Work Text:
Colin ✈️
Hey, Cols, I am going to a writer’s workshop
in Dublin this weekend. Wanna go with me?
I checked and they still have openings.
Sure! When do we leave? Actually, hang on.
Then he face-timed her because the bus he was on had reached his stop and his hands were full of luggage. He still managed to hold his phone in such an effortless way as he walked down his street to his flat. Penelope would have definitely dropped hers down a storm drain by now.
“There she is!” he said as a greeting, his smile lighting up.
“Here I am!” Why did she answer the face-time call? She had spot stickers all over her face, she hadn’t washed her hair in three days because work had been chaotic, and her Spice Girls t-shirt had curry stains all over it.
“The stars on your face are no match for the stars within your eyes, Pen,” he said with a grin.
“Shut up, Mr. Gets-off-a-Plane-and-Looks-Flawless!”
“My spot stickers were heart shaped on the plane,” he said grinning. She snorted. “It takes work to look like this!” She had seen him first thing in the morning and late at night when she had been younger and had sleepovers with Eloise. He looked amazing no matter the situation.
She got down to business so she could go back to her curry and romance novel in peace. “The workshop starts tomorrow night, so we need to fly out to Dublin first thing in the morning so we can get settled a bit first and I can see the city a bit. Is that okay? I know it is last minute, but you are back early in my defense so I thought I’d be going alone.”
“Yeah, it’s fine. I have the miles, I’m sure. Let me upgrade your ticket so we can sit together. Send me the info.”
She sighed. “You don’t have to do that, Colin. I am perfectly fine with flying coach.” He had reached the door to his building so her view now was of stoop stairs as he unlocked the door. “Nonsense. I haven’t seen you in three months and I want all the Pen time I can get.”
You could have me all the time if you would just stay put and wake up, ” she thought.
What she actually said was, “Sure, okay. I will look at rooms for you then.”
“Cool. Bye, love,” he said, turning the camera toward him first at least. If only he meant “love” in any way other than “mate” which he reserved for his male friends. It used to piss her off, but now she lets it roll over her, taking whatever she could get. She was living off crumbs here.
She looked up rooms at the hotel, but there was nothing left. There had been before she texted him, but she had wanted to make sure he was coming before she reserved anything. What the hell kind of cunt joins a workshop last minute?, she thought; the irony was not lost on her. Okay, maybe she could switch her room to two beds?
She had no luck with the help chat box and no one was answering the phone at the hotel. Maybe she could reserve a cot? Nope. They were all taken as well. Just how many people were attending this workshop? She Googled to see what else was going on in the city at the same time. Of course, it was a Doctor Who convention. It was at a nearby hotel and she guessed that one was full as well as all the others within a 20 km radius.
~~~
Colin arrived at Penelope’s flat two hours before their departure time. He told her that security would not take that long at that particular gate, but then she had mentioned a Doctor Who convention starting that night in Dublin too so he knew that two hours was maybe not enough time.
She opened the door with no greeting, just leaving it open for him. He caught the scent of her rose body wash or shampoo. Her hair was almost dry, the brighter reds of her hair contrasting beautifully with the darker, wetter strands of hair. He longed to run his fingers through her hair in this state. Maybe she would let him braid it before bed like she did at one of her sleepovers with Eloise after his sister had crashed from sneaking a couple of bottles of Guinness to “celebrate” Theo dumping her.
“Stop staring at me, Colin! I am hurrying!” He had said nothing and was not staring at her for that reason, but he played along.
“I swear, you invite me to this shindig and I am the one who is on time!”
“Hush! Help me look for my phone charger. That’s the last thing I need to pack.”
He shook his head, walked into her bedroom to her desk and found it immediately. She snatched it from him when he returned to the living room and poked him in the chest. “Not a word from you.” He could not speak if he wanted to because that soft gesture of aggression had his body vibrating. He was sure it mostly had to do with the way she had looked into his eyes, bright blue trying to dominate deep blue and succeeding.
She seemed to be unaffected by the world shifting eye contact, so he pretended he was not suppressing the urge to pull her into his arms and tug on her hair just to get a reaction.
He helped get her luggage into the Lyft he had hired. It arrived as they stepped outside of her building. “I timed it perfectly, Pen!”
“Uh, huh, sure. That’s just luck always being on your side, Cols.”
Not always , he thought wistfully as he shut her car door before going around to the street side to join her.
He thought back to that night of the sleepover that he got to braid her hair. He was home from his third gap year (he was seriously going to uni in the fall this time) and Pen and Eloise had just finished their first year of uni.
Colin watched from the archway as Penelope sat on the floor in front of the sofa where Eloise was passed out. She took her hair out of the top knot it had been in and his breath caught in his throat as it cascaded down her back. Her choice of pajamas left little to the imagination: a spaghetti strap tank that was low cut and he could see the very tippy tops of her thighs as her shorts stretched across them in her seated position. She was playing with her hair and watching the American classic: When Harry Met Sally.
It was one of his personal favorites, but he pretended to know nothing about it as he strutted into the room to join her. He had rolled down the waistband of his sweatpants and carefully tousled his hair in the mirror in the hall before crossing the threshold. Eloise would have called it “peacock-ing.”
She was almost to the part where they are walking through the park talking about their weird sex dreams. He sat on the floor next to her, careful not to wake Eloise by making too much noise.
“Colin!” she exclaimed, her hand over her chest. A chest that was barely covered by her tank. He tried not to ogle her too much, but good lord, she had grown over the last three years. Fuck! Sweatpants were a bad idea.
“Shh!!! You’ll wake Eloise and I want to watch the movie too! I heard you laughing in here so I figured it was really good.”
There was silence between them as Harry said to Sally, “ I had my dream again where I’m making love and the Olympic judges are watching.” He goes on to tell his friend what the judges give him and that his mother is disguised as one and gives him a low score. He watched her profile as a blush bloomed upon her cheeks. He shifted his position so he could smoothly scoot closer to her, imperceptibly, he hoped. He could not handle rejection with her looking so beautiful.
He lost track of where they were in the movie until Meg Ryan began faking an orgasm in the middle of the diner. Penelope looked scandalized, but she was also giggling. He shifted his hips to face away from her because the noises combined with the vision of her was arousing him to the point he felt he was on fire. He reached out to her, fully planning on cupping her cheek to pull her into a kiss, but he chickened out and instead tucked her hair behind her ear.
She turned toward him, the earlier blush now reaching her neck. He didn’t know what to say, so he said, “Can I braid your hair?”
Her eyes widened, then squinted in confusion, before looking cautious. He wasn’t going to cut her hair off, for goodness sake! “I have four sisters, I am really good at it,” he boasted.
She shrugged and scooted over to sit in front of him. From this angle he could see how her shorts pulled away slightly from low on her waist, revealing the top of her green cotton panties. Christ.
He thought she would be embarrassed if he pointed it out for her to fix, so he said nothing. “Do you have a comb or brush?”
“Uh, yeah!” She leaned across his legs, which she sat between, to grab her bag and pulled out a brush and hair tie. Her breasts pressed against his shin, which was somehow the most erotic thing to ever happen to him.
She gasped the first couple of times his fingers touched her ear or neck as he lifted and sectioned her hair as he brushed. He let the noises wash over him, the presence of his sister sleeping soundly behind them keeping his hormones in check.
He managed a decent French braid, knowing it would take longer than a low braid because he just wanted to keep touching her. She ran her hand down the braid once he finished and smiled. “No shorter hairs sticking out! I’m impressed!”
He wanted to undo it just to see her hair wild around her face and so he could redo it. Instead he smiled, “Easy to do with perfect hair.” She shoved his chest as she scoffed and crawled out from between his legs to return to her previous seat. He suddenly felt cold.
“I don’t want to feed the bunnies!” yelped Eloise suddenly, before she jolted awake. Colin and Penelope turned to her with Pen saying, “Hey there, sleepy head.” Suddenly Eloise was crying and reaching for Penelope. That was his cue to run away, but not without giving his sister a comforting pat on the head as Penelope joined her on the sofa and Eloise lay her head in her lap. She didn’t need him for this, obviously. However, if he ever saw Theo again, he was going to lay him flat out.
That had been five years ago. Four years ago he had seen Theo at a pub; only Pen and Eloise holding him back and Theo’s quick sprint kept the little bugger from needing a trip to A&E.
The drive to the airport was uneventful traffic-wise, thankfully. Colin watched Penelope’s profile as she yawned, the early morning light making threads of her hair appear gold. She glanced at him, giving him a smile before it turned into a yawn, which made him yawn in return. She was so adorable his heart ached.
~~~
Penelope was not a morning person, but she was trying her best. As soon as they passed through security she bought an energy drink and downed it in four gulps as Colin chanted “Chug! Chug! Chug!” It was her own personal best. She let out a belch to put Adam Sandler to shame. Colin threw his head back laughing so hard his whole body shook; she couldn’t help but laugh with him despite her embarrassment.
“Pen! Pen! Pen!” he exclaimed in successive higher pitches as he tried to catch his breath. “That was the best belch I have ever heard. I must buy you a trophy for such excellence.”
“Shut up! What about the one you let loose that night in that pub in Edinburgh after Frannie’s engagement party? You peeled the paint off the walls, I swear!”
“That was a pretty amazing one, wasn’t it? Maybe I will just get you a runner-up badge.”
Once they boarded, Colin kindly put her carry-on in the overhead compartment after watching her insist on trying to do it herself first. He placed a hand on her back as she struggled, “Stop being stubborn, Pen. Let me.” She would have needed a tall step stool to reach it herself and he did it with ease. Her skin burned where he had touched her, but she let it roll through her and put it in her library of every other time he had touched her that set her aflame but nothing became of it.
He nudged her elbow as she put in her earbuds. “So what true crime podcast are we listening to this time?” She blushed. She was not listening to her default background noise today. She had started a romance novel the night before, which was why she had overslept and was still packing when he arrived.
“Erm, no podcast today, just a novel.” She hoped to leave it at that. Usually he would use one earbud to listen with her while playing games on his phone or swiping on dating profiles while she crocheted or scrolled social media.
“What novel?” He asked as he casually grabbed an earbud from her and wiped it down with an alcohol wipe (she had insisted the first time and now it was habit) before placing it in his ear. He clapped his hands excitedly “Cue it up!”
Oh lord, here we go.
So, they spent the hour and 25 minute flight plus the taxiing time listening to the raunchy romance novel she had been listening to. She feigned playing on her own phone but she was soon actually playing and had almost forgotten what they were listening to. It had reached some plot and character building when she finally hit pause the night before and she hoped they would land before it got steamy again. No such luck.
“He had pushed her skirts up to her hips and she ached for him. He gently ran a finger up and down her slit, making her hiss with a combination of satisfaction and need. They had been apart for three months and she knew he needed her just as much. He pulled her bodice down roughly until her breasts spilled out…”
She felt Colin adjust the way he was sitting as he cleared his throat. She bravely sneaked a look at his profile. His face was the reddest she had ever seen. He licked his lips as the narrator spoke of the man licking the woman’s folds. Colin quickly turned to her and caught her watching him. She was now blushing as much as he was. He raised an eyebrow and dramatically mouthed the words “Naughty Pen.” She shrugged her shoulders and laughed, which caused him to start laughing as well. They were now in the midst of a giggle attack, leaning on each other and gasping for air.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we will be descending soon. Please buckle your seat belts and thank you for flying Virgin Atlantic.”
Penelope and Colin locked eyes and began cackling, tears now forming at the corners of their eyes.
She had been so distracted by the novel and then their giggle fest that she had yet to tell him about their bed predicament. They had slept close before, but that was because they had fallen asleep on the sofa watching a film. They had never deliberately set out to sleep in the same bed before, let alone for three nights. She was still going to try to fix it when they got to the hotel, but he should know now. He was more charming than she was, so he would probably be able to win over the check-in clerk better than she could.
“So, Colin,” she started as they left the gate and began their walk to the doors where they would hopefully find a taxi quickly.
“So, Pen,” he replied playfully.
“So, when I tried to reserve you a room at the hotel, the last ones were taken because of the Doctor Who convention.”
“Uh huh,” he said distractedly as he guided her by the hand to a taxi with its light on. He found one and put their luggage in the trunk after opening and closing the door for her. She continued once he joined her. Airport traffic was a nightmare, so she had time to explain before they arrived as the hotel was about a twenty minute drive from the airport on a traffic free night.
“So, then I tried to change mine to one with two beds but those were all taken by people who also needed them and there were no cots left. No one was answering the phone, so I will try again in person, but as of now our room just has one bed.”
“Okay. That’s no big deal,” he said casually as he looked out of the window.
“It isn’t?”
“I don’t bite, Pen,” he joked, finally turning toward her. “But, if you really hate the idea I will do my best to fix it when we get there.”
“No, I just thought you would…no, it’s okay. You’re right. It’s no big deal.”
It was a huge, massive deal.
~~~
Colin managed to have a normal conversation with Penelope on the way to the hotel despite the most primal part of his mind screaming at him. We will finally be able to hold her close and smell her in our sleep! Does she still wear a tiny shirt and shorts to bed? Does she wear lingerie?
Sleepover with Pen! Sleepover with Pen! Sex with Pen!
All this was going on in his head as he talked to her about the itinerary for the weekend. That night would be a small party with drinks and food to get to know the other attendees and a speech by the organizers. The next day was a workshop for non-fiction writers like themselves about keeping their own voice strong to avoid sounding dry like a news article. They were to be in groups with other writers, reading each other's works, and giving feedback. Later that night would be another mixer except with some readings from the fiction writers sprinkled throughout different sections of the room according to genre. Anyone else who wanted to try out fiction was welcome to read something they had written after the scheduled readings. The last morning was a brunch with publishers and agents guaranteed to be available to speak with.
Colin already had an agent; he was really just here to spend time with Penelope and do whatever she wanted to do. He listened attentively to her run through their plans for the weekend.
They arrived at the hotel with plenty of time before that night’s festivities to explore the city a little. Penelope wanted a nap first.
“I’m the one who is jet lagged, why do you need a nap?” he asked. She blushed. “I was up late listening to that book.”
He was glad she was already lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling so she couldn’t see the look that crossed his face as he wondered what she was doing while she listened to certain passages of that book. Now, he was studying her form on the bed as she got more comfortable. She was so petite that even the full sized bed looked like a King length. The itch to lay next to her and cuddle her became too much to bear.
“Incoming!” he warned as he jumped on the bed next to her, causing her body to rise a couple of inches off the bed before dropping back down. “Colin!” she exclaimed as she clutched her chest. “Are you trying to drive me to an early grave?”
“No, I just want a nap too. C’mon, scootch your legs up so I can get the blanket over us.” He maneuvered the blanket that was folded at the bottom of the bed over them and then turned to face her. She was still staring at the ceiling, lying with her arms at her sides now.
“Why are you lying like that?” She shrugged her shoulders, or attempted to. They barely budged with her back so rigidly straight and flush against the bed.
“Alright, you asked for it,” he said before his fingers went on the attack. He tickled the top of her knee first, knowing that would get the quickest rise out of her before going for her tummy. Now, she was laughing and tickling him back in all his most ticklish spots: under his arms and the back of his neck.
The thing with tickling the same spot for more than a couple of minutes, it stops being ticklish and just starts to feel good. At least with Pen. He found himself now just drawing lazy geometric shapes on her tummy as he leaned over her and she was caressing the back of his neck. Her shirt had risen up a little during the tickle fight, so between the feel of her soft skin beneath his fingers when the shape crossed that line and the feel of her fingers on his neck, the atmosphere shifted.
The air between them felt heavy even before they made eye contact. Once they did, he could not help himself. He whispered shakily, “Pen….” He looked at her lips and began to close the distance. She moved so quickly from beneath him that he flopped face first into the mattress.
“I’m not tired after all. Let’s go to some museums! I just need to freshen up and change first.” She grabbed her bag and entered the bathroom.
Colin lay back on the bed, utterly confused. That had been a moment, hadn’t it? He had not misread that. Had he? Had he just fucked up his friendship with Pen?
He changed while she was doing the same thing, putting on a black tee and his black jeans, to go with his black blazer. He figured the outfit would shift seamlessly to the mixer. He completed the look with black boots and the ring Penelope had gotten him for his graduation from uni last year. It was like a skinny version of a whiskey barrel complete with thin metal bands framing the golden brown “wood” of the ring as well as a ring of bloodstone, his birthstone. He had been absolutely blown away at the gift. She had said his finger must have felt awfully naked since he had lost his old ring when traveling in Brazil. She called it his “Dionysus” ring, but only the “fun and festivities side.” It was true enough, he did not really get angry easily.
Penelope stepped back into the main part of the room and his heart stopped. She wore a sleeveless deep green dress with a plunging neckline and a slit that went from ankle to upper mid thigh. She pulled on a tan trench coat to go over it, which when tightened accentuated the flare of her hips and the bounty of her breasts.
“Colin,” she snapped her fingers two inches from his nose. “Let’s go!”
He shook his head as he came back to Earth. Her hair was swept to one side, her curls tamed down a bit with something that smelled like coconut. Her lips were a deep red. She was dressed for the night’s festivities as well and he guessed the trench coat was to make it more of a “day” look.
“Jesus, Pen, you look gorgeous. I am under dressed!” She looked him up and down, lingering at his thighs and chest, which made him feel absolutely naked. He wish he was and that she was too and–
“You look great, Colin!” She tugged on his arm and pulled him toward the door. So, he tagged along after her like a dog in heat.
~~~
Penelope had no idea why she was already wearing her evening dress. She told herself she didn’t want to have to change yet again when they returned from looking at art. Really, though, getting all dressed up was like putting on armor for her and after coming so close to kissing him on the bed, she needed all the armor she could get. Had he not stopped her by saying her name, she would probably be alone mourning the loss of her best friend right now.
As the lift doors closed for their descent to the lobby, both their stomachs growled, the sound echoing in the small space. They pointed at each other like the Spider Man meme and laughed. Penelope felt the knot of tension in her stomach ease at the moment of levity.
Before their first museum, they stopped at a cafe near the hotel for some breakfast. It was a nice morning, so he had her settle at a table outside while he waited in line to order for them. She knew he would get something she loved because he knew all her favorites.
“One caramel iced latte, sausage roll, and raspberry scone for you,” he said in his waiter voice as he set her food in front of her. “And one double espresso, three sausage rolls and a scone for me!”
They dug in, handing each other napkins or more clotted cream before the other even asked. He scooted his chair next to her as they finished up and used a napkin to wipe the corner of her lips. “Selfie time with my best girl!” he said. She posed as best as she could, gazing at his lips, which were so close now, in between poses. He liked to have options, she knew. He showed her the pics. The one she liked most was one where she was smiling sweetly down the lens while he gazed down at her, but she chose another. “You sure? I like this one myself,” he said as he chose her own favorite. “That one is good too!” He posted her favorite and tagged the cafe since they were leaving. He had a bit of a social media following and was careful not to tag his location until he was leaving it after a mishap with some stalkers.
In the cab on the way to the first museum, she checked her phone and clicked on the Instagram notification that he had posted, her eyes going straight for the caption.
Brekkie with my best girl @penmighty ❤️ ☕
She knew what was coming now: comments along the lines of “Not her again!” and “Don’t worry girls, he is out of her league,” etc. Sure enough, they started trickling in. He had blocked the worst of them after the first couple of photos they discovered way back on his timeline after he posted a travel vlog in which he was only wearing swim trunks in Greece and his page blew up. It was hard for him to keep up at this point, though, unless they were outrageous. She put the dumb girls out of her mind. She was his best friend, they were dressed beautifully, and pursuing their dreams. What were these girls doing? Being mean on the Internet. A child could do that.
She grabbed his arm to bask in the security of him. “Hey, are you okay, Pen? You’re awfully quiet.”
“Oh, it’s just your adoring fans again, that’s all.”
He sighed. “I’m sorry. I am honestly sick of all of it, but my agent insists I post regularly so they may buy my book next year.”
“I don’t think they can read,” she said dryly, without thinking.
He let out a noise that sounded like a balloon losing air. “Pen, what a barb!” He had his hand on his stomach as he laughed. She let loose a laugh too and clung tighter to his arm. He was her Colin and nothing they said would ruin that.
~~~
They saw some nice art and historical objects on their tours of the museums, but Colin spent most of their excursion watching Penelope. At one point there was a downpour and Pen loved to watch the non-UK tourists run for their lives while everyone else simply raised the hoods on their jackets and carried on. They watched from a window that looked onto a courtyard as they were safely inside when the sky cracked open.
“Look, Colin! That kid is playing in the puddles! Aww!” Her face was lit up like Christmas and all he wanted to do was wrap his arms around her pulling her close, his front to her back, and kiss the top of her head while they people watched. The rise in humidity caused her hair to become untamed. Now if only he could see it spread across the bed sheets.
He shook the thought from his head. She had rejected him earlier. It was not going to happen, despite the tension he was sure he had felt. He looked down at her. Her eyes were now focused on some tourists who had given up staying dry and were now just playing in the rain.
“Oh, man! I wish I was wearing something else because I would love to do that right now!”
He tucked that information away for another date.
He checked his watch. “Oh, we should go, love, if we want to be on time for the opening banquet.” Thankfully her trench coat had a hood so her hair was mostly protected. He held his own jacket up over his head and stood close enough so that he provided her a little more protection as well. They hopped on the bus instead of trying to find a taxi in the rain. They slid into seats next to each other. “Is your dress okay?” he asked. She undid the belt of her coat to do a moisture test. His mouth was agape as her plunging neckline was revealed again and her hands casually ran across her body for any damp spots in the dress. The slit now revealed the top of her black stockings that were held up with black garters since the dress rode up a little bit with her sitting.
“Jesus.”
“What?” she asked casually, as though she was not the most stunningly beautiful woman on the planet wearing the sexist dress he had ever seen on her.
“Um, your hair,” he dodged smoothly. While it was not wet, the damp air had made it frizzy again, which he knew she hated. He loved her hair no matter what. The more unkempt, the better, really. She pulled a compact out of her purse to examine the damage and sighed.
“Do you have a brush and a hair tie?” She nodded and pulled out a travel sized brush and a brownish red hair tie. “Turn around.” He had the window seat so he leaned back against it so she could scoot back a little bit so her legs would not be in the aisle.
He began brushing her hair, his light touch to her neck sending visible shivers down her spine. He closed his eyes as he felt a wave of desire flow through him. He wanted to make her shake in other ways, for other reasons. They did not speak as he braided her hair, more intricately this time in an effort to match her dress. He had studied hair braiding videos and practiced on Franny and Hyacinth in case he ever got this chance again.
He had no pins so he couldn’t do an up-do with multiple braids, so he settled for a fish and French braid combo that started on one side and swept the hair to the other. Instead of braiding to the ends, he tied it off just below the end of her scalp and let the curls be free, with just a little help from his fingers to give them more direction.
“There! What do you think?” She checked her reflection in the window as it was now dark enough outside to see one. “Colin! It’s wonderful! Thank you!” She gave him a quick hug around his torso, moving away before he could return the embrace.
“Anytime.” The word dripped with more meaning than he thought she was prepared to understand, but he could not help himself. She seemed not to notice, however. “Oh! This is our stop, Cols!” He hopped off first and held out his hand to help her navigate the steps with her long dress.
The mixer was really fun and any tension he’d been dwelling in slackened within his chest as they laughed and drank together. The organizer kept their speech short and sweet, thankfully, so they partied and mingled until he noticed Penelope nodding off into her basket of chips.
“Okay, here we go!” he said. He put an arm around her for support, grabbed their jackets and her purse from the backs of their chairs, and guided her to the lift.
“You’re a good egg, Cols. A good egg!” she said as she patted his chest. She was absolutely sloshed. “Christ! Your pecs are lush!” she said loudly. He blushed and a woman getting off the lift looked him up and down. He kept her standing in the lift. She now had her arms wrapped tightly around his torso, her head resting on his chest. He was gripping her waist tightly to keep her upright. He knew how the drinks took her legs out from under her when she stood. It happened every time. He kissed the top of her head, letting the scent of rose shampoo envelope him. “You smell good,” he whispered.
“What? What’d you say?” she asked, loudly. “God, these shoes are killing me!” She kicked them off. Colin loosened his grip on her to bend down to pick them up, now carrying her purse, shoes, and jacket for her. They reached their floor and he carefully guided her out. She tried to turn right, but he guided her back to the left in the direction of their room.
He unlocked the door and she immediately began undressing before he even closed the door. Her dress was still on, but she lifted it to pull down her stockings. She took the tie out of her hair and picked at the braid until it was undone. She shook her hair out while leaning over and then stood back up, letting it fall wherever it wanted.
Colin was now sporting a semi. She then started pulling down the straps of her gown. “Whoa, Pen!” He knew he would absolutely lose his mind if she undressed completely in front of him. He would have to ask to bury his face in her breasts and he was not sure their friendship would survive that. His words stilled her movements, one strap hung low on her arm, the top of her strapless bra just barely visible. “Let me go into the bathroom first, so you can change in private.”
He undressed as well, hoping she would be okay with the fact he slept in his boxer briefs. If not, he had some sweatpants he could throw on as well. While he waited for her to give the all clear, he threw cold water on his face and began running through his list of undesirable things to get his semi to go away. Anthony doing anything, Mum asking me about uni, football, deadlines! Semi gone, he brushed his teeth and washed his face while he waited on Penelope.
“I’m decent!” called Penelope. He tousled his hair in the mirror and, God helped him, he flexed his arms when he entered the room. He just wanted her to see him as more than “Cols,” her best friend and other best friend’s brother.
He tripped over air as he saw what she was wearing: a spaghetti strapped tank and shorts. She laughed at his clumsiness. “I thought I was the sloshed one?” She bent over to plug her phone charger into the outlet and flip the switch to turn the outlet on. Her shorts stretched thin over her luscious ass. He was suddenly parched. There was water in the minibar so he grabbed both of them a small bottle. She took the refreshment from his hand and then just held on to his hand, bringing it up to her cheeks. “You’re the best, Cols!” Her skin was so soft. She was sitting on the bed now, so he truly towered over her. He could see down her shirt and allowed himself a long look since her eyes were now closed as she rubbed her cheek on his hand. Her hair was wild and created a kind of halo around her.
His breathing became shallow. His resolve was going to snap at any moment. Thankfully, she released his hand. “Thanks for coming with me, Colin.” He swallowed nothing because his mouth was so dry. He down the small water in one gulp. “Of course. Any excuse to see you, Pen.”
He walked around to the other side of the bed and crawled under the covers. She finished her water and snuggled up to him. It was a sharp contrast to her rigidness earlier. The wonders of whiskey shots!
Where does he put his hands?! Her face was nuzzled into his chest, her legs bent so her knees brushed his thighs. He knew where he wanted to put them: everywhere. But, where would be okay with her? He settled for what he knew she was okay with from when they cuddled watching movies. He slipped his arm underneath her neck and pulled her forward a little so his arm would have a little movement upon her shoulders and around her back. He drew circles at the base of her neck for a while before twirling a strand of her hair between his fingers. She was sound asleep now and Colin was more awake than he had ever been.
~~~
Penelope awoke with a groan. Her head weighed ten thousand stone and the morning light assailing her eyelids was not helping, nor was the hardness her head was pressed against. Her mouth was as dry as a desert and she was as warm as if she was stranded in one. She opened her eyes a millimeter to find that her face was smashed against Colin’s bare chest, her leg thrown over his upper thigh dangerously close to his groin. She tried to disentangle herself, but Colin pulled her closer in his sleep, one arm around her shoulders and another reaching for waist. He pulled her practically on top of him and held her there.
Her hips were now aligned with his and she could feel a hardness forming against her. Desire hit her like a wave and just as wet. She decided to enjoy their entanglement a little longer. She watched his face as she tried not to move, but in shifting her position a little for a better view, her hardened nipples brushed against his chest. His eyes flew open, his pupils dark and wide as he made eye contact with her. Before she could move off of him, he deftly pulled her up his body so they were face to face. “Are you trying to drive me mad?” he asked roughly as his fingers tenderly left trails of fire along her arms.
“How long have you been awake?”
“Since you woke up. You do not groan quietly, Pen.”
“Sorry,” she said sheepishly.
“I like that you’re loud.” He let the suggestiveness hang in the thick air. He threaded his fingers in her hair and the sensation made her whimper. She rubbed her thighs together subconsciously. Her movement lit a fire in him. He flipped them over so he was now on top of her. His hand now cradled her head gently. His other held himself up above her enough so she knew she could move from beneath him if she wanted. But she did not want to. Not knowing what kind of bravery had possessed her, she hooked a leg around his waist and pulled him toward her. They were flush together now.
“Pen,” he whispered just as she said “Kiss me.”
She closed her eyes, waiting for the rejection her thoughtless words and actions would cause.
He cupped her cheek. “Pen, look at me.” She reluctantly opened her eyes. He was looking at her with so much adoration that she thought she might combust.
“You really want me to kiss you?” Tears had formed in the corners of his eyes which were crinkled from his smile.
“Yes.”
He kissed her softly and briefly; it was chaste. Then he took in a deep, gasping breath as he leaned in for another. She moaned as his lips met hers again. In response, his tongue asked for entrance, which she granted. He was gentle, but she could sense a wildness that he wanted to let loose. They pulled away to breathe. She decided to take him off the leash he’d placed on himself. “Kiss me like you mean it.”
He moaned as he lips crashed into hers, their teeth banging together as he sucked on her tongue, his hands now exploring along the sides of her ribs, just out of reach of her breasts. She grabbed his hand and moved it so it was cupping her breast.
“Fuck!”
~~~
Colin was lost in her. He could only think of her soft skin, the feel of her lips, and the little noises she made as his tongue swept across her cleavage. A voice in the back of his head was saying “ Slow down ” but she had let him loose. Her hand was entangled in his hair and tugged on it when he gently nibbled the top of her breasts. He was incredibly hard now and she was moving her hips against him. The patience of every incarnation of the Dalai Lama must have decided to bless or curse him, depending on if you were his heart or his dick, because he pulled away and rolled off of her. She whined at the loss of contact.
“Before we go on, I want to make everything clear, Pen.” He felt her stiffen. He couldn’t have that, so he got her to sit up and look in his eyes. “You are everything to me, Pen. You are who I want to talk to first thing in the morning and the last at night. You are who comes to mind when I think of home. This between us right now? I want it every day for as long as you’ll have me. I hope forever.”
Tears fell from her eyes. “Are you okay, Pen?” He wiped away her tears.
“Are you sure?” she asked nervously. He took her hands in his and peppered them with kisses.
“I have never been more sure of anything in my life.” His heart was going to burst through his chest as he waited for her to say something.
A smile lit up her face. “You are all I’ve ever wanted, Colin. Since the day we met.”
They grinned stupidly at each other for a moment. He twirled her hair around his finger, his eyes eventually straying down to her lips. This time she brought her mouth crashing upon his and he was lost once again in Penelope.
And she was loud.
They never made it to the rest of the workshop.
He posted a picture on their way back to her flat of them obviously in bed with her hair forming a wild halo around them and the caption read:
My new forever home! @penmighty 😍🎇❤️🔥
Colin disabled the comments and ignored his family blowing up his phone and convinced Penelope to ignore their calls and texts too in favor of getting lost in each other a little longer.