And then she smiled at me again. Slow and strange, with a twinkle in her eye. “Well, he doesn’t seem to mind that much, does he?”
“I know, it’s surprising.”
“Is it?” she asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, come on, Poppy.” She leaned in. “I might only be thirteen, but I know what a crush looks like when I see it. And right now, he is crushing on you big time—and it’s super obvious you are too.”
I felt myself blush.
“Yeah, I thought so,” she said, looking at my cheeks. She winked at me and then walked off to her room. “I think it’s really cool that you are an actor, by the way,” she said over her shoulder. “I’ve never met anyone who’s been on TV before.”
“Thanks. It’s not as glamorous as people think it is,” I assured her.
“Good night, Poppy.” She stopped at her door and looked me up and down. “That’s also a much better name for you,” she said. “Doris kind of sucked.”
I laughed. “Good night, Emmy. Sweet dreams,” I said as she disappeared into her bedroom and closed the door. I smiled to myself and walked back downstairs.
Ryan was on the couch waiting for me.
“I just wanted to apologize to her for lying like that,” I said and sat down next to him.
“I’m pretty sure she forgives you. Did you see how into the show she was? I think she’s blown away by the fact she knows a famous and brilliant actor.”
“Famous and brilliant,” I tutted. “Hardly.”
“Stop putting yourself down like that,” Ryan said, moving closer to me on the couch. “I don’t like it when you do it. And it’s not true.”
“Thanks.” I smiled.
“So, did she forgive you?” he asked.
“She did. And she also had some other interesting things to say.” My heart fluttered.
“Oh, what?” Ryan moved closer to me.
“Well . . .” I twirled my hair in my fingers. “She said that you had a crush on me, and it was clear I had one on you too.”
“Really?” He reached out and took the strand of hair away from me. He wrapped it around his finger and then tucked it behind my ear. He leaned in, put his lips to my ear and whispered. “Well, she’s right. I have a serious crush on you.”
I giggled. “You do?”
He kissed my neck. “I do,” he said, bringing his lips to mine.
“I have a crush on you too.” I opened my mouth and let him kiss me.
We kissed on the couch for ages. It felt naughty in some way, like we were teens sneaking a kiss while our parents were upstairs. We finally pulled away from each other.
“I guess I better get to bed at some point too. I wouldn’t want to be too tired for work,” I said. “My boss can be a bit of a slave driver.”
“Really?”
I nodded playfully. “He can be a bit of a meanie sometimes.”
He laughed. “Meanie? You want me to come in and have a few words with him?”
I stood up. “You could try, but I have to warn you, he’s very stubborn, and scary sometimes.”
