Chapter 10

Not next to Anchor. Across from Poppi. Like some kind of cosmic joke.

Anchor slid into place beside him, still smiling, still glowing, but Madden wasn’t looking at her anymore.

He was looking at Poppi.

The music started and the group moved in sync. Step, slide, clap. Poppi focused on the rhythm, on her feet, on anything except the heat of his gaze locked on her from across the line.

Step. Slide. Don’t look at him. Clap. Don’t. But she did.

Their timing lined up perfectly as they moved, mirroring each other without trying. When the line shifted forward, they got closer. When it pulled back, they separated again. A push and pull. A tease. Intentional or not. Poppi swallowed hard, her pulse picking up.

Madden smirked like he knew exactly what it was doing to her. Like he remembered. Every step forward tightened something between them, something unspoken but very real. Anchor laughed beside him, bumping his shoulder, but he barely reacted.

His attention stayed on Poppi. And that made it worse. Because now it wasn’t just jealousy. It was confusion. Frustration. And something dangerously close to hope.

The music sped up, the steps getting sharper, closer. On the next turn, the lines rotated, partners shifting, bodies brushing past each other.

Poppi’s breath hitched. Because she knew what was coming. The rotation would put him right in front of her. No space. No pretending. Just them.

And when it happened; when Madden stepped into place directly in front of her, close enough that she could see the flicker in his eyes, close enough to feel the heat of him… Everything else faded. The music. The crowd. Anchor. All of it. Gone.

“You’re staring again,” he murmured, just loud enough for her to hear over the music.

Poppi scoffed, even as her heart pounded. “You wish.”

But she didn’t step back. And neither did he. The next move brought them even closer. Their hands almost brushing, bodies almost touching. Almost. Too close for comfort. Not close enough to be innocent.

And for a split second, one reckless, dangerous second, it felt like they might forget where they were. Who they were. Who they were supposed to be to each other. But then the line shifted again. And just like that—

They were pulled apart. Left with nothing but tension… and everything they weren’t allowed to say.

Poppi stayed away from Madden the rest of the night. She knew that she would be reckless if she didn’t.

“Can you drive me home?” Viva asked.

“Sure but didn’t you ride with Anchor? Poppi inquired.

“I did, but she is going to give MJ a ride apparently. He took an uber here so he doesn’t have a way home,” Viva stated.

That was interesting since he was staying with Poppi this summer and he could easily ride home with her. Her mind instantly went to the worst case scenario. She had to find Anchor.

She felt a cool breeze come in from the doors and saw Madden slipping out with Anchor holding his arm. The closeness between the two wasn’t what was breaking her heart, it was that he didn’t even look back to see if she was still there.

She couldn’t shake it. Madden left. With Anchor. Without her.