Playing at Forever (11 page)

Everyone would be clambering for their moment to shine.  Pretty soon, he would be able to read all about the supposed romance he and Penny had shared in high school.

He’d heard that rumor often, though there had never been any truth to it.  He had purposely chased girls very different from his best friend, just so that nobody would get the two confused.  It wasn’t that he was ashamed of Penny—no, it was quite the opposite.

He had always known that Penny deserved better.  In a way, he was glad that this was how things were going to turn out. 
Because at least this way, he knew the rules.
  He knew that, no matter what things may look like, it was just another acting gig. 

Just like old times.  He was the lead, and Penny was his leading lady. 

He could do this. 

It didn’t take him long to shower and dress for the evening.  Tommy knew he should wait until closer to closing time for the restaurant, but he grew anxious, sitting and waiting, worrying that the paparazzi had already tracked Penny down. 

He didn’t want her to have to face them alone. 

Besides, what difference did it make now?  He was supposed to be seen, seeing her. 

Within moments, he was braving the pack of photographers, quickly hopping on his bike and speeding away from them. 

The restaurant was still pretty busy, it being a Saturday night.  The entire atmosphere of the place had changed as a live band played.  He took a deep breath before walking in, catching her eyes immediately.  He liked the way she smiled at him, not just with her lips, but with her entire body—as if every fiber within her was happy to see him. 

“G-good evening, Mr. Davis,”
  the
young girl stuttered in front of him.  He glanced at her name tag quickly.

“Hello Kristen,”
  he
smiled his most dazzling smile at her.  “I’m here to have dinner with Miss Lang.  Do you think you could arrange that?”

“Um, well, you mean Penny?”  Tommy nodded.  “Well, I…”  The young girl looked over her shoulder, finding Penny.  Penny laughed, rolling her eyes at Tommy.  “Is she expecting you?”

“She is.” 

“Well, I can seat you—”

“Do you think we could have a table on the patio?”

“Of course,”
  she
was eager to please.  Tommy smiled, nodding. 

The doors leading to the patio were open, the music from the band drifting outside.  Penny joined him a moment later, sliding into the chair across from him.  “You’ve left my poor hostess star struck, Mr. Davis.” 

“I’m sorry.”  He really wasn’t, though.  He found it funny that, coming from Penny, he didn’t even mind his stage name all that much.

“You’re early,”

“I didn’t specify a time.” 

“I wasn’t expecting you until later.”  She looked around self-consciously. 

“A few followed.  They’re across the street, trying to get a good shot.  Just smile.”  He noticed that her smile faltered, though.  “You don’t have to do this, Penny.”  She looked down for a moment and when she met his eyes, he saw her smile—it wasn’t a genuine one, but it was still beautiful. 

“Yes, I do.”  He reached across the table and took her hand.  “It’s just that—well, I don’t know what to do, really.” 

“I think we should just do our best to…not think about it.  The more we think about it, the harder it’s going to be.”

“So—what, we just…keep on doing what we’ve been doing?” 
she
asked and Tommy nodded.  “Well, I can do that.”  Penny seemed to relax just a bit. 

“How about some dinner?
  You haven’t eaten yet, have you?”  Penny shook her head.  “Well, let’s eat then.”

“I’m at work—”

“Then take a break.”  Penny laughed, shaking her head. 

“You’re a horrible influence, I hope you know that.  I haven’t taken so much as an hour off of work in months—and here you show up and all of a sudden, I’m slacking left and right.”

“I like to think I bring out the best in people.”  He grinned.  She might think him a bad influence, but Tommy thought she was in need of a vacation—especially considering the circumstances.  Working under the same roof as your ex-husband and the woman he left you for…that had to be difficult. 

Tommy had realized earlier in the day that this little charade they were putting on could benefit Penny in more ways than one.  Kevin had gotten so used to being the man in Penny’s life that he was having a hard time letting go even after the relationship had ended.  Tommy intended to do his very best to remind him exactly where his place was—and exactly what he was missing out on. 

“So, what should we order tonight?” 

“We have some excellent sea bass.”  She told him, and he could tell that she was very proud of this fact.  Even in the face of all that had happened here, Penny still loved the restaurant.  He gave her credit for it.

He wasn’t sure he could say the same for himself.  After all he’d been through in Hollywood, he didn’t know if he cared to even continue his career.

“Excellent—we’ll have two of those.”  He spoke.  He watched as she rose and hurried into the dining room, speaking with one of the waitresses.  On her way back out, Penny stopped—Kevin approaching her.  Her body language changed dramatically the moment he neared her and Tommy straightened, already bringing himself to his feet. 

They were arguing in hushed tones as Tommy approached.  “Excuse me, is there a problem here?” 

“This doesn’t concern you.”  Kevin could hardly even look Tommy in the eye. 

“I can take care of this, Tommy,”
  Penny
told him, but he could see tears in her eyes. 

“It looks like he’s bothering you.”

“I
said
that this doesn’t concern you.”  Kevin said through clenched teeth. 

“You know, I’m pretty sure I was talking to
Penny
.”  Tommy took her hand and touched her chin lightly so that he could see her eyes.  He brushed his thumb over her cheek to wipe away her tears, his anger mounting.  “Look, I know you think that you have some kind of power over Penny because—well, I don’t actually know why.  I really don’t care, either.”

“Tommy—”

“But I’m only going to tell you this once. 
You
messed up.  You had her, and now you’ve lost her, and that’s something you’re going to have to live with for the rest of your life.”  He turned back to Penny, wrapping his arm around her waist.  “Come on, Pen.  Let’s go sit back down.” 

And on the way to the table, Tommy couldn’t help but be proud of himself—for once, he’d managed
not
to hit someone, even when he really,
really
wanted to. 

It was strange, Penny thought, how dramatically things could change in such a short amount of time.  It had already been a week since she and Tommy had made their little debut.  She and Amy were sitting in the kitchen, various magazines laid out before them.  Her face was on the cover of each one, the pictures ranging from horrible to semi-flattering. 

“I can’t believe this,”
  Amy
was still excited about the entire thing.  “You’re on the cover, Penny!”

“Yeah, and I look like a raccoon on half of them!”  She grabbed at the magazines, stacking them in a pile.  The cover of this one featured
she
and Tommy at the restaurant, Penny laughing while Tommy held her hand.

It had been fairly easy, slipping into her new role.  She had taken Tommy’s advice and decided not to even think about it—they were two friends, spending time together. 
Catching up.
 
The usual.
 

And it really was the truth. 

It was so easy, being Tommy’s friend. 

Tonight, however, was going to be different.  Graham had instructed that they go out on a
real
date, Tommy had told her early that morning. 
Dinner, a movie—maybe even some dancing.
  He wanted to see
romance
. 

“Hey Amy?”
  Penny spoke, pushing the magazines away from her. 

“Yes, dear?”
 

“Would you like to go shopping with me?”

“Penelope Lang, going shopping?
  Whatever could the occasion be?”  Penny felt her cheeks redden as she glanced away.

“Tommy and I are…”

“Are you guys having an
official
date?”  Amy covered her mouth with her hands.  “Oh my god,”

“Calm down, Amy.  It’s just…a movie, maybe some dinner.” 

“
Just
a movie…
just
dinner…you act like doing these things with a Hollywood celebrity is so
normal
…”

“Dinner and a movie with Tommy
is
normal.”  Penny shook her head.  “We used to do this all the time when we were kids.”

“But you never wanted to go shopping beforehand.”

“I was never being followed by a horde of photographers.”  Amy rolled her eyes, waving her hand in the air as if to wave Penny’s reasoning away. 

“Let me grab my keys and let Paul know we’re leaving.”  Paul, Amy’s husband, was home for the weekend and he had taken the girls out to the park for the afternoon.  Penny followed behind Amy, keeping her eye out for any photographers who might have discovered where she lived.  She was grateful now that she had decided to list the restaurant as her residence—until she got back on her feet anyway. 

Amy drove, without even asking, to one of the more high-end malls in the area.  It was a further drive, but Penny decided it was probably a wise decision.

This was why she had brought Amy along.  She was so much better at this girl stuff than Penny was.  Penny knew what was practical, and she knew what matched.  Beyond that, she didn’t give anything much thought. 

Then again, she hadn’t really had a reason to. 

Now, however…

Penny sighed, staring out the window, thinking back to the magazines.  Graham hadn’t been too pleased with the morning-after pictures, but he’d quickly gotten over it, deciding he could spin it positively.  Tommy had influenced this quick change of heart by sharing a few choice words with his manager, blaming him for the photographers showing up in the first place. 

Then had
come
the phone calls from her parents, asking her if the rumors were true. 
“No, Dad—Tommy and I are just catching up.  I know that’s not what the picture looked like…we just had a late night, that’s all.”
 

It had taken nearly an hour long conversation to convince them that she was, first, not on drugs, second, that she and Tommy were both doing well, and third, that she and Tommy were only friends. 

She still hadn’t quite figured out how she was going to explain everything to her parents.  She didn’t want to lie to them, but she didn’t want to tell them the truth either.  So she fed them the same lines she’d been feeding Amy—she and Tommy were just catching up.  She wasn’t sure what was going to come of it, if anything. 

In a way, it was the truth.

Penny hadn’t a single clue what was waiting for her down the road.  This was all so unfamiliar to her.  And there were so many questions without answers.  How long did they play this game?  How far would they take it?  Where did they go afterward? 

But Tommy didn’t know anything more than Penny.  They would play it by ear, he said. 

And so she continued on in uncertainty.

“Do you know what you’re looking for?”  Amy asked as they entered the large mall.  Penny shrugged her shoulders. 

“Maybe something fun?”
  She realized that Tommy hadn’t really seen her in anything outside of the clothes she wore to work—her simple, plain clothes. 

“That helps,”
  Amy
said, her tone very serious as she hooked her arm through Penny’s and led her through the mall.  They finally found a large department store that Amy expertly navigated, where they eventually found various styles of dresses hanging on several different racks. 

“Nothing crazy,”
  Penny
warned as she caught a glimpse of something covered in jewels and feathers. 

“Oh, you never let me have any fun,”
  Amy
whined.  “Here, take this one.”  She pushed a hanger into her hands. 
“And these two.”
 

By the time Amy was finished, Penny had six dresses to try on—all different, and all different colors.  It wasn’t until the last one that both she and Amy agreed.  Penny eyed the short, deep red colored dress doubtfully before slipping into it.  But the moment she glanced in the mirror, she changed her mind. 

“That’s the one, Pen.  We don’t even have to look at anymore.”  Amy clapped excitedly.  “Now, all we have left to do is pick out some shoes, some makeup, and figure out what to do with your hair.”

Penny groaned inwardly.

Now she remembered why she’d given up on putting so much effort into clothes.

It was incredibly too time consuming. 

“Aunt Penny, you look
so
pretty!”  Darla exclaimed, standing in the doorway of Amy’s master bathroom.  “Are you getting married?”  Penny couldn’t keep the bubble of laughter inside and Amy gave her friend a very dirty look.

“Sit. 
Still.”
  Amy grabbed a damp cotton ball and began dabbing at Penny’s cheek.

“Sorry, Mom,”
  Penny
said very seriously.

“Close your eyes.”  Penny followed Amy’s orders, feeling the light tickle of the brush on her eyelids. 

“Amber, come look at Aunt Penny!”

“She’s not done yet!”  Amy scolded, but Penny didn’t think there was much more that could actually be done.  For a girl who wore only the bare minimum when it came to makeup, she felt as if Amy was using her face as her own personal canvas. 

“Oh come on, it’s just dinner and a movie!” 

“Penny, this is the first date you’ve been on since Kevin.  I don’t care if it’s the most casual date you’ve ever been on—”

“It’s not even really a date—”
  Amy
stared at Penny for a moment, narrowing her eyes.  “Okay, fine, it’s a date.”

“Thank you.”  Penny rolled her eyes at her friend.  “Now, as I was saying.  I don’t care if it’s casual.  I don’t care if you have paparazzi following your every move.  What I
do
care about is that you look great.  Because when you know that you look good, the rest comes easy.”  Penny sighed, not wanting to admit that Amy had a point.  She also knew that, especially with the paparazzi sure to be following them around, Penny wanted to make sure she at least looked presentable.