Playing at Forever - By Michelle Brewer Page 0,67
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