Page 47 of Sunshine
“I think so too.” I tighten my hands around the steering wheel as I let myself appreciate the release of pressure I’d been feeling up to this moment. “Maybe this will be good for her after all.”
“I’ve got a good feeling about it.” Poppy lifts her shoulders and glances out the window. “So…should we head back? You probably need to get to the restaurant, and I’ve got a list of errands to run before the end of the school day.”
I do need to get back to the restaurant, but it occurs to me that Poppy and I are alone. No Izzy. No Daisy. No Wade. No reason to look over our shoulders.
“What kind of errands?” I ask.
“Izzy needs new socks.” Poppy’s focus bounces around the car like she’s trying to look anywhere but directly at me. “She needs costume supplies for her dance recital, plus oil for her trumpet. I also want to pick up a gift for her first day of school. I don’t know what it is yet, so if you’ve got any suggestions…?”
I sink into my seat, taking pleasure in watching Poppy off balance. She’s never this uncomfortable, and it’s adorable. It’s also sexy as hell. It’s been a long time since I made a girl squirm, and my mind strays to other ways I could make her writhe.
“I don’t,” I tell her. “But maybe something will come to me while we shop.”
Poppy’s head whips around, her eyebrows high. “We?”
“Yeah. We.” I pull out my phone and send a quick text to Liz to let her know that I’ll be back a couple of hours later than expected, then turn on the engine. Poppy is silent as I back out of the parking spot. “You got a problem with that?”
“A problem?” Poppy rolls her lips as she fights a smile. “No. Not at all.”
“Good.” I turn onto the street, and my stomach tightens with a feverish kind of excitement at the thought of playing hooky with the girl I have a crush on. “Where to?”
fourteen
Dylan
I concentrate on theroad as we drive toward the nearest town, peripherally aware of the way Poppy fights a smile as she sneaks glances at my profile, darting away again when I try to catch her eye.
Why do I feel like I’m a sixteen-year-old kid right now? Why does this feel so new and exciting?
We’re ten minutes from our destination when Poppy suddenly gasps.
“Stop!” she says.
“What’s wrong?” My stomach lurches as I swerve to the side of the road and pull to a hard stop in the dirt.
Poppy twists to look out the rear window. “Nothing. Don’t you know where we are?”
My pulse slows as I realize there’s no imminent danger. No sign of trouble. Poppy’s not hurt. “Jesus Christ.” I drop my head back with my eyes closed and wait for my heart to return to its regular rhythm. “Never do that again.”
“What?”
I open my eyes enough to pin her with an incredulous sideways look.
“Oops. Sorry.” She grins like an imp who isnotsorry, and she’s so pretty my mouth twitches too. “But don’t you recognize this place?”
“Recognize what? The road?”
“Yes!” She unbuckles her seatbelt and twists in her seat, kneeling to look over the headrest. “Reverse back a little and pull onto the side street.”
I’ve got no idea what’s going on, but I’m too swept up by her sense of adventure to argue. “Sit down and put on your seatbelt, then I’ll reverse and pull onto the side street.”
Somewhat petulantly, Poppy does what I ask, and when I’m satisfied that she’s safe, I pull out onto the road, swing wide to turn around, and then take the next right onto a dirt road.
“Where are we going?” I ask, looking around and trying to put a name to a lush green landscape that keeps tugging at something in my memory.
“Just a little further,” Poppy replies, and when we reach a bend in the road with a worn dirt path peeking out through the foliage, she gasps and points. “There it is! Pull over.”
I park the car on a wide patch of dirt worn down by the tracks of a thousand tires before ours, and Poppy all but flings herself out of the car. I grab my phone and wallet and get out too, watching her move toward the hiking trail.
