by Kelly Utt
“Good morning, beautiful,” he said as he pulled her in for a kiss.
The sheet slid down as they moved, exposing Penelope’s bare breasts. She had been naked in front of plenty of men before. She knew her body was enticing to them, even if she wasn’t a world-class beauty like her friends. She felt confident and sexy in front of Marshall now. The electricity between them felt both familiar and brand new. They’d never been together like this before.
“Good morning to you,” she echoed. “I can hardly believe this is real. You’re here.”
“Nowhere else I’d rather be.”
Marshall had taken off his wedding ring. There was a tan line that remained. It bothered Penelope a little. Mostly, she understood though. She and Marshall had been friends long before he had met Reggie. She’d been there to see how it had happened.
“I know,” Marshall said when he saw Penelope eying his ring finger. “I’m sorry, Pen. It should have been you and me all along.”
She scooted closer to him, running one finger along his bottom lip.
“Shh,” she said. “It’s okay. I’m just happy that circumstances brought us together like this. I guess being in real danger has a way of making one focus on what’s most important in life.”
“I’d say so. But let the record note that I tried to woo you before. Oh, how I tried. You’re my girl, Pen. My best girl. My one and only. I only gave up when I thought there wasn’t a chance. And now, you’ve made me the happiest man in the world.”
They nuzzled together, their bodies pressed against each other and their legs intertwined underneath the covers. They had made love the night before, then had fallen asleep, tired but satisfied. Marshall’s morning erection said he was ready for more.
“Someone’s energetic this morning,” Penelope laughed as she kissed him again, deeply this time.
“Are you talking about this?” Marshall teased as he moved closer, pressing his rock-hard shaft between her legs.
“I am,” Penelope said, wiggling with anticipation. “I think I might like to be the lucky lady who gets to feel your morning energy inside of me. If you want to share it.”
“Oh, I certainly do,” Marshall replied. Then he lifted the covers and crawled down Penelope’s body, letting his mouth rest on top of her slippery opening. He paused, toying with her and increasing her level of desire.
“Don’t stop,” she said, guiding his head.
“Are you telling me you like this?” he asked as he slipped his tongue inside, swirling it around her throbbing bud.
Penelope moaned and arched her back. She’d had good sex before. Although she doubted any would now compare to sex with Marshall. After just two lovemaking sessions, he had already ruined her for all others. He was attentive in a way that no man had been. He made her feel like they weren’t two individuals, but rather one interconnected being. He made her feel truly and thoroughly loved.
“I love it so much,” she replied.
“Good, then I’ll keep going,” he whispered.
Marshall licked and sucked as Penelope became wetter and wetter. He delighted in her juices and made himself comfortable there, bringing her to mind-blowing orgasm more than once. When she was ready for him to enter her, she guided him up and took his rod in her hand. She shimmied down in the bed to position herself, then licked the length of the shaft a few times, her hand stimulating the bottom while her tongue focused on the tip. Marshall was so hard, Penelope thought he might burst right then and there in her mouth.
“Get in me,” she said as she hoisted herself back up to meet his lips. “I want you in me. Now.”
“No place I’d rather be,” he said again.
Marshall entered Penelope, her insides quivering with pleasure at his touch. She lifted her legs high and wrapped them around his waist as he drove into her hard and fast. He didn’t close his eyes, preferring instead to take her beauty in. Seeing Penelope’s naked body and feeling her soft, smooth skin was incredibly arousing to Marshall. It had been a while since he’d been with a woman. He’d always considered himself bisexual, but had recently suspected he preferred a woman’s touch. He knew he’d have time to sort that out later. He wasn’t sure it mattered, really, as long as Penelope knew how much he desired and loved her.
“I love the hell out of you,” he mumbled as he continued to grind.
Again, Penelope swooned, this being what she had dreamed about for so long. “Marshall Erving, I love you, too.”
Full to the brim with feel-good endorphins, they heaved, shook, and rubbed together until they climaxed, Marshall first and then Penelope in ecstasy as his liquid filled her.
When they were finished, Marshall rolled over. They lay beside each other, and stared up at the ceiling, exhilarated.
“You told me you loved me,” Penelope said with a giggle. “Did you mean it?”
“I do love you. Of course, I meant it. I’ve loved you for a long time now, Pen. I could probably remember the exact day I realized my feelings for you, if I tried.”
“That’s sweet,” Penelope said. “I could probably do the same.”
“Wait,” Marshall said, leaning on one elbow. “You knew you loved me… before? And you said nothing?”
“Guilty.”
“Pen! I could have skipped the entire Reggie chapter. Which means you could have, too. I’m the one who got you roped into the escort thing. Wouldn’t it have been better to skip that?”
“I guess,” she replied. “It’s hard to say that time spent wasn’t worthwhile. There’s always learning to be done. We wouldn’t be who we are today if we hadn’t been involved with Reg and the escort service. I don’t think it’s helpful to look back with regret.”
“But… what about Audrey… and the man at the bottom of the bay?”
“I don’t know. We’ll sort it all out. Together. We’re in this together.”
Just then, Penelope’s phone rang. She recognized the name and photo saved in the caller ID from across the room. It was Cheryl. Cheryl never called unless it was important, preferring to text or message through social media instead.
“I have to get that,” Penelope said as she stood and walked to pick up her phone. She didn’t bother covering herself, prompting Marshall to whistle and wink as she walked. “Hush,” she said, smiling. “Seriously though, it’s Cheryl. And she only calls when it’s important.”
“Huh,” Marshall said. “Seemed important that she should stand up for you yesterday when Hana was giving you a hard time.”
“You’re right,” Penelope said. “Let me see what she has to say.”
She lifted a finger in the air to tell him to stay quiet, then she pushed the button to connect the call.
9
“Cheryl? What’s up?”
“Pen! I’m glad you answered. I need to talk to you. Right away. Can I come over?”
Penelope looked around her condo at the clothes strewn all over the place. She lived on the fifth floor of a renovated building downtown. It was too high for anyone to see through her windows from the outside which afforded her the luxury of being messy if she wanted to. Plus her view was great, especially at night. She’d have to clean up if Cheryl was coming over.
“Okay,” Penelope agreed. “Give me a few minutes.”
They hung up the phone, Cheryl promising to arrive in no sooner than twenty minutes.
“Does that mean I need to make myself scarce?” Marshall said. “I don’t want to be in the way.”
Marshall needed to get some things from Reggie’s house, anyway. He knew he could use the time.
“Either way is okay with me,” Penelope said. “I want you to be comfortable here. Think of this as your home now. Even though we haven’t talked about those details yet, please know that you have a place with me.”
Marshall grabbed Penelope and pulled her back into the bed as she neared it. “I like the sound of that.”
Penelope kissed him long and slow, letting her exposed nipples brush gently against Marshall’s m
uscular chest while her long, loose hair cascaded around his shoulders. If they’d had more time, they would have made love again. They couldn’t get enough of each other.
“I think I’ll go pick up a few things from Reggie’s,” Marshall said. “I won’t be gone long. I could use the time to do a little packing. Assuming that’s okay with you?”
“No worries,” Penelope replied.
They quickly got showered and clothed, Penelope in a casual, heather gray cotton dress and Marshall in khaki shorts and a California state flag t-shirt. Then Marshall made the bed and scooted out the door.
Penelope was tidying up when Cheryl arrived. Cheryl clamored her way through the unlocked front door, bumping and banging as she went. If anyone else had been around, her entrance would have been quite a scene.
“Oh my God,” Cheryl said as she kicked the door shut behind her with one foot. “You won’t believe what has happened.”
Penelope raised one eyebrow. “Try me.”
She hadn’t told Cheryl about the blonde man at the bottom of the bay. Or about what Hana had seen at the party. Or even about Marshall leaving Reggie.
Cheryl dove onto the couch and tossed her handbag on the coffee table. Penelope’s condo had a separate bedroom and living room area. There was a tiny kitchen and a powder room by the entrance, plus a large full ensuite bathroom. Cheryl had been over hundreds of times. She felt comfortable making herself at home.
“Wait,” Cheryl said, lifting her head up, sniffing the air dramatically. “It smells like a man in here… Oh, holy shit, Pen. It smells like sex in here!”
Penelope blushed. She couldn’t hide her smile, but she was mortified. She didn’t like talking about her sex life. Especially not to her more confident friends.
“Who is it? Did you meet someone at the party?”
“Not exactly,” Penelope replied. It was the truth.
“Then who?” Cheryl continued. “Was it a client? I didn’t think you had sex with clients? Aren’t you booked in the look-but-don’t-touch category?”
“I don’t have sex with clients. And anyway, I’m not doing that anymore. I’m done.”
Cheryl looked surprised. Really surprised.
“Don’t look so shocked,” Penelope said. “I’ve had enough. That’s all. After what happened with Audrey… and…”
“And what?”
Penelope hesitated. She wasn’t sure she should tell Cheryl everything that had happened after she’d left the dock. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Cheryl, because she did. But she thought maybe it was best to keep the circle tight. The fewer people who knew, the better.
“That’s it. After what happened with Audrey and how she’s missing or dead, or whatever. It’s got me rattled.”
It felt bad to leave Cheryl out of the loop. Penelope began to sip air in anticipation of having to tell an outright lie. She wished her body wouldn’t betray her like this. Besides, Cheryl knew her breathing routine and would immediately know if Penelope was lying. Her only hope was to change the subject.
“It was Marshall,” Penelope blurted, before Cheryl had a chance to ask questions about Audrey and the party. “Sex. It was with Marshall. He just left a few minutes ago. I’m surprised you didn’t see him on the elevator.”
Cheryl sat up and scooted to the front edge of the sofa, her eyes wide. “Marshall Erving?”
“That’s the one.”
“You and Marshall Erving had sex in this condo? Today?”
“Yes.”
“But…”
Penelope could see the wheels turning in her friend’s head as she sat down on the sofa beside her. “I know. It happened fast. But I’ve loved him for ages. You know that.”
“Does Reggie know? Poor Reggie.”
“I wouldn’t call Reggie poor, in any sense of that word,” Penelope said. “I don’t have anything against him, exactly. Nothing I can’t overlook. I guess… But that’s beside the point. Reggie is fine. Marshall told him yesterday. I don’t think their marriage was ever more than a bad idea borne out of convenience.”
“How so?” Cheryl asked.
She was dressed casually in tight-fitting jeans and a short-sleeved Bruce Springsteen t-shirt with a v-neck. Penelope thought how impossible it was that Cheryl could still look so beautiful, even in basic clothing. Cheryl was a classic beauty. Her attractiveness would fit in during any age.
“I mean that Reggie is good at convincing people to do what he wants. Just look at the escort service and how many of us he roped into participating. He wouldn’t have been able to do it alone,” Penelope explained. “I think Marshall got caught up in all of that. In fact, I think he let himself get caught up in it to distract from his sadness over me.”
Cheryl smirked. “You think?”
Penelope shrugged. “I don’t know what was wrong with me. I wanted to be with Marshall. Deep down, some part of me felt like I didn’t deserve it. My mom made sure to pass her low self esteem on to me. I’ve tried all of my life to shake her issues off, but I guess some of them stuck.”
Cheryl put an arm around her friend. She’d been there when, as kids, Jean’s anger had been directed towards Penelope. She’d seen how unfair it was.
Once, the girls had been playing a game of foursquare with a bouncy ball in Penelope’s backyard when Jean came out on a tear. Zach, an infant at the time, had been napping in his stroller, parked nearby and safely shaded by a leafy tree. Penelope and Cheryl had been third graders, one nine-years-old and the other just turned ten. They had been good girls, never in trouble at school and always helpful to their teachers and friends. Cheryl had known that Penelope had a hard time at home, but she hadn’t realized just how hard or else she wouldn’t have come over to play.
The girls had been bouncing their ball and giggling like kids do, Penelope keeping a dutiful eye on her baby brother. Felix had been traveling for work and wasn’t due home for several more days. Jean had been sleeping inside, even though it was mid-afternoon. She had often slept most of the day and night, finding waking life unappealing. Or so Penelope had thought. She never quite understood the subtleties.
Everything had been fine, until the ball accidentally hit one of the windows in Jean’s bedroom, making a loud thud and waking her up. Less than a minute later, Jean had burst out the back door in a rage, arms flailing and teeth gnashing. She had called Penelope a slew of names, including brat, pissant, and puke. Puke had been the worst. Grabbing Penelope by the elbow, Jean had dragged her into the house where she continued to berate her, unleashing a tidal wave of anger that the young girl hadn’t deserved. Cheryl had been left to comfort baby Zach as Jean’s voice boomed throughout the vicinity, scaring the infant.
Cheryl was one of few people who understood the extent of what Penelope had been forced to endure. None of it had been reasonable or fair. Jean hadn’t beaten her daughter, but the damage to her psyche had been nearly the same. Penelope hadn’t been allowed to be a kid. She’d had to grow up walking on eggshells and trying to anticipate her mother’s moods in an effort to keep herself and her baby brother out of the crosshairs. The fact the Jean had loved her children and was sometimes kind was of little consequence given the way she regularly terrorized them. Cheryl knew what Penelope didn’t at the time: no child deserved to be treated that way. It had been abuse. Plain and simple.
As young adults, Cheryl had been by Penelope’s side, too, when Jean was killed in a car accident. Jean had been driving on a curvy road one morning as rain had begun to fall. Police had later confirmed that she had been following posted speed limits and driving safely for weather conditions. But somehow, Jean’s car had hydroplaned and sent her into a spiral across the road. In a case of bad timing, a dump truck had been approaching from the other direction and was unable to swerve in time. The truck had t-boned Jean’s vehicle, snapping her neck and ending her life in an instant.
Penelope had been twenty-two at the time and was unprepared for life without her mother. Cheryl had always admired Penelope’s a
bility to focus on the positive and find ways to connect with Jean, and Penelope hadn’t been ready for that to end. She’d hoped that, someday, Jean could get proper treatment for her mental health issues and that the two of them could repair their damaged relationship. On that fateful morning as rain had gently fallen, those hopes had been dashed.
It had been less than a year later when Felix had died suddenly, too. He’d had an aneurysm burst and was gone within hours. That loss had been harder for Penelope in some ways, because she and her dad had always been close. But it had been easier in others, because, at least, she knew her dad loved her. There had been nothing left unsaid.
“Aw, you’re a good girl, Pen,” Cheryl said. “You always have been.”
“Thanks, you,” Penelope replied.
Having a friend like Cheryl was a gift. She understood things that no one else did about Penelope’s life, except for maybe Zach.
“You don’t have to explain it to me, you know? I was there. I remember.”
“I’m glad,” Penelope said. “I don’t know what I’d do without you in my life, Cheryl. You’re my oldest friend. And my best friend.”
The ladies hugged, Penelope leaning her head on Cheryl’s shoulder.
“Listen,” Cheryl said. “You deserve all the happiness this world will allow you. I’m happy for you and Marshall. And I’m behind you one hundred percent. Team Penshall! Whoo!”
Cheryl shook one fist in the air in celebration as Penelope laughed.
“Penshall?” Penelope asked.
“What? Do you prefer Marelope?”
They both laughed now. Couple names were ridiculous, but they were fun.
“Doesn’t the man’s name go first?” Penelope asked. “I’m thinking of Bennifer. Oddly enough, that’s the only couple name that comes to mind at the moment.”
“Hell if I know,” Cheryl said, removing her arm from her friend’s shoulders and slapping one knee. “It doesn’t matter. The point I’m trying to make is that I support you. Life is messy. I know all too well how we can get wrapped up in things against our better judgment. Loyalties end up divided. And all sorts of drama happens. Hold on to the good.”