Playing at Forever - By Michelle Brewer Page 0,17

go for a walk?”

“You mind if I throw a shirt on?” he watched as Penny’s eyes flickered over his bare chest momentarily before nodding, a little bit of excitement rousing inside him as she did so. Stop it, he scolded himself.

“I mean, I can’t have you walking around like that, that’s for sure. There’s bound to be some law of decency you’re breaking.” He chuckled, shaking his head as he held the door open for her. “There is such a thing as being too fit, you know.”

“Tease all you want.”

“Oh, I will.” She smiled, perching on the edge of the bed while he disappeared into the bathroom. He liked how easy all of this was for them. It had always been that way. “Rough night?” she questioned and he peeked around the door.

“Oh—well, I’ve had worse.” The room was in a state of total disarray, blankets and pillows all over the place. A half empty bottle of whiskey sat on the nightstand. “Couldn’t sleep.” He ducked back into the bathroom to finish brushing his teeth, running a hand through his hair.

“I know the feeling.” Tommy wasn’t sure if he was meant to hear that or not and so he said nothing, turning around to grab one of the only two shirts he had brought with him. That was one of the drawbacks of doing something spontaneous. Details were always overlooked. It was lucky that he’d been wearing two shirts the day he’d taken off.

“Maybe, if you’re not busy, we could make a day of it and do a little shopping. I’m…well, my wardrobe is quite limited.”

“Today isn’t usually my day off…” She bit her lip for a moment, thinking. “But you know what? Kevin can handle it all on his own. I’m taking a personal day.” Tommy laughed as he watched her eyes narrow. It was pretty obvious that, whatever Kevin had done, Penny was not happy about it.

“You show ‘em, Pen.” He tried to be serious, but she only rolled her eyes at him. “Come on,” he nodded toward the door, taking a sip of the coffee she’d brought him.

“Sorry I woke you,” she said after a few minutes, the two of them walking toward a park that lay along the coast. “I forgot you’re probably still on L.A. time.”

“It’s no big deal. I’m used to running on a couple hours of sleep.”

“Things that busy for you out there?”

“Sometimes.” Sometimes, he just couldn’t sleep. Just like everyone else, he lay awake at night, staring at the ceiling, wondering about all of the what-ifs.

“Is that why you were so feisty when I knocked on the door?” she asked.

“Well, to be fair, I thought you were someone else.”

“Who? The maid service?” Penny raised an eyebrow at him. “Were you really going to talk to the maid like that? How prima donna of you. Maybe I should call you Thomson Davis.” She nudged him with her shoulder, a smile on her lips.

“No, no. Tommy is fine. I like Tommy.” Mostly, he liked how warm the name sounded, coming from Penny. As if he really mattered. That was a nice feeling.

It was a few moments before she spoke again.

“I really am sorry about last night, too. I was upset. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. You don’t deserve that.”

“You and I both know that I probably deserve a lot worse. I disappeared for ten years.”

“I’m sure you have your reasons.”

“They’re not good ones.” He took another drink of coffee. Of course he had reasons. Some of them were even logical. He’d been busy. He didn’t want to intrude on her life after so long.

But the simple truth was he’d been afraid. He wasn’t sure what of. Maybe he’d been afraid that she would be angry with him. Or maybe he’d thought she’d moved on with her life.

Or maybe he was afraid that she wouldn’t like the person he’d become.

“Maybe you don’t think so. But the Tommy Davidson I know would have a good reason.”

“Well that’s enough about me, this walk was supposed to be about you.” They came to a stop then, leaning on a railing as they looked out at the ocean. Tommy could smell the salt in the air. It was familiar to him, though different from L.A. There, you could smell everything. The salt, the smog, even the food. It was all so much simpler here.

“I don’t even know where to start.” She sighed, looking away, staring at a crack in the railing.

“The beginning is usually a good