Big Dick Energy - Cindi Madsen Page 0,69
she hadn’t figured out by now that Penelope was more than a coworker or friend. I leaned over the couch and gave her a quick peck on the lips. “Save me some cookie dough?”
“No promises. You’d better take some now.” She squeezed out a glob, as though it were toothpaste instead of dessert, and shoved it in my mouth.
“Aww. You two are so cute.” Izzie lowered her voice to a faux whisper. “In case it’s not clear, I like Penny a lot. She’s smart, funny, and nice. Not to mention way out of your league. Seriously, Archer, you’d better hold onto her before she figures that out.”
Penelope chuckled, and I nearly choked on the giant bite of dough in my mouth. I swallowed, hoping the warning label about not consuming the contents raw had been written with an overabundance of caution. “Oh, I’m well aware. That’s why I’m going to be smarter than that jackass crush of hers. And at least I can say that I never left her with any doubts about whether or not I was into her.”
About an hour and a half later, the movie with some dude who said “whoa” a lot ended. The ladies had giggled and there was much discussion of swooning and comments like “see, that’s what you look for.”
“Time to get your homework done,” I told Izzie, since I should at least pretend I had an ounce of control over her, what with me being the adult in the equation. I still wasn’t sure I should’ve allowed her to check out an hour early from school, but when it came down to it, all that mattered was that Izzie was her bubbly self again.
Izzie flung her arms around Penelope, thanked her for the “amazing night” and then shot me two huge thumbs up as she backed down the hallway.
As soon as I heard her bedroom door close, I allowed my gaze to stray to where it’d longed to go all night. I soaked in the sight of Penelope on the hideous pink couch, bare legs tucked underneath her, ridiculous torture shoes kicked aside.
Despite saving my work two seconds ago, I saved it one more time before I shut my laptop. I’d racked my brain, pushed beyond my usual comfort level, and planned a presentation that would have Councilwoman Roberts, Mario Avila, and Scott Watson eating out of the palm of my hand.
I stood and stretched, rubbing at my tired eyes as I crossed the room. I settled onto the couch next to Penelope, tugging her legs from beneath her and draping them over my lap. Then I skated my fingers over her shins, similar to the way I’d done the night she’d twisted her ankle.
Only now, we were in a place where she didn’t hesitate to give in to my touch. I took full advantage, too, letting my fingers drift higher and higher with each pass. “Thank you for talking Izzie down and for telling her she deserved better. Coming from me, she’d roll her eyes and tell me I had to say that because I’m her brother. From you, it meant more.”
“Don’t sell yourself short. Izzie knows you’ll always be there when she calls. That’s what’s most important, especially at that age.”
I circled my hand around her upper thigh. “Still, I appreciate it. I know I muddled the streams.”
Penelope shrugged a shoulder. “It was bound to happen. Not only did I have fun hanging out with Izzie, but I also like getting to see the other sides of you.”
I placed a hand on my chest. “Me? A guitar player? What exactly is wrong with that, by the way?”
A soft laugh spilled from her lips as she leaned in and kissed my cheek. Such an innocent kiss, yet it summoned up a barrage of depraved ideas. Oddly enough, I didn’t feel antsy about waiting to play them out, though. I was perfectly content to sit here and chat for a while before we found our way to the bedroom.
“Nothing, my sexy guitar player,” she said, and make that all but one part of me perfectly okay with waiting. The purr in her voice left my pants uncomfortably tight, and my fingers strayed to her inner thigh. “It’s just that in high school, you would’ve never gone for a girl like me.”
I shook my head, and she nodded, and it reminded me of the beginning, when all we did was argue. “I would’ve hit on you just as hard as I did the