by T. M. Haught
Straightening again, she said, “Now for your back!”
Jonah started to turn so she could continue, but she grabbed his arm and stopped him. “No—stay facing me. I can reach your back from here.”
The demure look in her eyes was in contrast to the grin on her lips. Penny stepped even closer to him, reaching around with the sponge to carefully wash his back from the shoulders down to his hips, her breasts lightly rubbing against his chest as she moved, and her belly sliding against his.
Then she hung the sponge by its short rope loop on the hook of the rack and got the shampoo bottle. She put shampoo in the palm of her hand and worked both hands together, then worked the lather into his hair until the top of his head was all frothy. Jonah closed his eyes briefly as he reveled in the feel of her delicate fingers sliding through his hair, but he couldn’t not look at her for long.
Penny turned the shower head back on and watched as the spray rinsed the suds away, then she turned the water flow back off again. She reached for the sponge and added more body wash to it, then held it out to him.
“Me next,” she said.
“Oh golly,” Jonah said, but eagerly took the sponge from her and proceeded to bathe her as she had bathed him. He gently washed her face, then her neck, her shoulders, her arms, her breasts... lingering there a bit... then her belly and hips, then down her thighs and legs, then back up to her crotch, where he was extremely careful.
“Don’t forget my back,” she reminded him.
“Okay,” said Jonah. Following her lead, he reached around her to use the sponge on her shoulders and back, then her backside. That done, he reluctantly hung up the sponge and got the shampoo to wash her hair. He applied a little directly to her hair and worked up a lather, letting his fingers lightly massage her scalp as she had done for him. He smiled as she closed her eyes, too, enjoying the sensation. Then he turned the shower spray back on and let the cascading water rinse her as well from head to toes. He reached up to angle the spray away from them.
He stood there a long moment, just looking into her eyes. Then he raised up on his toes a bit and kissed her full on her lips. She returned that kiss warmly, and pulled him even closer to her, her back now pressed firmly against the tiled wall behind her and her feet spread apart and well braced against the floor.
Jonah hesitated a moment, searching her eyes for any hint of the terror that had haunted them the day before. “Are you sure? Are you sure you’re up for this?”
“Yeah, Squirt,” she said reassuringly. “I am if you are.” She glanced down. “Yep... you are.”
He kissed her again, this time with greater passion, and pressed slowly and carefully into her. Between the body wash residue and their own natural moisture which was increasing with arousal, penetrating her was easy. With his chest against hers, he could feel her heartbeat quicken. She was breathing faster, too.
And then as he started to thrust slowly in and out, losing himself in a thousand wonderful mingling sensations, a sound reached his ears, and her ears too. A quick knock.
“Penny?” came Robert’s voice from the hall outside her room. “Are you up?”
They both froze instantly, motionless and silent except for the faintest of gasps. Their eyes opened wide to full aperture.
Penny silently mouthed “OMG!” to Jonah, quickly put her right hand gently over his mouth and used her left hand to open the door to the shower a few inches. Turning her head toward the bathroom door, which was still open halfway, she called out in as normal a voice as she could manage, “Yes. I’m in the shower, Dad. I’ll be right down. Just give me a few minutes to get dressed!”
“Okay, dear,” said Robert’s voice. “See you in the kitchen.”
They both listened, still pressed together in the stalled act of lovemaking, trying to hear if his footsteps were fading away and heading for the stairs, and hoping against hope that he didn’t knock on Jonah’s door, too. All sounds faded finally except for the faint hiss of the running shower spray.
“That was close,” Penny said, still wide-eyed.
“Too close!” agreed Jonah. He had already pulled back a bit and in looking down discovered that his penis was now hanging flaccid and shrinking fast. “Houston, we have a problem.”
“Just as well,” she said. “Let’s save this for later, Jonah. I don’t want to tempt fate!”
“Agreed.”
Penny shut off the water and they emerged cautiously from the shower, grabbing towels and quickly drying each other off, not at all for erotic stimulation this time, but just to speed things up. Back in her bedroom proper, Penny quickly stepped into her panties and shrugged into her bra, then tugged up her jeans as Jonah made a careful dash back through her closet and his and into his own room. Penny pulled on her blouse, a solid color one today, and rapidly buttoned it and tucked it in, listening as Jonah went through a similar routine in his room.
Moments later, they each came out of the doors to their separate bedrooms, looked up and down the hall, then eyed each other. They were alone, thankfully. They both sighed, took a deep breath to calm their racing hearts, then started together for the stairs to go down to the kitchen on the first floor....
* * * * * * * * * *
They made sure they timed it so that Penny entered the kitchen first, with a good minute or so lagging before Jonah joined them. Penny said, “Hi,” as she approached the table and paused to give her dad a quick kiss on the cheek. As she continued walking, Rebecca turned from the stove to sit plates of food on the table, faced Penny and gave her a brief and gentle hug, searching her eyes with concern.
“Are you okay, dear?” she asked.
Penny nodded. “Yes, thank you, Mrs. Nash. I feel better this morning.”
“I wasn’t sure what you’d want this morning,” said Rebecca, with a gesture at the table. “Are scrambled eggs and hash browns okay?”
“Yes, sure,” Penny said. “That’s fine.”
“Morning,” Jonah said quietly as he entered the kitchen and headed for his place at the table. He couldn’t help feeling self-conscious, for more than one reason.
“Good morning, dear,” said Rebecca, giving him a hug that seemed a little more appreciative than usual. “How are you feeling this morning?”
“Pretty good,” he replied. He flexed the fingers of his right hand. “No bruises, but a few sore spots.” He sat down at the table, scooting his chair forward and glancing briefly at Penny opposite him. “Hi.”
She glanced back. “Hi,” she said, wanting to break out in a big grin but still trying to keep things low key. A certain amount of “gratitude bonding” would be normal and expected, but she still didn’t want her dad or his mom to suspect just how close she and Jonah truly were.
Robert frowned briefly, his eyes downcast. “I still get chills thinking about that video yesterday.” Then as Penny reached out a hand to pat his hand reassuringly, he smiled and looked up at both of the teenagers. “But let’s not think about that right now. I’m not sure you’d bother, after all the drama yesterday, but did either of you two do your homework last night?”
“I did,” Penny said.
Jonah raised a hand. “Me too.”
“Okay,” said Robert. “In that case, before I leave to go to work, if you have anything written out that has to be turned in today, please give it to me and I’ll stop by the school on my way and drop it off with the principal so she can get it to your teachers. I’ll ask her if arrangements can be made to have the teachers in your different classes email you your assignments for the week you’ll be out.”
“Yes,” agreed Rebecca. “We don’t want you falling behind.”
“Okay,” said Penny.
Jonah nodded, but said nothing. He was already digging into his scrambled eggs.
The rest of them started to eat as well, and although the freshness of the morning made things seem almost normal, there was still a lingering trace of tension in the air after the incident at the school the day before. They were ne
arly done with their meal when the small doorbell box mounted high on the kitchen wall chimed.
Rebecca glanced up. “Someone’s at the front door.”
“Ah, perfect timing,” said Robert, quickly getting up from the table. “I’ll get it. Something I was expecting.”
He strode out of the kitchen and could be heard crossing the dining room and living room in his path to the door. Penny looked to Jonah with a puzzled and curious expression, which he returned in equal measure. Only Rebecca seemed unconcerned.
After a few minutes, Robert returned to the kitchen with a trace of smile on his face, carrying a medium sized padded shipping envelope with a FedEx label on it. He walked directly to Penny’s side of the table and presented the package to her, holding it out on both hands.
“No time for gift wrap,” he told her. “But this is for you, Penny.”
She looked at the package, then back to her father’s eyes, then back to the package once more before reaching out to take it. “Thanks... what is it? Not my birthday or anything.”
“Open it,” he said.
Penny found the tear strip on the side of the pouch and ripped it down, exposing the interior. A white cardboard box was inside, with numbers and letters stamped on one end. Her brows knit as she glanced at her dad again, then she slid out the box, examined it, and finally opened it. Inside was a new cell phone and charger unit, an instruction manual and the usual warranty documents.
“For me?” she asked.
Robert nodded. “When the police told us yesterday that they were going to have to keep your phone as evidence, because of the way Tiffany used it to set up you and Jonah, I knew you couldn’t get along without it for months. So I called your phone service provider, explained about your phone, and ordered a new one for you. I pay the bills for your account and mine, so there were no problems. I had them switch your account to the SIM card on this new phone, so you’ll still have the same number and everything, and I asked them to overnight it to me so you’d have it this morning.”
Penny jumped up from the table to hug Robert. “Oh, thank you, Daddy!”
“My pleasure,” said Robert. “Since I’ve been paying for the back-up service too for the past year, all you have to do is turn it on for the first time and your address book and any other files you had on your old phone will automatically download to this one. You’ll be back in business in five or ten minutes.”
“You’re the best,” she told him. She sat back down and started to check out her new toy.
Jonah smiled as he watched Penny’s excitement about the unexpected gift. He glanced over and saw that his mother was smiling, too, first at Penny and then at Robert. He quickly finished his breakfast and got up from the table.
“I’ll go get my homework,” he said.
Penny, still fascinated with her new phone, almost started to tell him to get hers, too, but caught herself in time. That would have required way too much explaining, and could have ruined everything.
“Oh yeah,” she said absently. “Thanks for reminding me.” She carefully set the new phone down on the table next to her plate and rose again to follow, pausing to give her father another hug before leaving the kitchen.
They were both back in a matter of minutes and handed over their homework to Robert, who slipped the pages carefully into the pocket of his laptop case. He picked it up and slung the strap over his shoulder, then turned to look at them all.
“Well, off to work,” he said. “Penny, if there are any problems, if you need anything or just want to say ‘hello,’ don’t hesitate to call me.”
“Okay, dad,” she told him, giving him another hug. “Be careful driving. Please.”
A trace of emotion flickered across his features, but he simply said, “Okay, I will. See you all this evening.”
“Have a good day, Robert,” Rebecca told him, but remained sitting at the table as he left. She finished her coffee and watched with an amused smile as Penny turned on her new cell phone and studied the progress of the downloads. Just as Robert had said, the entire process was completed in less than ten minutes.
“Great!” said Penny. “Everything’s back, just like it was before.”
“That’s good,” said Rebecca. “Do you still have my cell phone number and Jonah’s cell phone number? Your father told me that he gave our numbers to you in case of emergencies.”
“Yes. Still there.”
“Good,” Rebecca said as she started to get up from the table. “I’m glad you have a phone again, not only for emergencies, but also so you can keep in touch your friends at the old school.”
Penny nodded, but her expression became more sober. “There are only a few, but staying connected to them is important to me. I’m just not sure... not sure what to tell them about yesterday.”
Rebecca patted her shoulder as she moved by to head for the sink. “You don’t have to tell them anything you don’t feel comfortable talking about, not until you’re ready.”
“Thanks for the advice, Mrs. Nash.” Penny gathered up her phone and packaging and got up from the table. “Will you both excuse me for a moment? I want to put most of this stuff in my room. I’ll be right back.”
“Certainly,” said Rebecca.
Jonah watched her leave the kitchen, surprised that he was feeling pangs of loneliness as soon as she was out of sight. Then he started helping clear the rest of the breakfast dishes from the table. When he had brought the last cup and saucer to the sink where his mother already had the dishpan full of hot sudsy water, he glanced quickly back at the door to the kitchen before asking a question.
“Mom, I didn’t want to ask her directly, because... well, just because,” Jonah began. “But I’ve been wondering about Penny’s mother. How did she die? Was she sick or something?”
Rebecca sighed and also checked to be sure they were alone in the kitchen. “No, it wasn’t an illness. Robert told me that her mother... his wife... was killed in a bad car accident. She had started across a big intersection in the town where they used to live and some crazy person ran the red light going about 60 miles an hour and plowed right into the driver’s side of her car. Robert said it took the paramedics and fire rescue team nearly three hours to get her out of the wreckage. She was dead long before that.”
Jonah blanched as that image formed in his mind. “Oh wow. How terrible.”
Rebecca nodded. “The worst part of it is, she was on her way to the school to pick up Penny at the end of the day, so...”
“So Penny not only lost her mom,” said Jonah, “she also felt somehow responsible, even though she wasn’t.”
“Guilt feelings can be pretty hard to deal with, even for an adult,” said Rebecca soberly. “I can imagine what she went through.”
“So can I,” said Jonah, without explaining exactly how much he did know. “Now I understand why she wanted to take the school bus instead of letting her dad keep driving her. She was afraid... afraid it might happen again.” Moisture welled up in his eyes and he blinked it away.
Rebecca put the last of the dishes in the pan to soak, dried her hands on the towel hanging nearby, and turned to tousle her son’s hair. She smiled proudly at him.
“It’s good of you to be concerned,” Rebecca told him seriously. “You have a sensitive heart, and it’s good that Penny has a friend like you. I know you two got off to a bad start with her constant teasing and all, but you should keep in mind that behavior like that can sometimes be a way of disguising or hiding deeper emotions that are hard to deal with. But I guess you know something about that yourself. After your father died, you became more introverted than ever, which is saying a lot.”
Jonah sighed and nodded. “Yeah.” Part of him wanted to tell his mom that Penny had been there for him, too, and that they had already gone way beyond being friends, in every sense, but he kept his mouth shut. That was one secret he intended to keep.
The sound of footsteps approaching alerted them to the fact that Penny was returning. She re-enter
ed the kitchen, still carrying her cell phone in one hand.
“Hi,” she said brightly, then she seemed to notice the somber expressions on their faces and how quiet things were now. “Did... did I miss anything?”
Rebecca let her features slide into a gentle smile. “Not really. Jonah and I were just reminiscing about things.” She glanced at the clock on the wall, then back to Penny. “So, tell me, what are you and my son going to be up to today?”
Penny froze, instantly cautious, yet careful not to appear too cautious either. “Ah, how do you mean?”
“Well,” said Rebecca, “since you’re not going to school, what are you both going to be doing?”
Penny shot a quick glance toward Jonah and saw a slight trace of panic in his eyes, then shrugged. “I’m not sure. Time off is still kinda new to me. Maybe I could do the laundry for you?”
“Only if you feel like it,” said Rebecca.
Jonah said, “I could mow the lawn. I was going to do that this weekend, but I could do that today.”
“If you want. But if you just want to goof off and watch TV or read a book, that’s okay, too,” said Rebecca. “Just do me a favor and don’t catch the bus to sneak off to the mall. At least, not without telling me. I worry about you both enough as it is. Especially now.”
Penny shook her head. “I won’t, Mrs. Nash. I’ll stay right here with you and Jonah all day.”
Rebecca took off her apron and hung it on the peg in the corner. “Well, not with me, exactly. The temp agency called me about an hour ago to remind me about a job they tried to tell me about yesterday. I really should be leaving now.” She went to Penny and stopped before her, searching her eyes with the same concern she had the night before. “But I can call them back... tell them I can’t make it. If you need me here, Penny. Seriously.”
Penny smiled appreciatively. “That’s so nice. But I’m okay, really. And I don’t want to mess up your job or your income. You don’t have to worry about me.”
Rebecca considered it a moment, then said, “Well... okay. You’ve got my cell phone number if you need to reach me. Just be careful and don’t let anyone in.”