Chapter 11
Penelope
I woke to the faint scent of clean cotton and subtle cologne. My neck was stiff, but I was so warm, I didn’t want to move—or even open my eyes. It was odd, because I wasn’t lying down, and my arm was draped across—
Oh, no.
My eyes flew open. I’d fallen asleep on Theo.
We were still on his couch with my head tucked against his chest, and my glasses definitely weren’t on my face. I’d stretched one leg over his lap and his hand rested casually on my thigh.
I tried to move, but he held my leg and grunted softly in his sleep. Biting my lower lip, I shifted again, but his other arm tightened around me.
We had a green knit blanket partially covering us. He must have done that. I’d been pouring my heart out to him and fallen asleep. Instead of waking me up, he’d gotten as comfortable as he could—he hadn’t even taken his shoes off—and stayed there.
All night.
I wasn’t quite sure what time it was, but it looked like the sun was up.
He made another low noise in his throat and shifted slightly, pulling me tighter against him. I wondered if he was dreaming. Instinctively, I moved my hand up his torso and rubbed a few slow circles across his broad chest. His body relaxed and his breathing evened.
For a moment, I thought about trying to go back to sleep. But with my body angled the way it was, his thigh pressed between my legs. Once I noticed that, there was no ignoring it. Deep pressure filled my core and the desire to move—to get just a little friction—was so intense I almost did.
This was so bad. My body was on fire. It had been quite a while since my lady parts had been touched, let alone satisfied.
I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to shift my hips away from him.
As soon as I moved, he drew me closer, inadvertently dragging me against him.
I gasped and forced myself not to rock backward again.
Do not dry hump your best friend’s leg, Penelope. Do. Not.
Closing my eyes, I took deep breaths, and the sensation gradually eased. He’d rescued me, brought me to his house, listened to me babble about my now ex-boyfriend, and held me while I slept. He was such a good friend. I didn’t want to think of him in any other way.
It would change everything if I did. Risk our entire friendship. The timing was bad anyway, but aside from that, it was a chance I couldn’t take.
Besides, guys like Theo didn’t want girls like me. Not like that.
He took a deep breath and let go of me, stretching his arms overhead. I pulled away, quickly moving my leg off him and sitting up. Without my glasses, everything was fuzzy, including Theo.
“Hey,” he said. “Morning.”
“I’m so sorry I fell asleep on you.”
He shifted so he was sitting up and moved his head from side to side, stretching his neck. “It’s okay. I didn’t mind.”
Feeling vulnerable, I pulled the blanket into my lap and clutched it beneath my chin. He reached to the other side of the couch and grabbed something, but I couldn’t see well enough to know what he was doing. A second later, he gently put my glasses on my face.
His smile came into focus first.
“Thank you,” I said.
“Coffee?” he asked, and his husky just-woke-up voice was stupidly sexy. “Wait, you don’t drink coffee. I doubt that tea in there is any good. I’ll go get us something.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“It’s all good, Penini.” He stood and stretched again. “Although I should probably change first.”
I sat huddled on the couch while he went to his bedroom and shut the door. It was hard not to lose it again as the cold, hard realization of the mess that was my life washed over me. I had absolutely no idea what I was going to do.
It would have been much better if I’d been able to plan my exit.
Broken up with Sean after I had a place to go and made arrangements to move out.
As it was, I was homeless. The only things I had to my name—for the moment, at least—were a pair of boots, a dress I was never wearing again, a coat, and the contents of my purse.
Theo came out a few minutes later dressed in a plain black hoodie and gray basketball shorts.
“Do you want to come?” He picked up his keys. “Or stay here?”
“I don’t have anything to wear.”
“Oh, that’s right. Sorry, my brain isn’t firing on all cylinders yet. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of everything.”
“Okay.”
He winked at me, sending a flurry of tingles down my spine, and left.
I got up to use the bathroom. There was a hall bath he probably never used, so after grabbing the toothbrush and toothpaste he’d left for me, I went in there.
Biological necessities dealt with, I went back to the living room, but paused before sitting down. I eyed my purse hanging on a hook by the front door like it might contain a bomb. But it was my phone that filled me with a mild sense of dread.
Had Sean reached out?
Was I hoping he had, or hoping he hadn’t?
It was truly over between us. I didn’t want him to try to get me back. But silence from him would feel ominous. And a bunch of angry—possibly drunk—messages weren’t an appealing prospect, either.
I decided knowing was better than not, come what may. Steeling myself for the worst, I fished my phone out of my purse and checked.
Sure enough, I had a string of messages from Sean.
You just made the biggest mistake of your life. I hope you’re happy.
Good luck being miserable and alone. You know you’re going to regret this.
Fuck you, Penelope. What kind of a name is that, anyway?
Don’t show up to my house. You left, your stuff is mine now.
This is your fault. Don’t fucking blame me.
With a sigh, I set my phone on the coffee table in case Theo called while he was out. Sean was not going to make things easy. In fact, I had a feeling he was going to do everything he could to be difficult.
I curled up on the couch. I was swimming in Theo’s hoodie and plaid pajama pants, but I sort of loved it. They were so comfortable, and they smelled like him.
It wasn’t long before I heard his truck outside. I got up to see if he needed any help, and he came in with a drink carrier and a to-go bag.
“Is there anything else?” I asked.
“No, I got it.” He went to the kitchen and set everything on the counter. “The Steaming Mug had breakfast sandwiches. I got four. Don’t judge, I didn’t have dinner last night.”
“Me neither.”
“Good, my instinct was right. Two for you, two for me. And I got you a hot tea. There were too many choices, so I let the barista pick. I hope it’s good.”
I found the cup with my name on it, took off the lid, and pulled out the tea bag. English breakfast. “This is perfect.”
“Why are there so many kinds of tea?” He pulled the breakfast sandwiches out of the bag and set them in a line on the counter.
“I suppose they’re sourced from different plants.”
He grabbed his coffee and took a sip. “Fair enough. These are all the same, so take whichever ones you want.”
“Thank you.”
I helped myself to one of the sandwiches. I was hungry enough I was probably going to eat the other one, too. Theo brought both of his, along with his coffee, to the living room and set everything on the coffee table. I followed and took my place next to him.
“All right, I did some problem-solving while I was out,” he said.
“Solving what problem?”
“Yours.”
“Which one? There’s a list.”
He grinned. “Yeah, no kidding. That douchebag left you in a shitty position. Anyway, first off, my brother and his girlfriend will be here in a little bit.”
“Wait, what?”
“Luke and Melanie. She’s a character, but she’s super cool. I was going to call my sister Annika first, but Luke texted me, so I figured that meant they volunteered.”
“Volunteered for what?”
“She’s bringing you some clothes to tide you over until you get your stuff. I think she’s around your size, or close enough.”
I stared at him with my mouth open. “She is?”
“What, your size or bringing you clothes?”
“The second one.”
“Yep.” He took a big bite of his sandwich.
“That’s nice of her.”
“Yeah, just be prepared. She’ll probably come in hot, ready to burn down his life. But don’t worry, Luke will calm her down.”
“Okay.” I took a sip of tea, still feeling slightly bewildered.
“Second of all, I found you a place to live.”
I spit out the tea—thankfully it hadn’t been a big mouthful—and clamped a hand over my mouth. “What? Where?”
He started to answer, but there was a knock at the door. Not even a second later, it opened, and a woman with dark hair burst in.
“Where is she?” The woman stopped just inside and looked at me with sympathy. “Hi, Penelope. I’m Melanie. Our names almost rhyme. That’s cute.”
Theo’s brother Luke came in behind her, carrying a blue duffel bag, and shut the door. I’d seen them both at games but never met either of them.
“Hi?” I said, still feeling a bit bewildered.
Melanie came over and sat on the edge of the armchair next to the couch. “I know this is weird because we don’t really know each other, but if you want me to, I’ll burn down his house.”
My eyes widened. She sounded completely serious.
Luke chuckled. “Slow down, Mercenary Mel. She needs clothes, not arson.”
“I’m just saying. I know what he did to you last night. Did he really propose, and you turned him down?”
I nodded.
She moaned, like she’d just taken a bite of something delicious. “I have such a girl crush on you right now. Good for you. Screw that guy.”
Luke lifted the duffel bag. “Where do you want this? Your bedroom, or…”
“Spare room,” Theo said quickly.
“Oh-kay,” Luke said, and took the bag down the hall.
“I wasn’t sure what you’d need, or what you like, but I packed some basics. And I happened to have an unopened three-pack of underwear, so I put that in, too. Theo didn’t think to ask for panties, but a girl needs to keep things fresh down there.”
“Wow. Thank you so much. I don’t know what to say.”
“Say you’ll pay it forward by telling some unfortunate girl your story when the opportunity arises, so she dumps the jerk she shouldn’t marry before it’s too late.”
I nodded decisively. “Okay. I will.”
“Good. Do you need anything else? Chocolate? Pickles? Chocolate-covered pickles?”
“No, Theo brought breakfast. I don’t think I’ve ever had chocolate-covered pickles. Are they good?”
“Oh, honey. They’re to die for.”
Luke came back in. “Anything else we can do? Do you need help getting your stuff?”
“My stuff,” I said with a groan. “I didn’t have a chance to plan this very well. Or, at all.”
“Don’t worry.” Theo’s voice was so calm and reassuring. “We’ll get it all figured out. Doesn’t have to be today. You’ve got clothes, and you can ride with me to work.”
“Oh, and I brought you some cute blouses and slacks, in case you need work clothes.” Melanie clapped a hand over her forehead. “I forgot shoes. Do you need shoes? What size are you?”
“That’s okay, I have a pair of boots with me that go with just about everything.”
“Is the guy going to be a problem?” Luke asked.
“Not sure,” Theo said.
“Based on the string of angry texts he sent me last night, I don’t think he’s going to be very cooperative,” I said.
Theo growled and met Luke’s eyes. They nodded to each other.
“You can always call the Squirrel Protection Squad if you need help,” Melanie said. “They’re not just for squirrels.”
“She won’t need to,” Theo said. “We’ll take care of it.”
Luke nodded.
“Is this your phone?” Melanie picked it up and held it toward me. “Can you unlock it for me?”
“Um…sure.” I took it and unlocked it, then handed it back to her.
“I’m putting my number in your contacts.” She swiped, tapped, and typed. “There. Now you can get in touch if you need anything. And I’m texting myself, so I’ll have yours, too.”
I smiled, feeling a little giddy. “Thanks. I, um… I don’t have a lot of friends. Pretty much just Theo, actually.”
She put my phone on the coffee table. “Now you have one more.”
Theo winked at me again and my stomach fluttered.
“You two get back to your breakfast,” Luke said. “Let me know when we’re dealing with the rest.”
“Will do,” Theo said. “Thanks, man.”
Melanie got up, and after saying goodbye, they left.
“Thank you for that.” I hadn’t eaten any of my sandwich yet, so I picked it up and took a bite.
“No problem.”
I swallowed. “What else were you going to say before they got here? That you found me a place to live? Where?”
A slow grin crossed his face. “Here.”
I blinked at him, wondering if I’d heard him correctly. “What?”
“You should move in here. I have plenty of space.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yeah. What do you say? Wanna be roomies?”
I giggled and accidentally snorted a little. “Yes, I would love to be roomies.”
He held out his fist and I bumped it. He was right, he had solved my biggest problems. Just like that, I had clothes to wear and a place to live.
Roommates with my best friend? It was perfect.