She still hadn’t quite figured out how she was going to explain everything to her parents. She didn’t want to lie to them, but she didn’t want to tell them the truth either. So she fed them the same lines she’d been feeding Amy—she and Tommy were just catching up. She wasn’t sure what was going to come of it, if anything.
In a way, it was the truth.
Penny hadn’t a single clue what was waiting for her down the road. This was all so unfamiliar to her. And there were so many questions without answers. How long did they play this game? How far would they take it? Where did they go afterward?
But Tommy didn’t know anything more than Penny. They would play it by ear, he said.
And so she continued on in uncertainty.
“Do you know what you’re looking for?” Amy asked as they entered the large mall. Penny shrugged her shoulders.
“Maybe something fun?” She realized that Tommy hadn’t really seen her in anything outside of the clothes she wore to work—her simple, plain clothes.
“That helps,” Amy said, her tone very serious as she hooked her arm through Penny’s and led her through the mall. They finally found a large department store that Amy expertly navigated, where they eventually found various styles of dresses hanging on several different racks.
“Nothing crazy,” Penny warned as she caught a glimpse of something covered in jewels and feathers.
“Oh, you never let me have any fun,” Amy whined. “Here, take this one.” She pushed a hanger into her hands. “And these two.”
By the time Amy was finished, Penny had six dresses to try on—all different, and all different colors. It wasn’t until the last one that both she and Amy agreed. Penny eyed the short, deep red colored dress doubtfully before slipping into it. But the moment she glanced in the mirror, she changed her mind.
“That’s the one, Pen. We don’t even have to look at anymore.” Amy clapped excitedly. “Now, all we have left to do is pick out some shoes, some makeup, and figure out what to do with your hair.”
Penny groaned inwardly.
Now she remembered why she’d given up on putting so much effort into clothes.
It was incredibly too time consuming.
Chapter Six
“Aunt Penny, you look so pretty!” Darla exclaimed, standing in the doorway of Amy’s master bathroom. “Are you getting married?” Penny couldn’t keep the bubble of laughter inside and Amy gave her friend a very dirty look.
“Sit. Still.” Amy grabbed a damp cotton ball and began dabbing at Penny’s cheek.
“Sorry, Mom,” Penny said very seriously.
“Close your eyes.” Penny followed Amy’s orders, feeling the light tickle of the brush on her eyelids.
“Amber, come look at Aunt Penny!”
“She’s not done yet!” Amy scolded, but Penny didn’t think there was much more that could actually be done. For a girl who wore only the bare minimum when it came to makeup, she felt as if Amy was using her face as her own personal canvas.
“Oh come on, it’s just dinner and a movie!”
“Penny, this is the first date you’ve been on since Kevin. I don’t care if it’s the most casual date you’ve ever been on—”
“It’s not even really a date—” Amy stared at Penny for a moment, narrowing her eyes. “Okay, fine, it’s a date.”
“Thank you.” Penny rolled her eyes at her friend. “Now, as I was saying. I don’t care if it’s casual. I don’t care if you have paparazzi following your every move. What I do care about is that you look great. Because when you know that you look good, the rest comes easy.” Penny sighed, not wanting to admit that Amy had a point. She also knew that, especially with the paparazzi sure to be following them around, Penny wanted to make sure she at least looked presentable.
People were going to have a hard enough time believing that Thomson Davis was going for a girl such as herself. She wanted to try to be convincing.
“There, all finished.” Amy sat back, taking survey of her work. “And I must say, I did a pretty good job. It’s been awhile since I’ve done somebody else’s makeup.”
Penny turned to look at herself in the mirror. For all the time Amy had spent on her makeup, Penny couldn’t see much of a difference. Her cheeks were just a bit rosier than normal, her lips just a tint of a darker red. It was her eyes where one could see the biggest difference—various layers of colors blended perfectly together to create an almost seductive effect.
“Doesn’t Aunt Penny look beautiful?” Amy questioned her youngest daughter, lifting her to sit on her lap.
“Can I have some?” Darla asked, poking her head in. “I want to look pretty too.”
“Well, of course you can, sweetie, even though you’re plenty pretty without it!” Penny reached over to grab one of the brushes Amy had used for her blush and dusted what little bit that remained onto the little girl’s cheeks. “And here, we’ll even give you a little bit of this.” She dabbed a bit of the tinted lip gloss on to Darla’s pursed lips.
“Can I have some too?” Little Amber asked and Penny laughed, using the brush to tickle the girl’s cheeks before giving her barely even a smudge of gloss. “Pretty!” Amber clapped excitedly.
“Come on, let’s go show Daddy!” Darla took her sister’s hand and dashed from the room, leaving Penny and Amy to laugh.
“What time is he supposed to be here?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Any minute now, probably.” Penny sat down on the edge of Amy’s bed to slip her strappy black heels on. Downstairs, she heard the doorbell ring. “I feel silly,” Penny confessed, her heart suddenly fluttering in her chest.
“Don’t. Feel beautiful, because you are. And the moment Thomson Davis—or Tommy Davidson—” Amy rolled her eyes. “Whatever his name is. The moment he sees you, he’s going to forget about every other woman who’s ever crossed his path.” Penny laughed, shaking her head. “Oh, here—don’t forget your purse.”
Penny gripped the small black clutch purse as if her life depended on it. By the time they left the bedroom, Paul had already let Tommy in and Penny heard the girls squealing excitedly.
“Look, Tommy! I have lipstick on!”
“Me too, me too!” Amber cried, certain not to be missed. Penny watched from above as he picked a girl up in each arm, touching his lips to each of their cheeks.
“Don’t you girls look pretty,”
“Not as pretty as Aunt Penny.” Darla beamed, her eyes wide. “You’re gonna fall in love with her tonight, you know that?” Penny laughed quietly, sharing the moment with Amy.
“Oh yeah? She’s that pretty?”
“Uh-huh. You’re probably going to marry her.”
“You really think so?” Darla nodded emphatically.
“And then you’ll be our uncle, and you can come over and push us on the swings whenever Daddy goes away for work.” She told him.
“Well, I can come over and push you girls on the swings even if I’m not your uncle.”
“Yeah, but that’s not as much fun.” This time, it was Tommy and Paul who laughed.
“Daddy, did you know Tommy is on Aunt Penny’s wall?” Amber asked, her hand on Tommy’s nose.
“You know, you just might be right. He does look familiar.”
“That’s because he’s in movies, Dad,” Darla rolled her eyes. The two women heard the men chuckling before they introduced themselves to one another. When it came time to shake hands, Tommy chuckled again, realizing he had none to spare. Amy took that as her cue to descend the stairs.
“What on earth are you girls doing?” Amy questioned, hands on her hips. “Come on, get down—Tommy is not your own personal jungle gym!” The girls burst into a fit of giggles as they squirmed, trying to get away from the arms of their parents.
Penny hesitated a moment, trying to calm her nerves with a few deep breaths. Why was she suddenly so nervous? It wasn’t as if it was a real date.
But how come it suddenly felt real?
It was just Tommy, she
tried to tell herself. But that thought only caused her heart to hammer just a little bit faster within her chest.
“Just get it over with,” she whispered to herself, finally moving forward.
She could no longer focus on whatever it was the group awaiting her arrival was talking about, it taking far too much concentration to walk down the stairs. It wasn’t until she neared the bottom that she risked a glance upward, finding Tommy’s eyes.
“I think they just fell in love with each other,” Darla whispered to her little sister. Penny laughed again, breaking her gaze with Tommy until she was standing beside him.
Tommy, however, couldn’t seem to take his eyes off her. The conversation they had been having continued, except for Tommy, who had suddenly fallen silent. “Why don’t we give Aunt Penny and Tommy a minute before they leave?” Paul suggested, a knowing look passing between he and his wife.
“That sounds like a good idea—come on girls, what do you say we break into those cookies?”
“Before dinner?”
“Shhh, if you don’t tell, I won’t,” Amy grinned, ushering the two girls into the kitchen while Paul followed behind.
“I overdid it, didn’t I?” Penny felt her cheeks reddening. “It’s Amy’s fault, really—”
“Penny,” Tommy’s eyes swept over her once more. “You look…”
“Silly?”
“I was leaning more toward incredible.” Penny’s heart fluttered yet again and she averted her eyes, staring at the floor. “You about ready to go?” He asked after a long moment and she nodded. “I’m warning you—be prepared for a lot of cameras,”
“Wait!” Amber called, standing in the archway between the kitchen and the living room. “Don’t forget to say good night.”
“Oh, how could I forget that?” Penny hurried across the room, setting her clutch bag on the floor as she pulled her pseudo niece in for a hug. “Good night, little Amber.”
By this time, Darla had hurried over and Penny gave her a hug as well. “Good night, my darling,”
“Good night Aunt Penny,” Amber kissed her on one cheek while Darla kissed her on the other. “Good night Tommy!” They called over Penny’s shoulders and Penny laughed, rising to her feet. Tommy held his hand out to her, his blue eyes shining brightly.
“Take a deep breath,” he warned her, pulling the door open. Her breath caught in her throat, her smile faltering for just a moment. Tommy stepped outside, pulling her with him. The photographers surrounded them almost instantly and Penny tightened her grip on Tommy’s hand. When she looked backward, she saw the two young girls watching from the window.
Instead of the normal motorcycle waiting in the driveway, she found a black luxury sedan—a uniformed chauffeur waiting with the back door open. Tommy let her climb in first, following quickly after. She could still hear them calling to she and Tommy—could still see the flashes of their cameras through the heavy tint of the windows. “Graham insisted on a driver,” Tommy explained.
“It was a good choice. Amy had a hard time deciding what to do with my hair because she wasn’t sure if I’d have to wear a helmet or not. Actually, she told me that if you showed up on that motorcycle, she was going to insist that we take her car.”
“Well, I’m glad somebody thought ahead.” They fell silent, Penny feeling very out of her element as the car drove smoothly along. “I thought we’d start with a movie, then grab some dinner—but we can do whatever you want,”
“No, that sounds good,” she smiled nervously. “Really, Tommy—Amy just got overly excited about me going out on a date. She wanted to make sure I looked nice, so that way I wouldn’t spend the evening wondering if I was hideous or not.”
“You could never look hideous,” Tommy took her hand and touched his lips to it, dazzling her with his smile. “I didn’t just break a rule, did I?”
“I think my rule only applies to kissing each other.” She told him, her eyes twinkling.
“I’ll make sure I remember that,” he told her, something devilish about his smile. Penny only laughed, shaking her head.
The theater was outside of town, in a more populated city area. The local theater in town was much smaller, playing secondhand reels at discount prices. That was the theater she and Tommy had spent a good deal of time in.
This one was much bigger, and much more modern. It had only been built a few years before. Penny hadn’t been to it much, still preferring the intimacy of the old theater.
The driver pulled into the fire lane and parked the car, getting out to open the door. Tommy exited first, holding his hand out for Penny. She knew, right away, that everyone was looking at them. Her cheeks burned as Tommy slipped his arm around her and led her inside, certain to hold the door open for her.
“Well, what would you like to see?” He asked.
“Oh, I don’t care, Tommy. You pick. Something you haven’t seen.” She added the last part knowing that he had probably been to several of the premieres for each of the movies being shown.
“Well, I haven’t seen any of these with you. It’s been awhile since we saw a movie together.”
“I really don’t care,” Penny repeated, shrugging her shoulders. She was just happy to be there, with him.
“Well, if I recall, you were quite the Brad Pitt fan.” She laughed, nodding her head. She had often told him that, if he ever met Brad Pitt whenever he became a movie star, he had better be sure to pass along her number. “So we’ll count that one out then.”
“Hey!”
“I’m not competing with Brad Pitt for the attentions of a pretty lady. No way.” Penny laughed again, looking back up at the choices. “How about the new Tom Hanks? Or maybe that slasher flick? I heard they were both pretty good.”
“The slasher movie is probably more date-worthy material.” She suggested, remembering what they were there for. Graham would probably approve of the choice.
“The slasher movie it is then.” Penny looked around, eyeing the movie posters, distracting herself. Tommy’s arms circled around her waist a moment later, startling her. “You know, Pen, you’re supposed to be trying to improve my image.” She felt his breath on her ear.
“Have I done something wrong?” She felt a panic rise within her. The last thing she wanted to do was make things worse for Tommy.
“Well, you’ve made me look like a total jerk.”
“How?” She was really beginning to worry.
“Well, just look at me. I’m standing here next to you, looking like that, and here I am, looking like this.” She felt him step closer, his body flush with hers. “There isn’t a person in this theater that isn’t looking at you.”
“Oh please, I’m sure it’s you they’re looking at, Mr. Hollywood. You’re on that poster right over there.” Even in his jeans and plain button-down shirt, he looked gorgeous. She was certain it was him they were focusing on.
“Nope,” she felt his cheek graze against hers as he shook his head. “It’s definitely you.” Penny rolled her eyes at him, turning to meet his. She hadn’t expected to find his face still so close to hers and she faltered, forgetting all about whatever it was she had been about to say as her heart pounded anxiously in her chest.
“Next,” the attendant called, startling her out of her trance. Penny looked away, feeling slightly chilled as Tommy dropped his arms and stepped forward. It took her a moment to join him.
“How many seats are left for that showing?” Tommy asked. The younger boy seemed confused for a moment, but checked something on the computer. “We’ve only sold a few tickets so far.”
“Then I’d like to buy the rest.” The boy’s eyes widened dramatically and Tommy grinned. “You see those people out there?” Tommy nodded toward the photographers, who were just beginning to show up. The boy nodded. “Under no circumstances are they to be allowed in to the theater.” The boy nodded again.
“You’re sure you want to buy all the tickets?” he asked, his voice shaky.
“Positive,” Tommy ha
nded over a credit card and the boy nervously swiped it. Penny thought the printer might start emitting sparks, it began working so hard. It only took a few minutes for the tickets to finish printing and Tommy handed them over to the usher, who had the same reaction as the boy who had sold the tickets to them.
She couldn’t blame either one of them. She was in shock as well.
“Show off,” she muttered as they made their way to the concessions booth. “What’s next, are you going to buy all of the popcorn, just because you can?” Tommy nudged her with his shoulder, laughing.
“Hey, can I help it that I like my privacy during my movie-watching experience?” Penny rolled her eyes at him. “You’ll be thanking me when you get to watch your movie in peace, that’s all I’m saying.”
It made sense, of course. Penny just wished it didn’t have to be so dramatic. She thought buying just one full price ticket was expensive. She tried totaling up how much the entire theater must’ve cost and gave up, the number much too high for her to even want to know.
They ordered popcorn and a large lemonade—and two cocktails from the bar they passed on the way to the theater. “Well, I think the seating choices are pretty limited myself.” Penny said sarcastically as they entered the theater. There were only three other couples scattered about the room.
“Oh, just be quiet and pick a seat somewhere.” She smiled brightly after making a face at him.
In a way, it was just like old times.
After the movie was over, Penny attached herself to Tommy, once more braving the wave of paparazzi. She hurried into the car, Tommy right behind her. “So this is what you deal with every single day?” she asked.
“That? That’s only about half of what I normally have. L.A. and New York are the worst. Everyone’s always looking for a way to make a profit. These are probably just the ones who actually work for the rags.” Penny stared out the window as the driver pulled away, flashes going.
“No wonder you’re always angry with them.”
“I’m not always angry. It’s just that the times that I am are the times that get published.” Penny nodded, understanding. That seemed about right. Bad press sold a lot quicker than good press did.
Playing at Forever Page 9
