Playing at Forever

chapter Nine



“Just close your eyes, Penny.” Tommy repeated for what seemed like the millionth time. Penny was having a hard time following his orders, her curiosity getting the best of her. They hadn’t been back in Ravenside for more than a couple days and already he had a surprise for her.

It was more frustrating than anything.

“You better not have done anything crazy.” She warned him, trying to peek. He reached over to hold his hand over her eyes.

“You’ll find out in just a couple more minutes.” For an impatient girl like herself, a couple more minutes was just about impossible.

Finally, the car came to a stop. She heard the door open and felt Tommy take her hand, guiding her toward him. “Okay, you can open them.”

It took a moment for her eyes to adjust, but when they did, she looked around, slightly confused. They were standing in front of a very large house, surrounded by trees with a yard full of leaves. “What is this?”

He dangled something out in front of her. “You didn’t.”

“Oh, I did,” Tommy’s grin stretched from ear to ear.

“You did not buy this house.”

“I did.” Penny’s eyes grew wide as she looked around once more. A wrought-iron gate separated the yard from the street—and from the looks of it, it enclosed nearly the entire yard. “Want to take a look around?”

“I don’t know, do I?” She was in shock. She couldn’t imagine being able to just up and buy a house—much less a house like this one.

“I thought you might like having a place of your own,” Penny looked at him, hoping that he hadn’t done this just for her. He’d done far more than enough as it was—she couldn’t stand it if he’d bought a house just so that she’d have a place to stay. “And I wanted to have a place to stay, too. I’m sick of living in a box. I need a little more space than that.”

“Well, I think this place will give you two or three times the space as the entire motel.”

“Hey, I like to have lots of space. You never know who could be showing up.”

“Are you planning on opening up a bed and breakfast?” Tommy nudged her with his elbow.

“You just wait until you see the inside. You’re going to love it, and you’re going to regret all these little comments.”

Well, he had a point, she thought the moment she stepped inside. It was beautiful, much as she had expected it to be. The kitchen was enormous, vaulted ceilings everywhere she looked. She assumed it had come furnished as everything looked like it belonged there—it all had a very old, cottage appeal to it.

Tommy led her up the stairs, showing her two bedrooms before taking her to the Master suite.

That was where she just about lost it. The bathroom alone was bigger than the bedroom she had at Amy’s, the bedroom just as grand. “Well, I don’t see a theater room anywhere.” She said finally, having kept quiet throughout the entire tour. Tommy’s laughter was music to her ears and she smiled, turning to face him. “You’re insane, you know that, right?”

“Real estate is a good investment.”

“This is too much, Tommy.”

“Nah—it’s just right.” He rested his arm across her shoulders. “I thought you could have the Master.” She couldn’t hide her giddiness as she looked over her shoulder, taking it all in once more.

“You’re insane.” She repeated, smiling excitedly.

“No—I mean, look at it this way. Amy and the girls don’t need a bunch of photographers taking their picture when they go to school in the morning. I’m tired of sleeping in a motel. And if people are going to believe that things are getting serious between us, I think we’re going to have to start spending the night in the same residence.”

He was right, of course. Amy had already had a run in with some photographers going through her trash—looking for evidence of the pregnancy, they had told her. It would be nice to give them their privacy back.

And she could handle living in the same house as Tommy, couldn’t she?

Well, one as spacious as this, anyway.

Space was a good idea, she’d come to think lately. Despite the angry protest that coursed through her veins every time she was near Tommy, Penny had done well so far.

That didn’t mean it had been easy.

It was hard to think of anything other than how badly her body seemed to crave his touch sometimes.

“And you can even have the girls over—did you see the bunk beds in the bedroom down the hall?” Penny brought her attention back to the present, nodding her head in agreement.

“No, you’re definitely right. This is great, Tommy. I should never have doubted you.” She added the last bit on with a touch of sarcasm and he looked at her skeptically.

“Was that sarcasm I detected?”

“Nope,” but she nodded instead, a smile on her face.

“You’d better watch yourself—I know my way around this place a lot better than you do. And the nearest neighbors are quite a ways away.”

“Well, in that case…” Penny grinned. “You’re so wise and all-knowing, Mr. Davis, I just didn’t know it was possible. Maybe, if I look good enough in my tiniest bikini, you’ll give me a part in your next movie.”

“I don’t know, I think I see a bit of a baby bump starting to show—” Before Tommy could stop her, Penny grabbed a pillow from the bed and hit him with it. He stared at her for a moment, stunned—and she took the opportunity to run passed him, toward the door.

Of course, he was much too quick for her though and he easily caught her around the waist. “Big mistake, little lady. Big mistake.”

She squealed as he tossed her onto the bed, his fingers dancing along the curves of her waist on either side as she squirmed—quickly finding herself breathless from laughter.

At least that’s what she told herself.

Of course it had nothing at all to do with the way her body responded to Tommy’s touch.

Or the way he hesitated, his face only inches from hers.

“Do you concede?” he asked.

“You win,” she wasn’t even sure what he won, and a big part of her was afraid to find out.

Tommy stepped back unexpectedly, averting his eyes.

Well, at least one of them was being responsible today, she scolded herself.

“So—should I…I don’t know, should I move in?”

“I don’t see why not.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I mean, it’s plenty big for the both of us.”

“That’s what I was thinking too.” She smiled awkwardly, looking around the room. A few moments passed before she thought of something to say. “So—were you going to be able to come to the benefit dinner?”

“Oh right—that was this weekend, wasn’t it?” Penny nodded. For as long as they’d had the restaurant, they had always hosted a dinner to benefit saving the arts in schools.

“If you can’t make it, it’s not a problem—Amy and Paul will be there.”

“No, I wouldn’t miss it for anything.” He almost sounded eager. “I mean, look how much I benefited from the arts.”

“Good, I was hoping you’d say that.” The thought of spending the evening with Kevin and Gina was not a pleasant one.

“Have you spoken with Kevin about buying him out yet?” Penny shook her head.

“I’m planning on telling him within the next few days.” She dreaded the conversation, knowing he was going to make a big deal out of Tommy’s money. But she knew it was necessary. Gina hadn’t even come to work since Penny had returned.

“Good. The lawyers are already drawing up the paperwork, aren’t they?” She nodded. That part, she had already taken care of—mostly because Tommy had insisted.

“Don’t forget, it’s a black-tie event.” Penny added belatedly, only trying to fill the air so that they didn’t stand there awkwardly.

“Oh, don’t you worry—I’ll be dressed to impress.”

Penny didn’t doubt that for a second.



She wore a simple black dress that just barely grazed the floor—something Diego had picked out for her, no doubt. Her hair was pinned up in some crazy up-do she had created out of boredom, her makeup subtle, exactly how the girls at the salon had showed her.

She felt pretty, which was how she was supposed to feel, according to Amy.

That didn’t mean she felt confident, however.

For some reason, she wasn’t looking forward to the evening at all, though she wasn’t sure why. Well, that wasn’t entirely accurate. It might’ve had a little something to do with the fact that she was going to share her news with Kevin tonight. She knew the timing was inappropriate, but she didn’t want to wait any longer.

With a heavy sigh, Penny turned away from the mirror and left the bathroom. A knock sounded on the door and a moment later, Tommy pushed it open. “Everything decent?”

“Nope, I haven’t even gotten dressed yet.” She didn’t miss the way he turned his head ever-so-slightly, as if to sneak a peek. “I saw that!”

“I think you forget that I am a guy, Penny. Some things are natural for me.” Penny rolled her eyes. She’d heard that speech before.

“Right, it’s natural for a man to want to spread his seed. We women just don’t understand evolution, isn’t that right?”

“Well, I wouldn’t put it like that.” Tommy grinned and Penny rolled her eyes. “I’m kidding, of course.”

“Sure you are.” She meant to for her tone to be playful, but instead it came out sounding much more abrasive.

“Hey, we don’t have to go to this thing if you don’t want to.”

“No, we can go.” As much as she didn’t want to, she knew she was obligated. She would make it through the night—it couldn’t be that bad, could it?

“Well, the car is waiting, if you’re ready.”

“We’d better go then. I don’t want to be late.”

They had plenty of time, she knew. But she was hoping to talk to Kevin before everything began—quick and painless, just like a band-aid.

Couples were just beginning to arrive as they pulled up and she felt several pairs of eyes turn toward Tommy and herself as they stepped out of the vehicle. She was beginning to tire of always being the center of attention.

Every one of these people read the tabloids. She and Tommy were an item now—was it really that hard to believe?

It could have something to do with the way Tommy looked in his simple tuxedo. She had to admit, it was definitely enough to distract her.

Or they might have been looking toward the flashes of light from all of the cameras that started going the moment they came into view.

It wasn’t fair to blame them, really.

She smiled cheerfully as she greeted people she’d known forever, introducing Tommy just to be polite. He did his best to make conversation with everyone and Penny smiled to herself as she spotted him talking with their old Principal. He and Tommy had once had quite the rapport.

As everyone began milling through the doors, Penny glanced through the crowd, trying to find Kevin—confused when she couldn’t find him. “After you,” Tommy approached her, holding his arm out in front of him. She smiled distractedly as they entered the restaurant.

The band was playing something very slow and quiet; music to pass the time. Soon, people would be asked to take their seats so that dinner could be served. After that, Penny would get up and give a speech about the importance of the arts in schools. Then dessert would be served and the floor would open up for dancing.

It was the same thing every year, and every year, it was an event Penny usually looked forward to.

Amy and Paul were seated at the same table as Tommy and herself and the two men immediately disappeared to the bar. “Have you seen Kevin?” Penny asked her best friend, still unable to find her nearly-ex-husband.

“I haven’t seen him—or Gina, for that matter.” Penny looked around once more, frowning as she once again came up empty handed.

“Well, I guess our talk will have to wait.” She decided. Upon the return of their dates, Penny excused herself so that she could mingle with her guests and check on the status of the kitchen—pleased when she discovered that everything was right on time.

It wasn’t until halfway through dinner that Penny finally spotted Kevin. He was sitting beside Gina, who—instead of wine, had a glass full of water in front of her. Strange, Penny noted, considering how much Gina normally enjoyed wine.

When the other woman rose from her seat, walking toward the bathroom, Penny felt her breath catch in her throat, her eyes watering. “Pen? You okay?” Amy’s voice sounded very far away.

“Excuse me—I just have to…” She didn’t even bother coming up with an excuse as she backed away from the table and made her way to the bathroom. Gina was just coming out of the stall, wiping at her mouth with a paper towel as Penny entered.

“You know how they call it morning sickness?” Gina tossed the paper towel in the trash and stepped to the sink, washing her hands. “They should just call it pregnancy sickness or something. I swear, I can’t keep anything down.”

Penny forced a smile as the younger girl excused herself, but the moment she found herself alone, she had to fight against the tears.

Gina was pregnant?

It was as if they had reopened the wound their initial betrayal had caused. The wound that had, lately, almost seemed to be healing.

So Kevin had been ready to start a family—just not with her.

She closed her eyes as she braced herself against the sink for a moment, her heart aching.

“Pen?” Amy’s voice startled her and she looked up to find her friend standing at the door. “They’re ready for you to give your speech.”

Right, her speech. She was supposed to stand up in front of everyone and deliver a persuasive and passionate appeal to the wealthiest of the town.

“I’ll be right there.” She only took a moment longer to take a few deep breaths before returning to her table. Tommy’s expression was one of concern, but Penny said nothing to anyone, her thoughts distracted.

When the bandleader introduced her, applause sounded around the room. She rose to her feet and crossed the room to take her place on the stage.

“First, I’d like to thank all of you for joining us tonight for our fifth annual benefit dinner. I see many familiar faces and a few new ones—to those of you who are joining us for the first time, welcome. I…”

But as she stared out at the crowd before her, she couldn’t remember what it was she was supposed to say. Her eyes fell back to Kevin and Gina, the room swaying a little bit.

And then Tommy was there, standing beside her, his hand on the small of her back. When she met his eyes, she knew right away what he was doing.

“I wanted to do something a little different this year,” she improvised. “Most of you have had the pleasure of knowing Tommy Davidson from his high school years. But for those of you who know him only as Thomson Davis, I’d like to introduce an old friend—and a product of the arts.”

“How about I start with a round of applause for our beautiful hostess?” Penny blushed, smiling at the floor—not only embarrassed by his compliment, but by her behavior.

His speech was good, she thought, especially for having come up with the entire thing without any thought or preparation. He talked about working on the stage—how those days had been some of the best of his life, providing him with memories to last a lifetime. They had influenced him in many ways, he said, least of which being his chosen career path.

They had helped him understand friendship. They had helped him to realize the value of hard work. But most of all, he said, they had helped him to realize that really anything was possible in life.

The room erupted into applause the moment he finished, Penny included. When her very handsome date turned around, Penny reached up to place a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you,” she whispered into his ear.

“All you owe me is the last dance of the evening.”

“I owe you a lot more than that.” He took her hand as she descended the stairs.

“And with that, Miss Lang, I believe it is tradition for you to open up the floor.” Ernie, the older gentleman who led the band, smiled at Penny.

She’d forgotten about this part.

Traditionally, it had always been she and Kevin who danced the first dance.

“Well, I guess that’s my cue.” Tommy came to her rescue once again. Penny’s smile was sad as he offered her his hand. He pulled her close, the entire room watching. “You’re the belle of the ball, Penny Lane.”

“I’m supposed to be, right? That’s what everyone expects. They want to see the show—to be entertained.”

“You get used to it, after awhile.”

“I don’t know that I want to.” She knew that she was hurting, and her sudden anger was completely misplaced. But she couldn’t help it.

“What’s wrong, Pen?”

“Nothing,” she shook her head, sighing. “I just want to go home. I want to get out of this stupid dress and just…go to bed.”

“I don’t think your dress is stupid.” He touched his lips to the top of her head.

“Can you take me home, Tommy?” She knew it wasn’t right—she was supposed to stay the rest of the night, until the last person left.

“If that’s what you want.”

“I just need to grab something from my office.” The song came to a close and everyone in the room clapped, including Tommy as he stepped back, his eyes full of adoration. She forced a smile, not knowing how much longer she would last.

“I’ll be right back,” she told him after just a moment. Her guests took their turn on the dance floor as Penny hurried back to her office, looking through some papers.

“You look beautiful tonight.” Kevin’s voice startled her and she looked up, her eyes already filling with tears. “I hope he’s told you that.”

“I’m buying you out, Kevin.” Her voice was strained.

“I was hoping you would.” He entered the room, taking a few steps closer to her. “This place was always your dream.”

“You’ll have the papers with the rest of the divorce documents. I’ve already signed everything.”

“So it’ll all be over soon, then, won’t it?” Penny nodded, a few tears rolling down her cheek as she blinked. “I never meant to hurt you, Pen. I hope you know that.”

“I know you didn’t.”

“And I hope you find happiness with him. I think, deep down, he’s always been the one you’ve wanted. I was just a poor substitute.” Penny crossed her arms over her chest, suddenly feeling very exposed.

“We’re leaving for L.A. in a week or so. I’m going to hire on a few people to manage the place. You and Gina can stay on until we get back, if you’d like.”

“I’ll stay on for a bit longer, to make sure the new guys are working out. Gina and I are moving in a few weeks anyway. We thought it’d be a good idea to start fresh somewhere.” Penny nodded. Of course, she couldn’t blame them for wanting to leave town. “I really am sorry, Penny. If I could go back and do it all differently…”

“Well, you can’t.” She shrugged her shoulders. “No use thinking about it.”

“I’ll be seeing you, I guess.” She nodded, finally wiping at the tears.

As soon as he’d left the room, Penny rushed through the kitchen, pushing open the back door and breathing in the cool night air.

“Hey, you still want to go?” Of course he’d know where to find her. She sighed, shaking her head.

“No, we can stay.” Without even asking, she felt the warmth of his jacket suddenly fall around her shoulders.

“Want to talk about it?” She shrugged, the tears still fresh in her eyes.

“I told him.” Tommy nodded. “Gina’s pregnant.”

“Well, congratulations to them.” This time, Penny nodded. “You okay?”

“I just…it feels like I’ve wasted so much time, you know? That was supposed to be me. I was supposed to be happily married and starting a family.”

“You’ll be happy again, Pen.” She thought back to what Kevin had said. What if he was right? What if Tommy really was the one she’d always wanted?

“I’d better get back inside,” her voice was hardly more than a whisper.

She made it through the rest of the evening with a fake smile and forced enthusiasm. The moment the last of her guests stepped through the door, Penny sat in an empty chair, exhausted.

“Excuse me, Miss, but I believe you owe me a dance.” Tommy smiled his most dazzling smile and she felt her heart flutter in her chest. Well, he was quite the charmer, that was for sure.

“But nobody’s even here—”

“Well then, this one is just for us I guess.” A smile formed on her lips before she could help it, her hand slipping into his as he guided her toward the dance floor. She laughed when, just a few moments later, the band struck up a song.

“This one goes out to the young lovers out there.”

And Penny let herself believe for a just a moment that that was exactly what she and Tommy were.



Tommy had gone to New York for a few days, leaving Penny all alone at the house. It was much too big and much too quiet, she realized, for just one person. The first night had been horrible. Every time she heard a noise, she would jump.

“Too many scary movies for you. I’m cutting you off.” She laughed at his text message, tossing her phone aside early the next morning. He was up early, making his rounds with all of the talk shows. Penny, having the day off, lay sprawled along the couch, remote in hand. She stopped when she came to one of the live shows, seeing Tommy’s handsome face smiling at her.

“So, Tom—who is this new mystery girl you’ve been spotted all over with?” She smiled as Tommy chuckled, shaking his head.

“Her name is Penny.”

“And?” the woman probed. “You know I’m not letting you go without at least a few juicy details.”

“And…she makes me happy.” Tommy shrugged his shoulders. “Simple as that.”

“How serious would you say the relationship is?” Tommy chuckled again and Penny couldn’t help but notice how adorable he looked, sitting there with his perfectly maintained five o’clock shadow and deep blue eyes.

“Honestly?” Tommy looked away for a moment, staring down at something on the table between them. He stroked his chin for a moment, as if seriously considering the question. “I can see us settling down together.”

“Is that commitment I hear?” His eyes glimmered with happiness.

“I don’t know, Lucy. It might be.” He laughed again and Penny felt her expression sadden. Of course, he was acting. Graham had probably even written his lines for him. She shut the tv off and sighed, rolling on to her back.

A few minutes later—or so it seemed to Penny—she was startled by the ringing of her phone. “You’re a real charmer, Mr. Davis—”

“He most certainly is.” It was indeed a male voice that greeted her, but not that of Tommy.

“Oh—hey, Dad!” Penny sat up quickly. “Sorry, I thought you were Tommy.”

“You’re not in New York with him?”

“No, I didn’t want to take the time off work. We’re heading to L.A. as soon as he gets back.”

“So, you two are serious then.” Penny sighed. She hated having to lie to her parents.

“No—I mean, I don’t know, Dad.”

“Penny, you know that we love Tommy. You don’t have to lie to us.” This time it was her mother’s voice.

“Hi, Mom,” she rose from the couch and began pacing around the living room.

“We just watched his interview on tv. He’s just such a cutie, isn’t he?” She imagined her parents sitting in their living room, talking all about the days when Tommy had practically lived at their house.

“Why don’t you two come on down for Thanksgiving?” Her father proposed.

“Oh, I don’t know—I don’t know what he has going on. His movie opens that Wednesday, so we might have some promotional thing to do…” She thought quickly, trying to use whatever excuse possible. The last thing she wanted to do was spend Thanksgiving with Tommy and her parents.

“I was just watching one of your old plays the other day, thinking to myself, who would have thought after all these years—”

“Wait, you were watching one of the old plays?” Penny suddenly had a very good idea. Why hadn’t she remembered that her father had recordings of every play she and Tommy had been in throughout high school? “Hey Dad, do you think you could send me a copy of our last one?”

“Romeo and Juliet?”

“Yeah, that’s the one.” She leaned against the kitchen counter, ideas spinning to life.

“Sure, kiddo, I’ll get a copy in the mail today.”

“Thanks,”

“Hey, you let us know if plans change for Thanksgiving, Penelope. It’s been too long since we’ve seen you!” Her mom sounded so sincere. Penny felt her chest fill with guilt.

“Okay, Mom, I will. Listen, I’ve got to go—Amy should be here any minute now.”

“Alright, you give everyone our love!”

“Bye, guys. Love you!” She smiled as she hung up the phone, suddenly very excited. After all Tommy had done to help Penny—maybe, at last, there was some way she could return the favor.

Amy arrived a few minutes later, right on time. “I brought in the mail for you. Figured it was easier for me to get it than for you to.”

Because even just walking down to the mailbox, Penny had to make sure she looked her best. “Thanks,” she took the small stack and flipped through it. “Oh look, what’s the latest rumor about me?”

Penny had subscribed to a few of the gossip magazines only to keep tabs on Tommy when he’d started showing up in them. But now that she was included in the gossip…

Her attention focused on the cover of the magazine. Rebound! It claimed in big, bold letters. Latest Davis girl left by husband for pregnant mistress. The picture was one of the ones the paparazzi had taken when they’d first arrived. Her eyes were red from a bad combination of tears and whiskey, her expression a mixture of sadness and fear.

She sighed loudly, tossing the magazine into the trash. Amy peeked at the headline before shaking her head. “Don’t worry about it, Pen. Nobody takes this trash seriously.”

“Sure,” Penny nodded her head, though she most definitely didn’t agree. Hadn’t it only been a couple of months ago that she and Amy had been staring at the cover of some magazine, talking about Tommy’s life?

“Besides, who cares what they think anyway? You’re the one living this fairytale. Don’t let them get to you.”

If only it were that easy.