She's so into me. I can feel it.

The way her hand nervously squirms in mine, it's like she can't believe she gets to touch me.

I've got this in the bag.

Chad's already cozying up to the hot blonde's friend. I knew he'd be all over her as soon as she laughed. The way her tits jiggled practically sent him over the edge. I'm more of a face guy myself, and Poppy's got some of the most captivating features I've ever seen. Her pouty pink lips and high cheekbones make me think that she must have modeled before. And models love me, just as much as I love them. Oh, and her eyes. I would let those crystal blue eyes drown me if it meant I got to taste those lips.

Fuck. I adjust my pants as we sit down. Be cool.

I thought that it would take at least an hour or so to scope out some chicks for tonight but she literally just fell into my arms. I guess I'm magnetic like that.

We're seated for not even a minute before Adriana long-legs comes by to take our order. The outfits these servers wear are probably half the reason this club is always so packed. Hell, it's why we come here.

"Hey Asher, Chad," Adriana coos as she looks around the table. "What are you boys drinking tonight? We've got Sex on the Beach on special tonight."

Poppy turns her head slightly and rolls her eyes but luckily Adriana doesn't notice. She may look clueless but I've seen her go off on a few customers in the past eight months. Poppy's already jealous, how cute. But she doesn't need to be. Adriana's already had a lap around the track; I try not to recycle.

"Have you ever had sex on the beach, Poppy?" I smirk as Chad orders us a cocktail each, plus a bottle of Dom for the table.

Poppy bites her plump lip and narrows her eyes. "Really? That's the best you could do? Honestly, I expected something a little more original." Her voice is laced with sass.

Fuck, called out. This might be more of a challenge than I thought.

"I thought that was pretty decent." I laugh as I crack my knuckles. Time to play.

"Well, you thought wrong. You might as well have told me I fell from heaven."

I smirk. She's feisty. "Nah, you're definitely from Hell." Although she has the voice of an angel. I can't wait for her to be screaming my name.

Poppy scrunches up her perfect nose. "Hell?"

"Yeah." I drape my arm around the booth, my fingers hovering inches from her shoulder. "Cause you're sexy as sin."

Poppy groans as she facepalms but I can see a ghost of a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "You're so lame."

"Lame, or charming?" I ask as I let my fingers drop down to graze her shoulder.

Poppy tousles her hair and her shoulder moves away from my hungry fingers. God, she even smells good. "Asher, listen. I'll give you an A for effort but I'm just here so my friend can have a fun birthday, ok? Whatever you're trying to do, it won't work. I'm not going to sleep with you."

Did she just...reject me? Before I even... What?!

I scoff inwardly. Ok, Poppy. Game on. You've just become my Everest. It's been a little too easy lately anyway. A win is far less satisfying if you don't have to put in the work.

"You're awfully quick to judge my intentions," I retort. "I'm just trying to make conversation."

"Right." She snorts. "By asking me if I've ever had sex on a beach?" She crosses her arms.

I chuckle. "I could have been talking about the drink."

"But you weren't," she states sharply just as Adriana arrives with the drinks. Poppy grabs the maraschino cherry off the top of the cocktail and places it on her tongue, a little too slowly. Is she..teasing me? I'm confused. "You're staring," she adds and I shift my gaze quickly.

Oh, damn. She's a little minx. Maybe she's playing hard to get. Wouldn't be the first time a girl tried to seduce me by acting aloof.

"Tell me about yourself, Poppy. What's your story?" I ask, genuinely interested where this elusive goddess came from.

Poppy shrugs and sucks on her straw. I find myself staring, again. Fuck. "There's not a lot to tell. I'm originally from Trenton, it's this small town in Pennsylvania. I moved to New York for college, and I live with Priya," she states matter-of-factly. I was expecting a little bit more information but I'll roll with it.

"So, you're a country girl then?" I might need to change my approach. I've been using my city girl playbook.

"I suppose you can say that. But I didn't own horses or live on a farm if that's what you're thinking."

"No?"

"Nope." Poppy turns to look at her friend and exhales. Priya and Chad are now engaged in a sloppy game of tonsil hockey. That was quick. Let's hope Poppy is on the same timeline as her friend. She sighs as she turns back towards me, her mood edging between irritated and defeated.

"Does she do this a lot?" I ask as I take a gulp of the cocktail. Shit, this drink is a hangover in a cup.

Poppy raises an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

I nod towards the horny pair. "Hook up with guys she just met, leaving you to fend for yourself."

"You might be surprised but no, she doesn't," Poppy answers with a hint of annoyance in her voice and takes the last sip of her drink. Wow, she downed that quickly. "And she didn't leave me." She pauses. "I have you to entertain me, don't I?"

Now she's definitely flirting...right? I can't really tell with this girl. Her poker face is difficult to read.

"Oh, I'll entertain you, don't worry," I promise as I roll my sleeves and I catch Poppy's gaze shift down to my tattoos. "Now look who's staring," I quip and I swear her cheeks get a little rosy.

"That one looks fresh." She points to the tiger on my forearm.

"It is, I got it two days ago." Poppy grabs my arm and rotates it to get a better look. Her grasp is gentle but her touch still irritates the skin and I flinch.

"Oh! Sorry, did that hurt?" She lets go and suddenly I'm okay with the discomfort as long as our skin can touch again. I need to get it together.

"It's still a little raw," I mutter as I finish the overly sugary drink. "You have any?"

"What? Tattoos?"

"Yeah."

"I do." A grin appears on her pretty little face.

"You do?" I ask skeptically.

"Mhm."

"Show me." She must be lying.

Poppy presses her lips into a thin line."I can't show it to you."

I raise an eyebrow. Color me intrigued. "Why not?"

Poppy shrugs coyly. "It's not accessible right now."

I laugh. Yeah, keywords: right now. We'll see about that later. "What is it? Script?"

"Why would you automatically assume it's script? For all you know I could have a giant dragon down the side of my leg."

"You really don't strike me as the type of girl to get a dragon tattoo. You come off more like a live laugh love type of girl."

Poppy's jaw drops and she frowns. "I think that's the most condescending thing you've said to me tonight! Are you implying that I'm basic?"

Oh, there's nothing basic about her. "So, it's not script?" I ask.

"No." She looks sheepishly to the side. "It's script," she admits.

I grin. "I knew it." Grabbing the bottle of Dom from the center of the table, I pop it open. Priya and Chad both come up for air and hold out their glasses. I make sure to fill Poppy's flute first. Chicks love being prioritized.

"It doesn't say live laugh love, though," Poppy murmurs as she takes a sip.

I hold up my glass to cheers and Poppy reluctantly clinks with me. "What does it say then?"

"It says Semper Ad Meliora."

I narrow my eyes. "Towards better things? Really?"

No way.

I've clearly caught her off guard because she chokes on the champagne. "You know Latin?"

"No." I shake my head. "But I do know that phrase."

"Really? How?"

I pull my sleeve up further and tilt my bicep in her direction. "I have it tattooed as well."

"That's crazy." Poppy slowly traces the words and her touch causes little Asher to twitch. "Your font is definitely way more uh- spooky-looking than mine."

I pull down my sleeve. "Spooky?"

"Yeah, it gives off a 'beware, I'm a bad-ass' type of vibe," Poppy chuckles as she tries to imitate my voice.

"You got that all from the font?"

"Oh, fonts can tell you a lot about a brand, or person, in your case," Poppy explains. "I took a Typography class last semester. It's actually a pretty cool subject, you should look into it. There's even an entire documentary about Helvetica."

"There's a documentary about a font?"

"Yup," she confirms. "Apparently, Helvetica is a very controversial topic among modernists and postmodernists."

I narrow my eyes. Who is this girl? For someone so hot, I never expected her to be intelligent. Ok, well, she's clearly interested in the subject matter. I'll play along.

"And where do you fit in? Are you pro or against it?" I ask curiously.

"I personally have no strong feelings towards it." Poppy flips her luscious long hair and shrugs. "It's a font, Asher, not a piece of legislation."

My jaw slightly drops. "But- you just..." Poppy giggles at my blubbering and polishes off her glass of champagne. She purposely just led me astray. What a savage.

How do I come back from this? I look like a fucking idiot. Think, Asher, think. I mentally flip through my playbook. She's clearly smart, definitely snarky, and watches documentaries. She's a girl so that means she probably likes animals, but she didn't live on a farm so that rules out a strong attachment to barnyard animals. After a minute of mulling it over in tense silence, I land on the perfect topic.

"Have you ever watched Blackfish?" I ask hesitantly as I observe her facial expressions.

Poppy's pouty little mouth twitches and her seductive eyes glow with recognition. Yup, she's seen it.

"Well?" I add knowingly.

Poppy rolls her eyes in defeat. "Yes, I have."

"And? I'm sure you have an opinion on that topic. Right?"

"If I'm going to discuss the inhumane practices of Seaworld at a club with a complete stranger, I'm going to need a few shots."

My hand immediately shoots up into the air and I snap over Adriana. "A shot of whatever the fuck she wants."