Chapter 39

Back at the cottages everyone went back to their rooms. Drake was drunk, so Talon and Poppi helped carry him back to his room.

Madden stayed out on the trail between the two houses. He was thinking long and hard about what Valyn had maybe known about him and Poppi. Would she tell his father?

He had to try to shake the thought, but each time he did, his mind went back to Poppi dancing with Hohner. The way his hands found their way so easily around her waist. The way she threw her head back and laughed at whatever stupid joke he had just told. There was nothing more than a dance shared between them, but for Madden it felt like so much more. It felt like she was purposefully not choosing HIM.

“What are you still doing out here Madden?” Poppi said, pulling him out of his thoughts.

“Oh hey. I was just thinking is all,” he said.

“About what?” She asked.

“Anchor actually,” he responded quickly.

Her face changed slightly. Enough for him to notice.

“Oh,” Poppi said, hanging her head low.

She avoided his gaze.

“Poppi. I broke things off with her before we came. I was just hoping she was doing okay is all. I don’t like hurting people. You know?” He said.

She softened her eyes and leaned toward his direction.

Her eyes were fixed on him as she moved closer. He moved away slightly.

“Oh, is that how it is now? I come near you and you move away?” She asked.

He looked at her. This wasn’t the way he usually looked at her.

“What Mads?” She asked.

“I think Valyn may have heard us the other night?” He said.

“What do you mean? Heard us doing wha—“ her voice caught in her throat.

She realized at that moment exactly what he meant. Exactly what her mother may have heard.

“Oh my goodness Madden. How? How do you know? What did she say?” Poppi pleaded.

“She noticed I had stayed the night somewhere else. She said she assumed I was with Anchor, but we both know who I stayed the night with,” he said.

Her stomach dropped. Not at the thought of her mom knowing she probably had sex with Madden, but at the thought of him and Anchor doing the same.

“Have you? With Anchor?” She asked, not looking him in the eye.

He walked closer to her and grabbed her shoulders.

“Poppi, it’s you I want. It’s only you. Why would you even think that?” He asked.

“I mean she is stunning. And she is kind of your girlfriend. I would only imagine that you two have done things,” she said.

“Poppi I’m not going to get into details about what Anchor and I do, but I will say that whatever we do is only to fill the void of me not having you,” he said.

“That doesn’t help Mads. You touching her. You kissing her. You being with her in any way. It doesn’t make this ache go away,” she said.

He turned to her quizzically.

“Poppi, this is what you wanted. I asked you to be with me. You said over and over again that we can’t. So I leaned into my relationship with Anchor. You can’t keep stringing me along,” he said.

“I know I did. It doesn’t make it not hurt, especially after you and I had that night. It’s all I think about Madden. The way you kissed me. I’ve never been kissed like that before. It’s all so much to deal with,” she said.

He grabbed her waist and pulled her close to him. She could feel the heat of his body wrap around her like a blanket.

“I told you how I feel. I know we can’t feel what we feel though, and that is why we have to stay away from one another Poppi,” he determined.

She nodded in agreement. She followed his hand as it traced along her arm and neck. Shivers went up and down her entire body.

“What are you doing Madden?”

He didn’t respond. He kept gently tracing the outline of her body with his fingertips.

“Madden…” she whispered, almost so faintly that he could barely hear it.

“What if we had one more of those nights before we ended this for good?” He asked, pressing his hand firmly on her back.