take her,” he said, trying to take Ashlee.
Poppy tightened her hold and twisted away. “I want to take this one home.”
His serious expression relaxed. “We’ll get you one of your own; this one is spoken for.” Still, she teased by twisting the other way. “I’ll pick both of you up if you keep playing.”
“Yeah?” she asked. “Promises, promises.”
Poppy had to yield because he would follow through and his family would definitely notice that.
When he tried to take Ashlee, Poppy relented, but let her hand drop when her arms were free to stroke his ass. He must have heard her sound of satisfaction because he tossed a quizzical expression over his shoulder. When the day had started, she’d had ideas of getting drunk and laid before the night was over. It hadn’t exactly worked out that way.
He’d disappeared and she was about to follow when someone suddenly grabbed her in a hug from behind. It didn’t take long for Charley to reveal herself with a shriek.
Turning around, Poppy’s mind quickly clicked into gear. “What the hell happened?” she asked, accepting her friend’s hug properly. “You and David? You told me you were going home.”
“I was,” Charley said, pulling her down to sit on the stairs. “I went to get an outfit for tonight—”
“After work yesterday?”
“Yes!” Charley said, bubbling with excitement. “I asked you to come with me. You said you were tired.”
Poppy had actually said she needed her bed… but that was because she’d planned, and succeeded, on dragging Turner into it.
“So you went to get the dress and what?”
“Nothing, David called, he wanted to get food and we… ended up making a night of it.”
Poppy didn’t like to judge people without knowing them. She’d be the first to admit that she hadn’t given David a fair shake at making his own first impression. The sad truth was that she trusted Turner’s judgement as much, if not more, than her own.
“Didn’t he date Faye?”
Charley groaned. “Geez, I guess you’ve been listening to the Maddox grouches. He didn’t date her, he was in her year at school. He asked her out, but she was all caught up with Kev then… and look how that turned out. What does Faye know about men anyway? She’s only ever been with Kev.”
“Your family care about you, Charley. If they thought this guy would make you happy, they’d support you.”
Charley scoffed. “I can tell you’re new around here. They don’t support decisions unless they’re made by committee. That means Mom, Faye, and Turner get together to choose for everyone else… Wonder if she’ll climb off her high horse now her marriage has gone to shit.” Poppy was shocked that Charley could be so callous. It didn’t take long for her to dial back. “Yeah, okay, that was shitty. I’m sorry.”
“Faye needs everyone’s support right now.”
“I know, you’re right,” Charley said, threading their fingers together. “She’s going to move into the basement with the kids. Turner’s gonna section it off so they can have a little den and a couple of bedrooms… and…” Her smile grew until her eyes glittered. “That means I can move in with you.”
Move in with…
They’d spoken about that but Poppy thought she’d get more notice before it actually happened. It was wrong that the first thing she thought about was her sex life. She’d once said that it would be impossible for them to have secret sex with Charley in her apartment. Turner hadn’t been so pessimistic. Damn, Poppy hoped he was right.
Although Poppy got in the back of the truck, expecting Charley to get in the front, her friend got in after her.
With an excited squeal, Charley hugged her tight. “I can’t wait to get home! Home! Can you believe it?”
Turner finished putting Charley’s stuff in the back and came around to get in the driver’s seat.
“What am I your chauffeur now?” he asked, obviously observing both women were in the back.
“Don’t expect a tip,” Charley said as Turner took the truck out of park. “Oh, wait!”
Without an explanation, Charley suddenly jumped out to run up the path and back inside.
A few seconds of silence passed.
“Use me for sex, Turner,” Turner muttered, putting the truck in neutral again. “I’ll be your sex toy, First. Yeah, I’m your walking wet dream…” He inhaled and blew the breath out loud. “And my sister takes the fantasy away. Good going, Charley… Why am I surprised?”
“Hey,” Poppy said, sliding to the edge of her seat to slip a hand around his onto his torso. “I’m