Paradise Lost (Private 9)

"I have to go," I said, tearing my hand away from his.

"Wait. What?" he asked.

I speed-walked away from him. "It's just . . . I'm starving," I improvised. "I haven't eaten anything all day. . . ."

"Reed, I don't expect you to say it back, but you can't just run away," Upton said, jogging to reach me, kicking up sand behind him.

"I know. I'm sorry." I stopped and told myself not to be the child I had felt like moments ago. Told myself to be brave and mature and not stupid. I looked up at him. "It's all just a little fast. A little . .. scary."

Upton smiled and pushed his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. "Funny. I'm not scared at all."

Maybe you should be.

There was no way I could make him understand. He'd think I was being an overly dramatic, paranoid freak. Just like my friends. I mustered a smile from God knows where. "I just... I need to

think about it, if that's okay."

Upton smiled, relieved. "That's fine. Of course."

"Good," I said, breathing in for the first time in what felt like an hour.

"Good."

He leaned down and gave me a sweet, brief kiss on the lips.

"Now let's go eat. That waffle sounded perfect," he said.

We walked up the steps to the restaurant together, hand in hand.

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As I made myself breathe in and out, I realized that I felt okay about this. For once, I'd done the smart thing. Not jumped in with both feet without looking. And Upton had understood.

Maybe everything actually could just be okay. Maybe I had imagined the whole stalker thing. Maybe Upton and I could just be together without any drama. All I had to do was get over myself. Stop reading into every little thing. Stop taking it all so seriously.

And I could do that. I could.

As we reached the patio, the door on the opposite side of the restaurant swung open, and out stepped a tan, happy, gorgeous-looking girl in a red sundress and heels. The whole restaurant froze as she grinned and lifted her arms above her head in a double wave.

"Hey, everyone! Miss me?"

My breath caught in my throat. It was Poppy Simon.

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CHAPTER 33 POPPY POWER

Right, so ... a disappearance that didn't end in death.

Is it wrong that I was so surprised?

"Poppy!" Paige screeched, jumping up from her table. She raced across the room and practically tackled the girl into a hug. Soon Kiran, Taylor, Noelle, Tiffany, Daniel, Gage, West, Sienna, and Graham all followed, coming from every corner of the patio. Upton and I just stood there, hands clasped, unsure of what to do. Before I knew it, Kiran and Taylor were dragging Poppy back to the table. Upton and I glanced at each other, then walked over to the table and sat. Paige and her faction dragged up seats or stood around, crowding us in.

"Where have you been?" Kiran demanded. "Everyone was freaking out."

"Even though I told them not to," Noelle added under her breath.

"Oh, I just took a little sail over to St. Kitts," Paige said, waving a hand as she perched on the edge of her chair. She sat straight, her