Page 69 of Mr. Not Quite Perfect

“Well, you know.”

I glared at her.

“Anyway, Poppy, what have you been up to?”

“Not much. I’m thinking about getting a dog, but then I’m like, what’s the point of getting a dog if I’m moving to New York City? Especially if you only have a studio apartment, though we did say I’d move once you got the new apartment once you got your first paycheck, which…” She looked up at Travis. “When is she getting her first paycheck?”

“Um…” He shrugged. “I’m not really sure. Why?”

“Because then she can move from her crappy-ass apartment and get a bigger place, but she can’t do that until she gets her paycheck because she can’t afford the deposit and probably can’t afford the rent.”

“Okay, then I can call HR and figure that out for you.” He looked over at me. “Or I could loan…”

“No, you’re not loaning me anything.” I glared at him. “Travis.”

“What?” he said, shrugging.

Poppy’s eyes widened. “Whoa. So what’s going on here?”

“What do you mean?” I said quickly.

“I mean, what’s going on between the two of you?”

“Poppy.”

“What?” she said. “I can tell there’s something going on. This is more than one-night-stand banter.”

Travis started laughing.

“Why are you laughing, Travis?” I glared at him.

“Because your best friend is hilarious, and I love her already.”

“See?” Poppy said. “I told you I’m funny and…”

“Poppy, you need to stop.”

“Why do I need to stop? I just want to know what’s going on. It’s very clear to me that you guys have…you know.” She paused and looked at me.

“No, I don’t know. What are you talking about?”

“It’s clear to me that you guys have done the deed more than once. More than since that time.”

“What are you talking about? Why and how is that clear to you?”

“Because you guys are acting so familiar with each other and you couldn’t stand his ass after that night when you told him off, and then you were nervous about the first day and then you said that you were never going to hook up with him again and everything was going to be completely professional. I know professional relationships, and this is far from professional.” She shrugged. “I’m sorry. I’m just being honest.”

“And we couldn’t have this conversation privately?”

She looked over at Travis. “He seems like he doesn’t let much stay private,” she said, shrugging. “I mean, he’s here at our private dinner, isn’t he?”

I stared at her and sighed. “Fine. We have hooked up again, but I’m not talking about this in front of him.”

“Why not?” he said. “I want to hear what you say about me. What does she say about me, Poppy?”

Poppy giggled and bit down on her lower lip. “I don’t think I can say that. I do value my life, and I do want to move to New York. And seeing as I don’t have much money and will be staying with Molly for free for the foreseeable future, I don’t want to get on her bad side.”

He nodded and laughed. “Well, I respect that, but did she say that I was the best she ever had?”

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