Playing at Forever (23 page)

“What is it?”  She asked finally, and he could tell that she really didn’t want to go through with it. 

“Just dinner.
  I promise.” 

“Where?”
 

“Here, at the hotel.”  She bit her lip, trying to make up her mind. 

“I’ll have to get ready.”

“You can go just like that, if you’d like.”  She wore a pair of oversized pajama pants with one of his old t-shirts she must have taken without him knowing.  Penny laughed, rolling her eyes. 

“Well, that isn’t going to happen.”  Finally, she sighed.  “Give me fifteen minutes.”  He checked his watch—that would be perfect. 

“Thanks, Pen.  I promise it’ll be worth it.” 

It had better be.  He at least wanted to get one thing right.

Penny had no idea where they were going as he led her toward the elevator and, instead of pushing the button that would take them
downstairs,
he hit the ‘up’ button. 

Had she missed something?  She was fairly certain there weren’t any restaurants atop the Bellagio. 

When the doors slid open, they were greeted by a very professional looking woman who smiled warmly at the two.

“Good evening, Mr. Davis,”
  she
reached out to shake his hand.  “It’s a delight to see you.  We have everything ready and waiting, just like you asked.” 

“Thank you, Margot,”  

It only took Penny a moment to realize where they were.  The warm air filled her lungs as she stepped forward, the view breathtaking.  “Tommy,”
  Penny
breathed, stepping away from him and staring out at the scene before her. 

They were atop the Bellagio tower, the lake glittering below them.  Across the street, the Eiffel Tower was shining brightly, along with the rest of the lights on the strip.  Penny felt her heart skip a few beats.

Tommy came up behind her, staring out at the same scene Penny was looking at.  “Isn’t it beautiful?”  She could only nod, her voice lost.  Dusk was just settling over the city.  “Come on over here—let’s eat before it gets cold.  We’ll have time to take it all in.” 

She didn’t even want to think about food, but after having spent the entire day only eating
a Danish
she had picked up while wandering the strip, she knew she had to eat something. 

The meal had been prepared by a world-class chef, of that she was certain.  Penny closed her eyes, savoring the taste.  She had always been able to appreciate a well-cooked meal and this was among some of the best she had tasted.  “So, how is this working as far as apologies go?”

“Pretty good, so far,”
  she
smiled at him.  That was an understatement.  “How did you do all of this?”

“You’d be amazed what a little money can do.” 

“Tommy…” 

“Quality, Penny.  It’s all about quality.”  She shook her head at him.  “Besides, I wanted you to see this.”  Penny nodded her head, sighing softly as she stared down at her plate.  She caught a glimpse of the plain band on her finger and felt her mood dampen ever-so-slightly. 

For a moment, she imagined that
this
was her wedding night. 
That she and Tommy had wed earlier that day and were now celebrating the union.
  She allowed herself to continue on with the fantasy as they finished their meal and Tommy guided her back toward the railing.

When the fountains began, Penny’s breath caught in her throat. 

She didn’t recognize the music—it was an instrumental, beautifully hopeful with just a touch of sadness. 

It was perfect, she thought, watching the water dance below her. 

“Can we stay for another?”  She asked as the performance came to a close. 

“We can stay for as long as you’d like,” 

She had never seen anything quite so beautiful, she thought. 

The next song was much faster, the voice of Elvis praising Vegas very familiar to Penny.  She smiled like a little girl, her eyes lit up as the water shot high up into the sky. 

Another fifteen minutes passed, and another performance. 

Tommy wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her to him.  “Dance with me?” 
he
questioned.  Her only response was to turn around and slip her arms around his neck, resting her head on his chest so that she could still see the fountains below.

Tears filled her eyes as she realized what song it was.  The familiar strings of ‘Time to Say Goodbye’ filled her ears and, for the first time, Penny admitted to herself how desperately she didn’t want to let him go. 

Her tears soaked through his shirt, but he said nothing.  Penny closed her eyes, slipping back into the fantasy that this was one of the most romantic nights of her life.  She clung to it, the uncertainty of the future much too frightening. 

His voice startled her, thought it was hardly more than a whisper.  “Let’s pretend this is real, okay?  Let’s pretend we’re not pretending.  Pretend that you’re just a girl, and I’m just a boy, and we don’t have a care in world.” 

“I can do that,”
  she
whispered back, the tears now too much to hold back as he recited her own words back to her.  She had almost thought she’d spoken them only in a dream, the night they had lain out there on the beach.

Now, she would continue to dream—even if only for just a few moments longer. 

As the song came to a close, she pulled away slightly.  “Can we go back to the room?” 
she
asked.  As much as she didn’t want the evening to come to an end, it was almost too painful to stand here, sharing this with him, knowing that, no matter what, it was all going to come to an end. 

No matter how much they pretended, it wasn’t real.  And it wasn’t going to be real.  They were merely playing at forever, and soon enough it was all going to come to an end.

She didn’t belong in his world, and he would never be happy in hers.

“Of course,” 

With just the lightest touch of his hand, he guided her back toward the elevator.  The mood was noticeably different in the small confined space, both of them lost in their thoughts. 

They stopped at the juncture between the two bedroom doors, neither sure how the rest of the night should continue. 

“Thank you for a wonderful evening,”
  Penny
finally spoke, smiling sadly at him. 

“Thank you for sharing it with me.”  Tommy leaned over and touched his lips to her cheek and Penny closed her eyes so that he couldn’t see her tears.  “Good night, Penny.”

“Good night,”
  she
whispered, quickly turning away and disappearing into the safety of her bedroom, memories of a morning not all that long ago playing in her mind.

She sat down at the desk to remove her shoes, the glare of the frame catching her attention.  She lifted it in her hands, staring down at the license. 

They were officially married today, she noticed. 

Happy wedding day,
she thought to herself as she sighed, setting the frame back onto the desk. 

What a day it had been, too.

She rose and crossed the room, sifting through her suitcase for her pajamas.  A blush crept over her body as her fingers grazed a thin, lacy material.  She recalled Diego giving her the negligee the night of the premiere, telling her that she would look even more amazing that night. 

Penny rolled her eyes, grabbing a t-shirt instead and making her way into the bathroom. 

But as she reached over to turn the faucet on, she stopped, meeting her own eyes in her reflection. 

And for just the briefest moment, her resolve lapsed. 

Why couldn’t they pretend?  Why couldn’t they live the dream, even if just for one night? 

She didn’t want it to end.  She wasn’t ready for it. 

Before she knew what she was doing, she was scrambling through her luggage once more until she found the item she was looking for, slipping into the sexy negligee without thinking twice.

And then she was crossing the hall, opening Tommy’s bedroom door.  He sat on his bed, his body angled away from her.  But as he heard the door, he turned.  His expression clearly displayed his surprise.

Penny took a few steps toward him, suddenly slightly less confident than she had been only moments ago. 
“Pen?”
  He finally questioned, his eyes roaming over her body.

“I want to keep pretending, Tommy.”  She closed the space between them quickly, standing directly in front of him now as she rested a hand on each side of his face.  “I want you to pretend that you’re just a boy, and I’m just a girl, and that this is our wedding night.” 

“Penny—” 

“
Shh
,”
  she
cut him off by pressing her lips to his.  He responded instantly, pulling her down into his lap. 

“Are you sure?”  He asked after several moments. 

“I’ve never been
more sure
about anything in my life.”  She told him, holding his eyes.

And, just like she had done all those years ago, Penny crossed the line. 

Penny woke in the morning feeling more refreshed than she had in a long, long time—despite not actually
sleeping
all that much. 

She didn’t worry about feeling nervous or awkward—mostly because everything had felt
right
.  More right than she could ever have imagined it to feel. 

Tommy traced patterns along her back as she lay on his chest, supposedly sleeping, but thinking instead.

Everything had changed, but nothing felt all that different.  It was just…natural, laying here in his arms.  Making love into the wee-hours of the night and waking up to do the same. 

It had been awhile since she’d seen any
passion, that
was for certain.  But she had never experienced anything quite like last night. 

The hunger, the desire, the fervor.
  It had been so exhilarating.  She hadn’t thought about anything except the touch of his hands, the feel of his body, the constant craving for more. 

Perhaps Tommy was simply just a better lover than Kevin had been…but Penny tended to doubt that was all there was to it. 

There had to be more there. 

“What’s going through that pretty little head of yours?”  He questioned and she turned her head so that she could look him in the eye. 

“Oh, nothing really.”
  He began playing with her hair now.  “Just thinking about how relaxed I feel.” 

“That’s something I like to hear.”  Penny smiled, planting a kiss on his chest.  “That means I’ve done something right.”

“Oh, you’ve done plenty.”  She told him laughingly.  “There is just one thing, though.”

“What’s that?” 

“I’m absolutely famished.”  This time Tommy laughed, throwing his head back into the pillow. 

“How about some room service?”

“That sounds delightful.  I don’t even have to get dressed for room service.”

“No, it’s actually preferred if you don’t.”  Penny giggled, rolling over so that Tommy could sit up.  “What should I order for you?”  She thought long and hard for a moment before lighting up. 

“French toast!
 
With bacon.
 
And
sausage.” 

“Oh, you’re going big.”  Penny nodded, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, I’ve worked up
quite
the appetite.” 

“You’d better be careful, giving me looks like that.  That could delay breakfast by at
least
another hour.”  He ducked down to press his lips to hers, his smile devilish as he disappeared from the room.  Penny sighed happily, laying back into the bed and wondering if they ever had to leave this room. 

Couldn’t they just stay forever and let the real world continue on without them? 

She didn’t want to think about the real world at all.  In fact, she didn’t want to think about the pretend world, either.  All she wanted to do was
live
. 

Live forever, uninterrupted. 

Happy.

She heard a knock sound at the door and Penny grinned, her stomach growling as she thought about the mountain of French toast that would soon be in front of her.  She jumped from the bed, wrapping the sheet loosely around her body and hurrying from the room. 

“That was quick—”

But the rest of her words, along with her smile, disappeared the moment her eyes came to rest on the figure standing on the other side of the doorway.  Tommy’s expression was grim.

Graham’s was absolutely livid. 

“Well, I guess that answers question number one.  Clearly, the marriage has been consummated.”  Penny tightened the sheet, her mind whirling.  “Here’s number two, then—has the ink even dried on her divorce yet?” 

“Graham,”
  Tommy
warned, but Graham didn’t even seem to notice as he stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. 

“
Okay,
and how about question number three:  what about a pre-
nup
?”  Graham settled on the couch, making himself comfortable.  “You are aware that, legally, she’s entitled to half of everything, now.”

“You don’t have to talk about me as if I don’t exist—I’m right here.”

“Oh, you’ll be out of the picture soon enough, sweetheart.”

“Knock it off, Graham.”  Tommy’s voice had an edge to it, but Penny could tell he wasn’t sure how to respond. 

“This is your
career
, Tom. 
Your
life
.”
 

“I’m aware of that.” 

“Then what the hell are you doing?”  Graham was raising his voice now.  “Parading around with this girl, wasting your time—this was never anything more than a
business
arrangement! 
For
both
of you.”
  His eyes raked over Penny as if she were something dirty and worthless.  “And now she’s going to get way more than she bargained for, isn’t she? 
Unless this was her plan all along.”
 

“Go to hell, Graham,”
  Penny
spat, wishing that she had something more functional on.  She would love nothing more than to slap him right across his arrogant little face.  Who the hell did he think he was, coming in here and acting as if he knew what their relationship was all about?  Graham hadn’t been there since the beginning.  He hadn’t seen how strong their friendship had been.