His soft laugh cut into her rambling and Poppy felt a tremendous relief at the sound of it. She’d never imagined before that she could care so much for the imagined pain Kristoffer Lestrange felt. Whether it was real and there or a result of whatever ridiculous things they’d been drinking tonight, Poppy was glad to see a flicker of it abate at her words. And, even though he was gently rebuking her, the relieved smile that broke through was telling of her own reassurances. Poppy scoffed playfully, but didn’t respond as Kristoffer scooted closer to her. She was distracted by how little distance there was left between them and the sudden urge to practically crawl in his lap. Alarm at the thought was dulled by the flicker of excitement that shot through her spine, a thrill that her own potion had unknowingly sparked. Poppy wanted to kiss Kristoffer, she realized. Plain and simply.
He, however, kept speaking.
Blinking these thoughts clear, Poppy felt her brows pinch again at the question. Ah. Whoops. Perhaps she had said more than she needed to. A soft blush of embarrassment coloured her cheeks then as the brunette looked away from her companion. She plucked another few stray blades of grass on the outside of their little circle and wondered if she dared to be honest. She’d been bold enough once, out of necessary, and it hadn’t entirely backfired the way she’d imagined. But… Cassian seemed to have intentions with her. Who was to say Kristoffer would understand in the same way and not run screaming? Then again, they’d already in part talked about this. At her debut. The tiresome gentlemen bit.
Poppy sucked in a small breath. “Yes,” she admitted finally. “It’s… not easy always having to try and be society’s sweetheart.” She risked a glance at the blonde’s face, hoping he didn’t misinterpret that. Poppy knew by far she was not the only eligible debutant this season, and that by some standards she was undesirable due to her connections or blood status. But she’d faired well, despite all her own personal insecurities. Nobody could deny that much. “I just… sometimes it’s nice to be able to relax in the company of those you like,” she continued, leaning slightly into Kristoffer where their shoulders touched. “Around you I don’t feel the need to always be… ‘society Poppy.’ Around you, sometimes, I can just be… Poppy.” Mischievous, determined, outspoken, even hellion Poppy to a degree. But they didn’t need to get into that can of worms.
© Fox