The Price of Penny

by T. C. Rybicki

  His hand hovered in front of the wall. I practically tackled him to stop. “Alright, idiot. It was an accident. I heard a noise. I peeked and when I saw you were having a private chat with your mum, I shut the door and went to bed. Happy? You can leave now.”

  “Yes, I’m happy. Be honest with me and that will always ensure my happiness.”

  “I’ll try.”

  “Because you want to see me happy?”

  “Because you’re right, friends shouldn’t lie to each other. I apologize.”

  “Can we?” He shook his head, “Forget it, it’s late. I’ll let you go to sleep. Thanks for coming up with me today and spending time with my family.”

  “I had fun.”

  “I’m glad.” He stood up, but leaned back over to kiss me on the forehead. “Sweet dreams.”

  “Can we what, Chet?”

  “Never mind, when I repeated it in my head, it sounded lame. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Chet approached the door when I blurted out an answer. I was 99% sure what his so-called lame question was. “Yes, I will. I mean, I am already. I think. Remember, we have to go slow, like at a snail’s pace, basically.”

  “Absolutely, I won’t let you down.” The excitement in his voice raised it an octave. I felt similar. I’d denied it all day and even though no one ever said the actual words, I was now 100% sure, I broke my number one rule. Not only was I dating, Chet was my official boyfriend, and he was so freaking cute and amazing, I broke out in actual goosebumps from his latest touch.

  My normal demeanor reflected confidence and certainty, but today I was beyond nervous. The party was a necessary obligation, but the plans afterwards consumed my thoughts. I regretted not preparing Penny this party was predicted to be huge. The fact that news outlets and photographers would attend hadn’t come up in conversation, either. She and I would unintentionally debut as a couple. Speculation would run rampant the next morning on all the celeb gossip sites. I doubt she realized that when she finally agreed to attend the party that a news story would follow.

  I arrived early to pick her up. Penny stressed over what to wear, so I told her to wear the dress from the night I had dinner with her family. That dress rocked my world, but she insisted I’d already seen her wear it. Maggie promised to locate a perfect new dress. I failed to understand the huge deal since the rest of Penny’s wardrobe was on a weekly recycle program. I could almost predict what she’d wear depending on the day of the week. We almost saw each other every single day. My car had a knack for turning on all the right roads that led me to Penny’s most days. We acted like a real couple except for all the best parts I could hardly stand waiting for, but I promised to take it slow when she agreed to be my girlfriend. At least, she didn’t shy away from hand holding or allowing me to hold her close while we watched television or hung out together. Waiting for that first opportunity for a real mouth-to-mouth kiss was far from easy. I’d learned her cues and anytime I thought I might be getting the green light, Penny tensed and turned her head at the last possible second. If she’d give it a try once, I was positive she’d like it and then the next one wouldn’t be so difficult to obtain.

  She answered the door. I was familiar with Penny by now, but tonight she wowed. She wore a short burgundy dress that dipped extremely low in the front. I saw collarbones and sternum. Her bones failed to hold my attention. I focused on all her assets. Her flat ironed hair looked silky smooth. She dangled a bracelet in front of me to break the trance. The charm bracelet was the first official gift I bought her.

  “You’re staring like a crazy man. Come inside before the neighbors see.”

  “Do you blame me? That’s what you wanted, wasn’t it? You want me to appreciate the fact my girlfriend is smoking hot, don’t you? Is this truly how all speech therapists look?”

  “Knock it off, Chet.” She pulled me by the arm through the kitchen door. “You know I only look this way because my sister works close with the fashion industry.”

  I hugged her tight, kissed the side of her silky hair. I loved the wild mane normally, but the tamed, smooth style begged to be touched. “Nonsense, you look like this because you’re beautiful. Fortunately, for both us, I don’t date ugly women either.”

  She shoved me off, “You’re terrible.”

  “Baby, the night is young. I’m worse than you give me credit for.” She shoved off my advances.

  “You’re early.”

  “Yeah, we should talk about the party.” She gritted her teeth, so I reminded her there was nothing to be nervous about, since I wouldn’t leave her side the entire night. My confession followed, “There’s a high probability paparazzi will get pictures of us going in or leaving or both. I wanted to prepare you.”

  “Really? You wanted to prepare me and that’s why you’re telling me this ten minutes before we leave? Why do you do these things to me?”

  “Because I love making you upset. This little green vein pops up on the side of your neck, also you’re super sexy when you’re angry.” She was not amused. I did my best begging puppy face. “Come on, you know I chicken out easily when I think you might bail on me. It’s not a big deal. Sometimes they yell ridiculous things at me or ask invasive questions. You just keep walking, basically pretend like you don’t care. It should be easy for you. You’re really good at that already.”

  “I don’t want to go,” she pouted.

  “What else is new? I knew this the moment I asked you. I swear we won’t stay long, I need to make an appearance, then we’ll go over to my place.” Penny promised to go to my condo, and I looked forward to that event way more than the party.

  Turns out the party was larger and more important than I realized. Damn, Steins assumed all of Hollywood needed to celebrate his birth. He was brilliant and deserving, I didn’t really blame him. The venue appeared packed in every direction, almost chaotic. Penny and I were not noticed together because as soon as we arrived, I was swept away for pictures with other cast members. That was the only excitement initially. All the guests were shuttled in after photos through the double doors. Most went for the free food and drinks right away. Penny anchored herself against a wall by the restroom while she waited. I lead us straight to the back and found a secluded corner table. I introduced Penny to anyone that stopped off to say hello.

  “Hey Chet, who’s your pretty friend?” was the standard question of the night. Penny did her best pushing me away most of the time, but the more people talked to us, the closer she got. She stuck to me like glue, practically. I wasn’t complaining, but the party was busy and loud and I barely got in a word with my girl. I was ready to leave as soon as we arrived, but there was free food and good booze. I also wanted her to appreciate she’d attended a fancy Hollywood party.

  “Want me to grab us some food?”

  She shrugged.

  “Is that yes or no?”

  “You can, I’m sure you have a headache coming on if you don’t eat soon. We can share, I’m not that hungry.”

  She knew me pretty well already. I smiled at her and told her maybe I didn’t want to share. She rolled her eyes at me. I asked one more question, “Drink?”

  “Champagne, if that’s okay.”

  “Of course, it’s a celebration. Sit tight. I’ll be right back.”

  I gathered a few things I knew we both liked and then pointed a server toward our seats. He carried over a couple glasses of champagne since my hands were full. I left Penny a total of five minutes and Xavier swarmed in. He was fashionably late, so this was the first I’d seen of him.

  Penny looked to be backing away from him when I walked up.

  “Chet, brother. You’ve been holding out on me. No wonder you never answer my calls and texts. Penelope is dazzling me with her cute accent. Sexy.”

  I handed her our plate and glared at X. He was pushing it. “Do you mind?” He’d taken my spot next to her.

  “Oh yeah, sure.”

  Xavier stopped the server to order a drink.

  “
So, as I was saying, Penelope, before this guy rudely interrupted us; I’m sure you recognize me, Xavier Fields, Chet’s best friend and co-star. You can call me X, in fact that’s what I prefer.”

  Penny was my favorite person for a reason. She said disbelieving, “Seriously?”

  “Um, that depends, which part didn’t seem serious, doll?”

  “All of it, actually and call me Penny.”

  X kept staring, he looked back at me, then again at Penny. He truly had no idea she was insulting him. I knew by the look on her face, she thought he was a douche. He was but I sorta loved the guy. Like Wayne couldn’t help being weird, Xavier couldn’t help he was a douchebag.

  My arm snaked around her waist. X was distracted when his fireball arrived. I whispered in her ear, “You’re too damn funny.”

  She fired back in a low voice, “I refuse to call a person, X. That’s dumb.” I always thought so too, so I told her to call him his real name. “And why does he say he’s your best friend? You’ve never even mentioned him once to me. I just thought he was in a movie with you.”

  I noticed X trying to listen to our conversation. “Later, we’ll talk about it later, babe.” I kissed her cheek.

  Xavier tried to get Penny’s attention by telling her all about himself. She feigned interest, but I knew she was fading fast. We had plans back at my place and I needed to keep her conscious so I politely steered X in another direction. He informed Penny he was sure they’d be seeing each other around lots since he and I were always together.

  “They honestly let delusional people like that become rich and famous?”

  “Yes, of course, honey. I think that’s the norm. You’ve lived here long enough, half this town is exactly like him. However, he isn’t completely delusional. The truth is, he and I are portrayed in the media as best friends. We’ve worked together on the movies a couple of years now and normally, I do spend a lot of time with him, but recently, my priorities have shifted.”

  “Ugh, he acts like a spotlight is on him wherever he moves around the room. It’s dark over here, I honestly didn’t recognize him at first. I had no idea you two were so close.” We looked across the room where Xavier commanded the attention of at least five women. “That is what I pictured when you intruded on us at the boutique. That’s why I didn’t want anything to do with you.”

  “Yeah, well I think I’ve proven I’m nothing like that.”

  Penny grabbed my face and squeezed. “Nope, you’re just Chet. I like you for you.” She didn’t let go and squeezed my face so tight, I made fish lips at her. Penny released me but ran her thumb over my distorted lips before pulling her hand back. I managed a quick kiss to her skin. We were kinda lost in one of those moments I constantly hoped to create between us. I thought we might be inching closer. Could tonight be our turning point? Then Penny changed her demeanor.

  “Damn, is X coming up again?”

  “No, worse . . . much worse.”

  I turned around to see what she was looking at, more like who. “Oh . . .”

  Penny’s hands disappeared from being anywhere near me and into her lap.

  “There you are. I’ve been looking all over, never expected you to be hiding out in the back, Chet. This is where all the old people sit.” Our visitor eyed Penny a little closer. “Oh, hello. I’m Grace Lansing.”

  “Yeah, I know.” Penny didn’t have instant recognition for Xavier, but she did for Grace and now I regretted not having that awkward conversation with her ahead of time.

  Grace held out her hand for Penny and they shook them up and down in front of my face. I stood up and gave Grace a one arm hug. I needed to spit it out so both of them would know where they stood.

  “So, Grace, this is my girlfriend, Penny Kopernik.”

  “Oh, sweet. How’d you manage keeping that a secret?”

  “We haven’t been around town too much, I guess. We’re not hiding.”

  “Well, Penny. You’re a lucky lady. Chet’s one of the good guys. I need to make the rounds. Have a good evening in case I don’t run into you again. We should grab lunch one day. Stop being such a stranger.” Grace tried to make plans with me several times since we wrapped on the last film, but I’d never made time. I could clearly see Penny’s response to her, so the lunch wasn’t occurring anytime soon. Grace had been a cool friend when I needed her, but Penny needed a better explanation. I’m sure she didn’t understand how things were or had been.

  “I think I’m ready to leave unless you have more hobnobbing to do.”

  “No, I’ve made the rounds. I’m ready if you are.”

  We made our way around the room. I led her to the side door where the valet was. Penny and I went unnoticed on arrival, but no such luck as we left. The camera packing paps parked outside the exit. A million flashes and twice as many questions went off in our faces. I held her close to my side as we walked toward my car. I heard her mention being blinded but other than that, she handled it like a pro. Penny didn’t let them see her sweat. She buckled up as I ran around the car. The obvious questions stood out since they repeated them several times. “Who’s the new girl, Chet? What happened to Grace?” Double damn, they brought that up, even though I doubted Penny had already forgotten.

  I gave them one wave, smiled and then we were off. Finally alone and in route to my place, I felt relaxed and happy after a strangely tense evening.

  It had been almost two months since we met and I should’ve known better. Things weren’t always smooth sailing with Penny, “Please drive me home.”

  “What? You’re coming over. We already planned it.”

  “Plans change. I’m tired. It’s late.”

  “Penny, it’s eight damn thirty. Spit it out. Why are you mad? The paps?”

  “No and I never said I was mad.”

  “You don’t have to say it, I know you.”

  “Then you should know why.”

  “Grace?” She didn’t respond. “You’ve obviously been on an Internet hunt and drawn the wrong conclusions. She’s my co-star and a good friend. That’s it.”

  Penny crossed her arms tightly over her chest and blew out a breath, “Okay, fine then tell me one thing and I’ll drop it.”

  “Sure, anything.”

  “Have you ever had sex with her?”

  Well, my evening just went to shit. I had such high hopes for the rest of the night too.

  “Do you want me to stop the car so we can talk?”

  “Not unless you can’t talk and drive anymore. It’s a yes or no answer. A few weeks ago, I told you your personal life was not my business, but since I am your girlfriend now, I feel like I deserve an honest answer. You said Grace was a friend, but if memory serves me right, you also said sometimes friends do stuff. I think you meant sex and I want to know the full story.”

  “Yes, we’ve hooked up. We were never in a relationship though. You don’t completely understand this business.”

  “So sex with Grace is business?”

  “Good God, no. Can we stop this discussion for a minute? I need to be alert right now to get us home. I get antsy after events worrying that someone might follow me.”

  “You’re going the wrong way. I said to take me home.”

  I wasn’t doing that. She was already mad, so what difference would it make if I made her a little madder?

  Penny pouted and I started to sweat. I should’ve taken my jacket off at the first traffic light. I realize I’d put her in an awkward situation. Every way I tried to spin it only made me sound worse, like a typical playboy. These things weren’t unheard of among people our age, especially with my crowd. In my defense, Penny had no idea what it was like to live life under a microscope. I had to approach women in a unique way. I couldn’t be the typical guy and pick someone up in a bar or try online dating. This was one of our obvious differences, the kind that made Penny get jumpy or anxious to bolt.

  I tried to blow off the extracurricular activities with a friend like it was no big deal. But Penny experience
d her biggest challenge displaying affection. She suffered fears and insecurities about intimacy and I was the complete opposite for several reasons. First off, I was young and often surrounded by gorgeous, eager women in similar circumstances, namely, the public eye. We had a mutual trust being in the same business and could be discreet. Most of all, I assumed my ease with casual flings was a guy thing; we were notorious for being horny. I saw the whole world differently now, and I was trying to view this situation through Penny’s eyes. I had to explain this the right way, delicately. Unfortunately, I was already at a deficit for not coming clean before the party.

  We drove through the gate and parked in the garage. She was quiet which was a bad sign. For someone that didn’t want to come over, she was sure quick to step out of my vehicle. She refused to give me the satisfaction of opening the door for her. Penny left her backpack but I grabbed it. There was a glimmer of hope she was spending the night earlier, but her recent attitude shift snuffed all the light of that situation.

  We made it upstairs and I unlocked the door. I tried to bring some cheer back to our night. “Welcome, Penny. This is my place. I’m sure you’ll be spending lots of time here.”

  She turned around and expressed herself with an angry glare. I wasn’t so sure the previous statement was accurate. “I’m not trying to be that girlfriend, but you have to admit, you push everything under the rug until the last possible second when there’s no choice but to deal with it. I can’t stand that about you.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “I’m well aware women of all ages throw themselves at you and you’ve had partners. That’s not what bothers me, but she’s different. The two of you act like no problem, we hang out and we screw, but just not now. I have a girlfriend, so catch you later, maybe.”

  “It’s not like that.”

  “Then what’s it like, Chet?”

  I didn’t have an answer for her. I told Penny that Grace and I met during casting for the first movie. I didn’t know her, but I’d heard of her. She was gorgeous, more successful than I was and we clicked, but not in a profess my undying love to you way. We hung out and sometimes stuff happened, but we ended that stuff after the second movie. As soon as I made that clear to Penny, she seemed to calm down.