Playing at Forever (21 page)

The door opened and Tommy stepped out first, the crowd erupting into cheers.  He held his hand out for Penny and as she made her exit, her head swam.  “Breathe, Penny.  Don’t forget to breathe.”  He told her.

“I feel just like Cinderella,”
  she
whispered, surprised that he was able to hear her when he responded. 

“Well, you don’t look like Cinderella.  That’s for sure.”  He leaned in close, his mouth near her ear.  “That dress is much too racy for a princess.”  Penny blushed, ducking her head.  “Come
on,
let’s take our walk in the limelight.” 

It was more than she had ever dreamed of.  Along the way, Tommy would stop to talk to reporters.  Penny was surprised to discover that they wanted to hear from her as well.  “Penny!”  A young woman called while Tommy was busy talking with another network.  She turned, unsure as to how she was supposed to respond as the woman waved her over. 

“How does it feel, your first time on the red carpet?”  Penny glanced around, famous faces all around her. 

“Overwhelming!”
  She laughed, shaking her head.  “Part of me can’t believe I’m here.”

“Well, you look absolutely stunning—especially with that date of yours.”  Penny looked over her shoulder to find Tommy glancing her way—she smiled nervously.  “You’ve been the talk of the town lately!” 

“I don’t understand why!”  Penny laughed again.  “Really, there’s nothing special about me whatsoever.”

“Oh, I beg to differ,”
  Tommy
suddenly appeared, wrapping his arm around her waist.  “One of these days, this girl is going to wake up and realize just how amazing she is.  Until then, I’m just going to keep on pushing my luck to its limit.”  He touched his lips to the top of her head before ushering them inside.

“You’re such a good liar, Tommy, it almost worries me.” 

“That’s why they call it acting.”  She looked away, her chest suddenly stinging.  If she would have continued looking his way, though, she would have seen the same pained look reflected in his eyes too.

She was killing him and she didn’t even know it.  He watched her from across the room, as she laughed with some studio executive.  Tommy knew what the guy was thinking.  He watched his eyes roam over her body, sizing her up.  Soon he would be offering her a part in some movie, and then he would try to invite her back to his hotel. 

He almost felt bad for the poor guy. 

But not quite—he was too busy pitying himself. 

Because, as amazing as she looked, Tommy couldn’t touch her.
  Not really.  He could hold her hand and put his arm around her.  But what he really wanted to do was to take her back to his house and—

Stop
, he cut himself off before he could get too far into his fantasy.  He had thus far managed to keep himself under control, despite how difficult she’d made it by wearing that dress. 

He made the rounds at the posh restaurant, doing his best to ignore Penny’s laughter whenever he heard it from across the room. 

“There are some high-quality choices in this room, Tom.  Take your pick.”  Graham sidled up alongside Tommy, holding a drink out to him.  Tommy knew he’d probably already met his limit but as he glanced over his shoulder at Penny, he decided an extra drink or two wouldn’t hurt.  “I don’t know how many times I have to remind you—this is
business
.  There is nothing more between you and that girl.”

“I didn’t say there was, did I?” 

“I’m just saying.”  Graham took a long drink from his glass, finishing it off.  He stopped one of the cocktail waitresses as she was passing by.  “Hey,
Lydi
, have you met Thomson yet?” 

“No, I don’t believe I’ve had
that
pleasure,”
  The
chesty blonde leaned in closer to Tommy, smiling at him in a way that he normally would have taken as his cue. 
“Hi, Thomson.
  My name is
Lydi
.” 

He thought about how easy it would be—to slip away with this girl, to forget all about Penelope Lang and her perfect smile.  In a way, he craved it.  It had all been so easy several months ago.  He could go home with a girl and think nothing of it.  It wasn’t as if either of them expected anything to come of it.

But now…

He couldn’t even look at this girl.

He tried, though, for several minutes.  He wanted to forget so many things. 

Lydi
offered him another drink and he took it, drinking it quickly.  Maybe if he drank enough, she might actually have a chance.  She was talking to him about wanting to be an
actress,
he had pieced that much together.  She probably thought he could be of some assistance in that area.  They usually did.

He noticed the way she touched him, her fingers soft and smooth.  She talked with her body more than anything. 

Normally, he would have already taken the bait.  As strong as his need was, he probably would have already let her take him wherever it was she wanted to go. 

Another drink and some encouragement from Graham and he was actually going for it. 
Lydi
took him by the hand, leading him toward the back of the restaurant, up a set of stairs. 

He didn’t even realize what was happening until he felt her lips touch his—he pulled away, using his hands to hold her away from him.  “This isn’t going to happen.”

“Oh, come on—”

“I’m with someone.”  He liked how those words sounded rolling off his tongue. 
With someone
.
 

It sounded like he actually meant it. 

“Then why isn’t she up here with you?” 

“Because she’s downstairs, waiting for me.”  What was he doing? 

He was back in the main room within moments, his eyes searching the crowd for Penny.  He almost sighed with relief when he finally found her, off in a corner, fidgeting with a napkin.  “Let’s get out of here.”  He suggested, wanting nothing more than to be back at home, lying on the couch, watching a movie. 

“What, you’re finished already?”  The tone of her voice was foreign to him. 

“Penny,”

“Let’s just go.”  She rose to her feet and walked toward the door, her expression blank.  They only had to wait a moment for his limo to pull up and Penny climbed in without looking at him. 

“What’s wrong?”  He asked after a few minutes, though he already knew the answer to that question.  Penny couldn’t even look at him, her eyes far away.  Even though she wasn’t more than two feet away from him, he felt as if there was an entire continent filling the void. 

“It’s nothing.”  She shook her head, but he knew she was lying. 

The rest of the ride home was silent.  She didn’t even speak to him as they entered the house, the click of her heels the only noise in the room as she climbed the stairs.  He walked into the theater room and poured himself a scotch, finishing it off before he could work up the courage to go upstairs. 

She was in the bathroom, taking her hair down.  “Nothing happened, Penny.” 

“I don’t care if it did.”  She shook her head, but he could tell she had been crying.  “It’s not my business.”

“Then what the hell are you so upset about?”  He was going insane with all of this.  “I mean, do you have any
idea
how hard this has been on me?”

“I don’t care if you sleep with another girl, Tommy.  You and I—
it’s
just business.”  He wanted to yell at her then, to call her a liar.  All of this ‘it’s just business’ talk—she didn’t mean that.  She couldn’t.  “I just wish you would think about things a little bit before acting.” 

“What are you talking about?”

“Everybody knows I was already cheated on once.  I’d really rather them not think it’s happened to me twice.” 

Of course.
  Tommy was such an idiot. 

“When I saw you with her…”  Penny shook her head.  “I just don’t want to be that girl, Tommy.  Please don’t make me into her.” 

“I’m sorry, Pen.”  He stepped into the bathroom, coming to stand behind her.  “It’s just…I’ve never had to worry about anyone but myself.” 

“Well, you can have your life back soon enough.”

“That’s not what I meant.”  She shrugged her shoulders.

“It doesn’t matter.”  It did though.  Tommy sighed, placing his hands on her shoulders and massaging them a bit.  “Can you unzip me?  It took two people to get me into this dress.”  He tugged on the zipper, guiding it down her back though he didn’t really need to.  It did most of the work itself—but he liked being near her.  “Thanks.”

He nodded, taking a few steps back.  Her entire back was now exposed.

“I meant to tell you this morning—Kevin signed the papers.  They were filed yesterday.”

“So—it’s official then?”  Penny nodded.  He could tell she wasn’t sure how to feel about this. 

“Why don’t we go celebrate?”  He suggested.

“Right now?
  Tommy, I’m a mess.”

“No—not right now.
 
Tomorrow.
  Instead of spending a few days here, why don’t we go to Vegas?” 

“You’re serious?”  Tommy nodded.  Suddenly, the fast pace Vegas offered sounded like a great idea.  He could use the distraction.  “You’re crazy.” 

“Have you ever been to Vegas?”  She shook her head.  “Well, all the more reason to go.  I promised you you’d get to see some new places, didn’t I?” 

“Well—I guess we’re off to Vegas, then.” 

They arrived in the mid-afternoon, Tommy navigating the busy airport like a pro.  Penny was almost to the point where she didn’t even notice the photographers anymore—almost, but not quite.

A limo was waiting while Tommy spoke with someone on his phone, his expression telling her that it was a serious call.  She said nothing, wanting to give him his space. 

The argument they’d had the night before replayed in her mind. 

She wondered if this would be it. 
Their last hurrah before going their separate ways.
 

He’d done well, she thought.  A whole two months.

She sighed, resting her head against the cool glass. 

Had it really only been two months? 

It was a very short drive to the hotel, and an even shorter check-in.  Before she knew it, they were walking into a room that was probably as big as Amy’s entire house, all laid out before her.  “Do I even want to know how much this cost?”  She asked him as he finally hung up the phone.  Tommy only laughed, shaking his head.  “Now
this
is insane, Tommy.”  

“
This
is the Bellagio.”  He told her.  She dropped her bag to the floor and stepped further into the room, Tommy following closely behind.  “I can’t wait until you see this all lit up at night,”

“It’s pretty incredible right now.”  They were looking out a window, the entire strip seemingly visible from where she stood.  Below them, the lake began to come to life. 

“This is a sight we’ll save for tonight,”
  he
told her, turning her away from the window and guiding her back toward the foyer.  “You can have either bedroom—they’re identical to each other.  Maybe we could spend some time by the pool for a bit?” 

“That sounds nice,”
  she
liked the idea of laying out by the pool, maybe getting a little sun.  Even though she’d had a lot more time to relax lately, she felt
more tense
than ever. 
Especially whenever she was around Tommy.

Maybe an afternoon by the pool was exactly what she needed.

Tommy had been right to suggest the pool.  She had lain out for hours, enjoying the feel of the sun on her skin.  He had joined her for awhile before slipping away, retiring back to the room to make a few phone calls. 

Now, she sat at the bar of a very posh nightclub in the VIP section, Tommy right beside her.  They had started drinking earlier, having stopped at an even swankier restaurant for dinner.  And before that, they had cracked open the mini-bar. 

This was not the life Penny was used to.

But, at the moment, she didn’t even really care.

She was celebrating.  She was, for the first time in a very long time, a single girl. 

Of course, Penny had no idea how she was supposed to feel about this.

Tommy ordered another round of shots, grinning dumbly as the bartender set the glasses in front of them.  “Here is to celebrating your freedom,”
  he
told her. 

“We already drank to that!”  She giggled. 

“Oh, we did, didn’t we?”  He paused for a moment.  “Well, then, here’s to my meeting!”

“Meeting?”
  She questioned, not entirely sure what he was talking about.  Had he mentioned anything to her about a meeting?  She couldn’t remember.  It may have had something to do with the number of shots she had done.  “What meeting?”

“I don’t know.  Something Graham called me about earlier.  He said some studio wants to meet with me about my script.” 

“What?”  Penny slammed her glass on the countertop, leaning in closer to Tommy, suddenly filling with joy.  She forgot all about Kevin and Gina.  She even forgot about her business arrangement with Tommy, the news was so elevating.  “Tommy, that’s amazing!” 

“I don’t even know how it happened.”  Penny vaguely recalled something about his script.  She’d been talking to someone about it at the premiere last night, hadn’t she?  Right, she’d sent them the script. 
And the video.

She laughed, covering her mouth.  “I might have a secret, Tommy.”

“What’s that?”  He rested against the bar, his eyes trained on her. 

“I might have had something to do with that.”

“You what?”
  He laughed, leaning in closer, his eyes dancing.

“I sent your script out. 
With a copy of one of our performances.”

“Wait, Pen, you did what?”  Alarm sounded in his tone.

“It’s okay!  You got a meeting!”  She waved the bartender over.  “Another round for my friend and
I
over here!”  She was eager to distract him.  “
We
are celebrating!” 

“Oh, Penny,”
  he
reached out and took her hand.  “Did I tell you how pretty you look tonight?”