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It looks as though I’ve misread this situation entirely. I feel a little bad for assuming this girl was betraying Zooey to flirt with me, or that Zooey didn’t trust me. It seems as though this girl is actually trying to fix something between us before she even knows the situation. I sigh, abandoning my work for a minute.
“Look, Zooey doesn’t want to even speak to me. I haven’t done anything wrong. She just stopped speaking to me out of the blue.”
“She’s scared, you dumbass. She’s never had feelings for a man before, especially not a man twice her age. She thinks you could hurt her, or that the fact you’re her father’s best friend could get in the way. Don’t you see that all she needs is a little reassurance?”
“Well how the hell am I supposed to give her that when she won’t talk to me? I mean honestly, she can’t even look at me right now. Don’t tell me this is my problem. She’s the one cutting me off, not the other way around.”
Poppy rolls her eyes. “You men are all the same. You don’t understand women at all. You have to earn a girl’s trust before they will want to be with you. I mean, how many girls have had their hearts broken? Every single one. She’s seen it happen to me, and all of her other female friends. It makes sense that she has her guard up. She doesn’t want to get burned. Can’t you understand that from her perspective.”
She’s stunned me into silence. I wasn’t expecting this situation to be turned around to blame me. But part of me gets it. In the past, I know I’ve let women down. I know I’ve been that guy that doesn’t call back. I know I’ve been the guy that leaves before a woman wakes up. Now that the tables have turned and Zooey has done the same to me, I can see how much that sucks. But I haven’t done anything to Zooey, so it seems kind of unfair that I’m getting the blame. What can I do to get her to trust me?
“Look, I’m not one of those guys,” I tell Poppy. “You have to help me convince her of that. You say you’ve been hurt before, but did any of those guys ever chase you down after you turned away from them? Did they ever give you a reason to believe they were better than that? Or can you see the difference between them and me? Because if you can, then you have to help her see that I’m not going to hurt her. She’s only going to hurt herself by giving up on me so easily. I’m a good guy. Let me prove it to her.”
Poppy folds her arms and narrows her eyes at me. I can tell exactly what she is doing. She is trying to see if I’ve created some kind of layer of bullshit that she needs to try and see through. But she can examine me all she wants. Right now, I’ve never felt more honest. Right now, I’ve never felt so sure of anything in my life. I know I want her, and I know that I would never hurt her. I know that Poppy is the key to getting her to trust me, because she trusts her. If I can get through to Poppy, then maybe things aren’t over between me and Zooey. She’s so young and unsure, but I can prove to her that I’m worth a shot, then she will see that I’m not like the other guys she’s heard about.
I’m the one for her.
Poppy sniffs, looking slightly less unimpressed than before. “Alright. You have made a convincing point. You seem like a decent guy, and if my girl is finally going to fall for someone, at least I know you’re not the worst man on the planet. I’ll do my best to talk her around.”
“Thank you,” I say. I really am grateful to her for coming to speak to me. Without Poppy, I’d still be moping around in a field full of trash, still as distant from Zooey as ever. But now, I need one more favor from Poppy. “It’s the pool party tonight, right?”
“I think so,” Poppy says coldly. “Shouldn’t you know that, considering you’re Lawrence’s business partner?”
“Yeah, well, this isn’t exactly my forte. Well, I think it’s time to utilize the hot tub. Do you think you can persuade Zooey to come and meet me there tonight? Say, nine pm?”
Poppy rolls her eyes. “I feel like a carrier pigeon between you two. But I guess if it’ll make her happy then I can do that for you. I’ll do my best to persuade her, but I can’t make any promises.”
“Thank you. Much appreciated.”
Poppy points an accusatory finger in my direction. “Don’t let me down. And more importantly, don’t let her down.”
