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Chapter ten

Lessons Learned

I t was raining again, but Poppy’s world was full of rainbows.

Okay, maybe not full of rainbows. Not completely.

There were plenty of storm clouds in her metaphorical sky and more on the horizon waiting to roll in.

But at least a hole in the clouds had let a single beam of light through and made a surprising rainbow patch, the kind that felt like a hug instead of a gaudy performance.

The kind that made her come up with elaborate metaphors to describe her happiness because regular words just weren’t enough.

She was hugging herself now, even hours after the call.

It had been a good day. With their groceries replenished she’d had sugar in her tea, and her mom had started off in a good mood as well.

( And there had been that date. ) Her mom had wavered a bit while Poppy was gone, but just because she’d gotten a heat warning on her phone, not because she’d started to have an episode, and Poppy had called her on the walk back to reassure her that no, she did not have heat stroke ( except there had been that kiss ) and yes, she had drunk plenty of water ( and watched Rai OnlyWater his way through sixty gallons of it ) and absolutely, she knew what to do if she felt dizzy or feverish ( which she kinda did, because had she mentioned the kiss?

And then the other kiss, the one she’d dared to make happen? ) and of course she would be home soon.

When she’d arrived, her mom had been starting to fret, but it was early enough that she’d been able to calm her quickly, and her mother had then been full of questions about Poppy’s date.

“It wasn’t a date,” Poppy had said automatically.

Except it had been. He’d kissed her, right there next to the bus bin, which she was pretty sure made it a date.

It hadn’t been a friends-kiss at all, not the way he’d looked at her after.

Also, she was pretty sure the friends-kissing-on-the-mouth it’s-just-a-greeting crap was a thing TV shows and anime had made up just so they could ship-bait and invent drama.

If any of Poppy’s former friends had ever greeted her with a kiss on the mouth, she would’ve asked if they’d been replaced by pod people.

Though she was willing to concede that maybe she was wrong. Maybe her former friends just sucked. Maybe friends who didn’t suck did kiss on the mouth, and Poppy was the odd man out.

Rai didn’t suck. Except for when he’d sucked coffee off his finger, which was the other kind of sucking, and maybe when he came by tonight, she could make more coffee and… And her mother had been regarding her while she drifted off to UST-land with a sly smile that was almost like old times.

“Okay,” Poppy had conceded. “It was a date. A first date. Not anything serious.”

“And when do I get to meet him? Oh, or her.”

“He’s a him. And he’s coming by tonight, if that’s all right.”

“Of course it’s all right.”

There was no of course about it, but Poppy hadn’t wanted to open that particular can of worms in that moment any more than she’d wanted to open the Brendan can or the Dad can or the crappy job can.

How had her life ended up so full of canned worms?

Anyhow, the day had been going well, and she hadn’t been about to let worms fuck it all up.

So she had simply laughed and nodded and answered her mom’s questions as best she could.

And it had continued to go well. Her mother had decided that having a guest meant scented candles in the bathroom and the good hand towels and dusted shelves, but she clearly hadn’t made the mental leap Poppy had feared, from Poppy on a date to Poppy leaving forever , so she’d been able to settle on the couch to do the two short transcription jobs she’d managed to claim for the weekend while her mom cleaned in a cheerful, relaxed way.

The jobs weren’t enough, and there hadn’t been any more available on any of her job sites, which normally would have stressed her out—and okay, she’d had to admit it had stressed her out this time, too, but it had also left her secretly relieved.

If there’d been jobs to claim, she would have felt required to take them, even if it meant having less time to spend with Rai when he came over.

But since there was no work available for her to do, she didn’t have to feel bad about ditching work for what she was pretty sure was Date Number Two.

Not exactly a win-win, since they needed the money, but she would settle for a lose-win if the win was date night with Rai.

And then she’d gotten the phone call, and she’d been on cloud nine ever since.

It was almost eight when Poppy heard the knock; she stopped washing the dinner dishes and hurried to the window. The rain was still heavy, but she could see a figure by the door of the guest house.

She frowned. They seemed Rai-shaped, but the colors weren’t right.

She’d only ever seen him wearing a white button-down over plain dark slacks, and the fuzzy colors she was seeing were…

not that. Still, it wasn’t like random strangers were going to come a-knocking on a Saturday night.

She hurried through the house to the back door, stepping out cautiously onto the covered patio and calling Rai’s name.

The figure turned and bounded jauntily in her direction.

Now that he was facing her, it was definitely him—no mistaking that wide grin—but she couldn’t help but eye him up and down as he stepped onto the patio and into the dry patch by the door.

The formerly dry patch, since rivers of water were flowing off him onto the concrete.

“Do you not actually own an umbrella?” she asked.

“No. Should I purchase one? I have a card now.” He shook his head, sending drops of water flying.

Some of them landed on Poppy, which was good, because she was right back to being dizzy and feverish and needed to cool the fuck down before she spontaneously combusted.

It was a crime how good Rai looked in a wet shirt.

Even that shirt.

“I see you’ve changed.”

He froze, eyes going wide. “Have I?” He looked at his hands.

“Your clothes.” She let her gaze drift downward again, not sure if she was ogling his body or processing the vista of visual trauma that was his Hawaiian shirt, covered all over with a repeated pattern of the Great Wave of Kanagawa.

It was cheesy and over the top, and okay, wasn't actually bad.

She could see the appeal. It just changed him in her mind from “businessman” to “surfer dude” and her brain needed to adjust. Of course, he still looked like sin on a stick. “Your shirt is…different.”

“Ah. Yes!” He set his fists on his hips proudly. “Is it not glorious?”

“A man walks down the street in that shirt, you know he’s not afraid of anything.”

“I am not.” He smirked in a way that told her he was taking that as a pure compliment, which it might be—the blues suited him, and probably still would when he and the shirt were dry—but that also meant he wasn’t a Firefly fan, since he hadn’t pegged the quote.

Which was…maybe a good thing? She’d have to feel him out about Buffy , as that was usually a better show to gauge character.

Or maybe he hadn’t ever seen either and she could be the one to get him hooked. If he was in town long enough.

That depressing thought got her out of her head and back on task. “You’re earlier than I expected.”

“I could not wait.”

“Not even for the rain to stop?”

He laughed, full and joyful, and then he looked at her in a way that was somehow wild and gentle and knowing and innocent all at once. “It is good, the rain.” His hand came to her face, brushing her cheek, and she knew it was because she was blushing, and she didn’t care.

Except she did care, because her mom was lighting candles and having a good night, and she wanted to meet Rai.

And while it was tempting to put that meeting off, to lean into his hand and his lips and find out if his chest felt as good as it looked, it would also cause more problems than it solved. “I’ll get you a towel to dry off.”

“There is no need.”

“No, it’s okay. Come on in.” It was a good thing she’d come out the back door—that way he could dry off in the Arizona room instead of dripping all over the wood living room floor.

He stepped inside the screen door, looking around. “Am I to meet your mother?”

“Yes,” she said, suddenly worried again. He’d asked to visit, but maybe mom hangout time wasn’t what he’d expected. “If you want to. She’ll be going to bed soon, and we can...” Watch a movie? Play cards? Make out? All of the above?

His smile didn’t reveal his expectations. “I will be careful not to break her.”

“Good plan.” She led him to an empty patch of floor. “Wait right here.”

She hurried to get a few towels from the cupboard; her mother was singing along with some music in her room, something punk, so she was probably unaware Rai had arrived, thank fuck. When Poppy returned, Rai was standing just where she’d left him. At her appearance, his face lit up.

“Poppy, I have news! It is very important.”

She approached and dropped the least-nice towel on the floor, toeing it into the puddle. “Take your shoes off. Socks, too.” She wanted to add doofus , but she wasn’t sure he wouldn’t be offended. “We need to get you dry.”

“I do not mind being wet.” He bent to remove his shoes, black sneakers that looked like they’d seen better days. Now that she’d gotten past his shirt, she noticed he was wearing tight jeans, probably dark blue but shaded to near black by the water.

“Well, Mom’s couch is going to mind you being wet.” She ruthlessly ignored the wicked voice saying those jeans would dry faster if you took them off.

“Oh.” He set his shoes aside, patterned blue socks draped over them, and stood again, allowing her to toss another towel over his head and rub it on his hair. “I am sorry. I do not wish to offend your mother’s…couch.”