Playing at Forever

by Michelle Brewer

  He reached out, waving her away.

  “What the hell did we do?” She repeated, shaking him again.

  Because there, on his ring finger, was a plain silver-colored band.

  A band identical to the one on her own finger.

  Chapter Eleven

  Tommy woke up to the sound of Penny yelling at him. His head ached, but it wasn’t the worst hangover he’d ever experienced.

  Except for the yelling.

  “What are you talking about?” He asked, opening his eyes and looking around.

  He noticed two things right off the bat. First, he was shirtless. Second, he was not in his bedroom.

  He immediately tried to recover any memory he might have of the night before.

  “Look at your hand, Tommy.” Had he gotten a crazy tattoo or something? That was easy enough to take care of. “No, your left hand.”

  Oh. That.

  He stared at the ring for a very long moment, his mind, for once, utterly and completely blank. “What happened?” She asked him—even though he thought that much was obvious.

  “If we went through with it, there has to be a certificate somewhere.” Penny held a frame in the air.

  Well, that…wasn’t what he’d had planned for last night.

  He struggled with his memory, trying to bring any of it back. They’d left Chaste with the idea of going back to the hotel—but they’d made several stops along the way. He remembered Penny requesting a yard-long daiquiri, and so they’d stopped for that.

  He remembered passing by a wedding chapel.

  He remembered Penny suddenly growing sad. Something about not being married anymore.

  Vaguely, he recalled giving the driver the order to take them to wherever it was they needed to go in order to get a marriage license.

  “I want to make you happy, Pen.”

  “We didn’t…?” Tommy asked suddenly, trying to bring back any fragment he might have retained of their apparent wedding night.

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Oh, good.” He realized how his tone might have sounded to Penny and he looked up quickly. “No—I just mean—that’s something I’d hope at least one of us would find memorable.”

  He felt like a jerk.

  “I need coffee.” Penny announced, leaving the room abruptly. A few minutes later, the scent of very strong coffee was filling the room.

  What now? He asked himself.

  It was the very same question Penny asked when he finally met her in the living area.

  “I don’t know.” He answered, pouring himself a cup of coffee. “I mean, maybe we can make it disappear before anyone finds out.” There was a very slim chance of that happening, though.

  And as if to prove his point, Tommy heard his phone ringing. He dug it out of his pocket, trying to decide whether or not he should take Graham’s call.

  “You and I both know that isn’t going to happen. There’re probably already copies of the license floating around the internet.”

  “Then I don’t know, Penny.” He ran his fingers through his hair, his head pounding even harder now than it had been upon first waking up. His phone rang again and he knew without even looking that it was Graham. “What do you want me to do?”

  “I want you to fix it!” She cried, her eyes pleading with him. “I want you to take it all back.”

  “Right, because I’m an expert at time-travel, aren’t I?” He shook his head. “You’re equally as responsible for this as I am. Hey, you might even be more responsible. As I seem to recall, you were the one who brought it up.”

  “Oh, don’t flatter yourself, Tommy. You are, without a doubt, the last person I would want to spend the rest of my life with.”

  Her words stung. Tommy sat there, a million cruel words ripping through his mind like a tornado. But he said none of them. “I have to get out of here.”

  “That’s probably a good idea.” He told her.

  She disappeared behind her bedroom door, emerging several moments later and leaving without so much as a single word in his direction. Tommy stared down at the empty mug in his hand, the urge to throw it almost too much to deny.

  His phone rang again and, this time, Tommy left it on the countertop, walking toward Penny’s bedroom. The blankets were slightly ruffled up, a few shoes scattered along the floor.

  It wasn’t such a mess.

  Not like his life was, anyway.

  The framed copy of their marriage license sat on the desk and he picked it up, staring down at their names. Penelope Davidson, she had signed it. It didn’t even look all that sloppy.

  How could this have happened?

  Something caught his attention on the floor and he set the frame down, bending over to pick up the DVD case. He stared at the cover, vague images of the chapel crossing his mind.

  He was already walking to the living area and putting the DVD into the player before he was even aware he wanted to watch it. He fast-forwarded until he came to the menu, finding three options waiting for him. ‘Why are we getting married?’, ‘The ceremony.’, and ‘Our promise to each other.’.

  He selected the first option, he and Penny immediately filling the screen. They looked happy, both of them smiling their brightest possible smile.

  “Do you want to go first, or should I?” Penny was asking him. She giggled, nodding her head. “Okay, I’ll go first. I am marrying you, Tommy Davidson, because you are the only boy who has ever made me feel like I’m beautiful. And because it was so hard for you to promise that you wouldn’t leave me again. And because…” He watched as she shifted her gaze to the floor. “Because I missed you.”

  “I missed you too,” he told her, touching his lips to her hand. “So now it’s my turn?” Tommy was afraid of what he might have said. He was afraid to even watch it.

  “I am marrying you, Penny Lane, because you are the only girl I have ever really loved. And because, from the moment I saw you, I knew that I would never find someone better.”

  The video faded out with Tommy staring down at Penny while she grinned happily.

  The ceremony was exactly what he had expected—quick and painless. It ended with a kiss and Tommy announcing that he was officially the happiest he had ever been.

  He groaned now, shaking his head.

  The last section was short and sweet, much like the first.

  “I promise to tell you the truth, from now until forever.” She told him.

  “And I promise to do everything in my power to make you happy.”

  Well, what a bang-up job he’d done so far.

  He turned the power off and ejected the DVD, deciding he would hide it away forever.

  He could never let anyone see it, least of all Penny.

  If it hadn’t already been released, that was.

  He sighed, shoving the DVD in his bag.

  He would lock it away, just like he was going to try to do with his feelings.

  It was for the best for everyone, he thought.

  But first, he wanted a chance to make it up to her. He wanted a chance to enjoy the dream, because he knew that it wouldn’t be long now before it all came crashing down around him.

  It had been several hours since she had left the room and Tommy had gone through a great deal, trying to arrange a special evening for the two of them.

  He was just about to go in search of her—although he would have no idea where to begin—when he heard the door open and close, followed quickly by her bedroom door doing the same.

  After a few minutes, he rose to his feet and crossed the room so that he could press his ear to her door. He heard the shower running and allowed himself to hope that—maybe—she had calmed down by now.

  His hopes were dashed the moment she emerged from the bedroom several minutes later, doing everything she could to avoid him.

  “Penny,” he appealed to her as she opened the small refrigerator. She appeared to be looking for something, but he couldn’t think of what—there was nothing in there except a fe
w remaining bottles of alcohol, and he was certain she wouldn’t be touching those. “Penny, you can’t stay mad at me forever.”

  “No, but I can stay mad at you until you apologize.”

  “What do you want me to apologize for?”

  “You were blaming me for all of this.”

  “You were blaming me.” He sighed, reaching out to take her hand as he gave in. “Look, Pen, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for whatever I may have said or done that hurt you. And I’m sorry that I handled things badly this morning. But this was all a surprise to me, too.”

  “I know it was. And I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have been so angry with you.” She sighed, walking around him to sit down on a chair near the desk. “Have you spoken with Graham?” Tommy shook his head. No, that was a call he was going to put off for as long as he possibly could. “I’ve been avoiding calls all day too.”

  “I saw something about a shot-gun wedding on the news earlier. So it’s safe to assume they all know.”

  “How do we play this out?” He had spent a good deal of time thinking about that very question throughout the day.

  “That depends on you, Pen. We have a few options.” He turned a chair backward so that he could rest his head on the back of it as he sat there.

  “What are they?”

  “We can ride it out. Pretend—” His voice caught in his throat. There was that word again. “We can pretend that we’re actually giving it a try. That this was something, while spur of the moment, that we planned.”

  “Or?”

  “Or we can have it annulled. We can go our separate ways and move on with our lives.”

  “And if we go the first route? How long?” Tommy shrugged.

  “It’s all up to you.” Penny nodded, covering her face with her hands for a moment. “Hey, you don’t have to make a decision right this minute. In fact, I’d prefer it if you didn’t. I have something else on the agenda for this evening.”

  “I don’t know if I’m really—”

  “Please, Pen?” He wanted to share this with her—especially if it might be the last time he was able to enjoy something with her. He wanted to give her this experience.

  “What is it?” She asked finally, and he could tell that she really didn’t want to go through with it.

  “Just dinner. I promise.”

  “Where?”

  “Here, at the hotel.” She bit her lip, trying to make up her mind.

  “I’ll have to get ready.”

  “You can go just like that, if you’d like.” She wore a pair of oversized pajama pants with one of his old t-shirts she must have taken without him knowing. Penny laughed, rolling her eyes.

  “Well, that isn’t going to happen.” Finally, she sighed. “Give me fifteen minutes.” He checked his watch—that would be perfect.

  “Thanks, Pen. I promise it’ll be worth it.”

  It had better be. He at least wanted to get one thing right.

  Penny had no idea where they were going as he led her toward the elevator and, instead of pushing the button that would take them downstairs, he hit the ‘up’ button.

  Had she missed something? She was fairly certain there weren’t any restaurants atop the Bellagio.

  When the doors slid open, they were greeted by a very professional looking woman who smiled warmly at the two.

  “Good evening, Mr. Davis,” she reached out to shake his hand. “It’s a delight to see you. We have everything ready and waiting, just like you asked.”

  “Thank you, Margot,”

  It only took Penny a moment to realize where they were. The warm air filled her lungs as she stepped forward, the view breathtaking. “Tommy,” Penny breathed, stepping away from him and staring out at the scene before her.

  They were atop the Bellagio tower, the lake glittering below them. Across the street, the Eiffel Tower was shining brightly, along with the rest of the lights on the strip. Penny felt her heart skip a few beats.

  Tommy came up behind her, staring out at the same scene Penny was looking at. “Isn’t it beautiful?” She could only nod, her voice lost. Dusk was just settling over the city. “Come on over here—let’s eat before it gets cold. We’ll have time to take it all in.”

  She didn’t even want to think about food, but after having spent the 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 desk to remove her shoes, the glare of the frame catching her attention. She lifted it in her hands, staring down at the license.

  They were officially married today, she noticed.

  Happy wedding day, she thought to herself as she sighed, setting the frame back onto the desk.

  What a day it had been, too.

  She rose and crossed the room, sifting through her suitcase for her pajamas. A blush crept over her body as her fingers grazed a thin, lacy material. She recalled Diego giving her the negligee the night of the premiere, telling her that she would look even more amazing that night.

  Penny rolled her eyes, grabbing a t-shirt instead and making her way into the bathroom.

  But as she reached over to turn the faucet on, she stopped, meeting her own eyes in her reflection.

  And for just the briefest moment, her resolve lapsed.

  Why couldn’t they pretend? Why couldn’t they live the dream, even if just for one night?

  She didn’t want it to end. She wasn’t ready for it.

  Before she knew what she was doing, she was scrambling through her luggage once more until she found the item she was looking for, slipping into the sexy negligee without thinking twice.

  And then she was crossing the hall, opening Tommy’s bedroom door. He sat on his bed, his body angled away from her. But as he heard the door, he turned. His expression clearly displayed his surprise.

  Penny took a few steps toward him, suddenly slightly less confident than she had been only moments ago. “Pen?” He finally questioned, his eyes roaming over her body.