Bringing Poppy to some family function had been a bad idea, but agreeing to attend to begin with was worse. The pair hadn’t been there long and Jasper was already itching to leave. His fingers tapped nervously over his thigh as they sat away from the other partygoers. The only upside so far had been that his parents were too busy schmoozing to talk to him.
Poppy bumped him knee with hers and he turned to look at her. She dramatically breathed in and whispered, “Relax,” to him. He rolled his eyes in response but leaned back in his seat.
“What if I fake an illness and serious injury and we just leave? I feel like we’ve spent a respectable amount of time here already,” he uttered out.
“It’s only been twenty minutes.”
He sighed. “Feels like hours already.” And he knew the longer they stayed, the more likely he’d be whisked away at some point for his parents to show him off or interrogate him about his studies. “I’d rather be studying than be here,” he groaned.
The remark elicited a laugh from her and he relaxed at the sound. Stretching out his fingers, he patted his leg and moved his arm to drape over the back of Poppy’s chair. “Glad to know my misery brings you amusement.” He leaned towards her, a wry smirk on his lips.
Her lips pursed in thought and a slow smile pulled at his lips as he attempted to gauge her expression. Trying to get a better read on Poppy was always an interesting past time. “What if I make you a deal?” she said after a few seconds.
Jasper’s brow rose at the suggestion, giving her a quizzical look. “And that deal would be?”
“You make nice at this luncheon and I will owe you one favor.”
He grinned, pretending to debate the offer. Just as he was about to agree, a stern voice called out to him.
While his attention still remained on Poppy, he rolled his eyes. Of course his father would find him now of all times. His father cleared his throat as he didn’t respond and he noted the concern in Poppy’s eyes as she motioned for him to go.
Leaning towards her, he pressed a quick kiss against her cheek. He pulled away to see a look of surprise on her face. “What--Why--” she sputtered.
He chuckled before whispering to her as he got up. “--Guess I’m using my favor early. Pretty sure they’ll be less heat on me if they think they have to impress an Evans who came with me to this thing.”
The look of annoyance on her face was nearly worth it as he headed towards his father.
Her heart races and time seems to crawl to a halt. Everything in her falls and she rips her gaze away from the pair across the street. A feeling of dread slammed over her in a way she hadn’t expected and soon Carmen was running in the opposite direction. Semblances of thoughts and images over Spencer and someone else crashed over and over again. It was impossible to erase what she just saw, but she wishes there was a way. The image of him kissing someone else would forever be stuck inside her head.
At enough of a distance, she slows and comes to stop against a wall building. Carmen clutches her chest, hand in a tight fist, and she attempt to breathe. Logically she knows she wants Spencer to be happy. She knows she pushing him away, not taking that next step, is her idea. And yet, seeing him there with someone that isn’t her is too much to handle. It isn’t something she wants to handle and now the question of it being too late screams loudly in her head.
