Page 44 of Broken Ties (Rixon High 4)

Poppy

The summer before seventh grade…

“Mom, Aaron stole my phone again,” Sofia yelled and stamped her feet as she glared at her brother. He caught my gaze and rolled his eyes, and I had to smother a giggle.

“Mom!” Sofia stormed inside, and Aaron let out a low whistle.

“She’s such a tattletale. I didn’t even steal her stupid phone. She left it in her room.”

“You know how she gets.” I kicked my legs higher as I swung on the tire swing. Aaron’s dad Asher had built it for them four summers ago. Sofia didn’t like it, said it wasn’t safe enough. But I loved it.

I loved the feel of the air rushing past me, the weightlessness I felt zipping through the sky. Aaron pushed me the best; he was getting so big and strong.

“What?” he asked, peeking up at me through his thick lashes.

Although they were twins, Aaron liked to remind Sofia that technically he was the eldest by two-and-a-half minutes.

“Nothing.” My stomach dipped. It had been doing that a lot around him lately.

Aaron was cute, with ice-blue eyes that made me shiver whenever they were aimed in my direction. Which was all the time since we were friends.

Best friends.

I was best friends with Sofia too. But it was different with Aaron.

It always had been.

“Are you ready for junior high?” I asked him.

“Hell yeah. I can’t wait to try out for the team.”

“You know you don’t have to play football just because your dad did back in the day.”

“Come on, Poppy. You know football is religion in Rixon. One day,” he said, puffing out his chest, “I’m going to play for the Raiders just like my dad and your dad.”

“Just promise me you won’t become a douchebag jock who hooks up with a different girl every weekend.”

“Jealous?” He smirked.

“What, no!” My cheeks heated, and he chuckled.

“You’re so easy to rile up.”

“Am not.”

He gave me a pointed look and I pressed my lips into a thin line, fighting a smile.

“What about you, Poppy Star? You ready for seventh grade?”

“Born ready.” I grinned.

“That’s my girl.”

His girl.

Butterflies fluttered wildly in my stomach. I loved it when he called me that. It made me feel special, all warm and fuzzy inside.

I’d never kissed a boy before like some of the girls in my class. They were all about experimenting and kissing whoever they could. But I only ever imagined kissing Aaron, which was kind of weird because we’d grown up together. I’d seen him naked more times than I could count. That was when we were kids though when things like that didn’t matter.

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