Page 122 of Drop Three

“Too bad you won’t be here, Penelope. You could be Navy’s date,” Kodi tells her.

Penelope laughs. “I know, right. That would have been so fun. Unfortunately, work doesn’t care how much fun I could be having.”

I’m proud of her for working hard and making a career for herself.

“What about you, B? Who are you bringing?” Cal asks me.

“Is the beautiful Poppy joining you?” Gus adds.

I think back to the text I got this morning from Poppy.

Poppy:when can I see you again? :)

I left her on read.

I don’t want to leave her guessing, but I’m not ready for her to tell Kodi I’m not interested in seeing her and have Cal ask questions.

“She can’t make it. No date for me,” I tell them all.

I’ll confess my sins later. For right now, this will at least shut them up.

Cal claps his hands as if he has discovered something and can’t help but share it. “That’s perfect! You and Navy can go together.”

What?

Shit. I said that out loud and so did Navy.

“I’m not that desperate for a date, dear brother,” Navy tells Cal, and I try not to let her rejection sting.

“I mean…it’s not the worst idea.”Why did I say that?

Do I want to die today?

If the death stare Navy gives me means anything when it comes to my future as Cal’s friend, I can gather that I spoke out of line.

But it’s true. It’s not the worst idea.

In fact, it might be Cal’s best idea yet.

I typically fight to stay away from Navy when Cal is around, but this gives me an excuse to be near her and have no one ask questions.

Maybe this is my chance to let Cal see us together and catch on to how fucking captivated I am by her—how I’m better with her close to me.

And maybe she’ll accept it for herself and see that I cared about her all along. She might just give me another chance if I give her enough clues.

Yeah, this could be good.

“Absolutely not,” Navy exclaims.

Cal butters a roll and hands it to his sister—he’s baiting her.

Smart guy.Women love it when men feed them well.

Navy takes the bread without a fuss.

“Think about it, Navy. Everyone at the Charity Gala will have a date except you and Bodhi. Bodhi needs a date; Coach even told him so. There are going to be handfuls of sponsors there looking to recruit. You know how important that is. Having a date helps with conversation starters. You’d be helping him a lot,” Cal tells her, and he makes a valid point.

Navy rolls her eyes. “What’s in it for me?”

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