Ruth has topped off our coffees twice already and given us the look that says she's listening to every word, but would deny it under oath. I don't blame her. Poppy is mid-story about something Ramsey did the other night involving a blindfold and a timer, and even I'm leaning in.
"A timer?" Erin reaches across and steals one of my fries, completely unapologetic. "What was the timer for?"
"I'm not telling you what the timer was for."
"You just told us about the blindfold."
Poppy grins, all mischief and zero shame. "The blindfold was the appetizer. The timer is the main course and you haven't earned that."
"You can't just say blindfold and timer and then stop," I point out, reaching for another fry before Erin takes them all. "That's cruel."
She always does this, ropes us in with the most entertaining story of the night, lets us dangle, and then decides whether we're worthy of the ending.
"Fine." She sighs like she's doing us a favor. "The timer was for him. He had to make me finish before it went off."
Erin leans forward. "And if he didn't?"
Poppy smiles into her coffee cup, slow and private, like she's somewhere else entirely, somewhere involving Ramsey and that timer.
"He starts over."
"From the beginning?"
"From the very beginning."
Erin sits back, visibly recalculating her evening plans. "I need to buy a timer."
She turns to me then, and I point a fry at her before she can even start.
"Just don't."
"I wasn't going to say anything."
"You were going to say something about my brother and a timer and I could see it forming behind your eyes." I wave the fry at her like a weapon. "Keep it there."
She holds up her hands in surrender, but the look on her face says she's storing it for later. Later is Poppy's problem and I'm perfectly happy with that arrangement.
I pat my stomach and groan. "This is the best and worst meal I've had all week."
"Speaking of," Poppy turns to me, "when's the last time you had sex?"
"Not answering that."
"It's a valid question. You've been here for a while now. You're telling me nobody in this town has caught your attention?"
Erin makes a sound into her coffee that she tries very hard to disguise as a cough. I kick her under the table.
Poppy doesn't miss a beat. "You have had sex, right? No plans of turning into a wilted virgin like Erin here?"
Erin only shrugs at that. She'd waited until twenty-seven to get rid of her virginity. To my brother. A fact I try very hard not to think about, ever, for any reason.
"I've had sex. I like sex. Sex is great."
"Great how?"
"It's sweet and pleasant. Porn has clearly been lying."
The booth goes quiet. Poppy's eyes dart to Erin. Erin raises a brow right back. There's a silent conversation happening between them, lasting maybe three seconds but containing what feels like fourteen paragraphs of judgment.
