"Glad you guys like it," Penn answered behind us. Becca's body stilled and then she unwrapped her arm from mine. When she spun around to face him, I could tell she was trying to mask her elation behind a cool facade, but there was no hiding it. She was thrilled to see him.
"Hi!" she beamed up at him, and I shifted my gaze to Penn. His dark hair was styled back and his brown eyes held a little twinkle in them as he smiled down at her. His head was tilted a bit to the side like he was trying to take all of her in but couldn’t quite figure out where to start.
He was wearing a white plaid button down that he'd rolled to his mid forearms. Beneath that he had on dark red board shorts.
"I'm so glad you guys made it," Penn said, finally glancing for a brief moment at me. It was like he had to remind himself that I was there standing beside Becca. Wow, this guy was falling hard.
"Hi Penn. You have an awesome house," I complimented him, sweeping my hand around the room. "How long have you lived here?" I felt as if I had to carry the conversation. Becca couldn't wipe the smile off her face long enough to actually speak.
He ran his hand along the bottom of his chin in thought. "I think two years now. Liam and I wanted to invest in some neighboring properties so we nabbed these two places right when they went on the market."
Neighboring properties?
"I thought Liam owned the house that the LA Stars live in?" I asked.
"Ah, yeah, he has that house as well as the place next door," Penn clarified, pointing out through the window. I followed his gaze to the house in the neighboring lot. Liam's house apparently. It was beautiful. It looked just as beautiful as Penn's, but the styles were completely different. There was a giant wraparound porch and white siding. Navy blue shutters hung perfectly from each window and light flooded the bottom floor, as if drawing people toward the house.
I wondered if he was there now instead of enjoying the party.
“He was having a few sections completely remodeled, so he was staying at the other house while they finished up.”
Ah, I remembered him mentioning that, and it also explained why he never took me there when we were trying to sneak around.
"We wore our bathing suits. Do people usually swim?" Becca asked, drawing me back to the conversation.
Penn smiled. "Yes, but not until later. Usually when the bigger crowd dies down. It's more fun that way…"
Oh yeah, I bet it is.
Becca bit her bottom lip and nodded. I could tell she was nervous. Her hand was holding her opposite elbow and she only held eye contact with Penn for brief moments.
"Do you guys want me to take you on a little tour?" Penn asked, eyeing Becca. I figured it was probably my time to bow out.
"You guys go ahead. I'm just going to grab a drink and I think I saw a friend of mine over there." There was no friend, but they wouldn't have left me otherwise. Becca's hazel eyes locked on mine, and for a moment I couldn't tell if she was thanking me or pleading with me not to leave her. Either way, I shrugged and gave her a thumbs up when Penn turned. As he waited for her to catch up to him, I wondered if their tour would include a special viewing of Penn’s downstairs.
After they were out of sight, I wandered over to the drink station where a well-dressed server was whipping up cocktails. Technically I wasn't old enough to drink, but it's not like the guy was going to card me at a party like this.
"What can I get for you?" the server asked with a polite smile. He was mixing a drink for another guest while he talked to me, and for a moment I just watched him in action.
"I'm not sure actually. I don't think I want a beer, but I don’t know many cocktails."
"Have you tried a greyhound before?" he asked, finishing off a drink and handing it to the person beside me.
"No, what’s in that?" I asked with a timid smile.
"It's one part vodka, one part grapefruit juice, and then garnished with a bit of lemon or lime," he explained with a friendly tone.
"That sounds awesome. I'll take one of those," I said, reaching into my purse for a tip.
We chatted casually as he mixed my drink. I loved the dark pink hue of the final concoction, and the moment I took a sip, I knew he’d pegged me right. It was delicious. The grapefruit cut the vodka so that the combination was just sweet enough to be deadly.
"I think this might be my new favorite drink," I complimented.
"You come back when you're done and I'll make you another."