Pucking Sweet

Poppy and Colton exchange shirts, and then Poppy draws a penis on Lukas to complete two bingo squares. Colton guides Poppy through taking a shot of alcohol off of Lukas’s stomach. All three dance together. They leave to complete more sexual bingo squares in the pub bathroom.

Alone with Lukas and Colton, Poppy becomes overwhelmed with worry. She fears that her sister will use her relationships to humiliate her. Colton explains that they want to date Poppy together but that the three of them will be exclusive with each other. Poppy is still anxious, but her desire outweighs her worry, and she agrees to try a relationship between them. She kisses and performs manual sex on both men, speaking about them possessively, which they all enjoy. They have oral sex without condoms, which is an important intimacy milestone for Lukas, who struggles to trust sexual partners.

Poppy returns her completed bingo card to Olivia, who questions the legitimacy of her win. Lukas and Colton confirm her claims, however, and Poppy wins the $5,000. She leaves the party despite Violet’s protests. She, Colton, and Lukas head to a nearby bed and breakfast to have sex.

Colton enjoys watching Poppy and Lukas kiss and caress each other. He muses both on their current activities and his long-term plans to make Poppy happy. Both Colton and Poppy find it appealing when Lukas speaks about them in a coarse, explicit way. Lukas and then Colton have sex with Poppy.

Lukas asks to perform oral sex on Poppy, who just had sex with Colton. He is surprised when they agree that “anything between the three of [them] is allowed” (377). They all find this indirect sexual contact between the two men arousing. After they are finished having sex, Poppy laughs, claiming that it is because she feels “so wanted” that it makes her joyous. They plan to meet again the following day.

A week later, Poppy is happy with the progress of her new relationship. They are enjoying the thrill of keeping their relationship secret from the team. Violet and Annmarie continually try to shame her about Colton and Lukas. When Poppy refuses to answer her calls, Annmarie leaves long voicemails castigating her. 

Poppy feels anxious about the possibility of having anal sex with Colton and Lukas, as she has never done so before. Impulsively, she asks Claribel about her experiences with anal sex; Claribel gives her non-judgmental advice.

At Colton’s request, Poppy found Lukas an interior decorator, who is now redoing large areas of his house. Lukas insists on staying with Colton until his house is habitable again. Colton is home alone when Lukas arrives, suitcases in hand.

Poppy drives Colton and Lukas to a surprise destination. She reveals that she changed the cruise reservation tickets that Colton offered her to cover three people.

The three enjoy the boat ride, which provides privacy and a break from their busy schedules. Poppy worries that the crew will judge them, but they casually reference polyamory and their lack of bias against it. Only Poppy frets about the labels between them. Colton openly expresses his long-term intentions but doesn’t pressure Lukas to do the same, citing the other man’s discomfort with speaking his feelings. Poppy tells them of her interest in anal sex.

Poppy’s declaration makes Lukas and Colton eager. They return to Poppy’s apartment, where she confides that she struggles to try new things sexually because her past partners made her feel inadequate. The three explore slowly, using sex toys and continuously emphasizing that Poppy can change her mind at any point. They all find it intimate when both men penetrate Poppy, feeling strongly connected by the simultaneous sex.

After practice, Colton feels something “off” with his body, which makes him think about his hockey career and shifting priorities. Lukas is annoyed that Colton forgot to inform him of a furniture delivery. Poppy storms in, demanding that someone (whom they all know to be Lukas) stop sending popsicles to her office, a harmless ongoing prank.

Lukas wonders how to identify the feeling of falling in love, citing his past “transactional” relationships between sexual partners, teammates, and coaches. He notes that Colton doesn’t treat their relationship as transactional, which made Lukas uncomfortable until Colton pointedly requested that Lukas allow Colton to “take care of” him (416). This has developed into a romantic crush for Lukas. He fears that he is unwilling or unable to change, which makes him fear ruining his relationships with Poppy and Colton.

He joins Poppy and Colton at Poppy’s apartment. The three have sex, which Lukas finds intimate enough to feel that “all [his] walls are down” (423).

Poppy wakes up nauseous the next morning, which she blames on sushi. Violet informs Poppy that she cannot have a plus one at her wedding, a move that Poppy feels is designed to make her look “sad and pathetic” (424). Suddenly, the sprinklers in her office begin spraying, even though there is no smoke or fire. 

Lukas urges her to take a break, given her bad day. His defense of her makes her feel loved, but Lukas, anxious about his emotional vulnerability, pushes her away. He lists his faults, but Poppy insists that she loves him. She takes his comments about fighting for what she wants and turns it back on him, insisting that she will fight for him, too.

Poppy, still soaked from the sprinklers, confronts Mark Talbot, the Rays’ owner. She demands that he fix all the problems with the arena immediately. She makes numerous demands about her department, office, and salary, and Mark easily agrees to them all. She also realizes that her symptoms may be due to pregnancy. She takes a pregnancy test, which is positive. She feels happy, despite knowing that her pregnancy will add complications to her interpersonal relationships.

Poppy watches a Rays game with Rachel and Caleb. Caleb heckles Jake, which draws public attention. Lukas skates past, which makes Poppy worry about telling him and Colton about her pregnancy. She is distracted by the complicated relationship between Caleb, Jake, Rachel, and Mars (whom she will later learn are all dating as a polycule).

The next day, Poppy begins getting calls about Rachel and her relationships early in the day. Rachel passes off the incident as “an inside joke between friends” and insists that nobody has been “spurned” (445). Poppy doesn’t believe that Rachel has no romantic connections on the team but agrees to manage rumors, thinking that she wants privacy, too.

Lukas startles Colton while he’s in the shower. They bicker, which arouses Colton. They both masturbate, their first sexual encounter without Poppy’s presence. Later, Colton considers his sexual interest in Lukas. The media storm around Rachel, Jake, and Caleb makes him worry that the hockey world will reject him, Lukas, and Poppy.

At the team gym, Mars yells at a player who makes antigay comments about Jake and Caleb. Lukas summons Colton to check on Caleb. They express their support for Caleb and Jake, but Caleb insists that he and Jake are just friends, though he seems disappointed by this. Colton struggles between his desire to keep Poppy and Lukas safe from gossip and his dislike of secrecy.

Poppy’s gynecologist confirms that she is six weeks pregnant, which means that she conceived the week she first had sex with Lukas and Colton. The doctor encourages her to rest, which Poppy thinks unlikely, given her hectic work schedule. She worries about how to reveal her pregnancy to her partners.

The Rays play a challenging hockey game during which Mars is injured. When an opponent knocks Mars down, violating the hockey taboo of striking a goalie, Jake reacts violently. The game grows more combative, and an opposing player accidentally cuts Lukas’s face with his skate blade. Lukas fears that he will lose his eye, which will end his career. Colton hurries to his side, his worry making Lukas more concerned. The medics reassure Lukas that his eye is fine.

Poppy races through the arena after Lukas’s injury. She is relieved to see Lukas conscious and insists that Rachel accompany him to the hospital.

Colton hurries to the hospital, worried about Lukas, who is awake but exhausted. Lukas reports the details of his earlier argument with Poppy and worries that she is angry that he didn’t return her proclamation of love. Colton reminds Lukas that Poppy loves Lukas as he is. Lukas confesses his worries about press fallout if their relationship becomes public. He offers to “back off” so that Poppy and Colton could be publicly together. Colton turns down his offer, reminding Lukas that some racist people would oppose Colton dating Poppy anyway. He tells Lukas that he is “not going to let [him] pull away” from their relationship (475).

Poppy arrives and apologizes for not coming sooner; she had to deal with the PR implications of Rachel dating Mars, Jake, and Caleb. Management is suspending Rachel for being Mars’s doctor while in a relationship with him. She regrets that this will occupy her time while Lukas is injured, but both men insist that they can handle Lukas’s recovery so that she can do her job without feeling guilty. They describe themselves as a family.