"Wow, you look beautiful," I said, after opening up the door to the cab for her.
She stepped out, wearing dark blue skinny jeans, a tight white tank, and a form fitting brown leather bomber jacket. Her hair was out of its normal bun, done in long loose waves, which flowed over her shoulders like a waterfall.
"Hey, we kinda match!" she exclaimed.
I looked down at my outfit and laughed. "Yeah, we kinda do."
"Well, it was meant to be," she said, slipping her arm through mine before we walked toward the restaurant.
I opened the door for her, and said, "You're going to like it here."
"I already do," she said, looking up at me, rubbing my arm.
I looked down at the hand rubbing on my arm and smiled. I laid my hand on hers, getting ready to lean in and give her a peck on the cheek when I caught a glimpse of Necie standing across the street watching us.
I paused, unable to take my eyes off her. "Hey, is everything okay? The waitress is seating us," Jada said, waving her hand in my face.
"Huh, oh yeah, let's go," I stuttered, shifting my gaze toward the waitress.
As we were led to our table, I looked back out through the glass door and watched Necie as she made her way to the stairs of the apartment building, where she stopped and glanced over her shoulder at us before disappearing into the building.
I felt awful. I knew how she must've felt, having watched her date other men for the last ten years. I was torn. Even though I felt she deserved to see how the shoe felt on the other foot, I by no means wanted to hurt the woman I still loved.
"Is that your roommate?" Jada asked, looking toward the door.
I shifted my gaze away from Necie. "Yeah, that's her."
"Hmm…"
"What?" I asked.
"Oh, nothing," she said, shaking her head as she took her seat.
Damn! I forgot to pull out her seat.
The rest of the evening was a blur as we ordered and chatted about nothing in particular, but the superficial conversation we were having was just background noise to who my mind was really on. Necie looked so hurt, and I couldn't get the image out of my head.
"Ben!" Jada said sternly, snapping her fingers in my face.
I shifted my gaze from the door. "Did you say something?"
"Are you with me?" she whispered across the table.
"Why do you ask that?"
"You've been playing with your food for the last half hour," she said, pointing at my plate.
I looked down to see all my food smashed together in an indiscernible pile. "Oh, I guess I wasn't that hungry." I chuckled.
"Do you wanna leave?"
I thought you'd never ask!
"Um, yeah. If you don't mind, I'm kind of tired from all the surgeries," I said, motioning to the waitress for the check.
I wasn't tired—far from it. I just wanted to get back to the apartment to check on Necie. Jada gathered her things and started for the door, walking briskly in front of me. Once on the curb, she stretched out her hand to hail a cab; her movements were deliberate and frantic, and it seemed to me she was in a rush to leave.
Feeling the change in her mood, I asked, "Hey, is everything okay?"
"You know, I thought that you were a good guy. But this date—why would you even bother to go out with me?"
"What do you mean?" I asked, grabbing her hand, pulling her toward me.
"Maybe you should just tell her," she said, pulling away.
"Tell who?"
"Your roommate. The beautiful woman waiting across the street."
"You can tell?"
"Aliens in space can tell," she replied sternly.
"It's not that simple," he replied.
"You obviously love her—how much more simple can you get?" she asked as a cab pulled up to the curb.
She was right, and I felt awful for stringing her along. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have…"
"No! You shouldn't have," she snapped, as she slid into the cab.
She shot me a cold death glare as the cab sped off down the street, leaving me alone on the sidewalk. I shook my head and put my hands in my pockets, realizing I would still have to see her at work.
I took a deep breath and headed across the street.
NECIE
He zipped through the door and headed for his room. "She's really pretty, Ben."
"Jada? Yes, she is."
"Replaced me already?" I murmured, pretending to watch the television.
Ben stopped in his tracks, replying sternly, "I never had you, Necie."
My head whipped around from the television—from anger—from frustration—maybe a combination of both.
"You never tried," I replied angrily.
"Neither did you."
I glared at him. "I didn't know you loved me."
"Really, Necie? You're gonna tell me you didn't know. You're smart, so please don't play dumb! I'm not buying it."
"I'm not a mind reader, but now that I know, things are different."
"What does that mean to me?"
"I don't wanna see you with another woman. I haven't ever been so jealous in my life!" I yelled.
"Well good—now you know how I've felt the last ten years," he said, turning back toward his door.
"Oh, so now it's tit for tat. You can't be an adult about this?" I asked, starting to tear up.
"Moving out is the adult thing to do. Staying would be keeping up childish hopes," he said in a low voice as he turned the knob, and walked into his room, shutting the door behind him.
I stood there shocked at how many times this man had left me standing alone in the last couple days.
"Argh!" I screamed in frustration as I stormed into my room.
Throwing myself on the bed, I buried my face into the pillow and began to sob. After what felt like hours of crying, I slowly drifted off to sleep.
THE WANT AD
I woke up the next morning to the sounds of crumpling paper and boxes sliding across the living room floor. I slid out of bed to investigate.
"You're taking that?"
"Yeah. I was going to—but if you want it—it's yours," he said with disappointment in his voice.
He inched toward me, handing over the wooden frame.
"I don't want it," I said, backing away.
"No really, take it," he urged, holding the frame in the air.
"No. It's fine. Take whatever you want. It doesn't matter anymore anyway."
He looked down at the frame, running his fingers over the glass.
"Remember when you came to my door that day, and I answered wearing a towel? Remember how scrawny I was?" he asked, smiling as he reminisced.
I chuckled, running my foot over the floor. "Yeah, that memory is burned into my brain for eternity. You were skin and bones back then. I don't even think you had one chest hair yet."
He chuckled. "Yeah, I don't think I did, either," he said, looking up from the frame.
I didn't reply.
"But you looked like an angel standing there. That's the moment I fell in love with you."
I parted my lips to reply, but before I could, he said, "You can keep this, to remember the good times. I don't need it...I'll never forget."
"Won't you, though?"
"Never," he said, moving toward me, frame in hand.
Finally, I reached out to accept the frame, but he grabbed my hand instead, pulling me toward him, pressing my body against his.
"Say something," he whispered in my ear.
"I was afraid."
"Of what?"
"My feelings for you. I've always had feelings for you, Ben. I just never knew how deep they ran because I spent all my time trying to push them away."
"I wish that invitation never came. Things were so much simpler before then," he whispered quietly.
"But if it never came, none of this would've happened."
He pressed his cheek to mine. "Exactly."
"I love you—stay," I exhaled into his ear.
He looked at me with shocked eyes. "I've waited too long to hear that. I'm sorry, I can't," he said, pulling away.
I watched him pick up his duffel bag and zoom out the door. I couldn't believe he walked out on me—again.
Monster followed closely behind as I slowly wandered to my room, my heart heavy with despair. I threw myself on the bed, and he snuggled up next to me, purring softly.
"It's just you and me now. You won't ever leave me, will you?" I asked, rubbing the back of his ears.
Knock, knock.
"Who could that be?"
I wasn't in the mood for company, so I ignored it. A few minutes later, an even louder set of knocks startled Monster off the bed.
"Geez," I said, pushing myself up, slowly making my way to the door.
Another knock. "Okay!" I said, pulling the door open.
My eyes widened when I saw who had been knocking on the other side.
"What are…"
"I see here that you are in need of a roommate," Ben said, reading off the old, tattered want ad that was no longer housed in its frame.
I smiled at him as my eyes welled up with tears. "I, uh…"
Stepping through the threshold of the door, he wrapped his arms around me and picked me up, pressing his lips firmly onto mine, twirling me around the room as we kissed.
EPILOGUE
BEN
A few weeks later, on the anniversary date of the day we first moved in together, I took out an ad in the paper proposing. I handed it to her, opened to the classified section with her usual morning cup of coffee as she ran out the door to work.
NECIE
I made it halfway down the street before I saw it. Caught completely off guard, I ended up choking on the sip of coffee streaming down my throat, which made its way back up, spewing out of my mouth and nose. I shook out the coffee soaked paper to reread the blurring ink:
WANTED:
Beautiful and sassy file clerk, to marry a foolish love struck surgeon.
Position available immediately!
Apply in person.
I spun around and ran back toward the apartment, where I found Ben kneeling on the sidewalk holding a small black velvet box.
"Yes, yes, yes!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, leaping into his open arms.
"You haven't even seen the ring yet."
"I don't need to."
"Are you sure," he whispered.
"Okay, just a small peek."
He slowly opened the box, revealing a three karat princess cut diamond set in a platinum band.
Slipping it on my finger, he looked into my eyes, and asked, "Will you be my wife?"
There were no words for what I felt at that moment. All I could do was lean in and press my lips to his as he lifted me off the ground.
"This has to be a dream," I whispered in his ear, hugging his neck tightly.
"My dream come true."
Ben, being the romantic guy he was, framed both ads and hung them side-by-side, leaving room for one more frame, which awaited the wedding announcement we were placing in the New York Times.
I had already started planning our destination wedding… in Hawaii!
About the Author
Penelope Marshall was born in the Philippines, and raised in Southern California.
She picked up writing in early 2016 and instantly fell in love with the craft. Her writing runs the romance gamut from sweet romantic comedies, to tough alpha male military suspense thrillers, with a little young adult, and paranormal thrown into the mix.
A good plot twist is what drives Penelope's writing, striving for that jaw dropping moment at the end of each book.
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Also by Penelope Marshall
A BAD BOY MAFIA ROMANCE:
DEADLY SIN SERIES
WRATH
For years I was a good wife, watching my husband, Christian, the mob boss for the Cerisi crime family, sleep with every woman in sight.
But all that changed after an impromptu girl's trip to Chicago which led me to a passionate one-night-stand with a handsome, blue-eyed, stranger who was everything Christian was not.
Unfortunately, he wouldn't be a stranger for very long.
All I wanted was to put that night behind me.
All he wanted was to relive it…
ENVY (COMING SOON)
A year ago I lost the love of my life to a man who didn't deserve her. Honestly, I probably didn't deserve her either.
So, I started over. Ready to dive into my work and forget about women and the heartache they brought. Until my uncle died, yanking me back to a city I wanted nothing to do with—yanking me back to Kelley.
I had left her in my rear view mirror when I was a kid trying to make a name for myself, and seeing her again brought back every feeling I wasn't ready to deal with.
COMING SOON!!!
AN EX-SEAL ROMANCE:
INDECENCY
What happens when two alphas want the same woman?
Death...that's what happens.
Hunter is an ex-Navy SEAL who now works for Citadel, a private security company. A chance meeting with Celeste, after a car accident, leaves him drawn to the wounded girl, who is still covered in fresh bruises from being held captive by Rez, an iron-fisted mafia boss. Hunter promises her safety, but an old friend has the capability of ruining everything with one phone call.
A BAD BOY MILITARY ROMANCE:
BETRAYED
I'd been deployed for too long.
All I wanted was to get back to Sierra and the baby girl she was carrying.
Little did I know what kind of hell I would be walking into the minute I stepped off the plane.
Sierra was gone.
My baby was gone.
All that was left of them was a ransacked apartment and unanswered questions.
She'd left me. Betrayed me.
Well—that's what I thought.
Until I got the phone call...
MILITARY SUSPENSE:
MR. BLACK SERIES
ABSOLUTION
Cole Almen is home from the war, but he suffered a terrible loss…
Cole, a Navy SEAL, has returned home after losing his best friend Ezra right before his eyes. To make matters worse, Cole's roommates are his girlfriend, Catherine, and Ezra's fiancée, Adeline.
Adeline Chevallier blames Cole for her fiancé's death, and so does Catherine…
Adeline is devastated when she learns of Ezra's death, and holds Cole responsible, which makes them so uncomfortable they can hardly look at each other. At first, Catherine appears to be the only thing keeping the house from falling apart, but without warning, her behavior changes, forcing Cole to kick her out. Finally alone, Adeline and Cole form an unexpected bond.
Cole and Adeline are so caught up in these new emotions that they forget about Catherine—and her secrets…
Catherine is keeping big secrets which could destroy everything Cole and Adeline have built. When she finally reveals what she's been hiding, her dangerous inner demons take over. When Cole returns to war, Adeline feels betrayed by everyone she holds dear, and does her best to move on.
Cole is miserable during his deployment. When he comes home from duty, he is determined to be with Adeline, but doesn't even know how to find her.
Cole is trained to save people, but can't seem to save the people he treasures most. With his life in turmoil, he's running out of time to turn things around…
And Adeline might just be his last chance at Absolution.
UNLEASHED
Elijah Black, a hardcore Navy SEAL, eats, sleeps, and lives for his missions—and little else…The self-proclaimed playboy has no time for relationships, unless it's between the sheets. So he's more than happy t
o leave for his newest mission, a quick extraction of a terrorist believed to be responsible for a series of bombings in Europe. But the mission doesn't go as planned, and the terrorists take Elijah prisoner.
Nasima was only supposed to care for his body, not his heart…
As the nurse charged with keeping the prisoner alive, Nasima is alone with Elijah every day. Sparks fly between them, but Elijah makes it clear he cares little for Nasima's traditions and only wants her for her body. Still, she grows to care for the broken soldier, and it isn't long before she begins to dream of abandoning her strict upbringing for Elijah's tempting embrace.
A passionate encounter leads to more than just feelings…
After Elijah's failed escape and another beating, Nasima is found comforting him and suffers the consequences. Just as Elijah realizes he will do whatever is necessary to save her, but before they can get to safety, Nasima reveals a secret that may be Elijah's undoing.
Will Nasima's secret keep her from breaking through Elijah's tough exterior in time for another escape, or will he decide to make the journey alone?
A VAMPIRE ROMANCE:
ROSALINE
Prepare to be thrust into the world of Rosaline and Gideon. The story of what happens when a vampire finds her soulmate in the most unexpected place...a place that will send her world crashing down around her.
The Want Ad: A Sweet Romance Page 7