Page 48 of Five Summers

A hurt expression appears on Tayla’s face as she swallows. Ready to take Poppy’s order, she lifts the pen and pad.

“So, what can I get for you?”

“I’ll have the same as Xander,” Poppy says, putting the menu back onto the table.

After Tayla writes down Poppy’s order she turns away without saying a word.

When I glance at Poppy, I notice her looking down at something in her lap. She raises her eyes, searching the room, deliberately avoiding meeting my gaze. I shouldn’t let it affect me this much, but damn, it really does. I know she probably thinks I'm a total asshole because of what happened between Tayla and me.

Just as I’m about to start a conversation, I quickly shut my mouth upon seeing Tayla walking towards us with our shakes. Tayla forcefully sets the milkshakes down on the table. She glares at me intensely before walking away. As this is going on, Poppy mindlessly swirls the straw around in her oversized milkshake cup.

“So, another admirer in the Xander Williams hookup club,” she remarks, a smile gracing her lips. I watch as she removes her straw from her glass and expertly sucks the cream from the bottom. My dick instantly reacts.

“Yeah, I guess you could say that,” I mutter.

This is the first time in my life I’ve experienced such embarrassment from my behavior. I wonder what Poppy thinks of me at this moment.

“So,” she says, gazing up at me, still swirling her straw around. “You still haven’t told me what you had to do to get my number.”

“Yeah,” I say, flashing a grin, feeling a sense of relief for a new topic. I’m mesmerized by the way she licks the cream from the straw.

“So what then? What did you do?” She puts the straw back in her shake.

I feel let down because I could sit here all day watching her mouth work its magic.

Leaning in, I place my arms on the table. “Let's just say Zoe Mitchell is a boundary-pushing pro. She wouldn't give me your number unless I went to her cousin's party and acted like her boyfriend.”

With a burst of laughter, Poppy snorts and hastily conceals her mouth to suppress her amusement. My face lights up when I hear it.

“Although Zoe wanted me to stay for the entire party, I made it clear that I would only stay for twenty minutes. That’s anotherreason why you shouldn’t ignore my texts. I had to put in some work to get that.”

It’s another thing that confuses me. Getting a girl’s number has never required this much effort, but with Poppy, I’m completely disregarding my own rules.

“When's the party?’ she asks, smirking, then casually sips her milkshake.

“Two weeks from tomorrow,” I say, unable to stop staring at the straw in her mouth.

Our server brings our food, and I’m relieved to find out it’s not Tayla. Instead, our server is a middle-aged woman with a bob haircut with a touch of gray.

“Here you go, sweetness,” she says, sliding the plate in front of Poppy first. “And this one must be for you, handsome.” She puts the plate in front of me and grabs the menu off the table. “If you guys need anything else, just give me a holler.”

In Poppy’s hands, there’s a monster-sized burger, it's massive against her palms. “I don’t know how you expect me to finish this.” Drawing it nearer to her mouth, she sinks her teeth into the mouthwatering patty. “Mmmm… oh my god, this burger is so good.”

“I told you it was pretty good,” I remark, watching her as she savors every bite.

She lifts her hand and licks the sauce from her fingers, making me instantly aroused. Despite the sauce dribbling down her chin, she remains unfazed. The urge to lean forward and lick it is strong, but I resist and simply smile. I’m glad Poppy doesn’t feel the need to hide her eating habits like some other chicks do when they’re around guys. With ease, she wipes the sauce off her chin using her finger and then puts it into her mouth. Her finger-sucking skills are a major turn-on.

“Aren't you hungry?” she asks, chewing some fries.

“Nah, I'm hungry,” I tell her, taking the salt shaker from the table.

I was so caught up in watching her enjoy her meal that I neglected my own. I can feel her eyes on me as I pour an excessive amount of salt on my fries, as I usually do.

“You know me and my salt addiction,” I joke, realizing how dumb it was to say that when we’ve never eaten out like this before.

It's surprising how much I genuinely enjoy hanging out with Poppy and having conversations about music, my band with Ace, and other interesting subjects. It’s on a completely different level compared to the girls I usually fool around with, where I can’t wait to get the fuck out of there. But with Poppy, there’s none of that. Our chats are always easy and interesting.

“So, tell me how does it work? Do you both write songs together?” She says, before picking up her burger and taking another bite.

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