind of loved it.”
The air crackled around us, thick with lust and full of anticipation. I wanted him.
I’d always wanted him.
But were we moving too fast?
I’d waited years for this moment… years. And now—
“Poppy?”
“Yeah, Aaron?”
“I can hear your thoughts all the way from over here.” He kissed me. “We don’t have to rush. We’ve waited this long, we can wait—”
“No. I don’t want to wait any more. I want you, Aaron.” I need you.
His eyes widened, heat swirling there. “Y-yeah? You’re sure?”
I nodded slowly, scraping my fingers along his jaw, loving the feel of his stubble against my skin.
He gathered the hair off my shoulders and wound it around his fist, tugging gently. “I need you to know I didn’t bring you here for this, Poppy. I’ll take it. I’ll take whatever you want to give me, but you just being here with me, giving me another chance is enough.”
“Kiss me,” I whispered, my heart so full I thought it might burst. “I really need you to kiss me now.”
Aaron crashed his mouth down on mine, stealing my breath. His tongue plunged deep into my mouth as if he couldn’t get enough, as if he wanted to devour me. Every flick and lick and slide stitched the broken pieces inside me back together.
He loved me.
Part of me had always known it.
My heart had known it.
But now my soul knew it too.
He looped his arm around my waist and whispered, “Hold on,” and expertly flipped us over so he was above me.
“I want to feel you,” I said, drunk on him. The heat in his eyes, the silent promise. My hand reached over, grazing the very obvious bulge in his jeans.
“Fuck, Poppy. You need to stop that or this won’t last very long.” I smothered a laugh and he quirked his brow at me. “Oh, it’s like that, huh?” He punched his hips forward and a moan caught in my throat.
“You like that?” he asked.
“It felt very… nice.”
“Nice?” His dimples deepened. “I’m going to have so much fun finding every way to make you blush… moan… scream my name.”
“Aaron!”
“Yes, Poppy Star?”
“I love you.”
He sucked in a sharp breath, his eyes shuttering. When they opened again, they burned with possession. Because I was his. And he was mine.
And we were doing this.
“Aaron?”
“Yeah?” he choked out.
“Are we going to do this or are you just going to stare at me all night?” I fought a grin.
His hand slipped between our bodies and found the hem of my dress, and then the waistband of my leggings. And then he was right there, pushing two fingers inside me, making me gasp.
“You were saying?” He smirked, curling them deeper. My hips lifted to meet the gentle motion of his hand. God, it felt so good. Even better when he pressed his thumb against my clit.
