Page 7 of Punishing Penelope
“The bug.” Pen taps her head. “It went to her brain. Her balance is off, and she’s all weak and shit.”
“That’s bad.”
“Totally. I lost my girl, you know. She can’t do anything.”
“But she’ll get better, right?”
She shrugs. “If her dad lets his little princess out more, I bet she’d feel better soon.”
“Who’s the princess?” Lexi’s soft voice comes from above us.
“You are.” Pen grabs Lexi’s free hand and presses it against her cheek in an unexpectedly tender move. “I was talking about overprotective Ted Huntington.”
“Oh.” Lexi makes a face. “Well, that’s why summer school’s gonna rock. Dad won’t know it’s not full days.”
“And what Dad doesn't know…” I say.
“Won’t hurt him,” Liam concludes. “Come sit, baby.”
We finish our drinks, then sit for a long, long while, our bags in a pile on the empty table next to us. I look around me, and warmth fills my chest. We’re going to be all right, I know it. Little Savannah listens with huge eyes to Stephan’s plans for a road trip on his bike. I wonder when or if he’ll come back to this dump. Wrightwood, LA, is a bump on the road, with nothing going on, filled with hillbillies and stay-in-your-lane folks. None of us fit in, which is what unites us despite our differences.
Lexi sits on Liam’s lap, his arms around her waist. She’s chatting with Penelope. I hear fragments about what they’ll do with their free afternoons the whole summer, them comparing test results from spring term, and Pen filling Lexi in on what she can expect during her summer lessons.
There’s a mix of carefree and serious in Pen as if she’s two people. She’s like Sandra with her adventurous streak and that itch to go places, and a lot like Lexi with her thoughtfulness and depth. I think most people don’t see the whole picture, the complexity. I’m definitely guilty of that myself.
Sandra looks lost in thought, wearing heavy makeup, black eyeliner, light pink lipstick, and her hair in a high ponytail. Cole is talking to Liam about something I can’t make out from the other side of the large round table.
Suddenly, there’s a hand on my thigh. I twitch, then that warmth in my chest plunges and turns to instant heat in my lower belly.
Penelope leans closer, licks her upper lip, and looks me in the eyes.
“You got something I want.”
Time stops, as does my brain. Only the Neanderthal remains, and I forget all the words.
What?
I have?
Me?
Well, hell yes, I have. My eyes travel from her face to her boobs down to her naked thighs, then I swallow and come back to myself.
“And what’s that?”
“Daddy’s auto.”
Oh, fuck. I’ve pushed that nugget out of my mind, but how can I deny her?
“Sure, let’s do it!”
She stands up and slams her palms against the table. “Everybody! Skinny dipping! Beach. Now.”
Savannah twitches and looks around her, apprehension clear on her face.
“Not you,” Penelope adds and pins her sister with her gaze. “You can tag along, but no skinny for minors.”
We all greet the cafe owner, who looks up as we leave to get the first swim of many this last summer break of our youth, cramming the eight of us into a regular Volvo station wagon.