Page 44 of Lovestrung

“Darlin’, you ain’t seen nothing yet.”

Before I unlocked the door, I trailed a finger down her skin, from her shoulder all the way to her wrist. Her pulse jumped, belying her calm demeanor. I smirked at the way she erupted in goose bumps, and a low heat simmered in my blood when she licked her lips.

“Just don’t expect me to be a proper southern gentleman tomorrow night, Penelope.”

Her slow smile was infectious.

“Thank goodness for that.”

Fearing we’d be become lost once more if I didn’t get us out of this room at once, I flicked the lock and opened the door. Not surprisingly, Max was standing on the other side, beanie-clad head hanging low as he leaned his arms on the doorframe above.

“Am I going to have to go all big brother on you two?” he mumbled without meeting my gaze. “I’m way too young to commit murder and go down for it.”

Pen erupted in giggles and pushed him back so he could let us through.

“You’re such a drama queen, Maxie,” she laughed as she passed him.

He frowned at her before his head swung back. I tensed at the hard set to his jaw.

“I don’t want to know what’s going on with you two. Not yet, anyway.” He jerked his chin at me. “But I don’t have to tell you about minding your step, man. Do I?”

I clenched my fist, making a conscious effort to keep my cool.

“No,” I clipped. “You don’t.”

“Good.” The frown cleared from his face. “Now, let’s get some grub. I’m starving.” With that, he gave me a slap on my shoulder and turned away. Penelope raised her eyes, clearly waiting for me, and I came toward her, hands in my pockets. I jiggled my change and stopped when I was right in front of her. Nervous, I licked my lips as I peered down at her through the strands of my hair falling through my eyes.

“Don’t take this the wrong way,” I started, “but I’d rather not have your parents know about our date yet.”

She tilted her head at me. “Any particular reason?”

“I just want to see where we’re going before making a big deal out of it.”

“Oh.” She bit her lip, the happiness fading from her eyes. I hated being the cause of that, but I had my reasons. “All right. I guess that’s fair.”

I nodded once and blew out the breath I just now realized I’d been holding back. “Thanks.”

Silent, we went downstairs. I could feel myself withdrawing further and further away, but I couldn’t relax. It was a habit I knew I had to break somehow, but I wasn’t ready. Not yet. I was unable to stop the swirl of emotions flittering around inside me, always just out of my reach to grasp.

Time. I just needed time.

Time to explore my sunshine. Time to let whatever we had between us bloom.

I only hoped I could make Pen see things my way.

* * *

Dinner was both familiar and new territory for me. I’d visited Frederik many times the past year, mainly because I missed him, but also because he was the closest link to the object of my desires; and while I hadn’t been spending as much time as I would’ve liked with Henry and Vivian, we remained close, and I spoke to my foster mom on the phone at least once a week. Being a part of the Montgomery family again, and adding Parker and his family, even Max, into the mix was the familiar part.

But the new part was sitting next to Penelope and finding it almost impossible to tear my eyes away from her. My hands itched to touch her every time our arms brushed together even in the most innocent of ways. Once or twice, I glanced at the others, worried if they were aware of the heavy sexual tension that hung in the air, but even Max, who knew something definitely was up, didn’t seem to notice.

I glanced at Pen next to me when I felt her bare foot nudging my ankle underneath the table. I shouldn’t be able to feel the electric zing throughout my entire being at her touch, only I did. I felt my jeans tighten, my dick starting to swell, when her foot drew small circles on top of mine, and I suppressed a moan. Her eyes sparkled knowingly at my poor attempt at concealing the way my body responded to her light touch, but thankfully, she didn’t push and her foot slipped away. I took a deep breath, relieved that my hard-on settled down when she stopped.

“So, Eliza,” Henry turned to her from his seat at the head of the table, “our girl told us in her emails that she met you and Hugo in Oxford?”

“We did,” Eliza smiled at him. “We were visiting my grandparents before heading off on our own adventure. I don’t see them as often as I’d like.”

“Oh?” Vivian joined the conversation. “Do you live far away from them?”