It was stupid, right?Her rules? Her ideas about not getting with someone immediately after breaking up with Danny. Brett was nothing like him. Sure, she'd only known him for a week, but what did that have to do with anything?
Who cared if these were the exact same rationalizations she'd used every single time she'd gotten into a toxic relationship? Because right now, Brett's hair hung in dishevelled waves around his face, and he was watching her with those eyes that looked more like smouldering coals than deep blue wells.
All the frustration from that afternoon melted away as Penny dropped her hands, and her fingertips brushed over his.
Brett’s fingers twitched. “Penny—”
The doorbell rang before he could whisper more than her name, and Penny jumped like a cat who just had its tail stepped on. She scrambled to the side and sat in her old position on the couch with her back ramrod straight like she was in third grade with Mr. Hall.
The doorbell rang again, and Penny jumped up. “I'll get it.” She ran to the door and flung it open. “Oh. Hi.” Penny stepped back to let Tyler, Emma, Kelty, and Sean enter the room. Kelty gave her a quizzical look, and Penny smoothed her shirt.
She knew exactly what she looked like right now. Flushed. Hair a mess. Brett sitting on the couch, casually holding a pillow on his lap.He had a pillow on his lap.That only made her cheeks burn deeper.
“It's a good thing you guys were here. Otherwise, we would have known you were ditching us for a better option.” Tyler glanced over at Brett, then down at the pillow he was holding. His eyes narrowed. “Did you have a better option, Brett?”
Brett cleared his throat and leaned over to pick up Penny's controller off the floor. “Nope. Just a quiet night at home, buddy.”
“Uh-huh. Were you playing video games?” Tyler asked.
Penny took a step toward the couch. “I was. Well, we both were. We were playing video games together.”
“Is that what they’re calling it these days?” Sean murmured, and Kelty pursed her lips to keep from laughing.
“It was my idea. I saw the console and thought it would be fun.” Penny stumbled over her words, and Sean raised an eyebrow.
Tyler slipped off his shoes and walked in to look at the screen. “I didn't know that thing still worked.”
“That’s what she said.” Brett smirked, and Tyler laughed out loud.
“What is this, Halo?”
“My choice,” Penny admitted. “I have three brothers.”
Kelty flashed her a knowing look. They’d had this conversation before. She knew what that number meant. All her talk of Lucas during the game settled in her like a stone in a bucket of water.
“And here I thought I was the only one whose brother forced them to play first-person shooter games.” Emma folded her arms in front of her.
Sean scoffed. “I never forced you.”
Emma rolled her eyes. “I like you already, Penny.”
Penny grinned and ran a hand through her hair. “It's just been a really long week. It was so nice of you guys to invite me out, but I didn’t have it in me.”
“What's your excuse?” Sean pointed at Brett, who gestured to his knee.
“Oh, I don’t know. Attempting not to hate every aspect of my life while I try to heal before next season so you’re not down a player.”
“Which is exactly why we invited you out,” Sean grumbled.
Brett’s jaw worked. “I didn’t—”
“Brett brought it up,” Penny cut in. “He wanted to go to the Perch, and I told him I wasn’t up for it. He was nice enough to chill here with me. We did talk about getting ice cream. Do you want to hang out, and I’ll grab some? We can play cards or something?”Did they even like cards?
“That would be great, and no—” Emma gave Tyler a stern look. “Not strip poker.”
Brett looked at Penny, his face unreadable. She needed to get some air. “Great, I’ll run to the store. Anything else I can pick up? Beer? Something for mixed drinks?” As soon as she said it, she realized for the first time that she’d never seen any alcohol in Brett’s cupboards. She’d sworn off alcohol as soon as Lucas went to rehab the first time, but she didn’t mind if others drank with her there as long as it didn’t get out of hand.
Tyler shook his head. “I don’t drink.”
