Playing at Forever - By Michelle Brewer Page 0,28
the mirror.
“Remind me to never, ever drink whiskey. Ever.” She told Tommy as she opened the door. On her way back to the bed, she picked up her purse and ran a brush through her tangled hair, dabbing on a bit of lip gloss. She had already done her best to remove the raccoon eyes sleeping in her mascara had given her.
“At least you were able to sleep in a bed.” Tommy stood up to stretch. “I feel like I slept in a suitcase.”
“I told you that you could share the bed.”
“Oh, I definitely made the right choice.” He disappeared into the bathroom and emerged several moments later.
“I need to take a shower.” She felt very gross. “Want to give me a ride to Amy’s?”
“You sure you really want to be on the back of a motorcycle right now?” Penny’s stomach churned.
“On second thought, maybe I’ll walk.”
“I’ll go with you,” Tommy was already sitting down to put his shoes on. “Just take a couple aspirin, drink something with sugar in it, and eat something light. I know it doesn’t sound appealing now, but you’ll feel better once you take a shower.”
He was absolutely right on point. Her stomach was turning at the mere thought of eating anything at all.
When he finished with his shoes, Penny pulled the door open, ready to walk out into the cool morning air.
But as she faced what appeared to be a mob of photographers, Penny froze.
Tommy was there in an instant, pulling her back inside and shutting the door. He swore angrily, looking around the room as if searching for something to break.
“What was that?” Penny asked dumbly.
“That was probably Graham’s doing.” Tommy raked his fingers through his hair. “Okay, change of plans—I’m going to have to give you a ride. You’re going to have to hold on to your stomach, Pen. When I open the door, you just stay close to me.” Penny nodded, suddenly feeling very helpless.
He held her eyes for a moment before pulling the door open. Penny attached herself to him, ducking her head into his chest as they yelled questions at him. He said nothing as he climbed onto the bike, Penny jumping on quickly behind him.
They didn’t even bother putting helmets on as Tommy took off, flying out of the parking lot faster than the paparazzi could follow.
Penny held tightly, pressing her face into his back as she closed her eyes.
“You okay?” he questioned as they came to a stop in Amy’s driveway. Penny only nodded, taking Tommy’s arm as she climbed off the bike. “I’m sorry, Pen.”
“Hey, this is what I signed up for, isn’t it?” she shrugged her shoulders. “It’s just going to get worse, isn’t it?” Tommy nodded solemnly. “I’ll learn, then.”
“Want me to come to the restaurant tonight for dinner?” Penny nodded.
“I owe you from last night.”
“Believe me, Penny Lane. You don’t owe me anything.”
“After all this, we’ll call it even.” Penny told him, backing away. He started up the motorcycle and she watched as he took off down the street, the definition of a rebel—even after all these years.
Amy was sitting at the bar, a cup of coffee in front of her.
“Is someone doing the walk of shame?” She questioned as Penny tried to sneak upstairs unnoticed. “I didn’t hear you come in last night.”
“I didn’t,” Penny said, biting her lip. Amy looked up, her eyes widening ever-so-slightly as she took in Penny’s appearance.
“Wow, Pen. You look…”
“Hung-over?” Penny took a seat on one of the stools and Amy nodded, hurrying to the refrigerator and returning with a glass of orange juice. The smell revolted Penny, but she knew she needed to drink it. “I crashed at Tommy’s motel last night.”
“I figured that much.”
“Neither one of us was in any condition to even walk home.”
“That bad?” Penny sighed, resting her head on the counter top.
“Kevin proposed to Gina, Amy. He proposed to her, and we’re not even divorced yet.”
“Are you kidding me?” Amy slammed her coffee cup onto the counter and Penny flinched. “Oh, sorry,” Amy reached out to rub her friend’s back.
“I wish I was. Gina felt the need to share the news last night. She also decided to threaten to take my own restaurant from me.”
“That sneaky little—” Amy broke off, biting her lip. “Are you okay?”
“Well, it was a little bit of a shock at first. But it doesn’t hurt as badly as I thought it would. Kevin and Gina, I mean. The Seaside, on the other hand…” Penny thought back to