Page 36 of Finding Her
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There was just one 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 so furiously 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.
“Something you want to tell us, Mia?”
Mia stammered, her mouth opening and closing, but no sound came out. I was under no illusion that it had been her plan to take the photo or threaten Poppy the way she had on the trip—that was all Claire’s doing. Who better to do your dirty work than your little sister?
“So,” I said, “I suggest you don’t try to bother my girlfriend or me again. Because if you do, all those photos of you are getting sent to your parents. And I’m sure they will be thrilled to know what you have been up to while you’re at school.”
Claire’s face drained of all color and I smirked, knowing that I’d just won the final round of the game we’d been locked in for years.
I looked at Mia again. “And for the record, you’re a brat.
And, if you try to bother Poppy, too, I am sure that I will find some way to get back at you as well. Don’t underestimate me.”
“Don’t threaten my sister,” Claire snapped.
“Maybe you should have kept her out of this if you didn’t want me to,” I responded immediately.
Claire’s mouth opened, but no words came out.
Instead, she glowered, then grabbed Mia by the wrist and dragged her away, muttering something under her breath.
Mia glanced back over her shoulder, her eyes wide and panicked, but I didn’t feel bad for her. Not after what she’d done.
I turned to Poppy. “There. Problem solved.”
Poppy laughed, shaking her head. “You’re ridiculous.”
I shrugged. “Maybe. But that’s why you love me, right?”
Instead of answering, she cupped my cheek and kissed me, her lips warm and soft against mine. The hockey boys erupted into cheers and whistles behind us, but I didn’t care. Without breaking the kiss, I raised my middle finger in their direction, earning a fresh round of hollering.
Because in that moment, there was nothing and no one in the world that could take Poppy away from me.