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He jogged outside and down the stairs, scowling as he approached the delivery driver. I rolled my eyes at him and went back to my table with a little more pep to my step.
It was still wild to me that the guys wanted me. It felt unreal. Each time one of them grabbed me, I was happily surprised. Knowing that Cyrus couldn’t keep his eyes off me was enough to leave me energized and excited.
I got back into my work as he talked to the delivery driver and I lost track of time until I heard my phone ringing later. When I looked up, I only knew it’d been a while because of the stiffness in my back.
Cyrus held my phone up from where he was across the yard and rolled his eyes when I motioned for him to answer it. The guys were used to answering my phone for me, especially when I didn’t want to talk to whoever was calling. That’d happened a lot more when we were younger, but even as adults I had them answer more than a few of my family calls.
I was already turning back to my table when I heard Cyrus answer. I wanted to finish the table for Sam before that night.
“Who the hell is this?”
I swung back around to Cyrus and stared at him in shock. I didn’t know who had called, but I could tell by the set of his shoulders that they were going to get ripped a new one if they didn’t hang up pronto.
“What the fuck do you want?” Cyrus turned away from me. “Why are you calling Poppy?”
My body tensed as I moved closer. Whoever had called had really pissed Cyrus off and I couldn’t think of who it would be.
“This is her fucking boyfriend, asshole. Her boyfriend who knows all about you and the shit you’ve pulled. So why don’t you let me know why the hell you’re calling Poppy.” Cyrus was quiet for a moment and then he let out a bitter laugh. “You really think that she would ever want to talk to you?”
My mind was reeling in every direction as I stepped even closer.
“Let me tell you something, you piece of shit. You’ve had this coming for a long time and it’s just your unlucky day that you called and I answered. I watched you treat Poppy like shit for years. I saw the mental abuse you put her through and I’ve seen the doubts you put in her head. You took advantage of a teenage girl who wanted to learn from you and then used her for all your selfish wants. You treated her like she was something to be ashamed of. I have a feeling you know how much you fucked up. Why else would you be sniffing around again? In case you don’t, though, let me inform you.” Cyrus spun around and his gaze crashed with mine. His jaw clenched and unclenched several times.
I swallowed and waited, unsure if I was even breathing.
“Poppy is not only the most beautiful woman you’ll ever know, she’s smart, kind, and funny. She’s got a smart mouth that doesn’t quit and more talent than you could ever hope to have. She’s the best fucking person to have in your corner and she likes watching basketball, you dumbass. Do you know how rare it is to find a woman who likes watching basketball more than you do? Anyone would be lucky to have her.” Cyrus took a deep breath. “I would thank you for being such a fuckup and letting her go if I thought you deserved a single thing from either of us. We’ll be at the wedding, though. Congrats on marrying someone who will never be Poppy. Fucking fool.”
Tears welled in my eyes and I threw myself into his chest. I wrapped my arms around him and held on tight. I wanted to thank him for sticking up for me and for being so kind about me, but I couldn’t say anything. I knew if I opened my mouth I’d crumble so I just held him and breathed in his familiar scent.
40
***Poppy***
“Whatthehell,Cyrus?”Sam looked around Cyrus’s living room and put his hands on his hips. “I’m leaving.”
Jude nodded. “Yeah, I’m with Sam. This is worse than normal.”
I frowned at both of them and leaned into Cyrus. “You’re both being jerks. Cyrus can’t help that he’s a dirty, dirty human. There’s a reason we have a once a month cleaning session here.”
“Nope. No way.” Jude pointed at me and actually shook his finger. “I’ll put up with a lot of shit but I’m not putting up with you suddenly defending Cyrus being a pig. Insult him with the rest of us or I’m quitting this friendship.”
Cyrus wrapped his arm around my waist from behind and kissed just under my ear. “He’s not going anywhere. You should’ve seen how fast he ran to get to your door first yesterday.”
“I had to pee.” Jude picked up a pizza box and scowled. “Is this from when we had pizza two weeks ago?”
“He didn’t have to pee.” Spinning me away from the living room, Cyrus smacked my ass and winked at me. “All the shaming is working and I suddenly don’t want you looking at the state of this place. How about you make the bed and then get in it?”
I faked a gag. “Has that ever worked on anyone?”
He gave me a pointed look. “Don’t ask those questions.”
For some unknown reason, I felt myself getting pissed off. Narrowing my eyes at him, I crossed my arms under my chest and made a point of knocking an empty water bottle onto the floor. “Have you cleaned those sheets since the last woman slept in them?”
Sam and Jude leaned against each other and watched, their excitement evident. Sam even nodded along. “Yeah! Have you?”
Even though Cyrus and I had reached a different level of our friendship, we still battled. When I saw the way his jaw was working back and forth, I knew he was about to really piss me off. “No.”
I saw red. “And you think I’m going to get into that bed? Oh, you stupid, stupid man. You can take those sheets, that bed, and your manwhore ways and shove them right up your—”
