Be My Juliet [on hold]

Chapter 22

“I told you they’d hit it off.” Pen grins, bringing me over to the couch. 

“I never doubted you for a second.” I reply, taking her hands and intertwining our fingers again.  I look up into those gorgeous eyes, seeing the light pink color flush her cheeks.

“Those flowers are lovely,” she states, darting her gaze to the roses placed on the counter.  “I should put them in some water.”   She gets up, and scurries to another area of the flat to grab a vase.  Before I know it she comes back, and starts filling a crystal one with water.  He phone starts to ring, and she asks me to pick it up so that they don’t hang up.

“Hello?” I say.

“Hi, is this Penelope? I probably have the wrong number…” a male voice replies.

“No, it’s her.  She’s just busy at the moment.” I state, wondering why this guy is calling her.  I trust her, of course, but I’ve always been the jealous type.  I can’t help it, especially with a girl as beautiful as Penelope.  She could have any man she wants with her adorable giggle, dazzling smile, striking eyes, and silky hair.  Her looks alone would make anyone interested.  But added to her amazing personality and kind spirit- she’s everyone’s dream girl. 

“Oh, when will she be back?”

“Right now…” I answer, holding out the phone as Penelope walks towards me with her arm outstretched.

“Thanks,” she smiles at me before talking into the device.  “Hello? …Oh, hi James… Really?  Congratulations! … Thank you, I’m still in shock. … We should!  I’ll see you Sunday, yeah? … Awesome.  Night!”

“Who’s James?” I ask, not realizing how paranoid I sound until I actually say it.

“He’s playing Romeo.” She says simply before taking the place next to me on the couch.  Suddenly, thoughts of Penelope and this James character start to flood my head.  They’ll be spending a lot of time together, hugging, kissing…. I’ll lose her for sure.  How could I compete with this guy?  I’m just Dan; there’s no way Penelope will stay with me if he becomes interested, which of course he will.  “Are you okay?” I hear her soft angelic voice ask, bringing me back to reality.

“I’m fine.” I unintentionally snap. 

“Are you jealous?” Penelope continues, and I look up to meet her gaze.  “Is the Daniel Howell jealous?”  A small smirk creeps onto her face, as I don’t reply.  She leans towards me, our noses brushing against one another.  “You don’t need to be.  You’re the only guy I would ever want.”  Her fingers grab onto my tee shirt as she pulls me towards her and our lips connect.  I can’t stop myself from picking her up slightly so that she’s positioned on my lap, each of her long legs drooped over my sides.  My hands snake around her waist slowly, my fingers running along the soft surface of her top.  A quiet moan escapes my mouth as she slings her arms around my neck and deepens the kiss.  She breaks us apart, only to leave a trail of kisses along my jaw line leading down to my neck.  I flinch has her supple lips delicately press against it, and see her smirk again.  “Believe me?”

“Almost…” I return, bringing her back to meet my lips.  This time I pull away, going to preoccupy myself with her exposed neck as she tips her head back.  Her hands press against my back as if trying to close the remaining space between us.  Her legs wrap tighter around my torso as my hands gently slide down to rest on her hips.

We hear the lock on he door click open, and she jumps off of me as Phil and Jess walk towards us hand in hand.  Once they spot us, they separate, a knowing grin spreading across their faces.  I look over at Pen, and see that her hair is ruffled, and I guess that mine is too.  “Still jealous?” she mouths to me, making me stifle a laugh.

“We got cake.” Phil announces as we stand up.  I don’t want Pen to leave my side, so I keep my arm slinked around her.  “Looks like you had fun while we were gone.” Phil whispers, chuckling to himself.  I know my cheeks must be a bright crimson by now, but I don’t care.  We all walk into the kitchen, Jess grabbing a knife and forks for all of us. 

“It’s chocolate,” she informs us, cutting into the dark brown pastry.  She gives everyone a huge piece, and we all settle back into our same spots around the table.  Again, I see Penelope go back to breaking it up into small pieces, pushing it around the plate as a way to pass the time.

“Pen…” I whisper, and she looks up at me.

“I’ve eaten a lot today.  I mean I’ve had pancakes, brownies, and pizza… I can’t have all this,” she tries to reason with me.

“I know you feel like you’ve had a lot, but you’re comparing the amount to what you were eating before, which was next to nothing.  Anything will seem like a lot compared to nothing.  Please, eat it.  Who can resist chocolate cake?” I grin. 

“Penelope, isn’t this great?” Phil asks her from across the table.  He must have noticed she wasn’t eating again, as this was his way of getting her to have some. 

“Very,” she replies, taking a tiny bite.  Jess looks slightly confused by all this, and I realize she must not know about Penelope’s habit.  She doesn’t say anything though, so I choose not to mention it to her yet.  I finish off my slice, as does Phil and Jess, but Pen can only manage a bit less than half.  She stands up quickly, grabbing everyone’s plates before anyone can ask her to eat more and brings them to the kitchen.  “Well, this really has been great.  Why didn’t you call to say you were coming?  We would’ve planned something to do.”

“Dan just couldn’t wait.” Phil tells her, smirking at me as I blush.

“I wanted to congratulate you as soon as I heard.  This is a huge deal!” I explain.

“I get it,” she smiles at me as we all join her near the breakfast bar.  “It’s just that we didn’t expect anyone…”

“It’s fine.  Can I see you tomorrow?”

“That doesn’t mean I want you to leave!” she counters.  Eventually we pick a video game from their surprisingly large collection- they could open a shop if they wanted to- and settle into the couch for an all-out battle. 

WOW!  It’s been a while, hasn’t it?  I’m so sorry; I really was dealing with a lot.  However, this new chapter has FINALLY been posted!  I have two requests for the comments: once again, tell me something about yourself if you like so we can chat.  Second: does anyone know the band Hands Like Houses?  I had their album before, but recently rediscovered it on my iTunes and have since fallen in love.  The problem with this is that no one else knows them, and it’s very upsetting to me.  So, if you happen to know their songs and like them, please tell me because I feel like an outcast.  Or if you don’t know them, tell me whom you’ve been listening to recently.  Stay amazing guys <3