The Price of Penny

by T. C. Rybicki

  The shower fully awakened me. I savored my second bottle of water and hydration never felt so good. I held the bottle in my hands and studied it. I laughed out loud. Why was a bottle of water suddenly so funny to me? I had no idea. I busied myself trying to figure out what to do with my mane. The shower did little to tame it. I’d already finished my makeup. The sink was on low so I could dab my fingers in the warm water occasionally and pat down all my frizzies. The last thing I ever expected was to hear someone breaking into my room while I stood there in only my bra and panties.

  “Knock, knock. Are you ready?”

  I grabbed the robe that was in reach to cover up. I had no time to pull it closed. Chet approached me like finding me practically naked was an everyday occurrence. He stopped so I fastened the belt tightly around my waist.

  “What do we have here?”

  “Appears like breaking and entering. How the hell did you get in my room?” He held up my room key. “You swiped that?”

  “No, it’s not a break-in, you gave me the key when you were so drunk you didn’t know how to open the door.”

  “I wasn’t that drunk.”

  “Oh yeah, tell me what happened then?”

  I thought about all the gaps in my memory. I was still a little uncertain. “Nothing much. We danced. You walked me to my room.”

  He shook his head slowly and laughed. “Whatever you say, babe.”

  I walked toward him, but Chet wasted little time in closing the distance between us when he grabbed me and pulled me against his hard body. “What? Tell me. Did I do something silly?”

  “No, but you were all over me, even in front of your parents.”

  “No I wasn’t. I wouldn’t do that.”

  “You would and you did, but I loved it.” He kissed my mouth. I’d grown accustomed to Chet’s perfect kisses in the short span of a day. “I love you as well.”

  I pulled back some, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be embarrassing.”

  “You weren’t, but Frank seemed worried when he thought I was taking advantage. I think I proved myself to be completely respectful.”

  “Are you?”

  He snagged my robe tie between his fingers and my loose knot completely came undone. His warm hands glided across my bare skin. “Respectful? No, not at all. Told you I was an amazing actor.”

  I giggled against the fabric of his shirt. Brunch was already starting. I was never late. I was supposed to be putting clothes on and Chet was practically undressing me. We shouldn’t be doing this right now, so soon, but I couldn’t stop him. I didn’t want to stop him. He leaned back enough so he could see exactly what he’d unwrapped.

  Maggie and I had done extensive lingerie shopping a few weeks ago. I was wearing a strapless sundress to brunch so my favorite new purchase worked best for undies. It was a cream colored strapless bra and panty set with an overlay of blue lace. Maggie insisted I get it. She called it, “lacy, racy and a future treat for my man’s eyes.” I never imagined treating him so soon.

  I might need to roll his tongue back inside his mouth if he didn’t stop staring at me. I felt self-conscious and beautiful all at once under his gaze. I tried to pull the robe closed again, but he stopped me.

  “No, don’t. I’m speechless. You’re so beautiful. Do you seriously wear these types of things under your clothes all the time?” Before I could say no way, he covered my mouth with his finger. “Wait, don’t answer. I can’t handle the answer either way, I’m sure.”

  I couldn’t help trying to hide myself again. Chet’s hands circled my waist and he pulled me against him again.

  “Don’t be so bashful. I’ve seen you in a bikini.”

  “It’s not the same.”

  He pulled his soft lips up from the base of my neck to my ear. “I know, it’s really not.”

  With those words, my feet were knocked out from underneath me, Chet picked me up and deposited me on top of my unmade bed. Making out prone wasn’t exactly the same as standing up. I experienced all sorts of new sensations. Basically, all my synapses fired at once. The energy between us sent shockwaves throughout my body. Chet was everywhere, but I couldn’t get enough of him.

  I was definitely caught up in our kisses enough that my mind wasn’t working properly, but when his hand slid up my side, over my ribcage and just below an area being compressed by underwire, I stopped him. I didn’t flip out or accelerate my reactions into an anxiety attack like what used to happen in college. I only politely held my hand over his and stopped kissing him back. He knew me well enough, I didn’t have to say much.

  “Too soon?”

  “Yes . . . very.”

  He apologized. I could feel him lifting up. He’d partially covered me with his body on my left side when we were kissing. It was then, I determined him moving away felt way worse than whatever fears and apprehensions I felt surfacing. Those were barely a twinge in my self-conscience. The new feelings Chet brought out were more like a deep throb or ache. It seemed getting closer was the only thing that helped me currently.

  The next few seconds, we didn’t speak. We communicated with our eyes until there was subtle permission from me. I stopped pushing his hand away and brought it to to the side of my strapless bra. I’m sure most women would have brought it to the cup area, but I was making huge strides with that tiny gesture. I would let Chet decide where he wanted his hands, I wanted more kisses at that point. He was happy to deliver. For the first time, he moved over me. My legs opened for him and Chet settled his full body on top of mine. We fit perfectly together like two missing pieces of a puzzle. There was no mistaking our connection or our deep attraction and desire for one another. I’d lived a quarter of a century and I’d never been in such an intimate position with anyone. My body screamed, what have I been missing, but my mind gently reminded me I was wise to wait for the real deal. And my real deal was Chet. He played pretend for a living and I often joked about it, but he was as real as they got. I barely knew how to handle the honest emotions we conveyed to each other. He was my unexpected best friend and now he was one step away from being my first lover. I lost every previous inhibition I’d clung to all those years. My legs tightened around his thighs. He pushed his body impossibly close so there was no mistaking he was all man. We were about to get completely lost in what we’d started when out of the blue, my phone started ringing and vibrating against the nightstand.

  I knew that ringtone and so did Chet. He fell off of me and let me answer it.

  “No, Mum. I didn’t fall back to sleep. I’m almost ready.” Chet started laughing loudly next to me and Mum heard him. “Yes, he just got here. He’s rushing me. You’re rushing me. I’ll be there in a second.”

  I didn’t give her another chance to chat my ear off or ask questions. I sprang off the bed, picked up my discarded robe in the process and tossed it directly over Chet’s head. He needed to calm down, not stare at me undressed any longer.

  “Hey, no fair.” I was already pulling the sundress on before he disentangled himself with the plush robe. “Seriously, you dress that fast? I’m confused how that’s even possible.” He followed me to the sink. I quickly touched up my face and brushed my hair back down. Chet rested his chin on my shoulder. His arms encased my waist and he linked his fingers to hold me in place.

  He kissed me on a spot close to my neck that broke my skin out in goosebumps. “That was fucking awesome. Damn, you’re hot.” He pointed to our reflection in the mirror, “We look good together, like we were made to be a couple.”

  I patted his cheek and smiled. I didn’t answer him out loud, but we really did.

  After a few initial minutes of jokes and intrusive questions, the table stopped wondering why Chet and I took so long. Once Dad and Keats dug into the elaborate spread before us, everyone else followed suit and started eating. I declined anything with alcohol even though mimosas were plentiful and within reach. I stuck to coffee, water and orange juice, in that order. Maggie chatted a mile a minute about the day before. She highl
ighted the things that were her dream come true and complained about the things that didn’t go as planned. We all assured her it was the best wedding we’d ever attended. Even Chet seconded that. He told her he’d been to some glitzy events as well, but their wedding was topnotch.

  I swear I blushed the entire time during brunch. I’d finally calm down and then Chet would squeeze my thigh under the table or wink at me. I found it hard to believe the entire table didn’t know what we’d been up to because I felt like it was written all over our faces. Most people left after the wedding or early this morning. Only the immediate family remained the final day. Maggie and Keats hired a driver to get them to the airport for their afternoon flight. She grabbed my arm as Chet and I stood up together.

  “I need you, Poppy.”

  Chet pulled me the other direction. “Nope, you’re all Keats’s problem now. Penny did her duty, she’s officially off the clock.”

  I frowned at him. I never told him to say such a thing. “What’s up? Help with what?”

  “My trousseau. Keats said I can’t take so many bags to Fiji. I’m panicking. I have one hour to decide what goes and what stays while he spends time with his father. I don’t know what I should leave or what definitely needs to make the cut. You’ve seen me in all these outfits. Help me, please. You’re my big sister, you’re my only hope. Keats said bring all the sexy stuff and leave the rest.”

  Chet interrupted her, “Sounds right. Problem solved. Penny and I have plans. Bye.”

  “Wait, Chet.” I suspected this might happen. I told her to narrow it down when she made me watch her try on an armful of outfits. “Let me go back to her suite. I won’t be long.”

  I knew he was eager to resume our previous activities. I kinda was too, but I also was relieved Maggie was giving me this out. We were moving way too fast despite what I’d said less than 24 hours before. I needed to rethink my entire game-plan, especially since we had a special date scheduled in the afternoon which Chet was still blissfully unaware of.

  He leaned in closer so he could whisper, “You can’t be serious.”

  I excused us. Chet and I went to the corner of the room. “She’s leaving for a whole week in a matter of hours. I’ll only be gone a few minutes.”

  “It’s clothes, right? She calls it a trouser . . . truss or something.”

  I corrected him, “A trousseau.”

  “Yeah, exactly what I meant. I still don’t understand why she’s making a big deal or using French words for clothes? Damn, your parents spoiled her. I’m dying here. I want to spend time alone with you again.”

  I gave him a soft peck on the lips and promised we’d be spending almost all the rest of the day together. “You know my sister by now. She thinks she privileged and sometimes from another era or universe or whatever fits her mood any given day.”

  “Yeah, I know Maggie plenty well and she’s full of shit right now. She threatened to kill me or cut my nuts off or both in no particular order last night when we had our friendly dance.”

  I was shocked that he had a straight face when he told me what Maggie said to him. I knew for a fact she adored Chet, but I totally believed he wasn’t joking. I suspected some of this farce about going to her suite was to hear all about what I may or may not have done with him so far. I would definitely get to the bottom of her attitude.

  He knew us but he didn’t always understand us and right now, I needed my last bit of sister time for things that weighed heavily on my mind. He finally admitted he had to touch base with his mother so I told him I’d text as soon as I was free.

  Maggie practically manhandled me into her suite. She pushed me against the wall and pinned me with her hands firmly planted on my shoulders. “Okay, spill.”

  I started to say something, most likely back off, but she didn’t give me a chance.

  “No wait. Don’t. Me first. I’ll tell you all about my wedding night with Keats and then you tell me what you did with Chet.”

  Nope. That was the last thing I wanted to hear. I shoved her off of me with ease. I was stronger than her if I wanted to be. I walked through the sea of luggage she had spread all over the room. “Let me stop you right there. I don’t need to hear any details. I know how you and Keats are. I’m sure it was delightful and you’re completely satisfied. I’m happy for you. Nothing further should be spoken. Now let’s get busy.”

  “Poppy, come on. I’ve been your best supporter for months. You owe me.”

  “Owe you, are you kidding me? Did you or did you not threaten Chet at the wedding last night?”

  “Well, maybe in a roundabout way, but it was more like a what if thing.”

  “What if, more like what are you talking about?”

  Her face changed. Maggie lost her smile suddenly. “Do you really want to do this and ruin my good mood?”

  I only wanted her to be honest. I didn’t know what her problem was. “Either you support me with Chet or you don’t. Which is it?”

  “I do. Of course, I do. He’s great. You’re perfect together. I merely made an observation. You’re from different worlds. I advised him to proceed with caution as you take it to the next level. I can’t stand to see you suffer another let down or worse yet, a cataclysmic event.”

  “Thanks for your concern. I know you love me and you worry, but I have news for you, Dad, Mum, Aunt Shar and every third cousin that looks at me funny for having a boyfriend finally . . . I’m a big girl and I can take care of myself.” I told Maggie this news and my parents were next. Everyone trusted me completely in day-to-day life, but in relationships, they had zero faith. I knew why. I didn’t blame them, but I didn’t need any further meddling. Chet and I were up against enough with all the prying eyes of the public.

  “Fair enough, I won’t say another word. You both have my full support, so I think that entitles me to one detail.”

  “Okay, maybe. What do you want to know?”

  “Is he a good kisser?”

  “The best, duh.”

  “I knew it. Okay, how far did you take things? Were any barriers broken?”

  “Ewww, what the hell is wrong with you? No.”

  “I meant like figuratively, weirdo unless you have more to confess.”

  I told her to forget it, I gave her one detail. That’s all we agreed on. I started picking through her mess of clothes on the bed hoping to shift her focus. Now she had less than an hour before they were leaving.

  Maggie and I got down to the task at hand. Even I hadn’t realized how much stuff she brought this week. She really was the last person who needed access to so many free or discounted clothes.

  She behaved for the most part, but when we finally closed up the last of the suitcases, she started up with the inquiries again. “Come on, I saw you at brunch. It was obvious you’d been getting extra friendly and that’s why you both were late.”

  I touched my lips. They felt normal, but I kept recalling the tingle around them the whole time we ate brunch. I tried to blame it on the green chiles in the eggs. I guess that wasn’t it.

  “Mags, I’m afraid.”

  “Of sex?”

  “No, not really, more like I’m afraid how carried away I get with him without meaning to. I’m more afraid that I’m not thinking clearly and that’s so unlike me. We need more time, but I forget all about that the second he kisses me.”

  Maggie offered up some sound advice. She could be wise when she wanted to. She knew if she said some tired old cliche, like ‘follow your heart’ that I would have walked out. She made an observation this was a far deeper love than I shared with Jordan. I wasn’t a kid anymore. At first, I was mad and wanted to defend that relationship in honor of Jordan’s memory, but Maggie rephrased. She thought I loved him as much as my sixteen/seventeen-year-old heart was capable of, but I needed to be honest with myself. Would I really have pledged my life to him if we hadn’t found out he was dying? I kept that answer to myself because Maggie could read me like a book whenever we experienced a true honest moment.
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  “Babe, you’re seriously the smartest person I know, so I have faith you will make the right decisions. Of course, we’re all going to worry about you and sometimes overstep with our meddling, but you’ve got this. Don’t overthink it too much. You love each other and this is the most whole I’ve ever seen you. Trust in the love and everything will happen exactly how it’s meant to happen.”

  Chet slipped his arm around me as we watched Maggie and Keats drive away. My little sister was off on her honeymoon officially. I was happy for them, but perhaps felt a little twinge of jealousy. I never wanted to rush with Chet by any means, but Maggie was already in her secure place. I wasn’t so confident about navigating all these firsts and unknowns. I decided to find contentment in each moment. Mags was right, I needed to shut down some of the runaway thoughts. I was happy this second with Chet’s hand squeezing my waist and seeing my smile reflected in his eyes. That was really all that mattered for now.

  When we made it back to my room, I broke the news that I was exhausted. “Do you mind if I catch up on some sleep? These pasts few days have been hectic.”

  “No, I could use a nap too.” He wriggled his eyebrows, but I put my hand on his chest to halt him.

  “I’m thinking I need a solo nap so I actually sleep. I want to be fully alert for our special date this evening.”

  “Date? What date?”

  I told him I’d be at his room at 5:30 and for him to dress comfortable. That was the only info he was getting from me.

  “Sure you don’t want me to come in? I think your bed’s better than mine.”

  “Nice try, but no. Date night first and then maybe you can come in for a visit.”

  Chet gave me a whopper of a goodbye kiss. It took all my willpower to shut the door on him. He did these things to me on purpose and didn’t seem the least bit sorry. Tonight would definitely be a good night.