Page 54 of Finding Her
“Well, I saw the teddy bear in the claw machine and I justknewI had to get it, because you know… a bear for Bear.” She blushed. “So, yeah. You’re lucky I had enough quarters to play a few times because let me tell you, I am not good at those games.”
“A bear for Bear,” I repeated softly, taking it out of her hands. Nobody had ever done something so sweet for me before. I ran a hand over the yellow ribbon and thought back to those early days in gym class as I murmured, “And yellow for the sunshine girl.”
Poppy’s brows pulled together. “The what?”
I shook my head and laughed. “Never mind.”
And then, just because I could, I leaned down and kissed her. And I promised myself right then that I would never let anything get in the way of me loving this girl again.
CHAPTER 35
bear
There was justone more thing I needed to do to make sure Poppy and I would be okay. I chose my moment on Sunday evening, when I knew that almost everybody would be down at dinner. I stood up on the cafeteria table and clapped my hands sharply, the sound cutting through the noise like a referee’s whistle. Conversations died instantly. Forks hovered mid-air. Heads turned toward me, eyes wide, like I was about to announce that the school was on fire.
“Excuse me, everyone,” I called out, my voice strong enough to carry without yelling. The silence felt heavy now, everyone hanging on my words. “I have a bit of an announcement to make.”
Before I could second-guess myself, I reached for Poppy’s hand and tugged her up onto the table with me. She stumbled slightly, shooting me a what the hell are you doing? look, but I just gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.
“Poppy Wade is my girlfriend,” I said loud enough for everyone to hear.
The room erupted in gasps, whispers, and a few sharp inhales. I caught the flash of shock on faces around the room, but it was Poppy’s reaction I focused on. She was blushing sofuriously her cheeks almost matched the ketchup bottle on the nearest table.
“Levi,” she hissed under her breath, tugging at my arm like she was about to flee. But I held on tight. She wasn’t getting out of this. Not after everything we’d been through.
“And,” I continued, raising my voice above the rising chatter, “that means she officially won the bet against our very own Claire Thompson.” I extended my arm in a grand gesture toward Claire, who stood at the far end of the cafeteria with her arms crossed, her face a deep, angry red.
The hockey boys were the first to react, banging their plates on the tables and cheering like we’d just scored the winning goal in the championship game. Their energy spread like wildfire. Within seconds, the entire cafeteria was clapping, laughing, and whooping. Claire’s scowl deepened with every second.
“Oh, and one more thing!” I called, holding up my hand to quiet the crowd. “If anyone has a picture of themselves with Claire—on a date, kissing, whatever—please send it my way. Thanks in advance.”
I hopped off the table, landing with a thud, and turned to help Poppy down. My hands found her waist, and I lifted her gently, setting her on the ground like she was made of glass. She clung to my arm for balance, still pink-faced and staring at me like I’d lost my mind.
“What was that?” she demanded, her voice low but sharp.
“That,” I said with a grin, “was insurance. Claire’s not going to bother you again.”
Her brows knitted together in confusion.
“Levi Barrett!” Claire screeched behind us.
I spun around to find Claire storming toward me, her heels clicking sharply on the linoleum. Her expression was equal parts fury and disbelief, her fists clenched like she was ready to throw a punch.
“Oh, hey, Claire,” I said, pasting on my most innocent smile. “What’s up?”
“Don’t ‘oh, hey, Claire’ me!” she snapped, jabbing a manicured finger into my chest. “Why the hell are you asking people for photos of me?”
“Well,” I said, my tone light, “it only seemed fair, you know. Since you sent that picture of me and Poppy to my dad.”
Her face twisted into something ugly. “You can’t prove that was me,” she snarled. “I wasn’t even on that stupid camping trip.”
“Interesting,” Poppy cut in, her voice saccharine-sweet. “You knew exactly what photo we were talking about, even though Levi didn’t say a word about it.”
Claire’s eyes darted to Poppy, narrowing dangerously. Poppy didn’t flinch.
I leaned in slightly, dropping the friendly act. “You’re right, Claire. You weren’t on that trip. But you didn’t need to be.” My gaze shifted past her to the figure hovering nervously behind her. “Because Mia was.”
Mia, who had been trying to blend into the background, froze. Her face turned as red as Claire’s, but for a completely different reason. She looked like a deer caught in headlights.
