by Renee Fowler
After a quick glance at the clock, I realize we have time so I beckon Carrie to follow me.
“Is it finished already?” she asks excitedly.
I glance back at Liam over my shoulder, then nod towards Carrie. She follows me back to my dressing room, and when I pull her completed costume free of the garment bag, she lets out a long, ear piercing squeal. “Oh, my god. It’s perfect.”
Forsaking any kind of modesty, she start stripping down and pulls the Cinderella dress on with some difficulty, and a bit of help from me. “Does it feel okay?” I ask, arranging the hooped skirt around the back.
“It fits exactly right. Penny, you have to let me pay you for this. It’s too much.”
“You already paid me for the materials, and it was fun to make.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m positive.”
“What are you coming as?” she asks, piling her hair on top of her head and appraising her reflection in the mirror.
“I haven’t decided yet.”
“Are you going with someone?” she swings her hips from side to side so the dress rocks back and forth like a bell.
“Like a date?” I laugh, trying to imagine Liam escorting me to this halloween party. If he even goes, it’s safe to assume he’ll ignore me the whole time. Which is good. It’s what we agreed upon, wasn’t it? “No, I don’t think so.”
“Me either. We should go together,” Carrie suggests. “I hate showing up to things like this by myself.”
The night of Seth’s party, Carrie and I arrive together. She tried to talk me into dressing as another princess, but I declined. Off the stage I’ve never been too fond of that sort of thing.
“Holy crap, this place is huge.” Carrie holds the skirt of her dress up off the ground as we go wander up to the gilded front doors. “I can’t believe this is where Seth lives.”
“I don’t think he lives here all the time.”
“You’ve been here before?”
“Just once.”
Loud, thumping music almost drowns out the sound of the doorbell. Seth’s smile quickly vanishes when his eyes land on me. “What is this? Are you in drag?”
“I’m the doctor.”
“Huh?”
“Doctor Who? We watched it together before, remember?” I lift up my sonic screwdriver hoping to jog his memory, but the few times I’ve tried to get Seth to watch my favorite TV show with me, he never seemed very interested. “I’m the tenth doctor. What are you supposed to be?”
“I’m Adam.” He wiggles his hips, giving the faux fig leaf covering his crotch a little shake. Seth grabs Carries hand and kisses across her gloved knuckles with a flourishing bow. “And I bet you’re dressed just like Eve under that pretty dress, aren’t you?”
Carrie lets out a nervous giggle, and gives me a wary look out of the side of her eye.
“Come inside,” Seth orders. “Get something to drink. The party is just getting started.”
Just getting started? There were people milling everywhere.
Carrie pulls me through the crowd. “Oh, my god. I need a drink. I need six of them. I feel like everyone is looking at us.”
Yeah, I was kind of getting that feeling too. It’s nothing but half undressed bodies as far as the eye can see, and the two of us stick out like a sore thumb.
“Were we supposed to dress sexy or something?” Carrie asks. “It didn’t say on the invitation. I feel like someone forgot to give us the memo.”
I shrug. “Cinderella is definitely the sexiest princess, and David Tennant is by far the sexiest Doctor, so… screw it. I say we fit right in.” Of course that’s what I say only because Carrie looks like she wants to bolt. Seriously everyone is looking at us. “Yeah, let’s get a drink.”
I don’t drink much in general, but crowded events like this are an exception. The noise and chaos is overwhelming, but I’m an extremely cheap drunk and it’s not long before I’m mildly oblivious to the fact that I’m way overdressed, and it’s far too loud.
Carrie pulls me past the expansive living room and into what I guess is usually a long dining room, but it’s been cleared out to make room for a DJ and a dance floor. As more people file in, I spot a handful of less lewd costumes. A couple have come as ketchup and mustard. Someone else is a very gory zombie. One woman is a witch, not of the cleavage baring and ass hanging out the bottom of her too short skirt variety. A lot of people aren’t dressed for the occasion at all.
After dancing to a few songs, Evan comes over to say hello. He’s wearing a greek toga with gold cuffs around his biceps and wrists, and sandals with straps that tie halfway up his calves. His eyes are glazed over and his breath smells like whiskey. He lifts off the non prescription glasses I have perched on my nose and gives my wig of tousled brown hair a light ruffle. “Look at you, Penny. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but you should come sit on my lap somewhere more private.”
I’m just inebriated enough that I find his comment hilarious instead of disturbing. “Maybe some other time, Evan. Have you met Carrie?”
“I haven’t had the pleasure yet, but I’ve heard plenty about her.” Evan takes Carrie’s hand and has her do a twirl. “I’ve admired her from afar a bit. You’re as lovely up close as I imagined.”
I can tell Carrie isn’t quite sure what to make of Evan. I’ve met him several times, and I’m still not sure myself. He’s older, how old I can’t say, and he is so secretive about his age even Seth doesn’t know. After a bit more small talk, he eventually wanders off to mingle.
Carrie leans over and loud whispers near my ear. “Have you slept with Seth?”
I shake my head fast.
“Do you want to?”
“No.” I laugh. “Why, do you?”
She shrugs, then pulls me closer so she’s not overheard. “How does it work with them? Like… I don’t get it.”
“It’s an open relationship, or something? I don’t really get it either.”
“I wouldn’t have to sleep with both of them, would I?”
I shrug and fling my hands up in the air, a little surprised that Carrie would even consider it. “I guess you could always go find Seth and ask him.”
Carrie nibbles her bottom lip as she seems to mull it over. “Maybe one more drink, and I’ll think about it. Would you be okay on your own for a bit?”
“Of course.”
Before Carrie could finish that next drink to bolster her courage, Roselyn wanders over. She’s dressed as an angel, of the sexy variety of course, in a sheer baby doll shift, with an equally sheer bra beneath and panties that resembled dental floss. White kitten heels adorned with fuzzy accents and a glittery halo resting on top of her head complete the ensemble. “Hi, ladies.” Her bright pink lips form a half-cocked smile. “Who are you supposed to be?” she asks me.
I’m a little surprised she’s talking to me at all. Roselyn usually pretends like I don’t exist. “I’m the doctor,” I say.
She shrugs her shoulders and gives me a confused look.
“From Doctor Who. It’s a TV show.”
“Never heard of it. Well, I don’t have to guess who you are.” Roselyn grins weakly at Carrie, and glances above our heads, searching around the room with her eyes. “Do either of you know if Liam is coming?”
Carrie shrugs.
I shrug too, feeling an odd twist in the pit of my stomach.
“Okay… Well… Have fun. Ta ta.” Roselyn waggles her fingers at us and wanders away.
Carrie waits until Roselyn is well out of ear shot to groan loudly and roll her eyes. She throws back the remainder of her drink in one go. “Alright. Wish me luck.”
“Good luck. If things don’t work out, look for me outside. I might step out for a minute.”
Watching Carrie pick her way through the crowd, I am starting to regret my decision to ride together. Maybe I can just take an Uber home. Liam said he would call when he got here, but maybe he’s changed his mind about coming after all. I reached inside my dark blu
e, pin-striped suit jacket to withdraw my phone, and sighed to myself. He called twenty minutes ago, but I’ve stupidly left my ringer on silent.
I grab a flute of champagne I probably don’t need as I pass through in search of Liam, but I don’t make it out of the room before I get stopped by a couple. They are probably a few years younger than me. The guy is dressed as the eleventh doctor and the girl is wearing a fitted, cobalt-blue dress reminiscent of the Tardis.
I know it’s just a TV show, but Doctor Who is one of those things I’m weirdly passionate about, so I get roped into a lengthy conversation with the pair. At some point I look up and spot Liam through the open doorway and halfway across the expansive foyer.
It’s him from the back. His thick, dark hair and white shirt. The familiar taper of his shoulders. I feel like I could recognize him anywhere, and I also feel like I recognize something in the way his hand is resting on Roselyn’s shoulder. He inclines his head to say something to her, or kiss her? I can’t really tell from this angle. Then her fingers tipped with bright pink nail polish appear at the back of his neck, and he dips his head down further. My stomach somersaults and I nearly barf up every drop of alcohol I’ve drank since arriving.
Chapter 21
Liam
“Hi, Liam.” Roselyn hiccups and smiles up at me. “Fancy meeting you here.”
“Is Penny around?” I ask, then quickly add on, “And Carrie. They mentioned they were coming.”
Roselyn shrugs and takes a pointed look around, waving her hand through the air. “There are lots of people here. You need a drink, don’t you? Let’s get you a drink. I could use another one myself.”
She grabs my forearm, making a movement like she intends to drag me along with her through the crowd. I carefully extricate myself from her grasp. “Are you even old enough to drink?”
She giggles and raises her eyebrows up at me. “Okay, dad.”
“Roselyn, I think maybe you’ve already had a bit much already, hmmm.”
Thrusting her chest out, she brushes up against me lewdly. I try to take a step back to avoid her, but there are people pressing in on our every side. “Liam, I’m big enough to take care of myself.”
“I’m glad to hear it, but I’m driving so…” My eyes fall on Penny briefly, but my view of her quickly gets obscured by the shuffle of bodies.
My pretty Penny, who somehow manages to look beautiful in a men’s suit with her hair pinned up beneath a wig of short, brown hair. She’s spent weeks trying to acclimate me to her favorite TV show. I’m not sure if I’ll ever be as much the devoted fan as her, but I love how excited she gets at times. It’s a refreshing change of pace from the bored indifference, predictability, and snobbery I’ve been surrounded by for so long.
I give Roselyn’s shoulder a dismissive pat, attempting to move past her, but she plants herself fully in my path. Her hand snakes around the back of my neck. She pulls me towards her, and leans up simultaneously. I turn my head so her mouth falls at the corner of my jaw instead of my lips. “We’ve talked about this,” I say firmly.
“What’s the big deal?” she whines.
I laugh and pry her hand off me. “Roselyn, you’re young enough to be my daughter.”
“But I’m not your daughter, right?”
“And I’m involved with someone.”
“Since when? I’ve never seen you with anyone.”
“Look, I’m flattered, truly I am, but I’m just not interested.”
Roselyn’s face is flush from embarrassment or drink, perhaps a combination of the two. She huffs and gives a dramatic eye roll like a petulant child. This time when I shoulder past her, she doesn’t try to stop me.
I excuse my way through the crowd, my eyes scanning for Penny. I spot her by the tan overcoat billowing behind her as she stalks away purposefully.
“Penny, wait.”
She doesn’t wait, although I’m fairly certain she heard me. I catch up to her halfway down the front steps of the sprawling mansion. “I called you.”
Penny keeps walking.
“Are you just going to ignore me?” I rush ahead of her and block her path. “I’m guessing you saw something back there, or think you saw something, but-”
“You don’t have to explain yourself to me, Liam. We never had the conversation about what this is, so far be it from me to stand in the way.”
“Penny, nothing happened.”
“You’ve got a little something right there.” She gestures to my neck.
I rub a palm across my skin and it comes back stained bright pink. “Penny-”
“Look, I get it. I’m weird, and clueless. I guess I was supposed to come dressed as a sexy mermaid, or a slutty cat or something.”
“I love that you came dressed like this.”
“And I know everyone else has flings, and open relationships, and orgies, but I’m not everyone else.”
“In that case, I’m not everyone else either. I don’t think of Roselyn like that, at all. She tried to kiss me and I turned my head to avoid it. End of story. Penny, you’re all I want. You are the only person I want to be with, but… what do you want? Can you just tell me, because sometimes I don’t have a clue.”
“I want… I want… Liam, I don’t know how to do this.” She flings her hands out between us in frustration.
“Do what?”
“Be with someone! Be in a relationship, if that’s even what this is. I’ve only ever had one boyfriend, and he sucked, and I sucked at being his girlfriend, and I’m sucking at this too. I don’t know what this is. What is supposed to be happening? What are the rules?”
I’m a little taken aback. Penny has only ever been in one relationship? It hardly seems possible for someone so beautiful. “Rules?”
“Liam, if this is just us hooking up, I can deal with it, but I need to know.”
I push her glasses up into her wig of unruly hair, and cup the sides of her face. “This is so much more than that, Penny.”
“Are you leaving after New Years?” she asks in a small voice.
“Do you want me to leave?”
Pressing her lips together, she shakes her head.
“I don’t want to leave either.” Staring down into her soft grey eyes, I try to swallow away that little lump of apprehension. I’ve only ever said these words to one other woman, and she made me regret them profusely, but Penny is so different. I’ve got to believe things might turn out better for us. “I love you, Penny.”
“You do?”
“Of course I do. I’m completely infatuated with you, but I was a bit reluctant to come out with it. I suppose I wasn’t sure what the rules were either.”
“What do you love about me?”
I chuckle a little under my breath at her very direct question delivered with such sincerity and innocence. “I love that you manage to look stunning in a men’s suit, and I love that you tell me the truth. I love that you tell me what you’re thinking, even if it’s to disagree with me. I love that there’s this other side of you that not many people get to see, but for some reason you let me see it.” I pull her close so I can whisper in her ear. “I love the sound you make when you come, and I love that I’m the one that gets to make you come. And I love that you let me hold you for so long after, and that we can just be together and exist in the same space. It’s so peaceful and tranquil, like we’re the only two people in the world.”
Penny reached up and grabbed my face to kiss me with lips that taste like champagne. “I love you too, Liam. I love… everything about you. I can’t really articulate it, but there are so many things. All I know is I feel better when we’re together, and when we’re not together I think about you all the time. I tried so hard not to love you, but it happened anyway.”
“Why did you try not to love me?” I ask, smiling.
She lets out a soft, faraway sigh. “It’s a long story.”
“Good. I love stories, so you’ll have to tell me sometime soon.” I kiss her again softly. “Penny, can we ple
ase stop hiding this now?”
She nods enthusiastically.
I entwine my fingers with hers. “Come back inside with me for a little while. We don’t have to make a big announcement, but we can go in together, okay?”
Penny’s mouth curves into a beautiful smile as she nods again.
There were a few shocked reactions from people at the theater also attending the party, but not as many as I’d feared. I don’t think Penny and I have been doing as stellar of a job at keeping our mutual attraction under wraps as we’d thought.
The second we get back to her place, Penny’s fingers fumble to undo the buttons of my shirt. Her lips form a smile against my mouth. “You love me.”
“I do.”
“And I love you.”
“So you say.”
She giggles under her breath, stumbling a step as she struggles to free herself of the many layers of her costume.
“Are you sure you’re feeling up to this?” I ask, smiling. Penny is far from drunk, but she’s definitely a touch tipsy.
She tugs the wig off and shakes her hair loose. “Oh, I’m up for it.”
Sometimes it’s hard to reconcile Penny in the present, who can’t wait until we reach her bedroom, with the shy and nervous girl who first invited me up to see where she’d hung that painting. She’s insatiable at times, and up for anything, all except one thing.
We’ve managed to remove a good portion of our clothes before Penny pulls me through to her room and down on top of the neatly made bed with her. Her legs circle around my waist, drawing me all the way inside her. She sucks on my bottom lip and rakes her fingers through my hair. Pressing her forehead against mine, she pants close to my mouth. “I want you to come inside me.”
“Are you sure?” I ask. She’s always been so skittish about this in the past. An unplanned pregnancy for a dancer is no small thing, and birth control isn’t one hundred percent, so I can understand her reluctance.
“I’m sure. I want to know what it feels like.”