Playing at Forever (5 page)

“I had no idea.” 

“I know you didn’t.  That’s what happens when you run away, Tommy.  You lose contact with the people who cared about you most.” 

He stepped forward finally, looking around at the various movie posters.  Most of them were classics—films he and Penny had loved.  Three of them were from his movies. 

Not for the first time, Tommy wished he could take it all back. 

He reached out for Penny’s hand, surprised to find that she took it.  “But I’m here now, Pen.” 

“That’s right.  You’re here now.  But who’s to say how long that’s going to last, Tommy?”  There was just the vaguest hint of a tremor in her voice and Tommy clenched his jaw.  How could he have hurt her?  It was a wound much too deep for a simple apology.  But what more could he offer?  He had nothing she wanted.  Nothing she needed. 

No way of making it up to her.

He looked down at her, a strange pain in his chest.

“I’ll stay as long as you’ll have me, Penny Lane.  I promise.”  Penny said nothing for several long moments.

“So I guess we’re on for dinner then, aren’t we?”  Tommy chuckled quietly.

“And, if I recall correctly, I think dessert was included in that proposition.”  Penny finally looked up to meet his eyes. 

“Don’t push your luck, Mr. Davidson.  Or should I call you Mr. Davis?”  She teased, her eyebrow raised.  Tommy chuckled again, shaking his head. 

“It’s Mr. Davidson for you, Ms. Penny Lane.”  Penny smiled sadly again, nodding her head.  “Well, I guess I should let you get back to work, shouldn’t I?”  The restaurant was beginning to come back to life and Tommy was doing his best to keep a low profile. 

“I’ll see you tonight then?” 

“I wouldn’t miss it,” 

Tommy had made the right choice coming back here. 

It was
exactly
what he needed.

The evening flew by, Penny actually looking forward to something for the first time in months.  She felt silly, making everything so easy for Tommy.  But it always felt so natural—being with him, that was.  As angry as she was, as much as he had hurt her, she couldn’t help the way it all seemed to disappear in his presence. 

And by all, she really meant everything.  She even stopped caring about Kevin and Gina for a good majority of the day.  The past was the past, she told herself. 

It was toward the end of the night, when the last of her customers were leaving, that Tommy finally showed up, sliding into the booth across from her as she added some numbers on a calculator.  “You look so professional, sitting there with your pen and calculator.”

“And you look like a Hollywood superstar, with your intentionally messy hair and—”
  Penny
glanced at the clock on the wall.  “Your ten o’clock shadow.”  Tommy chuckled, nodding his head.

“Touché, miss.
 
Touché.”
  She smiled at him, setting her pen down.

“I’m finished anyway.”

“Don’t I have perfect timing?” Penny raised an eyebrow. 

“It’s late.”

“I’m still on L.A. time.”  She shook her head, unable to deny her smile. 

“You’re just lucky that I’m a night owl.” 

“I remember that about you.”  She had always been a night person, much like Tommy had been.  The two of them had spent many a summer night staring up at the stars, just talking. 

“So are you hungry?” 
she
asked, bringing herself back to the present.  She didn’t want to confuse the happiness she had felt
then
with whatever she might feel
now
. 

“Famished.”
  Penny smiled, sliding out of the booth and motioning for him to follow. 

“Well, let’s see what we can come up with, then.”  She led him back to the kitchen, trying to think about what she could cook up for the two of them. 
“How about some fish and chips?”
 

“Have I ever been a picky eater, Pen?” 
she
was already kneeling down, collecting ingredients. 

“How am I supposed to know if Hollywood has changed your taste buds?  I’m just a simple girl, Mr. Davis.  I don’t do any of that gourmet—”
  She
rose, turning to cross the room.  But Tommy was right there, staring down at her with a very tender smile on his lips.

“You’re much more than a simple girl, Penelope.  You always have been.”  He reached down, touching Penny’s cheek with the backs of his fingers.  Against her will, she closed her eyes, holding her breath.

The memory of their kiss was replaying itself over and over in her mind, her body almost aching for it. 

As if thinking the same thoughts, she felt him step closer.

“Penny?” 
her
eyes jolted open as she stepped away from Tommy, turning to look at the interruption.  Kevin stood in the doorway, his eyes narrowed as he looked between the two of them. 

“Yes, Kevin?” 

“I’m leaving.”

“And?”
 

“I was just letting you know.”  She had forgotten he was even there. 

“Well, you have a good night then.” 

“Aren’t you going to lock up?”  Penny sighed. 

“You can lock the door, Kevin.  I’m a little busy at the moment.”

“I can see that.”  She narrowed her eyes at him, crossing her arms over her chest. 

“
Good night
, Kevin.”  Before the man left, he made certain to give Tommy
a
once-over. 

“Wow, what was
that
about?”  Penny exhaled slowly, crossing the room to retrieve the bowl she had been going for just moments ago. 

“That was Kevin.”

“I gathered that.” 

“He’s my…”  Penny hesitated for a moment. 
“Business partner.”
 

“Well, he was definitely concerned about your…business.”  Tommy’s tone was full of suggestion, but Penny just sighed.  “I noticed him giving me the eye earlier, too.  Didn’t we go to school with him?”

“He graduated with me.”  She was flustered now, for several different reasons, least of which was Kevin’s little intrusion.  No, what had her most disconcerted was the moment she and Tommy had
almost
shared before Kevin’s interference. 

That
would have been a mistake. 

“He seemed a little…”

“Hey, why don’t
you
stop worrying about my business and put yourself to some use.”  She pushed a potato peeler into his chest.  “Potatoes are in the bin right over there.  Get to work.”  He stared at her for a long moment, an ironic looking smile on his face.  “I know you know how to peel a potato, Tommy.  You used to help with dinner all the time.  Get to it.” 

This time he chuckled, shaking his head. 
“Yes, ma’am.”

“And once you finish with that, you can slice ‘
em
up.” 

“Yes, ma’am,”
  He
repeated.  After a few moments of silence, Penny glanced over her shoulder, smiling as she watched him perform his task.

She went through the familiar motions of breading the fish and frying it, trying to distract herself with the task.  It didn’t take long for the meal to be prepared and several minutes later, they settled at the bar, eating with their fingers. 

“So what about you, Tommy?”
 
she
spoke after a few moments of silence. “How have
you
been?”  Penny noticed the way he glanced toward the corner that possessed his movie posters. 

“You really have to ask?” 
he
smiled at her, but there was something wrong with it—something missing.  “I’ve got everything I always wanted.”

Even as he said the words, she knew he was lying.  But she didn’t push him for the truth.

She had lied to him, too. 

Well, lied by omission, anyway.  She had been telling the truth when she’d said she’d been busy.  She had failed to mention, however, the fact that she’d had time to get married and now to get divorced. 

That hadn’t seemed like necessary information at the time.

She wanted Tommy to think that she’d gotten everything she wanted out of life. 
That things
had been great for her, too, even without him.  Because that seemed to be the case for him, didn’t it?  He’d gone off to L.A. and within a few years, he’d become a huge star, just as he’d always planned to.  He hadn’t needed her.

But now, sitting beside him at the bar, she was reminded of the tabloid cover she and Amy had seen the other day.  The darkness she had seen in his eyes in that photo was still there, she realized, but it was harder to see now. 

“Looks like we’ve both done pretty well then, haven’t we?” 

“Sure have.”  He took a long swig from the glass of beer in front of him and Penny sighed, looking away.

The reality was that they were both lying to each other, and they both knew it. 

“Still up for that dessert?”
 
he
asked her nearly a half hour later, as they were washing the dishes they had used.  Penny shook her head.  “I understand.”

“No, it’s just—well, I’m pretty stuffed.” 

“Why don’t I walk you home then?  We’ll save dessert for tomorrow night.” 

“I’d like that.”  She smiled at him before ducking into the office she shared with Kevin to grab her small purse. 

“After you,”
  he
held the door open for her as they left the restaurant and Penny paused a moment to lock the door.  The night air was chilly, it having rained earlier in the day.  The streets were quiet, as they usually were.  They made it about halfway to Amy’s house in a comfortable silence before Penny spoke.

“So what are you doing here, Tommy? 
Really.”
 

“I told you, I needed to get away.” 

“What, stardom taking its toll on you?”

“Something
like
that.”  Tommy nodded. 

“So why here?” 
she
asked as they neared Amy’s street. 

“I thought that was obvious.”  Penny shook her head.  Sure, he had said all of this the night before. 
“To see you, Pen.”

“Why me?”
 
she
asked, stopping at the end of Amy’s walkway. 

“Because you’re the best friend I’ve ever had, Penny.  When I think of home—I think of you.”  A ball formed in her throat.  Tommy hadn’t had the easiest of childhoods.  She was glad that, in the short time she had been able to be his friend, she had made an impact. 

“I’m glad you came back, Tommy,”
  she
whispered, lifting herself to her tiptoes so that she could place a kiss on his cheek. 

And before either of them had the chance to say something more, she hurried up the walk way, disappearing behind the heavy front door—a smile on her face.

Penny was running very behind after having spent a good forty-five minutes of her morning telling Amy every detail about the previous day—literally.  Amy wouldn’t let her go until she was satisfied.  And so now she rushed through the door of The Seaside, knowing it wasn’t such a big deal but frustrated with
herself
nonetheless. 

“Late night?”
  Kevin’s lewd tone was almost enough to bother her—
almost
. 
But not quite.
  No, she was determined to make this day just as good as the previous one. 

“Oh no, long morning,”
  she
responded, fully aware that she might be giving him the wrong idea, but not bothering to care. 

“That was Tommy Davidson in the kitchen last night, wasn’t it?” 

“
Mmm-hm
,”
  she
nodded, walking toward the office so that she could put her few things away. 

“I don’t think that’s very professional, Penelope.” 

“Give me a break, Kevin.  We were making dinner.”

“It looked like a lot more than that.”

“Well, what concern is it of yours?” 
her
annoyance was beginning to show in her tone.  Kevin had
never
been the biggest fan of Tommy’s, even back in high school. 

“What is that guy even doing here?”  Penny stopped walking suddenly, turning around to face the man who had once upon a time claimed to love, honor, and cherish her.

“I don’t know,
Kev
.  Maybe he heard I was getting a divorce and decided now was the time to make his move.” 

“Very funny.”
  Penny crossed her arms over her chest, offended that he wouldn’t even consider the possibility.  “You’re just a small town girl, Penny.  He’s beyond that.”

“I
lied
, Kevin.  I do know why he came back.”  She narrowed her eyes at him.  “He’s here for
me
. 
Because, unlike you, Tommy actually keeps his promises.”
 

With that, she turned on her heel and walked away.

Tommy woke up to a very angry buzzing noise and he groaned, picking up the small piece of technology only to see Graham’s name glaring up at him.  He closed his eyes and set the phone back down, opening them once more when the noise ceased.

When it started vibrating again moments later, he picked it up and threw it across the room, not caring where it landed. 

His motel room was small—probably about the size of his bathroom back in L.A.  But he didn’t mind—he didn’t need much.  It was quiet, and nobody bothered him.  That was a lot more than could be said for L.A. 

The town hadn’t changed much over the years.  He’d never been inside the motel when he was younger, but he could tell by simply looking that most of the décor hadn’t been updated in the ten years he’d been gone.  Of course, the motel probably didn’t get a whole lot of business. 
Ravenside
wasn’t exactly booming with tourists. 

He remembered when his father, a Colonel in the military, had decided to bring them here.  Tommy had hated it so much in the beginning—too quiet, too small,
too
boring.  He had always longed for the fast-paced city life he’d never been given the chance to live. 

Colonel Davidson had been a military man his whole life, though, and he would have none of that.  Tommy was meant to grow up and follow in his father’s footsteps.