Chapter 11 — My Boyfriend #4
We made it to the side porch before I stopped pretending I was in a hurry to reach the car.
The music was muffled out there, bass pulsing through the wall while the summer night pressed warm and wet against my skin. Penny had her clutch in one hand and my fingers locked in the other. The porch light caught the red of her dress and the damp shine on her lips.
She turned on me before I could say anything.
Not upset.
Not embarrassed.
Not even close.
Her eyes were bright, her cheeks flushed, and the look she gave me was so hungry I forgot whatever careful thing I had planned to say.
"Kiss me," she said.
I did.
Hard.
Penny went back against the porch post with a soft gasp, and I followed, one hand braced beside her head, the other gripping her waist. Her mouth opened under mine.
Her tongue met mine with no hesitation, no politeness, nothing but heat and the frantic certainty of a woman who had been touched in front of a room, claimed in front of a room, tested in front of a room, and had walked out wanting more.
Her hand found my chest, then my belt.
I caught her wrist before she could make the parking situation more complicated.
"Penny."
Her breath came fast. "I know."
"Do you?"
"Unfortunately."
I laughed against her mouth, and she bit my lower lip just hard enough to remind me who I was dealing with.
"Watching her look at you," Penny said.
"Noelle?"
"Don't say her name like she matters."
The jealousy in her voice wasn't cold. It wasn't insecure. It was pure heat, sharp and bright and aimed straight at my chest.
"She doesn't," I said.
Penny searched my face.
"She could've walked in naked," I said. "Wouldn't have changed a thing."
"That's a visual I didn't request."
"Fair."
Her laugh broke some of the tension, but only enough to let the next truth in.
"I don't want that," she said. "I don't want other women touching you. Not women outside us."
"Us," I repeated.
Her fingers slid into my hair, and for once Penny didn't look polished. She looked young and gorgeous and wrecked by what she wanted.
"Kiki, Shay, Tatum," she said. "Reese and Eden when it's their time. That's different. That's ours. That's love, trust, family, whatever insane thing we're building in your house with shared shampoo and grocery lists and everyone pretending the guest rooms are still guest rooms."
"They're not."
"No." Her smile flickered. "They're not."
I cupped her face. "No outsider women. No one from a party. No one who thinks this is a game. No one who looks at me like I'm available when you're standing right there."
Her eyes softened, but the heat didn't leave them.
"And no men," I said. "Not Rhett. Not anyone. I don't care what games they play or what they call it. I respect their choices. I'm not judging them. But I'd rather put my fist through a wall than watch another man put his hands on you."
Penny's breath caught.
"Too much?" I asked.
"No." She pulled me closer by my shirt. "Say it again."
"You're mine."
Her whole body shivered.
"And I'm yours," I said. "Outside the girls, outside what we choose together, there's nobody else."
She kissed me again, slower this time, and somehow that was worse. Her mouth went soft. Her tongue slid against mine like she was promising patience she didn't have. My hand moved down to her hip, then lower, fingers finding the curve of her ass through the dress.
Penny arched into me.
"I loved watching you tonight," she whispered.
"I didn't do much."
"You let me say no." Her hand moved over my jaw. "You didn't make a scene. You didn't take it away from me. You just sat there with your hand on my thigh looking like you'd tear the house down if I asked."
"I'd've."
"I know." Her smile went crooked. "That's why I'm this turned on."
My grip tightened on her ass.
"Careful."
"No." She pressed closer until my cock throbbed against the front of my jeans and the heat of her body came through the dress. "I'm done being careful tonight."
"Penny."
"Take me home, Luke."
The words landed low in my body.
"Right now," she said. "Take me home. Take this dress off me. Put your hands everywhere you've been pretending not to. Put your mouth everywhere you whispered about. And then make love to me."
I closed my eyes for half a second because the night tilted.
When I opened them, she was still there. Scarlet dress. Flushed mouth. Green eyes. My girlfriend. Mine in public now. Mine in private soon.
"If we leave now," I said, "we're leaving fast."
"Good."
"I may break traffic laws."
"Use judgment."
"My judgment is currently touching your ass."
"Then use the other hand."
I laughed, grabbed her hand, and got her to the car before Avery could demand another photo or Sienna could diagnose us from across the porch.
We said quick goodbyes. Avery gave Penny one look and grinned like she had already written the caption.
Sienna hugged her and whispered something that made Penny laugh against her shoulder.
Miles lifted two fingers in an easy salute.
Rhett watched from near the kitchen with a drink he had stopped drinking.
Noelle looked once at me, then at Penny's hand in mine, and finally looked away.
Good.
Outside, the night air felt cooler than it was.
Penny slid into the passenger seat, the dress riding high on her thighs as she turned. I saw red fabric, bare skin, the shadowed line where the slit opened, and I had to grip the top of the door for one steadying second.
Penny noticed.
Of course she noticed.
"Still like the dress?" she asked.
"I'm trying not to commit crimes in its honor."
"How noble."
I shut her door, went around to the driver's side, and got in.
Before I started the engine, Penny's hand settled on my thigh.
High enough to make my breath change. Not high enough to make me pull over before leaving the driveway.
Barely.
My phone buzzed in the cupholder.
Kiki: Come home safe. Also bring milk if you pass a gas station.
Shay: If Penny's dress survives the night, I owe Tatum ten dollars.
Tatum: I voted no survival. Be brave, dress.
Penny read them over my shoulder and laughed, bright and breathless.
"Home," she said softly.
I looked at her.
The word sat between us, bigger than the car, bigger than the party behind us, bigger than the road waiting ahead.
"Yeah," I said. "Home."
Then I started the truck, pulled away from the curb, and drove toward my house with Penny's hand on my thigh, her dress half-ruining me in the passenger seat, and the whole long night ahead of us asking one question I already knew the answer to.