Remember Me Always: A Contemporary Romance (7 page)

Ruby Sue is stretched out on my bed wearin' only a black, lacey bra and matchin' thong.  "I'm sorry I haven't been around lately," she says.  "The shop has been so busy, and Tom gave me more hours since I'm training an apprentice."  She sits up and winks at me before sayin', "But I promise I'll make it up to you tonight."

I stand at the edge of the bed, takin' in her delectable form.  "You look good enough to eat," I whisper, and she giggles.

Pausin', I realize that's not the sound I want to hear.  I want to hear Penny's giggle.  Shakin' my head to get her out of my thoughts, I loosen my belt and slip it out of the loops.

Ruby Sue gets on her knees on the mattress and tugs me closer by my waistband.  "Let me help with that," she says seductively.

I close my eyes, and I start imagin' a petite blonde on her knees before me.  I'm hard as a rock when Ruby takes my cock out of my jeans.

"Whoa, tiger," she purrs.  She sweeps her tongue on the underside of my hard length, and I almost cum right then and there.

My eyes stay closed as I keep up the fantasy.  Her name is on the tip of my tongue, and I almost whisper…
Penny
. 
Shit.
  My eyes snap open, and I stare down at Ruby Sue's dark locks.  Her red lips are wrapped around my slowly dwindlin' cock.

She tries for a while to get me hard again, but everything is provin' to be futile.  My dick has a mind of its own tonight I guess.  And the only thing on its mind is Penny…who is not here right now. 
What the fuck is happenin' to me?

Feelin' embarrassed, I pull away from her and tug up my boxer briefs.  "Sorry.  I just have a lot on my mind right now."  I flop down on the bed with a sigh.

"Obviously," she mutters, disappointedly.  "Okay.  Well, maybe this is a good thing."  She lies on the bed beside me.  "We'll actually get a chance to really talk about things."  She rolls to her side, proppin' her head in her hand.  "Tell me what's bothering you."

"Ah, fuck, Ruby Sue, I don't want to talk about shit.  If I wanted a fuckin' psychiatrist, I would go to one."  I sound more pissed off than I actually feel, and I instantly regret it.

"Big surprise," she says, rollin' her eyes and standin' up.  I watch as she starts to gather her clothes from the floor.  "You never want to talk about anything, Colton.  We've been seeing each other for three years, and sometimes I wonder if I even know you at all."

"Don't start this shit again," I complain.

"Oh, I am starting it, Colt," she says while pullin' her tank top over her head, "and I'm finishing it."  She pulls on her skirt and then her high heels.  "I'll see you in a few days."  She walks to the doorway and stops to look back at me.  "Don't call me."

"Ruby Sue," I protest.

"Goodnight, Colt."

I watch her disappear from the room, and then I listen to her footsteps until she's downstairs and out the door.  After her car leaves, I walk down to the kitchen and let Mack out.  He sniffs around the path that Ruby Sue had just taken and follows it straight to the door.  He turns and looks at me, and I swear he has a grin on his big, saggy face.

"Yeah, she's gone.  You happy?"

He comes over and pushes his nose under my hand so that I pet him.  I scratch behind his ears and watch as he closes his eyes.  "Let's go to bed, Mack."

We race up the stairs, but Mack is gettin' slower in his old age, and I beat him by a mile.  I even have to help him up into the bed.  It makes me sad lyin' there and thinkin' that someday he won't be around.  "You have to live at least fifty more years, okay, buddy?"

Mack licks my face.  I laugh and pet him for a few more minutes before he falls asleep and starts snorin'.  Starin' up at the ceiling, I wish I could fall asleep with so little effort.  My thoughts are plagued with images of Penny.  Why the hell is she here, and why does it feel like my world is beginnin' to change?  I liked things the way they were, but she affects me like no other person.  I almost kissed her twice now, and since then I haven't been able to stop thinkin' about what her lips would feel like against mine.  Her soft, curvy body drives me crazy, and I want to touch and lick every single inch of her skin.  Every time I touch her it's almost like I can remember my hands being there, and it feels like an electrical current runnin' through my fingertips.

"Fuck," I mutter as I realize I'm tentin' the sheets.  I stare down at my cock and mutter, "Now you decide to work?"

Frustrated, I roll to my side and try to think about baseball and anything else that would be considered a
boner killer
.  Nevertheless, my mind keeps driftin' back to Penny.  Grumblin', I toss and turn for what feels like forever.  It takes a few hours, but I eventually drift off to sleep more sexually frustrated than I've ever been in my entire life.

CHAPTER 5

COLTON

I STIR IN my sleep, aware of moanin' comin' from my downstairs.  Mumblin' and cursin' Buddy under my breath for bringin' another girl over to my place without my permission, I attempt to roll over and go back to sleep.

But then I hear Penny gigglin'.

I bolt straight up in bed.  I growl as I look over at the clock.  It's seven in the mornin'.  Considerin' I didn't fall asleep until a few hours ago, I'm not in the best of moods.

I shrug on a t-shirt and a pair of jeans over my boxers and make my way downstairs.

"Oh, my God, Penny!" Buddy moans from the kitchen.

They're doing it in my kitchen?

"Do you like that?" she asks, breathlessly.

"Oh, yeah.  That's great.  You're amazing."  Buddy groans loudly, but it's muffled like his mouth is full of somethin'.

Growin' angrier with every passin' second, I quicken my descent down the steps and round the corner of the kitchen just in time to catch them…eatin' dessert?

I blink a few times and take in my surroundings.  My kitchen looks like a bakery threw up in it.  Pans, sugar, flour, dough and other bakin' supplies litter my counters along with a countless number of pies, cakes and cupcakes in different stages of bein' finished.

Mack is stretched out on the floor lookin' content.  He raises his head slowly and gives me a tired look before ploppin' his head back down onto the linoleum. 
So much for being a good watchdog.
  He didn't even let me know people were in my house.  He really doesn't like strangers, so I'm surprised he didn't bark like crazy when Penny came in.  He always lets me know when Ruby Sue is comin'. 
So strange.

"What the fuck is goin' on?" I complain.

Buddy and Penny both jump and turn to me.  Buddy has a mouthful of apple pie, and he chews quickly and swallows before givin' me a big grin.  "Penny thought of a way to help the bar.  She wants to bake these delicious desserts for us to sell."  Before I can even process that information, he continues with, "I know a lot of people who would buy these.  We don't have a bakery in town, and old Mrs. Winston stopped bakin' cakes years ago."

I rub at my sleepy eyes.  "It sounded like you two were gettin' it on down here," I grumble out.

Buddy starts laughin'.  "Foodgasm," he remarks.  He pops a toothpick in his mouth and grins wide.  "So that's why you came runnin' in here like you were ready to start a war."  He winks at me like we're sharin' a secret.

I eye him before I tell him, "Get the hell out of my house."  I'm only half jokin'.

He chuckles and walks past me.  "All right.  I'll see you later, Penny!" he calls halfway out the door.

"Okay!" she calls back.

I lean against the counter, starin' at Penny.  My kitchen is a disaster, and Penny is covered in flour.  "I take it this was Buddy's idea for you to bake here?"

Penny nods slowly.  "He said I would have more room to bake in your kitchen than in my apartment.  I figured since you weren't using it…"

"That'd you tear it up like a tornado ripped through here?" I finish for her, fumin'.  I'm tired and cranky and pissed off that I can't seem to get away from this girl…even though, in a weird way, I like seein' her in my kitchen all mussed up and happy.

She shrugs her shoulders slightly and bites her bottom lip.  She's nervous.  I learned quickly that's one of her nervous tics.  "I'll clean it up, Colt.  It looks way worse than it really is."

"Oh really?  Because it looks pretty damn bad," I tell her.  My eyes peruse her from head to toe.  She looks cute in jeans, a t-shirt, chucks and a frilly pink and white polka dotted apron.  Most of the apron is covered in flour, and she even has some on her cheek.  She never looked more beautiful.

Where the hell did that come from?

My heart beats faster, and I instantly tear my eyes away and force them to the floor.  I quickly clear my throat and turn away from her.  "Well, just make sure you clean it up," I call over my shoulder before headin' back to my bedroom.

Once inside my room, I close the door behind me and lean against the wood, tryin' to calm my breathin'.  I'm pantin' like I just ran a damn marathon.  What is it about this girl that gets my blood pumpin'?

I take an ice-cold shower to calm me down before dressin' and headin' downstairs once again.  Penny is gone and the kitchen is spotless.  I feel a pang of disappointment that she left already, but I push the feelin' aside.  I notice some cakes that are cooling on racks, and so I know she'll be back later.  Why does that make me suddenly feel anxious and…happy?

Shakin' my head to clear my thoughts, I walk into the kitchen and stare at her apron draped across a chair.  My fingers instantly gravitate towards it, and I find myself pickin' it up and bringin' the material to my nose.  I inhale her scent deeply.  She smells like flowers and sugar and flour and…
home
.  She smells like my childhood, and I instantly get a warm fuzzy feelin' inside of me all of a sudden.

A memory of my mom wearin' an apron fills my mind.  Her big smile lights up the room as she pats me on the head and says about the cookies almost bein' ready.

The memory takes my breath away.  I don't have very many of my mom, and I cherish each and every one I have.  At the same time, I desperately try to block them out because it hurts too much to think about her.

"What the hell am I doin'?" I ask myself out loud.  I quickly drop the apron back onto the chair and storm out of the house.  I gotta stop doin' this shit with Penny.  I gotta stop rememberin' shit before it opens up the floodgates and I won't be able to stop it.  The bottom line is if I remember Penny, then I might start to remember everything.  And I've lost so much that it might kill me all over again.

*  *  *  *  *

PENNY

I SOLD SEVEN cakes and four pies within the first hour of having them displayed.  I guess Buddy was right --- people love homemade baked goods.  And since there isn't a bakery within a twenty-mile radius, we're making out like bandits.

I head back to Colton's house to finish up the rest of my baking.  The house is empty…except for Mack, of course.  As Mack lies at my feet, I go about fulfilling my baking duties, humming and singing to myself.  I really need to bring my iPod up here when I do this, but I don't think Colton would appreciate me singing when he's here.

I'm singing Adele's
Hello
and totally belting out the chorus when I look up to see Colton leaning against the wall staring at me.  My steps falter and my voice cracks, and I almost drop the cake I just spent the last twenty minutes icing.

He cocks his brow and smirks.  "Hello," he says, mocking my song of choice.

"How are you?" I spit out another lyric with attitude.

"I don't know any other words," he confesses with a grin.

I carefully set the cake down and blow strands of hair from my eyes.  "I'm just finishing up here," I tell him, meeting his gaze.  He certainly seems to be in a better mood than he was earlier. 
Maybe he's not a morning person
, I think to myself.  Colton always did hate waking up for school.  I guess some things never change.

"No hurry," he says.  "The bar isn't busy.  Although there are a lot of people askin' about where they can buy more of Penny's pies."

"Word travels fast in small towns."

"You have no idea," he says with more meaning than I think he intended.

The timer on the oven dings, and I'm quick to pull out my last apple pie.  The lattice crust came out perfect, and I smile at myself thinking about how Colton's mom would be proud.  We spent many afternoons together perfecting my techniques.  And pastry school came naturally to me because of her.  I just wish she were still alive so I could thank her for teaching me how to do something I love.

"Where did you learn to bake like this?" Colton asks, as if reading my mind.

"Your mom," I say softly, beaming down at the line of baked goods on the counter.  "I was just thinking about how proud she would have been of me right at this moment.  It took me forever to get the lattice crust just right."  I wipe my hands on my apron before untying it and draping it over a chair.  "She had the most amazing recipes, and I loved learning how to make all of them."  I look up at Colton, and he looks pensive.  "I hope you don't mind that I'm using her recipes."

He shakes his head, but doesn't utter a word.

"Good," I say softly.  It's nice to be able to honor his mother in some small way.  "I spent a lot of time in this house when we were kids.  I practically lived here.  Your dad used to call me the daughter they never had.  And I think your mom liked having another girl to try to even out the odds with all the men in the house."  I smile as I pull a knife out of the drawer and cut a slice of apple pie.  "She always made a deal with you and me.  If we picked the apples, she would make a pie just for us.  We would spend all day picking apples from the trees in the backyard.  All that work for just one pie, but, wow, it was the best apple pie you could ever eat.  It was so worth it."

I plate the piece of pie and grab a fork before walking over to Colton.  He looks apprehensive as I spear off a piece of pie with the fork and raise it to his mouth.  His lips slowly open, and our eyes stay glued to each other as he closes his mouth and begins to chew.  I watch his mouth moving, and I'm instantly mesmerized.  The day-old stubble lining his defined jaw makes my knees weak.

An expression comes over him that I can't quite decipher as he swallows.  Then he says, "It tastes just like the pies she used to bake."

A smile creeps over my lips.  I'm glad I'm causing him to remember some of the more important things, especially about his mother.  She was one of my favorite people.  Cervical cancer took her from this world far too early.  And I know for a fact that if she were still alive, she wouldn't have let Colton forget about me.  She often called me her future daughter-in-law, always hoping that Colt and I would get married and have her grandkids.  It's sad that she'll never get to see us be happy…if we ever even reach that point.

"What's wrong?" Colton asks, and I realize I'm on the verge of tears from thinking about his mom.

"Nothing.  Just thinking about your mom and how great she was."  I hand him the plate and fork before moving back over to the counter to begin boxing up pies and cakes.  "That apple pie is yours.  I'll leave it here for you."

"The whole pie?  Penny, you don't have to do that," he says around a big mouthful of pie.

I chuckle as I see the piece on his plate is almost gone.  "I want to," I say with a wink.

I have a hidden agenda, and it's not just about making him fat on my cakes and pies.  Any way I can get him to remember
anything
is another triumph for me.  I'm just hoping someday I can find the key to unlocking everything.  But until then, I'm just going to bide my time, patiently waiting for the perfect moment.

"Well, I'm going to take these to the bar before Buddy has a conniption.  I promise to be back to clean up your kitchen," I tell him, remembering how mad he was this morning when he saw the mess I'd made.

But Colton surprises me when he shakes his head and says, "I'll clean it up.  You baked.  I'll clean."

I smile at him.  They always say you get more bees with honey.  I guess it's true since Colt is being nice to me for once.

"See you later tonight?" he asks.

"Yep.  See you then."

I have to force Mack to stay behind once again.  I love spending time with him.  He was like my dog too growing up since I spent so much time at the Crawford's place.  I was there the day they got him, and I'm the one who named him.  I wonder if Colton even knows that. 
Probably not
, I think to myself.

Buddy opens the door when he sees me coming, and his eyes grow wide when he sees how many pies and cakes I baked for the bar.  "Wow.  You were a busy bee today," he comments.  He takes the box and sets it down on the counter.  Then he looks at me, cocking his head to the side.  "What's that smile for?" he asks me.

I didn't even notice I had a goofy grin on my face and that I've been grinning the whole way from Colton's house.  I shrug at Buddy.  "Just happy, I guess," I tell him.  I'm pleased as punch that Colton and I made a little bit of progress today.  And a little progress is better than nothing at all.

*  *  *  *  *

COLTON

I WATCH AS Mack whines and paws at the door after Penny leaves.  I'm still tryin' to get over the fact that Penny was here a lot when she was a kid.  My parents thought of her like a daughter?  There is way more to this story than Penny is lettin' on.  She was a big part of my life, bigger than I could have ever imagined.  She's definitely downplayin' the whole
we used to be friends thing
.  And if I had to put money on it, I would say we loved each other at some point.