Playing at Forever

chapter Five



Tommy looked between Graham and Penny, not exactly sure what he should do.

“Just wait a minute, Graham—what happened, Penny? What’s wrong?” It was pretty obvious that, whatever it was, it had really upset Penny. Her eyes were red, her cheeks tear streaked.

“It doesn’t matter,” she shook her head. “I’ll play whatever role you want me to, just so long as it means I can buy them out.”

“Did Kevin say something?” Tommy was suddenly very angry. Who the hell was this guy, going around threatening Penny?

“No,” Penny shook her head, sniffing quietly. “So what’s the plan, Graham?” she asked, sitting on the bed and wiping at her cheeks. Tommy watched her, her expression very serious. “How do we do this?”

“Penny, I can just—”

“I’m not taking anything from you unless I can do something for you in return.” She held his eyes for a long moment, pleading with him. He could see the pain there, the heartbreak. He could also see the determination.

And so, finally, Tommy gave in.

He sat down on the bed beside her, resting his elbows on his legs as he ran his fingers through his hair. “How do we do this?” he asked, feeling powerless.

“We’ll play it slow.” But as Graham continued on, Tommy couldn’t bring himself to listen. It didn’t matter, really.

This wasn’t supposed to be how this happened.

He was supposed to help Penny, like she had always done for him. He couldn’t remember a time since he’d met her that she hadn’t been there for him when he needed her most. And how had he repaid her? By taking off, by disappearing for ten years. What if she had needed him then?

He had wanted to make it up to her.

“This is going to work, Tom. This is going to be good for you.” Graham was saying. “You’re doing a good thing here, Penelope.”

“So now what?”

“Now, I’ll leave you two to discuss your own arrangements. I’ve got phone calls to make.” Graham rose to his feet and put his sunglasses on. “I think I’m going to like doing business with this girl.”

Neither Penny nor Tommy spoke until they heard Graham’s tires squeal as he pulled out of the parking lot.

“You didn’t have to do this, Pen.”

“Yes, I did.” She stared at the floor. “They’re getting married. She wants to take The Seaside from me, just like she took Kevin.” Tommy watched as the girl beside him wiped at her cheeks. “I need something from you, and you need something from me.”

“I would have given you the money. You know that.”

“I wouldn’t have taken it. The future of your career is unclear, Tommy. I can do this.”

“And what is this, exactly?” Because it didn’t matter to him whatever terms Graham had set up for them. This was his relationship. This was his friend.

Penny inhaled a haggard sounding breath.

“We’ll act like a couple. Pretend we’re in love with each other.”

Pretend. Tommy hated that word.

“And how, exactly, are we supposed to do that?” he questioned. What was allowed? What wasn’t?

“I don’t know,” Penny sighed. He felt the bed move and he looked up to find Penny reaching for the bottle of whiskey that was now on the floor beside the bed. She unscrewed the lid and brought the bottle to her lips, taking a long drink. He could tell from her reaction that she didn’t like the liquor, but that didn’t stop her.

When she finished, she passed the bottle in his direction and he took it, following her lead.

“Graham said we take it slow. A few dates here and there. Nothing out of the ordinary.”

“What about the rest of it?” He couldn’t help it. Even now, all he could think about was kissing her. Ever since last night, it was almost impossible to think about anything else.

“This is just business,” she told him at last. “I’m done mixing business with pleasure. Look where that got me last time.”

“No mixing business with pleasure. Got it.”

“And absolutely no kissing.” She told him, looking up to find his eyes.

“No kissing. Got it.” Tommy lifted the bottle to his lips once more, taking another long drink.

He passed it to the girl beside him, and she followed his lead this time.

Suddenly, he wasn’t looking forward to whatever the future had to offer him nearly as much as he had been only a few short hours ago.

Because, only a few short hours ago, Tommy had almost believed that, maybe, he could romance Penelope Lang for real. He knew it was a bad idea, and he’d told himself that repeatedly.

He would only mess it up, like he always did—and instead of just losing a girlfriend, he would lose the one girl he’d ever really cared about.

But he couldn’t shake the desire, no matter how hard he tried.

At least until just now, in this moment.

Now, he could see it all too clearly.



When Penny woke in the morning, her head was pounding. She sat up, looking around the room only to find Tommy sleeping in the armchair, his feet propped up on the foot of the bed. “I feel like death,” she groaned, moving very slowly as she crawled out of the bed. The bathroom seemed like a mile away, but she made it eventually.

She looked almost as badly as she felt, she thought as she glanced into the mirror.

“Remind me to never, ever drink whiskey. Ever.” She told Tommy as she opened the door. On her way back to the bed, she picked up her purse and ran a brush through her tangled hair, dabbing on a bit of lip gloss. She had already done her best to remove the raccoon eyes sleeping in her mascara had given her.

“At least you were able to sleep in a bed.” Tommy stood up to stretch. “I feel like I slept in a suitcase.”

“I told you that you could share the bed.”

“Oh, I definitely made the right choice.” He disappeared into the bathroom and emerged several moments later.

“I need to take a shower.” She felt very gross. “Want to give me a ride to Amy’s?”

“You sure you really want to be on the back of a motorcycle right now?” Penny’s stomach churned.

“On second thought, maybe I’ll walk.”

“I’ll go with you,” Tommy was already sitting down to put his shoes on. “Just take a couple aspirin, drink something with sugar in it, and eat something light. I know it doesn’t sound appealing now, but you’ll feel better once you take a shower.”

He was absolutely right on point. Her stomach was turning at the mere thought of eating anything at all.

When he finished with his shoes, Penny pulled the door open, ready to walk out into the cool morning air.

But as she faced what appeared to be a mob of photographers, Penny froze.

Tommy was there in an instant, pulling her back inside and shutting the door. He swore angrily, looking around the room as if searching for something to break.

“What was that?” Penny asked dumbly.

“That was probably Graham’s doing.” Tommy raked his fingers through his hair. “Okay, change of plans—I’m going to have to give you a ride. You’re going to have to hold on to your stomach, Pen. When I open the door, you just stay close to me.” Penny nodded, suddenly feeling very helpless.

He held her eyes for a moment before pulling the door open. Penny attached herself to him, ducking her head into his chest as they yelled questions at him. He said nothing as he climbed onto the bike, Penny jumping on quickly behind him.

They didn’t even bother putting helmets on as Tommy took off, flying out of the parking lot faster than the paparazzi could follow.

Penny held tightly, pressing her face into his back as she closed her eyes.

“You okay?” he questioned as they came to a stop in Amy’s driveway. Penny only nodded, taking Tommy’s arm as she climbed off the bike. “I’m sorry, Pen.”

“Hey, this is what I signed up for, isn’t it?” she shrugged her shoulders. “It’s just going to get worse, isn’t it?” Tommy nodded solemnly. “I’ll learn, then.”

“Want me to come to the restaurant tonight for dinner?” Penny nodded.

“I owe you from last night.”

“Believe me, Penny Lane. You don’t owe me anything.”

“After all this, we’ll call it even.” Penny told him, backing away. He started up the motorcycle and she watched as he took off down the street, the definition of a rebel—even after all these years.

Amy was sitting at the bar, a cup of coffee in front of her.

“Is someone doing the walk of shame?” She questioned as Penny tried to sneak upstairs unnoticed. “I didn’t hear you come in last night.”

“I didn’t,” Penny said, biting her lip. Amy looked up, her eyes widening ever-so-slightly as she took in Penny’s appearance.

“Wow, Pen. You look…”

“Hung-over?” Penny took a seat on one of the stools and Amy nodded, hurrying to the refrigerator and returning with a glass of orange juice. The smell revolted Penny, but she knew she needed to drink it. “I crashed at Tommy’s motel last night.”

“I figured that much.”

“Neither one of us was in any condition to even walk home.”

“That bad?” Penny sighed, resting her head on the counter top.

“Kevin proposed to Gina, Amy. He proposed to her, and we’re not even divorced yet.”

“Are you kidding me?” Amy slammed her coffee cup onto the counter and Penny flinched. “Oh, sorry,” Amy reached out to rub her friend’s back.

“I wish I was. Gina felt the need to share the news last night. She also decided to threaten to take my own restaurant from me.”

“That sneaky little—” Amy broke off, biting her lip. “Are you okay?”

“Well, it was a little bit of a shock at first. But it doesn’t hurt as badly as I thought it would. Kevin and Gina, I mean. The Seaside, on the other hand…” Penny thought back to last night. How desperately she wanted to save her restaurant. How much she was willing to do in order to do just that.

Should she tell Amy?

No, she realized. No, the less people knew, the better. For both her sake and for Tommy’s.

“And how did things go with Tommy?” Penny shrugged her shoulders.

“I just wanted to make it go away.” Which was exactly what she had done. She had erased the problem by taking Tommy up on his solution. And then, she had erased the problems that arose because of that solution by drinking whiskey. Lots and lots of whiskey.

“And did you…?”

“Nothing happened,” she told her friend. It was the truth. They had spent the rest of the evening talking about the plan. They would go out on a few dates, maybe spend some time in L.A. They could hold hands and hug—things they normally did even just as friends, but that was where the line was drawn.

She thought about the one rule she had given him.

No kissing.

She was afraid she wouldn’t be able to maintain the façade. Kissing Tommy the first time had been a lapse of judgment. Kissing him the second time—that had been a mistake. Penny wasn’t willing to let it happen again.

They were friends. This was something she had to continually remind herself.

And kissing him…well, that made her want to forget all about being friends.

Penny didn’t need romance right now. She’d had that, and it hadn’t given her anything worthwhile.

No, what she needed was business. And that was exactly what her arrangement with Tommy was. Business.

“You sure?” Amy questioned and Penny pulled herself away from her thoughts.

“Positive. Of course, the tabloids will probably claim something different. They must have found out he was here—and of course, they just had to be waiting out there the one morning I want to just…disappear.”

“You were photographed?” Penny nodded grimly, taking another drink of her juice. “By paparazzi?” Penny nodded again. “Oh wow, Pen—that’s so—you’re, like, famous now!” Penny laughed then, shaking her head.

“No, I’m pretty sure the word is infamous.” She sighed. “I have to take a shower. I should be at The Seaside already.”

“Let those two handle it. You don’t need to be there, dealing with them.”

“No, but I should be. It’s my restaurant.” She shrugged her shoulders, finishing off the orange juice. “I’ll see you tonight, Amy.”

Penny was, once again, facing her day with dread.



Tommy was livid. He had known the paparazzi were going to track him down eventually—that was a given. But he thought it awfully funny that they had shown up just hours after Graham had left. Didn’t he understand that, sometimes, a person just needed a few days outside of the spotlight?

He hadn’t returned to the motel right away, instead opting to spend a good portion of the day out on his bike. He drove along the coast, taking in the fresh air, pushing all of his thoughts out of his head.

By the time he’d returned, it was already getting dark. He pulled up to the motel, the swarm of photographers milling around. It didn’t take long for them to jump up and circle him, but he pushed forward, saying nothing. Even on the other side of the door, he could hear them out there, begging him for answers.

Who was she? Where did she go? What brought him here? Was he planning on staying? It wouldn’t be long before they had the answers to most of those questions, not in a small town like this. People were probably already talking about Tommy’s return and what his relationship might be with Penny. He’d seen it at The Seaside yesterday morning.

Everyone would be clambering for their moment to shine. Pretty soon, he would be able to read all about the supposed romance he and Penny had shared in high school.

He’d heard that rumor often, though there had never been any truth to it. He had purposely chased girls very different from his best friend, just so that nobody would get the two confused. It wasn’t that he was ashamed of Penny—no, it was quite the opposite.

He had always known that Penny deserved better. In a way, he was glad that this was how things were going to turn out. Because at least this way, he knew the rules. He knew that, no matter what things may look like, it was just another acting gig.

Just like old times. He was the lead, and Penny was his leading lady.

He could do this.

It didn’t take him long to shower and dress for the evening. Tommy knew he should wait until closer to closing time for the restaurant, but he grew anxious, sitting and waiting, worrying that the paparazzi had already tracked Penny down.

He didn’t want her to have to face them alone.

Besides, what difference did it make now? He was supposed to be seen, seeing her.

Within moments, he was braving the pack of photographers, quickly hopping on his bike and speeding away from them.

The restaurant was still pretty busy, it being a Saturday night. The entire atmosphere of the place had changed as a live band played. He took a deep breath before walking in, catching her eyes immediately. He liked the way she smiled at him, not just with her lips, but with her entire body—as if every fiber within her was happy to see him.

“G-good evening, Mr. Davis,” the young girl stuttered in front of him. He glanced at her name tag quickly.

“Hello Kristen,” he smiled his most dazzling smile at her. “I’m here to have dinner with Miss Lang. Do you think you could arrange that?”

“Um, well, you mean Penny?” Tommy nodded. “Well, I…” The young girl looked over her shoulder, finding Penny. Penny laughed, rolling her eyes at Tommy. “Is she expecting you?”

“She is.”

“Well, I can seat you—”

“Do you think we could have a table on the patio?”

“Of course,” she was eager to please. Tommy smiled, nodding.

The doors leading to the patio were open, the music from the band drifting outside. Penny joined him a moment later, sliding into the chair across from him. “You’ve left my poor hostess star struck, Mr. Davis.”

“I’m sorry.” He really wasn’t, though. He found it funny that, coming from Penny, he didn’t even mind his stage name all that much.

“You’re early,”

“I didn’t specify a time.”

“I wasn’t expecting you until later.” She looked around self-consciously.

“A few followed. They’re across the street, trying to get a good shot. Just smile.” He noticed that her smile faltered, though. “You don’t have to do this, Penny.” She looked down for a moment and when she met his eyes, he saw her smile—it wasn’t a genuine one, but it was still beautiful.

“Yes, I do.” He reached across the table and took her hand. “It’s just that—well, I don’t know what to do, really.”

“I think we should just do our best to…not think about it. The more we think about it, the harder it’s going to be.”

“So—what, we just…keep on doing what we’ve been doing?” she asked and Tommy nodded. “Well, I can do that.” Penny seemed to relax just a bit.

“How about some dinner? You haven’t eaten yet, have you?” Penny shook her head. “Well, let’s eat then.”

“I’m at work—”

“Then take a break.” Penny laughed, shaking her head.

“You’re a horrible influence, I hope you know that. I haven’t taken so much as an hour off of work in months—and here you show up and all of a sudden, I’m slacking left and right.”

“I like to think I bring out the best in people.” He grinned. She might think him a bad influence, but Tommy thought she was in need of a vacation—especially considering the circumstances. Working under the same roof as your ex-husband and the woman he left you for…that had to be difficult.

Tommy had realized earlier in the day that this little charade they were putting on could benefit Penny in more ways than one. Kevin had gotten so used to being the man in Penny’s life that he was having a hard time letting go even after the relationship had ended. Tommy intended to do his very best to remind him exactly where his place was—and exactly what he was missing out on.

“So, what should we order tonight?”

“We have some excellent sea bass.” She told him, and he could tell that she was very proud of this fact. Even in the face of all that had happened here, Penny still loved the restaurant. He gave her credit for it.

He wasn’t sure he could say the same for himself. After all he’d been through in Hollywood, he didn’t know if he cared to even continue his career.

“Excellent—we’ll have two of those.” He spoke. He watched as she rose and hurried into the dining room, speaking with one of the waitresses. On her way back out, Penny stopped—Kevin approaching her. Her body language changed dramatically the moment he neared her and Tommy straightened, already bringing himself to his feet.

They were arguing in hushed tones as Tommy approached. “Excuse me, is there a problem here?”

“This doesn’t concern you.” Kevin could hardly even look Tommy in the eye.

“I can take care of this, Tommy,” Penny told him, but he could see tears in her eyes.

“It looks like he’s bothering you.”

“I said that this doesn’t concern you.” Kevin said through clenched teeth.

“You know, I’m pretty sure I was talking to Penny.” Tommy took her hand and touched her chin lightly so that he could see her eyes. He brushed his thumb over her cheek to wipe away her tears, his anger mounting. “Look, I know you think that you have some kind of power over Penny because—well, I don’t actually know why. I really don’t care, either.”

“Tommy—”

“But I’m only going to tell you this once. You messed up. You had her, and now you’ve lost her, and that’s something you’re going to have to live with for the rest of your life.” He turned back to Penny, wrapping his arm around her waist. “Come on, Pen. Let’s go sit back down.”

And on the way to the table, Tommy couldn’t help but be proud of himself—for once, he’d managed not to hit someone, even when he really, really wanted to.



It was strange, Penny thought, how dramatically things could change in such a short amount of time. It had already been a week since she and Tommy had made their little debut. She and Amy were sitting in the kitchen, various magazines laid out before them. Her face was on the cover of each one, the pictures ranging from horrible to semi-flattering.

“I can’t believe this,” Amy was still excited about the entire thing. “You’re on the cover, Penny!”

“Yeah, and I look like a raccoon on half of them!” She grabbed at the magazines, stacking them in a pile. The cover of this one featured she and Tommy at the restaurant, Penny laughing while Tommy held her hand.

It had been fairly easy, slipping into her new role. She had taken Tommy’s advice and decided not to even think about it—they were two friends, spending time together. Catching up. The usual.

And it really was the truth.

It was so easy, being Tommy’s friend.

Tonight, however, was going to be different. Graham had instructed that they go out on a real date, Tommy had told her early that morning. Dinner, a movie—maybe even some dancing. He wanted to see romance.

“Hey Amy?” Penny spoke, pushing the magazines away from her.

“Yes, dear?”

“Would you like to go shopping with me?”

“Penelope Lang, going shopping? Whatever could the occasion be?” Penny felt her cheeks redden as she glanced away.

“Tommy and I are…”

“Are you guys having an official date?” Amy covered her mouth with her hands. “Oh my god,”

“Calm down, Amy. It’s just…a movie, maybe some dinner.”

“Just a movie…just dinner…you act like doing these things with a Hollywood celebrity is so normal…”

“Dinner and a movie with Tommy is normal.” Penny shook her head. “We used to do this all the time when we were kids.”

“But you never wanted to go shopping beforehand.”

“I was never being followed by a horde of photographers.” Amy rolled her eyes, waving her hand in the air as if to wave Penny’s reasoning away.

“Let me grab my keys and let Paul know we’re leaving.” Paul, Amy’s husband, was home for the weekend and he had taken the girls out to the park for the afternoon. Penny followed behind Amy, keeping her eye out for any photographers who might have discovered where she lived. She was grateful now that she had decided to list the restaurant as her residence—until she got back on her feet anyway.

Amy drove, without even asking, to one of the more high-end malls in the area. It was a further drive, but Penny decided it was probably a wise decision.

This was why she had brought Amy along. She was so much better at this girl stuff than Penny was. Penny knew what was practical, and she knew what matched. Beyond that, she didn’t give anything much thought.

Then again, she hadn’t really had a reason to.

Now, however…

Penny sighed, staring out the window, thinking back to the magazines. Graham hadn’t been too pleased with the morning-after pictures, but he’d quickly gotten over it, deciding he could spin it positively. Tommy had influenced this quick change of heart by sharing a few choice words with his manager, blaming him for the photographers showing up in the first place.

Then had come the phone calls from her parents, asking her if the rumors were true. “No, Dad—Tommy and I are just catching up. I know that’s not what the picture looked like…we just had a late night, that’s all.”

It had taken nearly an hour long conversation to convince them that she was, first, not on drugs, second, that she and Tommy were both doing well, and third, that she and Tommy were only friends.

She still hadn’t quite figured out how she was going to explain everything to her parents. She didn’t want to lie to them, but she didn’t want to tell them the truth either. So she fed them the same lines she’d been feeding Amy—she and Tommy were just catching up. She wasn’t sure what was going to come of it, if anything.

In a way, it was the truth.

Penny hadn’t a single clue what was waiting for her down the road. This was all so unfamiliar to her. And there were so many questions without answers. How long did they play this game? How far would they take it? Where did they go afterward?

But Tommy didn’t know anything more than Penny. They would play it by ear, he said.

And so she continued on in uncertainty.

“Do you know what you’re looking for?” Amy asked as they entered the large mall. Penny shrugged her shoulders.

“Maybe something fun?” She realized that Tommy hadn’t really seen her in anything outside of the clothes she wore to work—her simple, plain clothes.

“That helps,” Amy said, her tone very serious as she hooked her arm through Penny’s and led her through the mall. They finally found a large department store that Amy expertly navigated, where they eventually found various styles of dresses hanging on several different racks.

“Nothing crazy,” Penny warned as she caught a glimpse of something covered in jewels and feathers.

“Oh, you never let me have any fun,” Amy whined. “Here, take this one.” She pushed a hanger into her hands. “And these two.”

By the time Amy was finished, Penny had six dresses to try on—all different, and all different colors. It wasn’t until the last one that both she and Amy agreed. Penny eyed the short, deep red colored dress doubtfully before slipping into it. But the moment she glanced in the mirror, she changed her mind.

“That’s the one, Pen. We don’t even have to look at anymore.” Amy clapped excitedly. “Now, all we have left to do is pick out some shoes, some makeup, and figure out what to do with your hair.”

Penny groaned inwardly.

Now she remembered why she’d given up on putting so much effort into clothes.

It was incredibly too time consuming.