The Blogger and the Hunk

by Jane Matisse

  If Jack didn’t believe in God before, he certainly did now. They decided on Penelope’s place since it was much closer. To assure himself that she was still agreeing to this... whatever it was, he reached over to place his hand over Penelope’s thigh. The muscles there stiffened, so he began to rub small circles, his fingers getting closer to her core, which he was sure was just dripping wet. He could hardly contain his groan.

  “Can you go any faster?” Penelope asked, squirming. Jack turned to look at her briefly. Their eyes locked for just a moment, but even with only the moon and the streetlights to illuminate the dark night, he could see the desire in her honey-colored eyes.

  Honey colored? Since when had he actually noticed? If someone had asked him a month before what Penelope’s eye color was, he would have said brown. Now, he had memorized the soft brown color with hints of gold flecks so small, you would have to be touching your nose to hers to see them. Jack had done that, of course, on more than one occasion. He finally turned onto Penelope’s street and parked the car right in front of her building. Before he had a chance to get out and open her door, Penelope was already halfway to the front gate.

  She is just as anxious as me. Thank God!

  Before he knew it, Penelope was fumbling with the keys, trying to unlock the door to her apartment, while he was pressing himself against her back, kissing her neck and any other part of her exposed skin. They tumbled into the dark apartment, Penelope brazenly grabbing at the hem of his shirt and lifting it off him. Jack gasped as she ran her hands over his torso, grazing her nails lightly on his nipples. He swiftly shifted her weight until he had her pinned against her closed door. He couldn’t stop kissing her full lips.

  “Ow!” Penelope exclaimed, pulling away and touching her lip. Her finger had a little drop of blood. She looked up toward him, a bewildered expression on her face. “Did you just bite me?” she asked, incredulous.

  Jack shrugged. “You’re driving me insane,” he answered nonchalantly.

  Penelope’s surprised laugh turned into another moan as Jack kissed her again, trying to get her to feel more and think less.

  An animalistic growl came from deep within his throat as Penelope began to suck his tongue tentatively in her mouth, as if she were experimenting with what it felt like. “If we don’t do anything else, I’ll be okay with just kissing,” Jack whispered against her mouth, out of breath.

  “Uh-uh,” Penelope rejected the idea. “More,” she gasped, pulling him toward her body again and sliding her hand down his torso until her fingers reached the front of his jeans. She slowly undid the button and lowered the zipper.

  Jack growled again and took her mouth with his, the intensity rising. He ached to be buried deep inside her wetness. His body couldn’t get enough of her. He didn’t care for logic. His hands started stripping her clothes off just as she slid his jeans down and kicked them away. Penelope sighed as Jack exposed one of her breasts and took a nipple into his mouth. He had never heard anything sweeter.

  There was no time for talking, for questioning whether this was the right thing to do. It just felt right. Penelope led them to her room, never once breaking away from their kiss. Jack caressed her bottom and squeezed it, making her moan into his mouth. They reached her room, wearing nothing but their underwear, blindly walking toward the bed.

  “Mmmph!” Penelope exclaimed as she tumbled onto her soft cotton bedsheets with an aroused Jack on top of her. He reveled in her soft body, taking in every curve, every contour, and embracing the fact that he had her in his hands. No matter how much he’d denied it, he knew he’d been attracted to her ever since their first night together.

  He chuckled as Penelope quickly slipped off her panties, eager to be naked in front of him, a complete contrast to the shy mouse he had encountered at the bar all those weeks ago. In some strange way, he was proud to be the one who gave her that boost of sexual confidence. Tonight was for recklessness. Any doubts, any regrets would have to wait until morning. There was no time for him to second-guess his actions.

  “Do you have a condom?” Jack panted, looking down at Penelope. She nodded, too busy kissing his neck to answer, and pointed toward her bedside table. He pulled out the drawer and grabbed at the packets inside. He frowned. “Were you stocking up for an orgy?”

  Penelope stopped kissing his chest and looked at the stack of condoms in his hand. A few seconds passed before she smiled, turning her laughing eyes to Jack’s. “Don’t be jealous. I wanted to make sure I was ready, just in case.” Jack merely grumbled as Penelope giggled and watched his trembling hands slide the rubber onto his hard-on. Before he knew it, Penelope grabbed his cock, leading it to her wet core. Slowly and steadily, she led him inside her, moaning wantonly as his thickness filled her. “Yessss,” she hissed in his ear.

  Jack grunted, his arms trembling. If he wasn’t careful, he was going to burst before he even got a chance to enjoy her. He tried taking it slower, sliding out at a maddeningly slow pace. Penelope was having none of it.

  “Oh, God, Jack. Move... faster... too damn... slow!” she panted, her heels digging in to his backside.

  “Fine! I was... trying to be... considerate,” he replied, beginning to pick up his pace. Their bodies moved in unison. Penelope met Jack’s movements thrust for thrust, their bodies finding a fast rhythm, growing faster with every deep imprint he left inside her. “I’m... almost....”

  “Me, too! Jack!” Penelope let go, her screams echoing through the bedroom. Jack gave her one last thrust, a million stars seemed to burst in front of his eyes. He let his arms drop and fell on top of Penelope’s warmth, her name a whisper on his lips. She brought her hand up to run her fingers through his sweat-slicked hair. Slowly, he drifted into sleep. Penelope whispered something to him, but he missed it before sleep took over.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  You know how you do something you know is a bad idea so you promise yourself not to do it again? Well, sometimes you have to do something again because it was just so damn good the first time. I’m talking about sex. With my one-night stand. Well, I guess it’s a two-night stand now.

  DIARY OF A WALLFLOWER: Entry 168

  Penelope opened her eyes. Something felt off. She was in her room, that much she knew. Something just felt different. There was a sudden movement from her left side, a ruffling of bedsheets, and her heart did a few flips in her chest.

  She turned her body toward the movement, and her suspicions were confirmed. Jack was fast asleep, an arm thrown over his eyes, breathing softly. He was an Adonis, awake or asleep. Penelope couldn’t help it, she stared. She took in every inch of his form. The sheets were only covering him from his lower torso down. His chest moved with the steady rhythm of his breath, his perfectly sculpted chest with just a sprinkling of black chest hair. Her gaze moved lower, below his perfect torso. To her confusion, the sheets were a little tented in that area. When she kept staring, the tent grew larger.

  Her eyes widened. “If you keep staring a hole through my dick, I’m going to assume we’re going for another round this morning.”

  Penelope’s eyes snapped up to Jack’s face, where his arm had lifted slightly from his eyes and he was now looking straight at her. As if on cue, the blood immediately rushed to her face. She quickly scrambled to get out of bed, almost forgetting she was naked.

  She wrapped a throw around herself and stood by the side of the bed. “Uhh, good morning.”

  “Mornin’,” Jack replied, a little amused. He nonchalantly pushed the sheets away and stood up, naked.

  Penelope tried not to let out a little squeak. The guy had no shame whatsoever. He turned to look at her and winked, walking toward her bathroom. She heard the water running and the toilet flushing before Jack came out in all his naked glory, drying his face off with a hand towel.

  By then, Penelope had been able to find a decent pair of shorts and old T-shirt she used as pajamas. “Uhh, do you want some breakfast? I’m sorry, I’m not familiar with any morning after etiquette.”


  “Well, what if I said I’d rather have you for breakfast?” Jack asked, pulling on his boxers. Penelope had just processed what he’d suggested when he shook his head vigorously. “Forget I ever said that, I have to go.”

  Penelope furrowed her brows together. Realization dawned and hit her like a ton of bricks. She chuckled mirthlessly. “I see how it is. Fuck the fat girl and run after it’s over.”

  “Whoa, wait a minute! Who said anything ab—”

  “Well, thank you for rocking my world last night.” Penelope cut him off, walking out of her room and heading toward the front door. She unlocked and turned the knob, but Jack got to her before she could open it.

  “Hold on a damn minute! Why the sudden hostility? I never promised you anything. You agreed to this,” he explained, his hand wrapped around the upper part of her arm.

  Penelope sighed, not able to bring herself to look at him. She kept her eyes on the floor. “You’re right. None of this was your fault. I guess I let my mind wander off into unchartered territory. You never insinuated this was anything more than sex.”

  “Penelope, I’m just the first of many guys who are gonna come knocking at your door.”

  Penelope let out a half-forced laugh. It felt bitter in her throat. “No they won’t. It’s fine, nothing good could come from a relationship that started as a one-night stand. I’ll always be the wallflower, the book nerd, the tree stump.”

  “You’re not—” Jack started.

  “Look, I think I just want to be alone, please. I’ll see you later.”

  Jack looked hesitant to leave, which Penelope found ironic since he was ready to bail just a few minutes ago. “Okay, I’ll go. Talk to you later?”

  Penelope nodded. She watched him open the door, his T-shirt and shoes still in his hands as he walked out of her apartment. She closed the door softly, locked it, and let her body give out and sobbed, her head in her hands.

  * * *

  “Where the hell did you go last night?” Stephanie asked, sipping her coffee. The girls had called Penelope up for a late snack at their favorite café. Penelope hadn’t felt like doing anything after her little confrontation with Jack that morning, but life called. It wasn’t going to stop for her no matter how depressed she was.

  “I went home,” she responded, deliberately being evasive.

  “With or without Jack?” Jasmine asked, both girls looking at her intently.

  Penelope just sighed. She wasn’t in the mood to get badgered by questions. Jack had been clear; he didn’t want her for anything more than to get laid. He’d never said he wanted anything more than....

  Hell, what did he want? Was she just another notch on his bedpost? Was he the only notch on her bedpost? A friend? But then again they couldn’t just be normal friends. They’d had sex twice already. Friends didn’t have sex with their friends and then act like everything was okay. It just didn’t work that way.

  “Hellooo? Earth to Penny!” Stephanie waved her hand enthusiastically in front of Penelope’s face. “What is up with you? What happened last night?”

  “And don’t say nothing, because so help me God I’ll bitch slap you,” Jasmine confessed, looking ready to carry out her promise.

  Penelope smiled halfheartedly. “We slept together.”

  Both girls looked shocked. “What? You mean you fucked again?” Stephanie asked, surprised.

  “Geez, announce it to the whole coffee shop, will you? Yes, we had sex again, but I don’t really want to talk about it.”

  “Wait a minute. You slept with Mr. Sex-on-Two-Legs and you expect us not to ask you for details? And what’s with the sad face? Did the motherfucker do something to you, because I’ll cut a bitch!” Jasmine announced.

  Penelope slammed her hands on the table, frustrated. “I don’t know what’s going on! I don’t know what I’m doing, how to feel. My little sister’s getting married, I’ve got my parents to deal with when they come down here for the wedding in two weeks, and I just had meaningless sex with a guy that’s just way out of my league. And you want to know something even more fucked-up? I think I’m in love with the asshole!” Penelope took a breath, trying not to let herself cry.

  There was a lingering silence.

  “Oh no, Penny. I’m sorry,” Jasmine finally said, reaching her hand out to comfort her.

  “Now I feel like it was partly our fault for pushing you toward him too much,” Stephanie replied. “We just wanted you to come out of your shell. Honest.”

  “We should’ve known it wasn’t in your best interest. We should’ve been more careful—”

  “Just shut up.” Penelope sighed. “I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself, I promise. Whatever I’m feeling was all my doing.” She slowly shook her head as if portraying how disappointed she was in herself. “I let myself get in too deep. I should’ve paid attention to my own limits. But it’s okay. Once the wedding is over, I won’t have to see him that much. And Celeste will never have to know her big sister fucked her best friend.”

  They all sat in silence. Then Jasmine spoke up. “You know we’re your girls, right? Anything needs to be done, we’re here to back you up.”

  “Forever,” Stephanie added with a smile.

  Penelope softly chuckled. “You guys can get pretty cheesy sometimes.”

  For the first time that day, Penelope felt like everything was going to be okay. They parted ways after their lunch and Penelope drove to Celeste’s house, trying to keep her wits about her, hoping her sister wouldn’t notice anything different. The last thing she needed was her sister to figure out what she was trying so hard to hide.

  “Do you know if Jack was able to book the band for the reception?” Celeste asked once they had settled in her living room.

  Penelope’s head shot up to look straight at her sister, who was too busy looking through bridal magazines to notice her discomfort.

  “Uh— no. W-why would I talk to him? He’s your f-friend. Y-you should be keeping an eye on him more.” She stammered through a response, trying to ease her nerves with a chuckle, which sounded strained to her ears.

  Apparently Celeste thought so too. She looked up from the picture of a beautiful white rose bouquet centerpiece. Her eyes seemed to bore through Penelope’s brown ones, a look of concentration on her face. She pointed her finger in Penelope’s direction. “Something’s up. You’re not yourself. What’s going on?”

  Penelope raised her brows in an attempt to convince her sister nothing was wrong. “Nothing. Everything’s fine. Why do yo—”

  “Uh-uh. No. You don’t get to deny anything right now.”

  Penelope rolled her eyes, exasperated. “Okay, now you’re just being dramatic. Life isn’t like one of those novelas Mom likes to watch, you know?”

  “No, I’m not. Penny, I may be younger than you, but that doesn’t mean I’m stupid. I know things haven’t been right with you, I just haven’t thought to figure it out.”

  “And what, pray tell, do you think is wrong with me?”

  “I don’t know. You just haven’t been the same. It’s been like this for the past few weeks. It was like something came into your life and made you feel again. And now, you’re back to being your cynical self,” Celeste explained, a confused look on her face.

  Penelope merely cleared her throat and pretended to look through another bridal magazine from the big stack on the coffee table. She wasn’t in the mood to explain anything, especially to her little sister. What would she say if she knew her own sister had slept with her friend who was a well-known modern-day Casanova? What would she say if she knew Penelope was possibly in love with the asshole? No, it was better she just kept her mouth shut.

  After a few more seconds of silence, Celeste went back to flipping through the pages of the magazine in her hands. “Fine, don’t confess. But don’t think this conversation is over.”

  “Actually, I think it is,” Penelope replied haughtily. She let a few minutes drag by before she spoke again, trying to change the
subject. “Are our beautiful parents ready to visit?”

  Celeste gave her the stink eye, which warned Penelope she knew of her attempt to butter her up again with talk about the wedding. She answered anyway. “You know our parents. Always excited to see their two princesas!” she exclaimed with fake enthusiasm. “I think once Jack comes back from his trip, everyone will be here for the wedding.”

  Penelope only heard one thing. “Jack is out of town?”

  “Yeah, he went to visit his parents for the week. He was supposed to leave next week, but something came up and he switched his flight for an earlier one. I think he was bringing back a date or something. I can’t really remember what he said. Come to think of it....” Celeste kept talking, but Penelope could only think about what she had just confessed.

  A date.

  He was visiting his parents to bring back a date. Was she a long-distance girlfriend? Were they in a relationship?

  Penelope tried hard to focus on her task, and not let herself be overcome by the tears welling up in her eyes. Everything suddenly became blurry, and the moment the front door opened to Bryan walking in, she was relieved. Now Celeste would be distracted with her future husband.

  “Hey, amor!” Celeste exclaimed, shooting up off the couch to give Bryan a kiss on the lips.

  “Hello, beautiful,” he replied, smiling down at her. Penelope busied herself with a glass of water in the kitchen. “Hey, Penelope. How are you?” he looked toward her, an easy smile on his face.

  “Great, thank you,” Penelope replied as cheerfully as she could, her smile frozen.

  Bryan’s brow furrowed a little as he took her in. Luckily, Celeste’s cell phone rang, which turned the attention away from Penelope, at least for the moment. Unfortunately, it was all wishful thinking. As Celeste spoke to one of her bridesmaids, Bryan made his way to the kitchen. He leaned on the counter, watching as Penelope made a show of drinking her ice water slowly. She knew the guy first as her sister’s boyfriend, and now fiancé. She knew he was a good guy who loved her sister dearly, but other than that, they never really spoke alone. And Penelope really didn’t want to start now, not when her heart was tied into knots.