"And how long do you say you'll be away?"
"The whole summer I'm afraid. The journey all the way to the north is a long one" my father says. He's leaving to meet some lords, expecting to make some deals with them that would help us a little bit. "I wish I didn't have to leave you here, especially now that that family is around. Promise me that you'll take care of yourselves and won't be anywhere close to them."
"We promise" my mother and I lie.
I know that, the moment he leaves, my mother would arrange our tea party with Lady Rice. And I know that I'm bound to see Declan somewhere. After all, and like he reminded me the other day, we are neighbors.
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"I'm so glad you could come" Lady Rice says as we enter the house.
"Thank you very much for inviting us" my mother replies. "We are lucky my husband is gone and we don't have to worry about sneaking out as I used to do when I was young."
Both women start laughing, and it feels as if there was some kind of joke there.
The house hasn't changed much since I was here for the last time. We go out to the garden, where a table has been set for us to have our tea. My mother and Lady Rice talk a lot, catching up on everything that has happened to them these past years, and I just stare. I wonder if Elena and I would be the same when we get older.
They are talking about some Lady who had moved to the city when someone shows up at the door that leads to the garden.
"Afternoon, ladies" Declan says.
I almost choke on my tea when I see him. He's wearing a white shirt half open to his chest, and he must have been doing some kind of exercise, because the fabric is sticking to his skin with sweat, giving a little glimpse of his muscles. His hair, that usually looks perfect, is also wet, a few locks falling to his forehead.
"Declan, love. I wasn't expecting you so early" his mother says.
"One of the boys hurt himself and we had to finish the game early" he says while running a hand through his hair. Seeing him do that makes me feel so hot, that if someone touched me they could probably burn themselves.
"What game were you playing?" asks my mother.
"Football. Everyone at court loves it, the Queen is a huge fan" he says.
"Isn't that the game you and your friends also play?" my mother asks me.
"What?" I say, coming back to reality.
"Football, daughter. Isn't that what you like playing in the woods?"
"Oh, yes, that" I say.
"Looking forward to seeing you play one day, my lady" Declan says with a smirk before leaving to get changed.
Our mothers go back to their talk while I'm just left there, trying to recover from feeling like I may burst into flames at any moment.
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"Someone has left this note for you, my lady" our butler says.
Football game. The woods. Tomorrow. Your friends vs mine. Let's see how good you truly are.-DR
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Most of us are already in the woods. Declan, I mean, Deccy, hasn't arrived yet, but when he does you can't miss him. You could hear his laugh from the other side of the country.
Some of the girls start giggling like idiots when he passes next to them, making me roll my eyes, and I see him coming towards me, eyes fixed on my legs, probably because all the girls and I are wearing trousers for the game. Running after a ball with a dress isn't the most comfortable thing, and even though at first it was a bit of a scandal, now everyone is used to seeing us wearing them. Everyone but Declan.
"What are those?" he says while pointing at them.
"These?" I say. "These are legs, Deccy. This is what women have under their skirts, you know? But I get it. You've probably never been close enough to a woman to know what is underneath all the fabric we wear."
He just chuckles at my comment, but I noticed that he has blushed a bit. Good.
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The game is a complete mess, no one following any of the rules, but we all love it. When it is over, the ball ends up a bit deeper on the woods. No one wants to go after it, they are too busy drinking water, so I have to do it myself.
"That was a fault, you know?"
I jump when I hear Declan next to me. I was so focused looking for the ball that I hadn't heard him behind me.
"You seriously need to stop following me, Deccy. It's creepy and any day now you are going to give me a heart attack."
"Sorry" he says with a smile. He's looking as handsome as the other day at his house. How can someone look this good when covered in sweat?
"Have you found the ball?" he asks.
"Not yet" I say.
His mouth is half open, still catching his breath from running like his life depended on it during the whole game, and I can't stop looking at his lower lip. I want to bite it so badly.
"You are staring" he says.
"I am not starting, Deccy" I reply. I can feel myself blushing, but my face probably is so red from running that it isn't noticeable.
"You were staring, little poppy" he says, getting closer. "At my mouth to be precise."
"I wasn't" I say. "And why would I even do that?"
"Maybe you want to kiss me" he says while getting even more close to me. I let out a nervous laugh, trying to look at anything but him. "I do want to kiss you" he says. And before I can react to what he just said, he is kissing me.
My whole body tenses when I feel his lips on mine, one hand holding my face, the other on my waist. He breaks the kiss for a second, and that's when, for some reason, I choose to slap him in the face and then push him away.
"Ouch!" he says. "That really hurts, you know?"
We just stare at each other for a few seconds, and on another outburst that comes from I don't know where, I jump at him and kiss him. I'm not too sure about what I am doing, just that I need him. My arms are around his neck, moving to his hair. His hands are on my waist, and he pushes me against a tree. Everything feels too hot. Me, him, the air around us. His hands are going under my shirt, and everything in my body shudders. I gasp when I feel his fingers on my skin, our lips breaking apart enough for me to finally bite his lower lip. He lets out a little grunt when I do it, and goes back to kissing me even harder. One of his hands is going up to my chest, the other down to my low back. I feel like I'm going to explode.
"Declan? Are you there?" someone says.
We stop when we hear the voice, and he takes a few steps back away from me. We both are panting, and we can't stop looking at each other.
"Dec?" his friend calls again.
"Coming!" he finally manages to say, his eyes still fixed on mine. "I'm just looking for the ball."
After that he just goes to meet his friend, leaving me there, alone. I have to sit down under the tree, my knees suddenly feeling weak, as I try to process what the hell just happened.
YOU ARE READING
Little Poppy
Romance♚ Period drama ♚ Summary: "My family and the Rice's have been enemies since forever, and it all started because a Rice ancestor married the woman my ancestor was supposed to marry. The thing is though, that over the years, some members of both fami...
