Page 2 of Poppy Kisses
“What?”
The world dipped and spun as he grabbed a cup off the counter. Ice clattered. He must be standing at the fridge with an ice and water dispenser. He was holding the laptop in the crook of his arm. I saw his shoulder and the house behind him. An enclave was off the living room, and a man passed through, wiping a rag over his trimmed hair, and disappeared into one of the dark rooms.
I choked on a cough. I’d only seen the guy from the side, but he was in gray shorts and a white T-shirt. His wide shoulders had flexed and bunched under the material of his shirt. Whoa. Either the camera loved him, or Auggie’s dad was a smokeshow.
The light flipped on in the room he’d gone into, flashing bright and then settling into focus. A bathroom. He was leaning over like he was washing his hands or inspecting a face I really wanted to fill my screen.
Auggie shifted his hold, and I craned my neck like I could look around him from my small motel room.
“One more glass,” Auggie said after gulping the first one down. My view jostled again. He must be filling the water.
“No problem,” I muttered.Just shift to the left. My left, not yours.
Wait, it would be his left, too, from the way the laptop was cradled in his arm.
The guy behind Auggie turned his back to us and yanked the shirt over his head. This time, I was the one letting out a gusty breath. Two things registered. Auggie’s dad had a delicious-looking bubble butt, and wow, his back was ripped. What were his abs like?
Then the man turned, and a quiver traced through my belly. His features weren’t the clearest, but I didn’t need detail to see that he was hot. Besides, his washboard stomach was on display. I’d been single for too long. I was riveted.
He spun around, exiting the bathroom and running a hand through darkish blond hair the same shade as his son’s. His biceps bulged with the movement. Then his gaze lifted to pin me in place right through the screen. His eyes widened.
Embarrassment filled me like I’d been caught peeping. I kind of had.
“Auggie, bud.” A man should not have that smooth and deep of a voice. “You’ve gotta warn a guy when you’re on the move with that thing.” He looked around like he was trying to find the shirt he’d tossed in the laundry basket. “Hi, Debbie,” he called.
The world spun as Auggie turned around. My back thumped against the wooden back of my chair. Whoa. I didn’t recall going to school with someone that hot, but they’d all been just entering their puberty-ridden years when I’d moved.
“Sorry, Dad. It’s not Debbie, remember? I have a sub.” I got a good look at the refrigerator as Auggie walked toward what I can presume was the table. The thunk matched the shaking of his screen, and he spun the camera to face his dad. “Poppy’s teaching me today.”
The dad looked like he was about to duck into the bathroom, then he gave me a double take and tilted his head. My screen filled with impressive pecs as he approached the table.
My mouth went dry, and I pushed back farther in my chair. “Hello,” I said weakly. What did swooning feel like? Was I doing it?
He braced a hand on the edge of the table and leaned in. The same chisel that formed his chest had been taken to this guy’s jaw. Even his nose was a bold slash on his face. His hair stood up in spikes, and his dark brows were drawn together. He studied me with stormy blue eyes.
“Poppy?”
I swallowed and nodded. “Nice to meet you. Auggie sure was fun to work with.”
His eyes narrowed for a heartbeat, then a slow grin spread across his face. “Hot damn, I’d recognize those freckles anywhere. Poppy Duke. How the hell are ya?”
My mouth turned into the Sahara for a different reason. He knew me. He knew my freckles. Not many people had pointed out my freckles when I was a kid, except for the boy who constantly challenged me and told me over and over again I’d never be the one he crushed on.
“Jensen? Jensen Hollis?”
“Yeah!” He laughed and slid the chair out to sit where Auggie should’ve been. Instead, he tugged his boy toward him to perch on a knee. “Auggie, Poppy’s an old friend of mine.”
Friend was stretching it. Pals, maybe. Buds. There’d been moments we’d been as close as best friends and then as acrimonious as exes, only we’d never dated. No. He’d had eyes for one girl only. He’d made it known every chance he could.
I bet if Hassie had freckles, they’d be cuter on her.Just one of the many ways he’d compared me and the other rung in our wheel of three who used to play together. Hassie Heart captured his heart in kindergarten.
Auggie blinked at me, then looked at his dad. “Okay.” He scrubbed a hand down his face. There were drips on his shirt from the water. “Can I eat breakfast?”
A lot of my morning students rolled out of bed and in front of the computer. I was no different. I refrained from attempting to tame all the strands that escaped from my hair.
“You two done? Did I interrupt?” Jensen asked.
No, your abs did. “Nope. Auggie finished everything he set out to do.”
