Blake, and I were family. But we’d been cooped up all weekend, studying our asses off for midterms and trying to do as Charmaine had suggested and keep a low profile. That basically meant no clubs, parties, or our usual hangouts.
Just then, the phone rang.
“Don’t answer it. We can’t look like we’re home. That’ll make us desperate, and no one wants to date a desperate girl,” Taddy informed the room, as if the recent fame of her modeling gigs had clearly gone to her head.
The semester before, she had a long-distance relationship with this guy named Leon in Paris. Over the holidays, after he’d proposed and she’d accepted, they’d broken up. Don’t ask me why.
“Good point.” I handed the phone to Lex and demanded, “You answer it.”
“Hello,” she said after taking the phone off the hook. “Ah-huh...Yup. Vive’s right here, Thor. One sec.”
“Heyyy, Thorlicious. Wasssup?”
“Vive. When was the last time you saw Poppy White?”
I sat back on the sofa and huffed, “Thursday. She and Jay Austin had an interview for that new tell-all trashy book she’s writing on us. Why?”
“Because she’s missing,” he replied with a thread of hysteria in his voice.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, no one has seen or heard from her. She didn’t show up for her Thursday afternoon class, and she missed the Friday morning taping of her talk show. She’s never missed an episode. You know that girl lives to work.”
Shit! “I have no idea, Thor. But I’m sure she’s okay. She’s probably off doing research somewhere and lost track of time.”
“Vive, Dr. Henry says you threatened her life the other day. Is that true?”
Hearing the question caused a tinge of heat to sear up the back of my spine. My scalp suddenly felt itchy, too. “I don’t like what you’re implying, Thor, so you can just stop right there.”
“Well, where in the hell is Poppy White?”
“How the hell should I know?” Pissed off, I jumped to my feet. Deep down inside, I knew in my heart of hearts that, with the shitty-ass bad luck my besties and I had experienced over the years, this wasn’t going to end well. It never did for us. Like ever . “Hold on a second, Thor.” I muffled my hand over the receiver. “He says Poppy has gone missing. No one has seen or heard from her since Thursday.”
“Sweet. Jesus. You mean the other day, when you basically threatened to kill her if she published that book?” Taddy’s recall of the afternoon was all too perfect.
“Ohhh,” Lex started.
“My,” Blake added.
“Gawddd,” Taddy exaggerated.
“I didn’t do shit. I haven’t seen her since. But Thor says she’s missing.”
Lex and Taddy shook their heads at the same time as Blake raised his hands in the air.
Putting the phone back up to my mouth, I asked, “Thor, have you called campus security?”
“Duh.”
“What about the NYPD?”
“Totally.”
“What can we do?”
“Meet me here at the dorm in an hour. I’m organizing a search party.”
“See you in sixty.”
Sleeping Secrets
Later that night, I lay in bed with Seneca. A sense of urgency to be together had caused me to invite him over.
On his back, lean legs out, muscular arms spread wide, we’d had a quickie, more to relieve the stress of the whole ‘Poppy White gone missing’ ordeal than anything else.
Earlier, we’d searched for her all over Manhattan. We’d gone to her favorite French restaurant on the Upper West Side, the usual coffee shop, talked to her friends on campus, the police, and everyone in her dorm. No sign of her.
You couldn’t miss Poppy White if she were in sight. Tall, outspoken, as loud as a Mac truck horn, she got people’s attention, hence the reason she was fierce on TV. As much as I’d had my beef with her since college had started, I sure as fudge didn’t wish her any harm.
I wasn’t that kind of person.
Sure, there were a few people I’d like to see take a hike, or as Mama would say,
Just then, the phone rang.
“Don’t answer it. We can’t look like we’re home. That’ll make us desperate, and no one wants to date a desperate girl,” Taddy informed the room, as if the recent fame of her modeling gigs had clearly gone to her head.
The semester before, she had a long-distance relationship with this guy named Leon in Paris. Over the holidays, after he’d proposed and she’d accepted, they’d broken up. Don’t ask me why.
“Good point.” I handed the phone to Lex and demanded, “You answer it.”
“Hello,” she said after taking the phone off the hook. “Ah-huh...Yup. Vive’s right here, Thor. One sec.”
“Heyyy, Thorlicious. Wasssup?”
“Vive. When was the last time you saw Poppy White?”
I sat back on the sofa and huffed, “Thursday. She and Jay Austin had an interview for that new tell-all trashy book she’s writing on us. Why?”
“Because she’s missing,” he replied with a thread of hysteria in his voice.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, no one has seen or heard from her. She didn’t show up for her Thursday afternoon class, and she missed the Friday morning taping of her talk show. She’s never missed an episode. You know that girl lives to work.”
Shit! “I have no idea, Thor. But I’m sure she’s okay. She’s probably off doing research somewhere and lost track of time.”
“Vive, Dr. Henry says you threatened her life the other day. Is that true?”
Hearing the question caused a tinge of heat to sear up the back of my spine. My scalp suddenly felt itchy, too. “I don’t like what you’re implying, Thor, so you can just stop right there.”
“Well, where in the hell is Poppy White?”
“How the hell should I know?” Pissed off, I jumped to my feet. Deep down inside, I knew in my heart of hearts that, with the shitty-ass bad luck my besties and I had experienced over the years, this wasn’t going to end well. It never did for us. Like ever . “Hold on a second, Thor.” I muffled my hand over the receiver. “He says Poppy has gone missing. No one has seen or heard from her since Thursday.”
“Sweet. Jesus. You mean the other day, when you basically threatened to kill her if she published that book?” Taddy’s recall of the afternoon was all too perfect.
“Ohhh,” Lex started.
“My,” Blake added.
“Gawddd,” Taddy exaggerated.
“I didn’t do shit. I haven’t seen her since. But Thor says she’s missing.”
Lex and Taddy shook their heads at the same time as Blake raised his hands in the air.
Putting the phone back up to my mouth, I asked, “Thor, have you called campus security?”
“Duh.”
“What about the NYPD?”
“Totally.”
“What can we do?”
“Meet me here at the dorm in an hour. I’m organizing a search party.”
“See you in sixty.”
Sleeping Secrets
Later that night, I lay in bed with Seneca. A sense of urgency to be together had caused me to invite him over.
On his back, lean legs out, muscular arms spread wide, we’d had a quickie, more to relieve the stress of the whole ‘Poppy White gone missing’ ordeal than anything else.
Earlier, we’d searched for her all over Manhattan. We’d gone to her favorite French restaurant on the Upper West Side, the usual coffee shop, talked to her friends on campus, the police, and everyone in her dorm. No sign of her.
You couldn’t miss Poppy White if she were in sight. Tall, outspoken, as loud as a Mac truck horn, she got people’s attention, hence the reason she was fierce on TV. As much as I’d had my beef with her since college had started, I sure as fudge didn’t wish her any harm.
I wasn’t that kind of person.
Sure, there were a few people I’d like to see take a hike, or as Mama would say,
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