Best Friends Forever_A Marriage Pact Romance

by Jess Bentley

  Chapter 12

  Penny

  By the time the Uber drops me off in my driveway, it’s already late. There’s just a single light on that I can see, and I realize Ethan is probably already in bed. He has to get up early for school, but I’m still disappointed. I could probably sneak in and smooch him while he’s sleeping. He still lets me do that sometimes.

  “Oh, hey, welcome back!” Wanda calls out when I open the front door, lifting her wine glass to me in greeting.

  She looks pretty terrific, sitting there on the kitchen barstool, her hair in twisted wreaths, her muscular arms bare as she flips through a magazine. Really, if I were ever going to be a lesbian, I would fall in love with Wanda immediately. There is just something about her. Unfortunately I was not gifted with that much fluidity.

  “Let me get you a glass of wine,” she smiles, hurrying to the other side of the kitchen. “You must be exhausted! But I still want to hear everything! Did you get the development?”

  I cringe, realizing I had put off all of this explaining, and now I have to do it. She’s not going to like this, I don’t think. I’m not even 100 percent sure I like it, but once I have a ball in motion, I tend to follow it come hell or high water.

  “Well… Not exactly. Sort of. No. I didn’t.”

  She squints at me, nodding shrewdly. “Yeah, I didn’t get any of that. You want to start at the beginning?”

  She pulls out a barstool for me and pats the seat, then sets the wine glass down and hops into the other stool to wait. The wine is cool on my tongue, instantly refreshing.

  “So, I went to the auction…”

  She bobs her head. “Okay, I’m with you so far.”

  “Got my little bidding ticket and everything. I even was the winner—”

  “Well, that’s great!”

  “—for about twelve milliseconds,” I finish sadly, “until frickin’ Ron obliterated me. Just demolished me. Doubled my bid.”

  Her eyes widen. “Wait. Just like that? One bid over yours?”

  I raise my hands in defeat. “Yeah. There was no way I could compete. I didn’t even realize anybody was bidding against me until I was blown right out of the water.”

  She purses her lips judgmentally. “You know you had a whole lot more money though, right? A whole lot more, Penny.”

  “Wanda, I already told you—”

  “—and I already told you! Damn, you are so stubborn. All you have to do is ask. You are an investment, Penny, not a charity.”

  I shift uncomfortably, looking away. If we have had this argument a thousand times, I guess this makes a thousand and one.

  “Anyway, I didn’t get it.”

  “Well, you coulda,” she mutters stubbornly.

  “So anyway!” I start again with new energy. “He outbid me, but I had it all planned out in my mind, so I just marched right up to him and asked him for a job.”

  Her mouth pops open. “Wait, you did? What does that mean?”

  This is where it gets hard. This is where it is real.

  “It means we are going to go to Beaumont? It means… I don’t know? Everything is different now?”

  A low whistle escapes her pursed lips. “Wow. Okay. That’s cool, right? That’s good?”

  “Yes, I think so?” I shrug, determined not to let doubt overtake me.

  “But sudden, don’t you think? Did this just occur to you out of the blue? Just like that?”

  I really should have eaten on the plane, or maybe on the way home. Every sip of the wine trickles down the middle of my body, landing in my empty stomach with an almost audible sound.

  “I just… I don’t know what I’m doing here anymore, Wanda,” I confess. “Is it like a habit or something? How have I not been promoted? How have I been single for so long? I have to do something, you know what I mean? I have to do something.”

  Her cheeks pucker as she pouts sympathetically. “Aw, girl, I know. Life doesn’t always work out right away.”

  “It’s like I feel like I’m in a holding pattern or something. Like I’m circling the airport, waiting for instructions to land. Endlessly circling, with no end in sight.”

  She thinks for a few seconds, nodding to herself, staring deep into her wine glass.

  “Well, I guess you fixed that, didn’t you?” she finally asks with a sly smile. “What are you going to say to Nathan?”

  “Oh! Wow, I hadn’t even thought about that!”

  She claps her hands excitedly. “Fun! You can make a scene! You can totally flounce!”

  “Yeah, I totally can. You’re so right!”

  “And where are you gonna live? Are they done already?”

  The panic must show on my face, because she stops and raises her eyebrows at me, pursing her lips in curiosity.

  “Come on now. Don’t tell me your plan didn’t include a roof over your head for you and the little monster?”

  I feel my cheeks getting hot. And my shoulders, and my chest. If I were a cartoon character, I would burst into flames right now with this mixture of emotions.

  “Hold on,” she says suspiciously, gesturing with her finger in a circle to point out my blush. “What’s going on here? What is this? Did you find a place to live or not?”

  “Um, well, I did. Yes. I did.”

  Her eyebrows are so far up they are practically buried in her hairline. “And? Is it a crack house or something? Is that why you don’t want to tell me? Because I have a condo in Beaumont, remember?”

  “Wait, what? You do? Why?”

  “Shit, girl, I have condos all over the place,” she shrugs, leaving her barstool to refill her glass. “I just rent them out with AirBnB, you know. I get them when they’re cheap.”

  This news is a shock to me. I guess I knew that Wanda wasn’t hurting for money, but condos all over the place? I suppose I could have asked more questions if the subject of money didn’t make me so uncomfortable.

  “I’m single, remember?” she adds, as though reading my mind. “I just reinvest what I make since I don’t have any offspring.”

  “Jeez, I guess I didn’t realize.”

  “Oh my God, how many times have I tried to tell you? We could be in business together, Penny. We could be kick-ass, female-empowered bitches running our own developments all over the country. If you weren’t so goddamn stubborn, that is.”

  I just shake my head in wonder. The truth is, she has tried to tell me. I just didn’t want to listen. Like I said, when I’m on a mission, that’s all I can think about. And I guess my single-mom mission has been my main focus. Her suggestion really didn’t make it to my conscious mind.

  “Wanda, that’s amazing. I’m sorry I didn’t put it together before now.”

  She shrugs modestly and purses her lips. “Okay, just listen to me next time, all right? Now I know you’re just avoiding the question. Where are you living?”

  Her eyes focus on me like laser points. Instinctually I pick up my wine glass for protection and hold it in front of my face.

  “Um. With Clay.”

  “MMM-scuse me?”

  I hold my hands out in a gesture of innocence. “The units aren’t ready yet. I’ll get one as soon as they are. This is just temporary.”

  “You’re living with the douche?”

  “Apparently he’s got the room. And, I don’t know? By the time we got to all of that, I had a new job and a new project and… I knew I needed a place to live… I just thought about Ethan, and—”

  “Wow, girl!”

  “I really want to get Ethan into a new school! We have to have a place to live, and… We’ve done it before? It’s not really that weird, is it?”

  “Oh, it’s not weird that your unrequited college crush invited you to live with him? And you are actually going to do it? After moving across the country?”

  “You know, you don’t have to say it like that…”

  “Yeah, that’s not weird at all! People do that shit all the time!”

  “He’s a nice guy.”

/>   “You said he was different,” she counters, pointing at me with her index finger. “Your words: he’s different.”

  She’s got me there, and I know it. Maybe this is all a big mistake. Maybe this is too impetuous. Or maybe somehow I’m letting the fantasy get ahead of me. I have to remember that he is different. The fantasy is gone. There’s no pact. There’s nothing.

  He is different.

  I hear a sound behind me and turn around to see Ethan shuffling into the foyer, knuckling his eyes sleepily.

  “Oh, hey baby! I was hoping to see you!” I coo happily as he slowly comes forward to give me a hug.

  Breathing deeply, I absorb his scent, thirsty for it like I haven’t seen him in years. I kiss the top of his head and brush his hair back, wincing when I see the bruise on his forehead. It has grown somehow, gotten dark purple, almost the size of an orange. I stare at Wanda in alarm.

  She pulls a face. “Yeah, I think that looks worse than it is. But… Yeah. That looks bad, huh.”

  Plastering a smile on my face, I dip my head down to kiss his cheeks and chuck him softly on the chin. He smiles up at me and gently pulls away, returning to his room without even a word.

  “We’re going to Beaumont,” I tell her in a serious, hurried whisper. “Right away. We are not going to wait. We are definitely going. This week.”

  She nods, understanding. I know she loves Ethan too. I know she gets it.

  “Well, if you’re going, I’m going too. I will help you get this place onto AirBnB, how about that?”

  “Yes,” I answer immediately. “That would be awesome. Thank you. But you don’t have to come, Wanda.”

  “Pssssht, yeah right,” she rolls her eyes. “I need to check out this douche for myself, don’t I? You can’t get rid of me, Pen.”

  It may be a ridiculous plan, one that I thought of on the spot, one that sort of feels like I strapped myself to a paper airplane and threw myself off the top of a building, but for just a moment I feel like it is all going to work out okay.

  Chapter 13

  Clay

  I see the headlights swing around the driveway, and my chest instantly gets tight. It’s not like I’ve been waiting for them all day. It’s not like I’m intensely curious what this will be like. And I certainly haven’t been walking through my house, looking at it through their eyes.

  No. This is just a business arrangement. She has made that very clear.

  When I open the front door, she smiles, pulling the young man closer to her by his shoulders. He looks up at me with those same almond-shaped eyes, so direct. So intense.

  I hold out my hand to him and he shakes it, nice and firm.

  “Clay Corwin,” I tell him. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  “It’s nice to meet you too,” he says in a voice that seems right on the edge of dropping. It’s got a little bit of kid in it, and a little bit of teenager too.

  Penny just beams. She reaches around to grab the handle of her rolling suitcase and I wave her off.

  “Let me get that for you,” I offer. “You’re probably tired of hauling your stuff around.”

  “Just the basics, really,” she shrugs. “I’m still keeping my place back home so…”

  “Sure, of course,” I agree quickly. “Smart.”

  Ethan stands there, his head going back and forth like he’s watching a tennis match. Suddenly I realize we are just standing in the foyer.

  “Well, come in! Where are my manners? Let me show you around!”

  Penny and Ethan follow me from room to room as I give them a brief, slightly embarrassed tour. I mean I feel silly saying this is the living room when it is obvious it is a living room. And the kitchen, and the dining room. But what else am I going to say?

  “Wait, is that a swimming pool?” Ethan gasps, breaking away from his mother’s side and pressing his nose to the picture window. I can see the blue lights in the pool, illuminating the glassy surface.

  “Yeah. I hardly ever use it. I’m glad you’re excited about that.”

  He turns around, raising his eyebrows at his mother in question. “Can I… are we…”

  She shrugs helplessly, smiling. “Yeah, man. That’s basically the deal.”

  “Wowwwwwwww,” he says slowly, and I can’t help but be really proud.

  Penny looks around for a moment, her eyes wide with theatrical delight.

  “You built this yourself, didn’t you?” she says.

  “Yeah, I guess so,” I answer for some reason, though I absolutely did.

  Nodding slowly, she puts her hands on her hips and walks around, raising her chin to the vaulted ceiling, inspecting the flagstone two-sided fireplace. She turns back to me with a knowing wink.

  “Designed it too? The whole thing?”

  I just shrug modestly. “Just wait until you see your bathroom, Pen.”

  “Pen,” she repeats with a smile. “I always liked it when you called me that.”

  “I’ll try to remember that,” I smile back.

  We stand there for a few moments, just looking at each other. It’s weird, but not weird at the same time.

  “Do I get my own room?” Ethan asks suddenly.

  However, I was waiting for this moment. If I know anything about twelve-year-old boys—and I think I do—I’m about to hit this one out of the park.

  “Okay, I just need to warn you,” I begin, holding my hands up, “this is all on spec. You know what that means?”

  He shakes his head solemnly, no.

  “It means it’s all up to your mother. She can veto this at any time. Agreed?”

  Penny raises her eyebrows in warning. “Clay, what are you talking about?”

  “Okay. Just follow me.”

  I take them through the living room and down a few stairs to the lower level. As soon as I flip on the light switches, I can hear Ethan suck his breath through his teeth behind me.

  “Clay?” Penny asks. “You were serious about the ping-pong table?”

  “This is amazing!” Ethan announces, dashing off. He circles the room eagerly, dragging his fingers along the PlayStation, the sixty-inch TV, the foosball table, the pool table. He circles back to the PlayStation and picks up the headset, staring at me with a shocked expression.

  “Yes, that’s a VR headset,” I confirm. “But only driving games, got it? I’m not gonna send you to war or anything. It’s a pretty intense experience.”

  With a hoot, Ethan slips the headset over his ears and I sneak a look at Penny. She’s got her arms crossed and is scowling.

  “Seriously,” I mumble defensively. “Just driving games. Nothing too intense.”

  “You can’t be serious,” she says slowly. “Where is he going to… This is all so much, Clay. It’s just a lot.”

  Suddenly I feel sort of bad. I’m not sure why, but I feel like I crossed a line. Gently I reach out and take her upper arm to nudge her toward the bedroom door. Tentatively she allows me to guide her inside.

  “See? It’s just a regular kid’s room,” I reassure her. “Just a bed and a dresser and a desk. All that other stuff in the other room was here already. I just thought that a kid his age would like some privacy. Maybe a little room to play around. I’m sorry if I—”

  She turns to me suddenly, her eyes glossy and filled with meaning. She bites her lower lip, and I realize she’s not furious with me. She’s feeling something, but I dare not even try to figure out what it is.

  “So, is it okay? Just to try it?”

  “It’s... It’s really nice,” she says hoarsely. “Really, really nice. He’s a really lucky kid. Thank you.”

  I know it’s not part of the deal, but I would love to get my arms around her right now. Right this moment, when she’s humid with emotion, when there’s so much raw feeling in her eyes. This is my favorite kind of experience with Penny—the moments where she is completely present.

  But then I remember that’s not the deal. This is just business. Even if she’s a thousand times more beautiful than she ever
was.

  I must keep that in mind.

  “Okay! Back to the tour!” I announce, sounding at least twice as confident as I feel.

  Back in the game room, Ethan has already fired up the PlayStation and is sitting in front of it, his back to the sofa, his butt on the carpet, his gangly legs drawn up at the knee.

  “Hey… We are going back on the tour!” Penny calls out.

  “Okay, have a good time!” he calls back.

  She rolls her eyes and faces me. “Yeah, he’s pretty much fine where he is, right? Why don’t you show me the rest of the house?”

  “Excellent. I’ll get dinner started real quick too.”

  “Dinner? Are you serious?”

  “Of course I’m serious,” I scoff. “Did you ever learn how to cook, by the way?”

  I walk ahead of her back to the kitchen, afraid she’s going to pick up something and throw it at me, but instead I just listen to the sound of her throaty laugh as she follows me.

  “Is that what this is going to be like?” she challenges me. “Are you going to be teasing me incessantly about what I used to know, or not know, or do, or not do?”

  I shrug. “Well, I don’t know. Do you still throw your dirty clothes in a pile in the corner?”

  She just narrows her eyes at me and doesn’t answer.

  “Then, yes,” I nod as I start water to boil. “That is definitely what this is going to be like.”

  She holds up a finger in warning. “I know things about you too,” she reminds me. “I have at least as much dirt on you as you have on me. You should take that into consideration.”

  Shaking my head, I get the tray of vegetables out of the fridge. “Wait, Ethan isn’t allergic to peanuts or shellfish or anything is he? Cheese? Anything I should know?”

  “No, he isn’t.”

  “Okay, great,” I nod distractedly. “And for the record, you can try to make fun of me, but I don’t know why you would. As far as I can recall, I was a perfect gentleman. I even helped you with your homework.”

  Her eyebrows go up. “Excuse me? I was a semester ahead of you, remember? Who helped you with your homework, mister?”