Writing the Rules: A Fake Dating Standalone Mariah Dietz (best novels to read .txt) 📖

had a home game yesterday but didn’t go out afterward because we were getting together today, so we called it an early night.

Before I can let my mind question her absence further, the doorbell rings, and since Poppy is the only one missing, I stand, knowing it’s likely her.

“I thought we had ten more minutes?” Arlo teases from his chair.

I flip him off and continue to the front door of Tyler’s house where he lives with Cooper, Vanessa, and Chloe. It’s a mammoth of a place, with contemporary touches and sleek lines throughout. Poppy is on the other side of the door, holding two large white boxes that I reach for.

“Hey,” I say.

She smiles, but something is wrong—absent. “Hey. It’s okay. I’ve got them,” she says, sliding past me.

“Hey, Poppy!” Arlo calls from the couch.

“Football?” she asks, walking past them and continuing into the dining room where the girls are gathered, making mocktails. Her arrival has their conversation coming to a pause as they greet her.

“What did you bring,” Chloe asks, clearing a space for her to set down the boxes.

“Cupcakes. I got more of the ones we ordered for the Halloween party, but full-sized ones this time.”

“Oh! Those were so good,” Rae says, filling a glass with some sparkling cider and handing it to Poppy.

I don’t return to the living room to finish watching the game. I’ve already watched the same tape three times over, including with Rae and Lincoln yesterday after practice.

“Pax, you just earned boyfriend of the night,” Alexis, Luis’s girlfriend, tells me. “Are the others following you?”

“They’re almost done,” I say.

“Shoot. I need to make a quick run to the store,” Chloe says. “I completely forgot butter.”

“We can go without butter,” Rae says with a shrug.

“I need it for a recipe,” Chloe says. “It’s not a big deal. It will take me like ten minutes to run and grab it.”

“That’s okay. Poppy and I will go,” I offer.

Poppy looks at me from across the room where she’s sipping her cider, surprise inching her brows up her forehead. “Yeah,” she says. “I still have my coat on.” As she sets her cup down, Rae looks at me, chin lowered with silent questions, clearly noticing the same differences in Poppy that I am. I nod once to let her know I’m aware, then place my hand on Poppy’s lower back.

“Where are you lovebirds going?” Luis asks as we walk back through the living room. “You can’t even sit through dinner without—”

“You don’t want to finish that sentence,” I warn him.

Luis grins. “No judgment here,” he says.

“We’re running to the grocery store,” Poppy says.

“You guys watch the clock. I gave them my word. Don’t make me look like a dick.” I point at Tyler, who’s holding the remote.

“We just have to watch this play because I look like fucking Superman with this extension,” he says, eyes on the TV.

I open the door, keeping my hand on Poppy’s back. Outside is wet and gray, the air cold enough that I can see our breaths as we cross the deck. “This place is amazing,” I say.

Poppy looks back like she missed seeing it the first time. “It really is. I know a lot of people like living on the water, but I’d rather live like this where you don’t see neighbors from every window.”

“You want to live out in the forest?” I ask.

She nods. “I think so. I’ve always lived in a neighborhood, and there are perks, but I like the idea of having a big piece of property where I can go outside and have a big garden, and chickens, and maybe a goat or two.”

“Goats and chickens?” I ask, surprise and humor curling my lips.

“Maybe a pig, too.”

“You’re serious?”

She nods. “Introvert one-oh-one, we like our space.”

“I could get on board with a piece of property. Build a big track for go-karts and a little putting green.”

Poppy chuckles. “If there are go-karts, then there’s definitely going to be a pool.”

“Deal,” I say as we reach my car. I open the passenger door for her, but rather than slip inside, she hesitates, her green gaze starting to reflect that same brightness that was missing just seconds ago, then she slips into my car.

“How was your Thanksgiving?” I ask once we’re both seated.

She nods. “It was … nice.”

“Why the pause?”

“I didn’t pause.”

“A little one.”

“It was just ... different. My mom actually invited Mike and his parents over.”

My full attention swings to her. “Really?”

She nods. “Yeah, my mom and his mom have kind of become friends over the past few years, and so she invited them over.”

“How was that?”

Poppy swallows as she struggles to make eye contact with me. “It was good. Shockingly normal.”

“Normal?”

“Yeah. I mean, it was kind of weird, but it also kind of felt like I was hanging out with an old friend. Kind of like when you and I hang out, you know?”

Something sour rests in my gut as she compares spending time with me to time spent with him. “What about his girlfriend?”

“She was in Arkansas for the weekend.”

“And she was okay with it?”

Poppy shrugs. “I don’t know. I think so. I mean, why wouldn’t she be?”

“Because you’re his ex…”

“She doesn’t know that.”

The news has me pulling my chin back. “What?”

“It’s irrelevant. We should go. We’re going to make everyone late.”

I nod, but everything inside of me wants to protest. “But they’re still together?”

“Yeah. I mean, I think so.”

“And we’re okay, right?”

She looks at me, that same note of hesitation present that keeps her from immediately responding. “Why wouldn’t we be?”

“I don’t know? You just seem upset.”

“It’s silly.” She moves her attention out the windshield.

“No. If something’s bothering you, we should talk about it. Hell, don’t we have a rule about this? Air all grievances?”

“It’s not a grievance, it’s just … a thing…”

Rain begins to fall against the windshield, creating a melody that silences the rest of the world as I stare at her, imploring her to tell me.

She rubs her lips together, drawing attention to the subtle