"I know, dad. I’m not in Amsterdam right now," Poppy whispers into her phone. "I’ll let you know if things change. Bye, talk to you soon."

With a sigh, she ends the call and tosses her cellphone aside. She can feel the beginning of a headache forming, and she helplessly rubs at her temples in a futile attempt to stop it. After a few seconds, she rakes a hand through her hair and takes a sip of her coffee.

She takes a quick glance at her watch and sighs again. It’s late in the evening, she hasn’t had anything to eat yet and she probably looks utterly exhausted.

The dim lights and silence of the police station are the only things that surround Poppy right now. Most of the office has gone home for the day, but herself and her team are often there late into the night alongside the usual nighttime staff. Most of the time it’s because of Poppy’s attempts to catch the thief that’s slipped through her fingers countless times: Bee Hughes. The now familiar sting of failure leaves a bitter taste in Poppy’s mouth time and again.

Bee Hughes. Time and time again, that girl proves to be the bane of Poppy’s existence. Even saying her name out loud is enough to make her grunt.

She’s alone in her office tonight but if she closes her eyes, she can practically feel Bee right next to her. Her infuriating laugh echoes in her mind, making Poppy grit her teeth.

Her eyebrows knit together as she stares at the computer screen in front of her. The bright light it gives off illuminates her face a pale blue inside her otherwise dark office. Poppy pours over file after file of all the previous jobs Bee has successfully pulled off. They range from priceless works of art, to jewelry, to even stranger things like ancient fossils. She doesn’t work alone, either. Poppy still hasn’t identified the rest of Bee Hughes’ team, but she knows that Zoey Wade is basically her partner in crime. If she could just interrogate her, then maybe she’d get more intel on Bee… but Zoey is just as slippery as Hughes is.

Poppy has been obsessively investigating Bee for years now. She knows everything there is to know about her, including her biological family and place of birth. She knows about her childhood and her first heists, and for better or for worse, it’s basically as if she’s known her for her entire life by now. In fact, she can’t even remember what life felt like without Bee in it. What did it feel like, to go to bed without thinking about finally bringing Hughes down?

And the strangest thing is that Bee Hughes seems to be just as obsessed with Poppy as Poppy is with her. The way she smiles at her every time they meet, as if she’s predicted her next move… it makes Poppy’s blood boil.

Bee Hughes doesn’t look like an average thief, and that’s why she’s able to get away with her crimes. Despite it pains Poppy to admit it, Bee Hughes is absolutely gorgeous. She knows it, Bee knows it and men all around the world know it. That’s why Bee is able to scam them out of their money and valuable items without ever getting caught.

But Poppy never gives up the chase. She’d follow the woman around the world if she must. In fact, she has. Right now, she is stationed just outside of London after tracking down even the slightest bit of information on Bee.

It’s not the first time she leaves everything behind to attempt to catch Bee. They’ve had countless face to face encounters before, the most recent one had been in Paris, where Bee had managed to escape at the very last second. Poppy’s also followed her to stranger places, like an underground vault in South America or ancient ruins in Egypt; but every time Bee had successfully eluded her.

But this time will be different. Poppy will make sure of it.

Poppy’s informant has led her to believe that Bee has her eyes set on the Apoidea Jewel that is currently on display in a local museum. After giving proper warning to the staff and their security a bit over a week ago, there’s been nothing but complete radio silence. No word on Bee trying anything yet, and Zoey is nowhere to be seen.

Poppy begins to grow restless as she opens one of the more recent case files. She chews on her thumbnail while skimming the words on the screen for what seems like the tenth time that night. It’s becoming a habit, as much as she hates to admit it, to constantly look at Bee’s case files until the words are ingrained into her mind.

Her eyes stare down at Bee’s picture for a second too long. Her delicate features, the curls that frame her face, her sharp eyes… even if Poppy closes the file, she can still see Bee smiling smugly at her.

Come on. Where are you, Hughes?

Her cellphone that had been tossed aside to the corner of her desk suddenly rings, making Poppy jolt from her thoughts and accidentally bite down on her thumb. Swallowing down a curse, she shakes her hand and picks up the phone with the other. She tucks the device between her shoulder and ear then begins scribbling more notes on her notepad.

"Inspector Min-Sinclair speaking."

"Inspector!" a frantic voice spills out from the speaker, immediately making her focus. She quickly recognizes the voice as the rookie Liam Gill. "Hughes made her move!"

Those words make Poppy’s pen come to a halt. She jumps to her feet, knocking over her coffee in the process, and hurries to her office door. She snatches her blue jacket off the hook next to it as she rushes out of the room as fast as her legs can carry her.

"You’re absolutely positive it’s her?" Poppy barks into her phone.

"Positive ma’am!" Liam answers. "We’re in pursuit of her on foot as we speak!"

"Follow her and don’t you fucking dare let her get away, Gill, or you’ll regret it!"

Poppy barely hears him blurt out a “yes ma’am!” before she hangs up her phone and shoves it into her pocket. She shrugs on her jacket as she runs into the garage towards her cruiser. She quickly slides into the car, flips on its siren, then floors it out of the building.

The city lights look like a blur as she rushes towards the scene. Thankfully, it isn’t too far from the station, but every second she wastes gives Bee another chance to disappear into the night. Poppy refuses to let that happen this time. She is determined to take her in and end this once and for all.

The tires of the car screech along the pavement as Poppy makes a hard turn onto the road where the museum is located. She can easily see at least three other police cruisers with their lights flashing in front of the building. She comes to an abrupt halt next to one of the parked vehicles, rolls down the window, then calls over an officer she recognizes as Chloe St. James.

"Which way did they go?" Poppy yells.

"That way, ma’am!" Officer St. James answers while pointing down the road. "They took off after her then made a right at the intersection!"

Without even throwing a thank you her way, Poppy grips the steering wheel and continues her chase. The radio in her car crackles to life and a distorted voice soon pours out of it, telling her exactly where they are chasing Hughes. She hangs onto every word, taking every shortcut she can until she slams on her breaks next to a nearby alleyway.

The only officer Poppy can see in the opening of the alley is actually Liam Gill. His hands are on his knees as his shoulders rise and fall with heavy pants. Poppy quickly gets out from behind the wheel then makes her way up to the exhausted man.

"Don’t tell me she got away, Gill! I swear, if you tell me that you lost her—" Poppy grits her teeth while glaring at her subordinate.

Liam, clearly out of breath, merely shakes his head then points up towards the rooftops. Poppy’s eyes follow where he pointed only to see a brief flash of a silhouette dance across a nearby roof. Her eyes widen and she shoves aside the poor rookie.

"Out of my fucking way!" Poppy sprints down into the alley itself. "We’re this close! She’s not getting away that easily this time!"

Poppy frantically looks around for somewhere, anywhere, to keep up her pursuit. She strains her eyes to see in the pitch black corridor until she notices a fire escape that appears to be just in reach if she jumps. Taking in a deep breath to steady herself, she gets a running start then leaps into the air. Her fingers latch onto a slightly rusted metal rung of the ladder. A grunt escapes her throat as she heaves herself up onto it and starts climbing.

Once at the top, Poppy takes in her surroundings. The rooftops themselves are rather bare, except for some ventilation ducts and discarded containers. The lights of London flicker in the distance and dot the horizon in a way that can only be described as beautiful. She’d normally stop and take in the scene, but she has more important matters at hand. Like finally capturing her nemesis and going back to having a normal life.

A clang rings out to her right, and the same silhouette from before dashes along the corner of her vision. Poppy locks onto the shadowy figure then charges after it while reaching for the taser in her belt. Adrenaline pumps into Poppy’s veins from being right on Bee’s trail. The feeling is intoxicating, just like every time they’ve faced each other before. Bee is right there, just out of arm's reach. All Poppy has to do is slap the cuffs on her and it would be over. Justice will have won. She will have won.

It isn’t until she sees Bee jump across a rather large gap onto a different building that Poppy’s thoughts shift. Her stomach knots at the idea of taking the risk of falling, but she pushes forward. The idea of losing to Bee again terrifies her more than falling, and that realization on itself terrifies her even more.

It doesn’t matter.

Don’t think about it, just keep going. Don’t let her escape. Not this time.

She isn’t letting her get away. Picking up her pace, she keeps on Bee’s tail and takes the leap.

Cold wind bites at Poppy’s nose and cheeks as she soars through the air. Her heart drops into her stomach when she looks down at the nothingness beneath her. Bile creeps its way into the back of her throat. Vertigo makes her head momentarily swim. It is as if time has stopped, if only for a split second.

But, then again, she always feels that way when she’s chasing after Bee. It’s as if time isn’t real. As if they’re in their own alternate dimension with their own set of rules.

Poppy lands hard on the other side of the gap. She briefly loses her balance and stumbles forward only to see her target calmly standing at the opposite end of the rooftop. A stiff breeze whips up Bee’s long curls before it settles down. A billboard is at her back, trapping her. Poppy’s chest heaves with exhaustion before she snaps her hands up to aim her taser at the other woman.

"Hughes!" Poppy cries out. "You’re under arrest for stealing the Apoidea Jewel and other priceless items! Don’t resist and come quietly!"

Bee’s head tilts to the side and an amused grin pulls on her lips, almost as if she has just been told a joke. Poppy can help but look at her up and down. As usual, Bee looks stunning. Even after a literal foot chase, she is as graceful as ever. Her eyes seem to glow in the night, and the distant lights illuminate her dark skin, giving her an almost ethereal aura.

She watches closely as Bee lifts up one of her gloved hands until it is at eye level with her. Poppy can see a flash of light glint off the precious gemstone that Bee is holding with just two fingers.

"Ah, Inspector Min-Sinclair! So nice to see you again!" Bee’s words come out sweet and strangely genuine. "I haven’t seen you since I gave you the slip in Paris. You should have let me know you were in town."

"Yeah, I should’ve left you a call," Poppy grunts and Bee laughs.

"Exactly! You should text me next time, okay? I’ll give you my personal number," Bee smiles, twirling her hair with her finger. "We really need to stop meeting like this. It’s always so unexpected!"

She’s lying. Of course she’s lying. Poppy hates to admit that Bee is probably expecting her as much as Poppy is trying to find her. It’s what they do, after all.

"As if you don’t know that I’m always going to come after you, whether you like it or not!" Poppy barks.

"Aw, I didn’t know you liked me that much!" Bee bats her eyelashes and presses a hand to her chest. "You know you can just ask me out rather than go around chasing me, right? I won’t say no to a date with you!"

Poppy scoffs and rolls her eyes. "Right, you’re just playing hard to get and definitely not stealing valuables and making my job a living nightmare."

"See? You understand. Now why not just let me go? We could go grab dinner afterwards!"

"Are you that obsessed with me, Hughes?" she bites, trying to buy herself more time. Bee’s always unpredictable, so it’s best not to give her any kind of advantage. "Why would I want to grab dinner with you?"

"Ah, Inspector, I think you already know the answer to that question!" she smiles gleefully. "It’s obvious that you like me. Why else would you literally chase me around the world? I’m flattered, though."

Poppy stays silent as she stares down the thief, refusing to break eye contact or lower her weapon. A frown pulls on her lips as Bee’s smile is replaced with a cheeky smirk. The fact that she is so nonchalant about being cornered makes Poppy’s frustration skyrocket. She shoves down her anger, though. Only fools let their emotions cloud their judgement. That’s what her father always says.

Don’t fuck this up, Poppy. Don’t be a disappointment.

"Say, Inspector, are you the gambling type?" Bee asks while casually tossing the jewel into the air and catching it with one hand while she plants the other on her hip. "How about you give me, ah… Ten seconds before you try to arrest me? If I can catch you off guard, you let me go. If I don’t, you take me in."

"I’ve been after you for years now. I don’t think anything you do will surprise me now," Poppy says with a dry laugh. "But let’s see how this plays out for you. Ten seconds."

"Then it’s on," Bee pockets the gemstone and lets out a quiet chuckle of her own.

Once Bee says that, Poppy starts counting down in her head.

Ten. Nine. Eight.

Poppy slowly makes her way towards Bee. Even if she somehow loses, like hell she will let Bee get away. If all she needs to do is tell a small lie to capture her, then so be it. Lying and manipulating is not beneath her, after all.

Seven. Six. Five.

As Poppy closes the distance, Bee turns so the billboard that was trapping her is now on her left and on Poppy’s right. So far, Poppy doesn’t see her scheming or setting up anything, which is highly unusual for Hughes. Her eyebrows knit together in confusion. She holds onto her taser even tighter when Bee briskly starts to march up to her.

Four. Three. Two.

Poppy’s puzzled emotions soon turn to fight or flight response as she half expects Bee to throw a punch at her or maybe try to knock her down with a kick.

But that’s not what happens.

In fact, what actually happens is much weirder.

Instead of a punch, she feels the soft, worn leather of Bee’s glove glide against her cheek. The sudden shock makes Poppy’s hands drop to her sides as she is pulled in for a kiss.

One.

Heat rapidly spreads across Poppy’s cheeks as they flush a deep red. If she actually was willing to risk letting Bee go on a bet, she knows she would have lost then and there. It’s as if time has stopped again and there’s no one else in the world but the two of them. She can’t think of anything except for the girl in front of her, and as Poppy (surprisingly) kisses her back, her head starts spinning.

Why does she feel so warm? She can vaguely hear a distant voice in her mind wondering that. Why does this feel right?

Her mind struggles with question after question once the kiss is broken. She stands there, dumbfounded, in the middle of the chilly night. Every plan she had up to that point disappears from her head in a flash. Her heart pounds loudly in her chest.

What the hell just happened?!

As she finally comes back to earth, she tries to bring her hand to her burning cheeks only to realize she can’t lift her right hand above her waist. She snaps back to reality all at once only to see she has been handcuffed to one of the billboard’s beams with her own handcuffs that were previously on her belt.

Even worse, Bee has disappeared.

"Hughes!" Poppy cries out into the quiet, London suburbs. As if answering her call, she hears tires squealing at the street below. She runs as close to the edge of the building as she can, her arm connected to the billboard stretched out behind her.

From there, Poppy can see a black van fleeing the scene. From the flashing of the streetlights, she can briefly see Zoey in the driver’s seat and Bee taunting her by waving from the sunroof of the van.

"You can’t escape me, Hughes!" Poppy calls after her. Just before the vehicle turns the corner and out of her line of sight, she sees Bee blow a kiss in her direction. "I’ll catch you even if it’s the last thing I do!"

That’s a vow she intends to keep.

------------------

------------------

"God, I’m so tired of driving!" Bee whines, tossing her handbag onto the back seat.

Poppy glances at the giant teddy bear resting against the back window, and then at Bee. She sighs.

Ever since they had breakfast, Bee has been dropping not-so-subtle hints that she wants Poppy to drive instead.

"If you want something, ask for it, Farmsville. This won’t work."

Bee purses her lips, finally giving in. "Fine. Poppy, would you please drive for today?"

Poppy smiles and clicks her tongue. "No."

"No?! What do you mean, no?" Bee pouts and slumps against the car, still standing outside of it. "I asked nicely."

She smiles again. She’s already decided that she’s driving today (Bee isn’t exactly a good driver, if she’s being completely honest) but she wants to see how far Bee is willing to go. "Try harder."

The taller girl looks at her, a little surprised. Poppy watches her unconsciously part her lips, gulp and finally break into a small smile. Bee walks to where Poppy is standing in front of the car and places an arm next to Poppy’s head. She inches closer, and Poppy has to turn her head up a little bit to meet Bee’s gaze.

"Try harder like this?" Bee whispers, taking one of Poppy’s hands and bringing her thumb to her own lower lip. "If you drive, I’ll do whatever you want, Pops."

Bee finally smirks, noticing the way Poppy bites her lip at the show she’s putting on before her.

"Like you don’t already do that."

"I’m saying I can do more," Bee says smugly, and though Poppy does roll her eyes, she gives in, pressing up onto her toes and kissing her.

This time, unlike the majority of the kisses they’ve shared, it’s softer and more tender. Poppy moves as slow as she can, wanting the feeling to last. She tries to take every moment and tuck it in her brain for later: the way Bee tastes like cinnamon because of the apple pie she got during breakfast, how her fingers fiddle with the baby hairs on the back of Poppy’s neck. Poppy feels like she’s glowing from the inside, and she’s almost positive that this kiss is the best one she’s ever had. 

They eventually part for air, and when they do, Bee smiles victoriously. She knows she’s already won. "Fine. I’ll take you up on that offer."

That distinctive feeling of drowning and flying at the same time is back. It’s as if she’s still asleep, dreaming. This dizziness feels like slipping in and out of reality as she runs her fingers through Bee’s face and looks at her with something that feels dangerously close like love in her eyes.

It’s like she’s a stranger to herself.

"Thanks," Bee chuckles, leaning a little into Poppy’s touch.

"I hate you," Poppy replies.

Bee smiles sweetly before shaking her head no. "I thought you loathed me."

"I do. I loathe you," she whispers.

"I loathe you too, Pops."

And then Poppy kisses her again.

------------------

"Why didn’t you tell me your house was next to a lake?" Poppy groans, looking at the sign on the side of the road that indicates how many miles are left until they reach Farmsville.

"Why would that matter?" Bee asks, genuinely curious. Poppy steps her foot harder on the gas now that they’re on the freeway again.

"It would’ve been a perfect opportunity to pack my swimsuit and post a picture to my story,” she answers like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

"You’re so annoying."

"It could’ve been a good one too," Poppy complains again. "I want people to believe I’m in vacation."

"Well, is this not a vacation?" Bee retorts.

"That’s cute, Hughes, but no," she rolls her eyes. "Look at Veronica’s instagram story. She is in fucking Cancun right now."

"So what? You can still post a good picture to your story, you don’t need Cancun for that. Maybe I can be in it too!"

"Oh, please. As if I’d ever give you free publicity like that," Poppy laughs.

Bee frowns, suddenly getting defensive. "Are you embarrassed of people knowing you’re here with me or something? Or is it that Farmsville is just not good enough for you?"

Poppy sobers up immediately, whatever words she was going to say to continue her joke dying in her throat. 

"No, it’s not that," she says carefully. Bee purses her lips and glances at the window, tightening her ponytail where it’s grown messy due to the wind in her hair. "I guess I’m just… trying to get used to the idea that there won’t be anymore fancy vacations for me. At least not for a while."

"Oh," Bee whispers, still a little unconvinced. "Don’t worry about that. I don’t know much about your family’s situation, Pops, but I’m sure your parents will find a way to fix things."

"I don’t know," Poppy admits, opening up a little bit. "I don’t think they can. And I don’t know if they should."

Bee nods, and the only sounds filling the silence that follows are the tires spinning and the music on low between them. 

They know that this is new territory for the both of them. It feels slightly weird to be confiding Bee with her problems, but so far she’s proven to be a good listener.

"It will be okay," Bee insists, reaching out and placing one of her hands on top of Poppy’s.

Briefly, Poppy looks down at where their hands are now touching before she looks back over at Bee.

"Maybe it will."

Bee smiles. "It will."

------------------

They’re at a small diner, sipping on their drinks— strawberry milkshake for Bee and diet coke for Poppy— when the blonde interrupts the gentle quiet. 

"About last night…"

Poppy stalls with a french fry halfway to her lips, looking over at the girl in front of her. The redness in her cheeks has faded mostly, but it’s still obvious that she had been thinking about it too.

"Yeah?" Bee asks, her voice barely a whisper.

"It was… different," Poppy says, thinking about all the other times she’s had sex with Bee before.

"Yeah," Bee repeats, playing with her food nervously. "For starters, we didn’t threaten to murder each other, not even once."

Poppy can tell that Bee is trying to joke, but the way she doesn’t even meet her eyes reveals how nervous she is about this conversation.

"Did you…" Bee starts, stuttering a little bit. She takes a deep breath, and finally looks directly at Poppy. "Would you rather go back at how things were before?"

Poppy notices the way Bee’s voice shakes slightly when she asks her that question. It makes her nervous too, but she’s better at hiding it.

"I don’t know," she answers honestly. "I think I just need some time to get used to it."

Her words are careful and measured, but Bee seems to understand them for what they truly mean: different doesn’t mean bad.

"I can work with that," Bee says and rushes to sit next to her, holding her hand tightly.

They both stare at each other.

Bee breaks the silence first.

"I’m glad that you’re here with me, Poppy."

Poppy smiles at her slightly. Her eyes flicker down for barely a second, and Bee only misses it because hers do the same. 

Just do it, Poppy tells herself. Just kiss her.

Someone clears their throat; it’s one of the waiters bringing the restaurant bill.

They both pull apart quickly, turning their heads into opposite directions.

"Hi there," he says, clearly apologetic and well meaning. "Here’s your bill."

When he hands it over, Poppy gets a good look at him. He’s young, probably no more than sixteen, so she can’t really be upset with him. 

"Thank you so much," Bee says to him sweetly, though Poppy can see her tapping her foot, which is her tell for being upset. "The food was great. Thank you for all the menu suggestions."

The boy lights up, backing up slightly to head back to work. 

"Thanks, miss!" he says. "I’m sorry I interrupted you and your girlfriend."

"Oh we’re not—" Poppy and Bee both start at the same time, but by the time they cut each other off, he’s gone. 

It’s quiet between them, and Poppy is sure that her heart is beating so loudly that Bee should be able to hear it. They both stare forward, watching as a family with little kids enters the diner and take a seat in the table in front of theirs.

"We should keep driving," Poppy mumbles. 

"Yeah," Bee agrees. 

------------------

The next two hours go on like a breeze. They listen to some band neither of them knew the name of, gossip about literally everyone in the Zeta house, and laugh at a street sign with a spelling error. With every small bump on the road, the tiny bee charm hanging from Bee’s rear-view mirror dangles a little bit. She told Poppy that her father had given her the charm on her seventeenth birthday, right before revealing that the real gift was a car.

Glancing at the passenger seat, Poppy can see that Bee is starting to wake up from her nap. She seems tired, but who wouldn’t be after driving for two entire days? Poppy is surprised to notice that she still finds Bee pretty, puffy eyes and all, and her heart does a little twist inside her chest when Bee smiles sleepily at her.

"Sorry, I guess I was tired. Did you get bored?" she asks, yawning.

"No. In fact, it was so peaceful having an hour to myself without you talking my ear off," Poppy tries not to grin too hard when she steals a look at Bee frowning next to her.

"I think your middle name should be 'denial', Pops," Bee sings. "It’s so obvious that you like me."

"I hate you," Poppy corrects her.

Bee grins. "Yeah, yeah. I hate you too."

Poppy smiles to herself when she hears Bee whisper-singing along to the radio.

"What time is it?" she asks her.

"Around 3 pm."

"There’s a gas station not too far ahead, according to the GPS," Poppy says casually. "Since I’m being generous enough to drive and we’re out of snacks, you are buying me the biggest bag of sour patch kids you can find, got it?"

"So bossy," Bee laughs and then, without missing a beat, she adds: "I like it."

"I know you do," Poppy smirks, changing lanes to make an exit in the direction that the gas station is.

"Maybe we can buy a bunch of snacks, then park and eat them together!" Bee says as if she’s just had the brightest idea ever.

Poppy’s heart dances on her ribs at how easily Bee says the word together, her insides warm. She has to press her lips together to stop herself from saying anything stupid, and she swallows hard, adjusting her sunglasses a little.

Bee turns to her, oblivious to her inner battle. 

"So, what’s your favorite soda?"

Poppy can’t help but smile.

"I mostly drink water, duh."

"You’re such a big liar!" Bee laughs, throwing her head back. "You’ve been drinking soda for this entire trip!"

"That’s because you’re a terrible influence," Poppy retorts, still smiling. "Honestly, Hughes, I’m surprised that you’re not dead yet. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you drinking water."

"So you’ve been paying attention to me, huh?" the other girl chuckles.

Poppy sighs in fake frustration. "You’re delusional."

Beaming, Bee rolls down a window, and Poppy studies the way her curly hair blows in the wind. 

God, she’s starting to think that her feelings for Bee might be more real than she thought.

Fuck. 

------------------

By the time Bee has returned to the car with their snacks, Poppy has pulled the top over the car and pushed both of their seats back enough that they can use the top of the center glove compartment as a make-shift table. 

"Here, your sour patch kids," Bee says, handing Poppy her bag before getting into the passenger’s side and turning on the heater. "Man, it’s cold out there. I’d hate for it to start raining."

"You’re going to jinx us!" Poppy yells, and Bee shrugs, pulling out their food.

She hands Poppy a coke can, grinning when she sees how the blonde’s eyes light up. 

"I made sure to pick an extra cold one," points out smugly, clearly fishing for a compliment.

"I believe I told you I prefer water," Poppy replies, opening the soda can anyways.

They eat in relative silence for a few minutes, stealing glances when they think the other isn’t looking. It feels oddly tense, like the air around them is vibrating and the heater is cranked up to the topmost setting even though Poppy knows it’s set on low. She presses her lips together when Bee makes an obscene noise around an oreo-slushie combo bite, doing her best to keep her thoughts from straying anywhere inappropriate. 

"Must you be so loud? It’s giving me a headache." she points weakly, trying to insult her even as her voice shakes the tiniest bit. 

Bee nods and whispers a careless "sorry", licking her lips absently; Poppy forces herself to look away. Bee’s lips are tinted a light glossy brown, and Poppy can’t help as her eyes flicker over them, noticing a small amount of slushie syrup that Bee missed on the corner of her mouth. 

Without thinking, she reaches over, leaning her arm on the center glove compartment and reaching forward, swiping her thumb through the sticky sweetness. She hopes she isn’t imagining the way Bee gasps a little when she reaches out to hold Bee’s cheek with her other hand so she can properly wipe the syrup away. Poppy doesn’t know what comes over her, but before she can stop herself, she’s bringing her right thumb back to her lips and sucking it into her mouth, humming quietly in approval.

"Mmm," she whispers, still on her arm so that she and Bee are closer than usual. 

The only sound in the car is the hum of the engine, and Poppy watches with rapt attention as Bee’s lips part ever so slightly. Her hand is still on Bee’s cheek, and she starts to lean into it, giving time for the woman to pull away in case she doesn’t want this.

Poppy can hear Bee’s shallow, almost nervous breaths, and their eyes lock on each other’s, dark brown meeting light. They both press forward to close the distance, Poppy leaning up on her elbow and Bee nuzzling against Poppy’s hand—

Her own cellphone ringing interrupts them. Both women pull away like they’ve been burned. Poppy looks out the other window, attempting to quiet her disappointment, swallowing hard and gripping the armrest before taking a quick glance at her phone screen.

It’s her father.

Piers is calling her.

"Uhm, I— I have to take this call," she mumbles, reaching for the car door handle.

"Yeah, go ahead," Bee replies a little awkwardly, scratching her cheek. "I’ll just— I’ll wait here."

Poppy nods once and takes three deep breaths before stepping out of the car and answering the call. She’s managed to put some distance between her and the car when she hears her father’s angry voice on the other end of the line.

"Poppy, where the hell are you?!" he practically yells into her ear. "You told your mother and I that you were going on vacation with Chloe! You better tell me exactly where you are right now."

Shit.

This is going to be a difficult conversation.

Tags: @camren-jenlisa-is-real @baexpoppy @siegeofasgard221b @ownagef @simp-pony @dontstopmenow1 (im so sorry if I forgot someone jskdjdj i need to write down a list)