Page 8 of Promising Little Poppy

But to Poppy, it was anything but.

Initially, she was frustrated, thinking a faulty handle or key card was to blame. But quickly, the logical frustration over the situation morphed into a well-known fear.

Rejection.

Perhaps the pretty lady with the short hair that made Poppy’s tummy do a strange, little flutter when she’d seen her in the lobby a few days ago had changed her mind. No one would blame CJ for deciding that Poppy was too much to handle. It was just another truth of her life.

Sure, people liked Poppy, but she was the type of person people came for. She wasn’t the type of person they stuck around for.

She felt stupid for thinking hopefully about something in her life, even something she knew would be temporary. Poppy had a feeling this exploration she was apprehensive yet excited to try would just lead to disappointment. She just hadn’t expected that disappointment to happen so soon.

With a loud sniffle, Poppy let her suitcase and duffle bag fall to the floor with a thump.

From deep inside the pocket of her winter coat, she pulled out yet another tissue that would surely soon be just as useless at collecting the tears that fell from her eyes as Poppy sometimes felt as a person. A bone-deep hurt she hadn’t expected to feelsettled deep into her body and she slumped down against the wall that stretched the length of the hallway.

Her head fell against the knees she tried to hold to her chest.

“Poppy?”

The voice, soft and tentative, had her lifting her head.

CJ stood in front of her, a worried look on her otherwise beautiful, makeup-free face. “What’s wrong, sweetheart? Can you tell me what happened?”

Poppy was surprised she didn’t see disgust in the other woman’s eyes. As if her tears didn’t make CJ want to turn away, as if her tears weren’t something she needed to be ashamed of.

And while there were a few others who had treated her with such respect in her short life—even as recently as with Master Derek that very afternoon—this felt monumentally different.

Poppy only wished she knew why.

Before she could work up the courage to speak, CJ placed her back against the wall and slid down the smooth surface until she was sitting next to Poppy on the floor.

Their shoulders and thighs touched and through the fabric, Poppy felt a sudden surge of heat she wasn’t accustomed to feeling. And unlike the tears, that did make her feel slightly embarrassed and off kilter.

Poppy stared straight ahead, suddenly shy as a warmth crept up her cheeks. “It was silly.” She feigned nonchalance while wiping away the last of the tears that had fallen. “Don’t worry about it.”

She expected CJ to push up and leave.

Instead, the other woman moved closer and took Poppy’s right hand in her left. It took Poppy by surprise, but she found she liked the gentle reassurance the woman wasn’t about to bolt in the form of the fingers that gently threaded through hers.

“Sometimes, things feel overwhelming in the moment and when you step back and look at them later, they’re not quite asbad as we thought they were. Still, nothing that makes you feel overwhelmed or embarrassed in the moment is silly. You don’t have to tell me what happened, Poppy, but I would really like it if you would. For now, if you would like, why don’t we go inside our suite and we’ll get your things put away.”

One side of CJ’s mouth quirked up into a lopsided smile as Poppy slowly turned toward the woman and nodded.

Poppy decided she liked that smile.

And though she truly was just about to begin to get to know the woman who would be her impromptu Dominant—her impromptu Caregiver—for the next few weeks, she had a feeling she could trust CJ, if only she could trust herself not to mess it up in the process.

Together they stood, and when Poppy tried to reach for her duffle bag, CJ stretched out her hand and took it.

Maybe there was a metaphor in there somewhere, handing over her physical baggage while handing over the emotional baggage of near-crippling anxiety, self-doubt, and indecision.

Even if it were just for a few weeks, it was a few weeks Poppy was committed to going into with an open mind.

CJ waved her key card, unlocking the door, and once the pair had settled into their temporary home away from home, they reconvened in the large living area that sat in the middle of the two bedrooms. With the electric fireplace turned on and a speaker playing gentle music that lilted into the common area, Poppy felt a bit of the tension she’d been holding in the muscles of her neck and upper back leave her body.

CJ was about to sit on the comfortable-looking couch where Poppy had already taken up residence when she suddenly crossed the room in the opposite direction. Pulling a small card from her wallet, she placed it next to where she had placed her own room key on the entryway table. “I’m sorry we got caughtup when I came back to the room. I had to have our keys remade because the original one I had didn’t work with our door.”

Poppy couldn’t help it.

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