(George is pretty good. I would say that the two of them are fairly equal, if what Francis says is true.) Bee studied him for a moment before nodding. "Okay. I'm gonna go get my ball. Just hold on." She patted his face distractedly before hurrying off behind the house, her curly hair bouncing with her movements.
He stood straight again, turning to Poppy as she left. "I guess I'm teaching her how to play soccer, then," he said, amusement in his voice.
"She likes you," Poppy said, taking his hand. "She's really shy normally, but I think it means a lot to her to beat George." She gave him a wry look. "My brother is pretty good at soccer, you know."
"Psh. I'm sure. Besides, she's the one who wants to beat him, not me. He's probably going to let her win, anyways." He shrugged. "But I might as well help her."
"I'm glad," she said, kissing his cheek as they turned the corner to go behind the house. "I was worried you'd have trouble with her." Behind the house, a large table was being set. A tall, slender woman was carefully putting plates on the table, smoothing the tablecloth down with light fingers. Her face was serious, but kind, and her curly auburn hair framed her face. Next to her, a dirty-blond haired man with glasses and a stern expression was talking quietly to her, pointing at the table while his other arm was around a dark haired woman with a small smile on her face. A young, short girl wearing a paint splattered t-shirt and jeans was trying to climb a nearby tree, her hair a pixie cut. Their eyes all flickered towards Poppy and Francis when they arrived, and the girl dropped from the tree easily, landing on her feet. "Oh wow! Hi!" She hurried over to them and wrapped her arms around Poppy quickly. "We didn't expect you guys so early!" she said enthusiastically as Poppy hugged her back. "We thought you wouldn't be here at least until noon!" Poppy kissed the top of the girl's head and glanced over at Francis. "We were excited to see you guys," Poppy replied calmly. "Em, this is Francis. Francis, this is Emma."
She shook his hand with a strong grip, grinning. "I'm the artist? Awesome." The other three adults came over to them, and Poppy introduced them all. "This is Clara," she said, pointing to the taller woman. "Ed." She pointed to the blond man. "And this is Eve, his wife." She pointed to the dark haired woman. "This is Francis," she said to them. "My boyfriend."
Francis smiled politely, clasping his hands together. "It's nice to meet you all," he said smoothly. "Poppy has told me a lot about you."
"It's lovely to meet you," Clara said with a gentle smile. "It's nice to know that Poppy has someone during everything that's happening with Averlin." Bee returned to Francis' side and tugged his pant leg, holding a large soccer ball. "Are you ready?" she asked quietly.
He looked down at her, putting his hands behind his back. "Of course. Do you have a goal to use?" he asked, cocking his head. (Soccer is my favorite sport. I could honestly play all day.)
She pointed towards two trees. "Papa said that those would work." (I used to play it, but I sucked. )
He nodded. "Alright, I see. Let's pass, first. You have to kick the ball to the other person using the inside of your foot," he said moving closer to the trees. "It's easy once you get the hang of it."
He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "I suppose, but most soccer players use the inside of the foot, as it's better to aim with."
"So, like this?" She put the ball down, steadied herself, and kicked it, using the inside of her foot but stumbling slightly.
He stopped it, propping his leg onto it to hold it down. "Yep! Practice makes perfect. You'll get better at it the longer you do it," he said. "Here, try to stop it by putting your foot on top of it, like I'm doing right now." He kicked the ball towards her slowly, making it easy for her to stop.
"Try to move around with the ball, by kicking forward at a steady pace," he instructed, placing his hands on his hips. "It's like passing, but you're only kicking it forward and following it."
"You are!" He laughed. "Now, try to kick it between the two trees!" he said, looking back at Poppy with a grin.
