“Nothing much. The usual. Skye being Skye and Jules…” Her brows furrowed.
“Did you fight?”
“Not really. She just said something that… OK, it annoyed me at the moment, but it’s been bouncing in my head since.” Lucia hesitated. “I’m kinda wondering if she’s got a point.”
“About what?”
“Just me and how I am. How I interact with people.”
Now Penelope frowned. “There’s nothing wrong with you or how you interact with people.”
Lucia smiled. “Thank you. And yes, I know that. Doesn’t mean there’s nothing I can work on or improve.”
“I suppose.”
They finished eating, their conversation shifting to safer waters, and Penelope felt lighter the longer they talked. She couldn’t understand how interacting with Lucia always made her feel…good. That word didn’t cover it—she felt light, yes, but it was more like the sun shone in her chest, warming her. Her smile was too big, her laughter a bit too loud, her body at ease, yet still taut with awareness.
“Am I boring you?” Lucia asked, drawing Penelope out of her thoughts.
“No, no. I was just thinking… I really enjoy spending time with you.” Her cheeks heated.
Lucia smiled broadly. “That’s good, because I enjoy spending time with you, too. Even more so in person.” A pause. “Are you all right with this, you know, after your request during our impromptu lunch at work? I kinda invited myself over, and I didn’t mean to cross any boundaries. It just—”
“Yes. I’m fine. And you didn’t push. Besides, I didn’t have to say yes.”Finemight be an exaggeration, but it seemed the only answer that would let her keep Lucia close. And right now, she wanted just that.
“True. So we’re good?”
Penelope sighed and leaned back in her chair. “Yes.” She had no regrets, even though she likely should. Instead, she didn’t want the evening to end, but—
“Wanna watch something? I can clear the table, and you set up something to watch?”
“You’re my guest, and you’ve already brought food. Go sit in the living room while I clean up real quick.”
“It’s no problem.”
She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “I know, and I appreciate the offer.” Penelope shooed Lucia in the direction of her living room. She tore her gaze away from the way Lucia’s ass looked in those jeans and cleared the table. Normalcy was almost a relief, something mundane before stepping onto shifting ground again.
A few minutes later, she joined Lucia with two steaming cups. “You still drink ‘some kind of red’ tea?”
Lucia laughed. “Yes, thank you.”
Fuller strode out of her little doughnut-hideout cave and stretched.
“Oh, you must be Fuller.” Lucia reached out her hand, and Fuller sniffed it before rubbing against her. “Aww. You’re adorable.”
Penelope smiled.
They settled on watching an old movie, but neither seemed to be paying much attention. They sat close to each other, not to start with, but as time passed, they subconsciously drifted closer.
And now Penelope sat there, heart thumping in her chest like a rabbit escaping a predator (not that Lucia was aggressive or anything, but that didn’t make her any less dangerous), and Penelope’s thoughts were all over the place. She felt like a high schooler—sitting next to her crush, wanting to hold her hand but too scared to move, while her mind still questionedeverything.
“Hey,” Lucia breathed, gazing at her.
“Hmm?” was all Penelope managed, lost in the warmth and pressure of Lucia’s thigh pressing against hers.
“We don’t have to watch this.”
“Huh?” Penelope’s hands fidgeted with the hem of her blouse.
