Page 74 of Catching Sparks

POPPY

Bryce hasn’t stopped staring at me since I slid into the booth beside her. She’s not one to hide her emotions, and right now is no exception. Even after a higher-intensity pole class than any of my clients are used to, she’s still just as strung tight as she was when I got to work.

Still hasn’t spoken a word to me either.

Her narrowed, knowing gaze is an intimidation technique she’s used on me since we were kids. And I can feel myself cracking, everything ready to spill from my lips without a single push from her. It’s as impressive as it is downright annoying.

I refuse to tell her what she wants to know when we don’t have enough time to fully talk about it. She’ll have to wait, and I know that pisses her off even more. The rest of our group could show up any minute now.

“Bryce, you’re creeping me out,” Anna mutters, pinching the stem of her plastic straw as she sips on her vodka drink.

Finally, the angry, blue-eyed troll looks at our other best friend, and I release a tight breath at the momentary break. “I’m not doing anything.”

I snort while Anna arches a brow at her. She darts her eyes between Bryce and me. “You could be a grown-up and just ask Poppy whatever you want to ask instead of trying to scare her into speaking.”

“I’m not doing that.”

“Liar,” I sing, taking a gulp of my drink.

Bryce twists her entire body in my direction but speaks only to Anna. “Did you hear something?”

“Bryce,” Anna chastises, but her lips twitch, and my temper spikes.

“If you smile at her right now, Anna, I’m getting up and leaving,” I warn.

“I’m not smiling!”

“You were thinking about it.”

“Smile if you want, Annalise. The only other person here is a dirty, stinky betrayer of a hoe bag who must not be named,” Bryce says.

“I love when you talk dirty to me, Ice,” I tell her, reaching a hand out to stroke her shoulder.

She slaps my hand away and glowers at me again, nostrils flaring. “You don’t deserve my dirty talk right now.”

“Oh, hello there. Are you finally acknowledging my presence? You didn’t hold out for as long as I thought you would.”

“Are you going to spill your guts to me, or do I have to cut you open first?” she asks, mouth set in a cruel line.

“I do love when you let your claws free, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to gut me like a fish in the middle of Peakside.”

Especially not on a busier-than-usual Friday night. I stare at the new mechanical bull off to the centre of the bar, and a spike of adrenaline hits me. It’s been years since I’ve attempted to ride a bull, and I was rather intoxicated the last time.

Bryce is much more skilled in this department than I am. If she wasn’t so pissed at me right now, she’d already be christening the damn thing.

“That’s the only reason I haven’t flayed you out already,” she huffs.

“Why are we mad at Poppy again?” Anna asks.

I finish off my drink and push the empty glass toward the edge of the table. “Yeah, why are we mad at Poppy?”

“Because she’s been keeping secrets, and we’re not supposed to have any secrets between us. If she hadn’t needed me to cover for her on Wednesday, I think we’d still be in the dark.” The bite in her tone is hard not to flinch at.

“Okay, well, you have approximately five minutes until everyone else gets here and you lose your window. So, get to it,” I say.

Bryce shakes her head, tapping her nails on the table. “I don’t believe that you can tell me everything in five minutes. You have weeks of shit to own up to, apparently.”

“Take it or leave it.” I shrug, not denying it.

---