Page 62 of From Beijing, With Love

“Haven’t you been listening? That guy doesn’t exist.” Daniel got out of bed in an attempt to stop the chaos demon that was Poppy.

“Then I’ll be spontaneous for the both of us. I have the next week off, and my suitcase is still in the trunk of my car because I was, oh, you know, too tired last night to unpack.” Poppy was still packing for Daniel and still doing it all wrong.

Alarm bells blared in Daniel’s head at the suggestion of going to Xi’an—a city he had never even heard of before meeting Yang. “I can’t—”

“It’s this or we get drunk while listening to ‘Strong Enough’ on repeat.” Poppy tossed a T-shirt into the luggage without even folding it. “Circa what’s-his-name before Taylor?”

“I like Cher,” Daniel said with a weak smile. He could get on board with drinking while listening to heartbreak anthems. That he could do. That wasn’t uncomfortable or downright scary. That wouldn’t make the stupid voice in his head panic with a thousand what-ifs.

“Well, I don’t. Now pack.” Poppy planted her hands on her hips. “You are more worked up over this nonsense note than catching Taylor with his tongue down someone else’s throat, so we are going to Xi’an. That’s final.”

Even though Daniel’s stomach was already bubbling with the many, many ways this could turn out terribly wrong, he couldn’t help but be in awe of his best friend who was everything he wasn’t—spontaneous, brave, assertive. The warrior to his worrier.

“You would really come with me?” he asked as he searched her face.

“No, I’m going to let you somehow find your own way across China.” Poppy crossed her arms. “I’ll give you a hundred euros right now if you can point Xi’an out on a map. No, make it a thousand. I’ll wait.”

“If I pack my bag, will you at least try to tone down the sarcasm?” Daniel had to ask, despite knowing exactly how Poppy would respond.

“Not a chance. Now hurry the hell up.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIXDaniel

This was a mistake. A huge mistake.

Daniel swung his head left and right, looking for a way out, but they were deep in the belly of the beast that was the Beijing South Railway Station. There wasn’t an exit in sight among the sea of heads.

Why had he come here? And why was it so hard to breathe?

Breathe. Just fucking breathe!

Breathing was a basic bodily function, but Daniel’s body had apparently forgotten how to do it.

There were seemingly thousands of people swarming in all directions inside this concrete box, all moving about with a world of urgency. All the while, the security screening they had gone through just to enter the building along with the cameras dotting every corner made Daniel feel trapped and watched.

Did Yang even want him here?

“Breathe, Danny,” a voice outside of his head said. It took him a moment to register Poppy’s concerned eyes. Her mouth was still moving, but her voice drifted in and out.

There were just too many people, sounds, smells. Too much input for Daniel’s head on two hours of sleep.

“Are you okay?” Poppy asked after she dragged him into a coffee shop and out of the foot traffic. She rubbed gentle circles on his back, drawing two clockwise circles followed by two counterclockwise ones. This was Poppy’s way of helping him to regulate his breath—clockwise to inhale, counterclockwise to exhale. The ritual brought Daniel back a decade to the schoolyard.

“When was the last time you did this for me?” Daniel asked after he remembered how that whole breathing thing worked. He let his weight fall back against the wall.

“Years, too many to count,” Poppy said with a small smile. With Daniel slumped against the wall, they were at eye level. “You’d been doing really well.”

“Speaking in past tense?” Daniel managed a weak smile of his own. At least Yang wasn’t here to witness what a mess he was. “I’m really sorry, Pops.”

Pathetic, the voice in his head muttered.

“Don’t even go there. It’s my fault for pushing this dumb idea on you. We are not in some stupid rom-com.” Poppy’s shoulders were hunched. Daniel had done that. It was his fault. She looked at him with worried eyes. “Just say the word and we’ll go home.”

Home sounded so very far away right then.

“We’ll stay in my apartment, binge Drag Race, and live on takeout. Or if this whole trip is too much, I’ll put you on a plane back to Amsterdam.” Poppy squeezed his hand before flashing him a smile. “Maybe I can upgrade you with my miles. I know how bougie you are. Tell me you are not tempted by lie-flat seats and in-flight champagne.”

“You’re getting me confused with my mother.” Daniel let out a weak laugh. If Poppy had graduated from being worried about him to teasing him, then maybe things weren’t so bad.