Royal Pains

by Magnolia Robbins

  “This is Penelope,” she introduces me, and I stick my hand out to greet her.

  “Nina,” the woman says, smiling broadly at me. “Pleasure to meet you.” Like Zoe, Nina’s English and accent were far less prominent than Astrid’s, though I much preferred listening to Astrid any day.

  “We’re going to go study for a bit,” Astrid says. I feel her take my hand in her own suddenly and it sends a shockwave through me. Nina waves goodbye to me before I am led down a hallway and through a doorway into a separate area of the house. It looked like a completely different living space entirely. I realize as we make our way in that it must be where Astrid lived.

  It’s just as beautiful as the rest of the house and offered breathtaking views in three directions out into the city. I am grateful in that moment that I didn’t have a fear of heights.

  When we were alone, Astrid lets go of my hand, and it falls gently to my side. I ache for her to touch me again but I am quickly distracted as we make our way over to her dining table. It sat against one of the large windows overlooking the city.

  “I don’t know how you ever leave your apartment,” I say, admiring the view. When I turn back, Astrid is setting up her books and laptop on the table. I follow suit, and as I do, she looks up and smiles.

  “It’s nice to be in it, I think,” she says, sitting down. I can’t argue with that. New York City is definitely a place that needed to be experienced in all its glory.

  After I’ve organized my things, I sit down beside her, rather than across from her. She eyes me for a moment when I do, and I offer her an innocent smile.

  “What first?”

  The two of us spend the next few hours, hunched over textbooks, quizzing each other and comparing notes. Astrid makes a point to put herself as close to me as humanly possible. When we look at a textbook, she leans into me, letting our sides linger together while we read. I make a joke, and she laughs against me, her hot breath rolling into my skin.

  We get halfway into our Biochemistry notes when I feel her eyes piercing into the side of my face. I turn to look at her and our gazes meet. My heart beats rapidly in my chest when we do. I wonder for a minute if she is going to kiss me. Instead, I’m even more surprised.

  “Penelope,” she says, breathlessly. God, I can’t look at her much longer, or I’ll do something crazy. She bites her lip in that incredibly frustratingly sexy way. There is a long pause before she speaks again. “I really like you.”

  Hearing someone tell you something like that. Something completely vulnerable and honest, is the most amazing thing in the world. I stare at her for a very long time, unable to speak. All at once my emotions overcome me, and I move towards her. She meets me halfway, the two of us pushing against each other.

  Our mouths collide together. This time with far stronger intentions than the last time we’d kissed. Astrid’s hands reach along the sides of my face, stroking my cheeks with her fingers. Eventually, she breaks from me only long enough to stand. I follow her quickly. She leads me back until we fall across her couch.

  We sit side by side, and I run my hands down her body, feeling her curves. I move my mouth down into the crook of her neck, drawing kisses on her smooth skin. Astrid sighs softly, holding my head with her hand and pushing herself back against the couch. Once I’ve reached the edges of the fabric of her top, I raise my head again to meet her lips. Then I carefully pull her on top, letting her straddle my body. When she looks down at me and our eyes meet, I can see the hunger inside her.

  I reach my hands around the side of her face and pull her close. The two of our mouths meet, and they don’t break until we are lightly panting. Her fingers trace down my cheeks and run down the length of the upper half of my body. Every part of me aches for her.

  Just as I’m about to pull her down into the couch, there is a knock at the door. Astrid, who looks quite panicked, quickly moves from me and does her best to compose herself. I take a deep breath in an attempt to get my heart to settle. It doesn’t have much of an effect.

  “Come in,” Astrid finally calls out, and Nina pokes her head through the front door.

  “I thought you girls might be hungry,” she smiles between us.

  Nina is a fantastic cook and hostess. I’d never had a lot of German food before, but she makes a variety of delicacies for me to try. My favorite is potato pancakes. I beg her for the recipe. Nina, Zoe, Astrid and I spend a long while deep in conversation. I finally realize it has gotten incredibly late and I decide to take my leave, promising I’d visit again soon.

  Astrid walks me to the elevators. When she’s sure that there’s no one watching, she takes my hands in hers. I watch as she slowly leans into me, planting her lips on mine. I take a deep breath in, smelling her sweet scent and tasting the faint remnants of our delicious meal. We linger there for just a moment before she pulls away.

  “Have a good night,” she says softly to me, offering me that killer smile.

  I watch her until the doors of the elevator close. When they do, I slide down the side of the wall into a puddle, hardly able to breathe. If I had thought I was in trouble before, there was no denying it now.

  Chapter 6

  Astrid

  “Dr. Reid is the worst,” Charlotte groans as the four of us wander down the hall towards the library. “I swear if we have another pop quiz in his class, I might just die.”

  It has been over a week since Penelope has visited Nina’s house. Even so, our growing affection for each other hasn't been completely ignored. Instead, we make a sort of game out of it, trying to keep it secret from the others.

  “I find him rather enjoyable,” Oliver teases. I watch them as they hold hands, swinging their arms slightly as they walked. Charlotte leans over and kisses him on the cheek.

  “Quit taunting me,” Charlotte rolls her eyes at him. “Not everyone is as smart as you.” She turns back to look at Penelope for a moment. “Well, maybe Penny.”

  When I look at her, she blushes. The two of us walk a little behind the swooning couple. Every once in a while, I move my hand into Penelope’s, letting our skin touch briefly. We clasped our pinkies together for a moment when Oliver and Charlotte weren’t looking.

  As the four of us work in the library, Penelope occasionally holds my hand under the table while we read. I feel her fingers trace circles on my skin and find it increasingly more difficult to concentrate. Finally, I can hardly breathe, and I stand up from the table.

  “I’m going to go check on that Neuroscience book we were talking about,” I manage to say, running fingers through my hair. I turn swiftly and moments later hear Penelope rise up after me. She says something to the couple that I can’t hear. I wander down rows of books till I find a secluded space near the far side of the room. As soon as I turn around, my body is pressed up against the shelves, and Penelope’s mouth is on my own. We kiss for a moment, and when we break, she gives me a small smirk, running her hand over the side of my face.

  “God, I’ve wanted to do that all day long,” she whispers to me.

  “Me too,” I breathe, just before she pushes herself on me again. Every kiss she gives grows hungrier and hungrier. Her hands move down the length of me, while I rest mine on the sides of her face. Heat builds up in my body so intense I feel as if I might explode.

  Just as she moves her mouth onto my neck, there is a rustle in the row next to us. We break away quickly, and I find myself breathing at a somewhat rapid pace. Oliver peeks his head around a corner. “I found it,” he replies, holding the book out. He stares at us for a moment curiously. “It definitely wouldn’t be back here.”

  “We got lost,” Penelope admits, casually. I nod in agreement, and Oliver seems satisfied with the answer. The three of us make our way back to Charlotte, and I feel Penelope nudging me in the side occasionally, while I do my best not to giggle.

  .........................

  That night, I find my thoughts wandering all over the place. I sit at the table by the windows looking out into th
e skyline. Manhattan is beautiful at night and still feels as alive as ever. I spend most of the early evening studying and watching the beautiful pink and purple sunset.

  Suddenly, there is a knock at my door.

  “Come in,” I call, and Zoe wanders inside, toting her backpack over her shoulder. In her hand, she cradles my aunt’s phone. It’s your mom, she mouths to me. When she reaches me and hands the phone over, I raise it to my ear, grimacing. The call seems to go on for hours. She goes on about every little thing happening at home, while intermittently pestering me about when I was coming back. Finally, I manage to interrupt her long enough to tell her I need to go. Luckily I managed to catch myself before I uttered the words “study.”

  When I hang up the phone, Zoe is staring at me curiously, having spread out her school things on the other side of the table. “Was she nagging you about Lukas again?”

  “Of course,” I reply, leaning my head into my hands.

  Zoe is quiet for a moment, rustling through her papers and turning on her laptop. When I look up at her, and we meet eyes, she finally decides to speak again. “Are you going to tell her about medical school?”

  This gets a laugh out of me. “Can you imagine what she’d do if she knew I was here going to school? She’d make me come home immediately. You’re lucky you got out of that whole mess. Not having to worry about all the stress of all the expectations placed on you. Just because you got born into the family you did. Being here is the only way I feel like I have any control over my life.”

  My cousin nods, understanding. “True. But I do miss home sometimes. It’s hard not being able to go back.” When my aunt had left with her many years ago, after she’d divorced my uncle, my family had turned their back on her. The only reason my mother and her still spoke is that they were so close. Otherwise, I may have never known Nina or Zoe. A terrifying thought.

  “What about Penny?” Zoe asks me. I blush at the mention of her name. When I come back to reality, I look at her.

  “What about Penny?” I repeat, somewhat confused by the question.

  “Are you going to tell her about everything?” Everything meaning my life back in Europe. The idea had crossed my mind, but I feared the repercussions it might bring. The thing between us had just started and bringing her into such complicated parts of my life didn’t seem like the best decision. At least for the time being.

  “Eventually,” I say, looking up at her. We share a silent glance for a moment, and I can’t tell if Zoe disapproves of me or not. Finally, we turn our attention back to our books, and my mind wanders elsewhere.

  .........................

  The next day before Cell Biology, Penelope pulls me into another quiet hallway and kisses me so deeply that it is all I can think about during class. That is until our first exams get passed back. A wave of dread overcomes me until Dr. Avery passes me and sets my test down on my desk with a smile.

  “Great job, Astrid,” he says, and when I turn my test over and see the A, I let out a small cry of happiness. Penelope looks over at me, and I give her a peek at my test. When she shows me the same grade on her own test, I can hardly believe it. The two of us smile at each other for the longest time, until the lecture starts again.

  As soon as the last students leave the classroom, Penelope turns towards me.

  “I’m so proud of you,” she says, as she reaches for my hand and squeezes it for a moment. I smile back at her softly. The two of us look at each other for a moment. I want so badly to kiss her.

  Instead, I do the next best thing. “Would you go on a date with me?”

  Penelope looks caught off-guard by the question. It takes her a minute to realize what I’ve asked and when she does, she is all smiles.

  “I was going to ask you the same thing,” she laughs, running a hand through her hair. “Yes, I’d love to go on a date with you. I have the perfect place too. My favorite restaurant. Have you had sushi before?”

  I shake my head.

  “You’ve never had sushi? Well then, it’s settled.” Penelope’s face lights up. “Do you want to go tonight?”

  “Actually, I had a surprise for you. At my house. If you don’t mind staying in.”

  Penelope looks curiously at me. “I don’t mind. As long as your aunt doesn’t interrupt us again.” When she realizes what she says, I watch her face blush.

  “She’s on a trip this weekend,” I reply, teasing at the idea again. Penelope looks pleased. I get up from my chair after I’ve packed up and lean down, resting my hands on her desk. My face comes forward, so I’m only an inch from her. “Come at seven,” I tell her softly, letting my lips linger over hers, without kissing her. It only lasts for a brief moment. I watch her shiver as I pull back and walk away from her without another word.

  Zoe is ecstatic when I tell her my plans late that afternoon. “You know you have to make it super romantic now!” The two of had just made a trip to College Market to pick up the things I needed for dinner. She helped me unload everything on to the counter and sort everything out. “You’re making chicken?”

  “I’m good at making chicken,” I retort, unwrapping it and setting it in a bowl with marinade. When I’m through, it goes into the fridge alongside some vegetables I’d planned to roast.

  “You’re so boring, Astrid,” Zoe teases me, and I nudge her in the side. “At least let’s go get something for you to drink with it.”

  The two of us wander into the penthouse in search of something. I have a perfect idea and find it hidden in Nina’s liquor fridge, unopened. I pull out the container of hard ciders, and Zoe looks at me questionably. “Really?”

  “Trust me,” I smile at her, setting them on the counter.

  As I work prepping the food, Zoe helps quiz me for Neuroscience. Surprisingly, I feel rather confident as we breeze through my flashcards. As the food cooks in the oven, the two of us finish straightening the place up.

  As we’re through, Zoe looks at me curiously. “Can I ask you a question?”

  We meet eyes, and I nod. “Of course.”

  “Did you not want to marry Lukas because you like women?” She looks rather embarrassed asking but it was a legitimate question.

  “I don’t know,” I admit, honestly. “I never really cared for Lukas that way. We were always good friends, but I could never imagine marrying him. I don’t feel things for him like I feel when I’m with Penelope.” It feels strange but satisfying admitting that fact.

  Zoe swoons. “Ugh, I’m so jealous. I’m never going to find anyone.”

  I smile at her, ruffling her hair as I pass her. “Don’t worry. It happens when you least expect it to.” It certainly had for me.

  Zoe helps me get ready again. She braids my hair up around my face, insisting that I needed to “show off my neck.” When she rummages through my clothes, she picks out a nice pink lacy dress and hands it to me. By the time she’s finished, I feel slightly overdressed, but I trust her judgment.

  “You look perfect,” Zoe says proudly, basking in her labors.

  As we make our way out into the main part of the house, I hear the doorbell echo loudly into the room. When I look at my phone, it is close to seven. Surprisingly, Penelope seems to be early. Zoe rushes off to grab her things. “I’ll be out of your way in two seconds, I promise.” I laugh as she scrambles around the house.

  “Hello?” I answer the intercom, and I hear Penelope’s voice echo on the other end. The camera from the lobby switches on, and I can see her standing at the elevator.

  “Someone told me to use the buzzer to call you.”

  I stare at her for a moment on the screen before I answer. “Just ride to the top, I’ll let you in.” She nods, and I watch her till she disappears behind the doors. A few minutes later I hear the familiar doorbell ring again, and I unlock the elevator. After it opens and Penelope and I meet eyes, I can feel my heart racing in my chest.

  She hadn’t worn a dress since the first night I’d met her at the social. It was goldenrod and white st
riped and went down to the bottom of her thighs. Her hair was styled somewhat messy but at the same time somehow neat. It looked perfect.

  “You look really nice,” I say softly, unable to take my eyes from her. I notice that she is staring just as intensely at me.

  “You do too,” she replies as I let her into the house. “I made a cheesecake.” She hands me a cardboard box, and I peek inside. “It’s German style. I don’t know how good it is.”

  It looks amazing. My heart flutters in my chest at the sentiment. The last time I had German cheesecake had been years and years ago. “Thank you,” I smile at her softly. We walk to the kitchen, and I put it in the fridge for later.

  The two of us stand there a minute more before I hear Zoe running through the middle of the house. “I took the food up,” she says to me quickly as she disappears down the hall towards her room.

  Penelope looks at me confused.

  “Come on, I’ll show you.” I usher her back into the elevator and press the button to the roof. We ride up for a moment, and when the doors open, I help her step outside, placing my hands over her eyes before I do. “No peeking.” She smiles at my instructions.

  Before today, it has been a long time since I’d been up here. The last time I can recall is for a party my aunt had thrown a few years ago. It is a great place to host parties. The view is nearly unobstructed in every direction. There is a small garden off to one side. Zoe and I had set up one of the patio tables near the railing of one of the sides of the roof. My aunt has strung lights across the perimeter of the deck, giving it a soft glow yellow against the sunset. Lights hung above too, draping like a giant canopy of electric stars.

  As soon as I lead Penelope over to the table, I release my hands from her, and she opens her eyes slowly. My breath pauses, waiting for her reaction. She doesn’t gasp in surprise or cover her mouth with her hands. Instead, she stands there, turning in a slow circle to look around at the view.