The Blogger and the Hunk (8 page)

“B-but he’s a guy!”

Celeste looked like her patience was wearing thin. “Men can be MOHs now. There was never a law that said they couldn’t be, Penny!”

“Fair enough,” Penelope mumbled.

“
She’s
your sister? Penny?” Jack exclaimed.

Celeste looked at Jack with a confused stare. “Yes, she is.” She looked between them. “Do you guys know each other?”

“No!” they both exclaimed quickly. Celeste looked even more confused. There was an awkward silence until Penelope broke it.

“I’m going to go walk to the terrace. I need a little fresh air.”

“Here, I’ll walk with you.” Jack held out his arm for Penelope to take.

“Let me help you,” Celeste added, trying to help Penelope on the side opposite to Jack’s.

“Actually, Celeste, mind getting your sister a glass of champagne? She might just need something to relax,” Jack offered.

Penelope realized his excuse to get her alone and panicked. She didn’t want to be left alone with him. She didn’t even want to be in the same room as him. He was supposed to be a one-night stand, a one and only conquest for her. He’d been her ticket to a night of passion, but that was it. Nothing more.

She was about to protest when Jack grasped her arm firmly, lowering his voice. “We need to talk.”

Penelope squeaked in response and let him lead her out the glass doors to the garden. It was time she put her big girl panties on and faced the consequences.

* * *

T
o say Jack was surprised was an understatement. He had
not
expected to see Penelope again. And to have her be Celeste’s sister! He had done the unthinkable: he’d gone and accidentally slept with his best friend’s sister. He’d been Penelope’s first. She’d been a virgin when they had slept together all those weeks ago. Now with her here, Jack had mixed emotions churning within him.

The silence was thick for a few moments before he spoke up.

“So, I guess now would be the time to tell you that you left your black-laced panties at my place the night you stayed over,” Jack stated matter-of-factly, immediately loving the way Penelope blushed at the statement.

“Wha— But—”

“And I kind of want my hoodie and sweatpants back. They were my favorite to go running in,” he teased.

The blushing increased. If Penelope got any redder she’d look like a stop sign. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to make the walk of shame in the black dress I wore at the bar. I’ll give it back to you if you’d like,” Penelope responded nervously. She looked like she was about to faint and Jack was only trying to tease her.

“Hey, hey. Just a joke. Don’t think too much of it.” He held up his hands in defense, trying to calm her down.

Penelope seemed to visibly relax. “I just wanted to let you know that whatever happened between us is in the past. It was a great experience and all, but now it’s over. The most important thing right now is my sister’s happiness and the wedding coming up,” she replied, looking Jack in the eye.

He was a little startled at her statement. He hadn’t known what to expect from her. Maybe a little shyness, maybe a little interest in having a repeat performance of the last time they were together. The ego he’d had a few seconds before was now deflated. Now he was unsure what to say. “Well, I’m glad that you’re okay with it then.”

There was a moment of awkward silence again. “So... what kind of lacy underwear are you wearing tonight? I noticed you’re wearing your sexy red heels,” he said suggestively, looking down at her stilettos appreciatively.

Penelope gasped in shock then laughed incredulously at the question. But as quick as her laugh came, it went away, a serious look taking over her features. “Look, I don’t know what you might think about me, but I just want to let you know, this whole maid of honor thing is just as it should be. I
should
have been the one to support my sister every step of the way—”

“You would have probably found every way to sabotage the wedding,” Jack interrupted. “You couldn’t care less about everything concerning the celebration. Why is that?” Jack asked rhetorically. “Is it because you’re jealous?” Penelope began to scoff, but Jack kept talking. “You’re just bitter that your pretty little sister is getting married before you are. Admit it!”

Penelope just stared at him, her lips moving like a fish out of water, unable to form words. And before he knew it, she had swung her fist toward him. Luckily for Jack’s face, he caught her fist before it even came near his eye. Both looked shocked for a moment.

“I-I’m sor—”

“Don’t make it worse by apologizing. If you’re going to punch someone, don’t take it back. Coward,” Jack murmured, still holding her fist in a strong grip.

Penelope’s shock turned to embarrassment. She pulled her fist away from Jack’s grip and, to his dismay, had the decency to look mortified. “Look, we’re adults,” she stated calmly. “We can be civilized about this. I accept the fact that I haven’t been very supportive since Celeste got engaged, but you don’t know me. So, don’t start acting like you do just because you’ve been given an important role to play.”

Jack nodded. “I agree. That said, I would very much appreciate it if you didn’t try to take a swing at me again.”

“Deal,” Penelope responded quietly. They were suddenly silent again, and of course, Jack did what he always did best: joke.

“So... there must be a lot of rooms in this building.”

Penelope looked back at the venue, noticing all the windows, some with the lights reflecting through them, some not. “Yeah, I guess,” she responded, looking a little confused.

“You don’t think we should, you know, go ahead and look for a vacant room and... you know....” Jack looked down at Penelope, lifting a single eyebrow, trying really hard to keep the creeping smirk off his face.

It took Penelope’s expression a few seconds to go from confusion to complete shock. “Look here, Mr. High and Mighty! I don’t want you to ever bring that up again. What happened, happened and that’s it,” Penelope reprimanded, wagging her pointer finger in Jack’s direction.

Jack let the smile take over his face. He knew they had finally come to a truce.

Penelope took in his expression and sighed. “You were joking. Of course you were joking.”

Jack laughed and chucked her chin, heading back inside the venue. He heard Penelope release an unladylike grunt and reluctantly follow him, her heels clicking the whole way. She never ceased to amaze him. To the outsider, she might look like a complete mouse, which she was in physical form. But when you stepped closer and you stripped off all of that distant and skittish exterior, there was definitely a spark of life inside her. It was a passion that was just clawing to be released.

He had seen it the drunken night he’d first met her. As reluctant as he was to admit it, he hadn’t been that out of it. He’d been fully aware of his actions. There was just something he’d seen in the depths of Penelope’s eyes that caught his attention. And for some uncanny reason, whether it was her innocence or the refreshing feeling of being needed, she had sparked a bit of fire inside him as well. Once that fire started, the only thing that could extinguish it was to let it burn until all that was left were the remains of two very tired and satisfied lovers.

Jack needed to clear his mind of the infuriating woman. She was a mouse. He was a lion. Lions ate mice. She could never keep up with him. He grabbed a champagne glass from one of the waiters’ trays and gulped the contents down.

“Jack, where have you been hiding? I thought you’d left,” the sexy blonde from earlier seductively purred.

Jack smirked at her, Penelope completely erased from his mind. He went along with the game. “Me? Forget you? Never!”

“Mind going somewhere a little more private?”

“By all means, yes,” Jack replied, holding his hand out to take hers.

O
ut of the hundreds of reasons I’ve never had a boyfriend before, this is definitely in the top three: I’m the kind of girl you look over. You know in the movies how the main girl thinks she’s plain but she really isn’t? Yeah, my life’s not like that. I really am average looking. I’m not the woman who catches the eye of any man. I’m the one they groan about when they’re stuck with me to go on a ride on group excursions. C’est la vie!

DIARY OF A WALLFLOWER: Entry 137

“What did he tell you? Why did he go outside with you?”

“Did he kiss you?”

“You guys! Relax, please! Stop drinking, it’s making you crazy,” Penelope reprimanded, getting a little flustered by the constant questions her friends were asking. Once she had gotten back inside the venue, Jasmine and Stephanie had bombarded her.

“You know, he kind of looks familiar,” Stephanie pointed out.

Penelope stiffened a little, and Jasmine narrowed her eyes. “Do you know something we don’t, Penny?”

Penelope shrugged, looking away, trying not to make eye contact. Eye contact was her doom.

Jasmine pressured her. “Penny? What’s going on?”

There was a moment of silence that seemed to last forever. Just when her friends were about to give up, Penelope confessed. “He’s the guy from the bar.”

“Who is?” they both asked, confused.

“Jack.”

“Wait, Jack, the maid of honor, is the guy from the bar? The guy you slept with?” Stephanie asked.

Penelope nodded.

“What! You got to sleep with
him
? I’m jealous!” Jasmine exclaimed. “Well, well, well, I didn’t think our very own Penny would ever grow some lady balls and take a hunk to bed!”

“Shh! Not so loud! Come on, you guys! I don’t need my family knowing I’m a fornicator!”

“Sorry, sorry. I just— He’s really— Goddamn it, Penny! He’s a fucking GOD!” Stephanie exclaimed, failing to keep her voice down. Jasmine slapped her arm and gave her a look. “Sorry,” she mumbled.

“So what did he tell you?” Jasmine asked Penelope.

“I have a feeling he thought I was going to break down and beg him to make me his girlfriend. I half expected him to wait for me to announce my undying worship. Prick,” she couldn’t help adding.

“Someone’s a little pissed off.” Stephanie laughed.

“I think you need a drink,” Jasmine added, handing Penelope a glass of iced tea.

Penelope looked at the glass, a little skeptical.

“It’s spiked iced tea. Don’t worry, you won’t get wasted.” Penelope took a sip and was surprised to find she liked it. Just one drink couldn’t hurt, right? She could get a slight buzz and still think about her actions, right? All she needed was to forget the wedding, forget the whispers about her wholesome character, and especially forget the sexy maid of honor dancing with the fit blonde on the dance floor.

* * *

“C
an I have another one of these... things?” Penelope asked the bartender. She was on her second drink and she was starting to get a small buzz. She had been standing with Celeste and her mother, making sure she didn’t get into trouble. Apparently, Celeste was freaking out because the salad dressing contained nuts when she had specifically ordered it to have none. Some of Bryan’s family members were allergic. Penelope was growing tired of her sister’s episode and it didn’t help that she couldn’t seem to look away from Jack.

The guy had no shame. He had the balls to reprimand her for not being more involved in her sister’s affairs while he was neglecting his duties toward Celeste.

She was here, trying to comfort her stressed sister who was losing her mind, while her official maid of honor was sucking face with one of the promiscuous cheerleading bridesmaids and shamelessly grabbing her ass. She didn’t understand it. She didn’t understand how she managed to let herself fall for his charms. Who knew how many women he had fucked before he did her? Not to mention, she was probably the first girl he had slept with who was a complete hippo compared to all the others. A size ten in a string of size two girls.

Why did she notice it anyway? Why did she notice the way he paid attention to each girl as if she were the only person in the room full of guests? Why did she notice the way he seductively kissed the nameless blonde with such passion? It wasn’t as if she cared. It wasn’t for her benefit, but for her sister. This was her sister’s night and she wasn’t going to let some spoiled, selfish Casanova ruin it.

“Where did you meet him?” she asked Celeste.

“Who?”

“Your ‘charming’ MOH.”

Celeste laughed. “He was my friend from college. Well, we started off as partners.”

“Partners?” Penelope asked, confused.

“You know I was a cheerleader, right?”

“Right.”

“Well, Jack was my football player. I was assigned to him my freshman year, and was his cheerleader until he graduated.”

Penelope’s face contorted. “So you were his Barbie doll while he called all the shots on the field.”

“Pretty much!”

Penelope shook her head. “Why didn’t you ever mention him to us before?”

“I knew about him,” her mom replied.

“What? How did
I
not know about him?”

“You were never interested in my cheerleading,” Celeste replied simply.

“Well, it’s not exactly a sport with a great reputation, Celeste. I was against you doing it from the first.”

“Exactly, which was why you never knew about Jackie.” Celeste immediately became suspicious. “Why does it bother you so much anyway? Do you like him?” Penelope mustered up a serious look on her face, trying to convince her sister she had no interest in the guy she’d lost her virginity to whatsoever.

“Ay,
mija
. A man who looks like that would never be faithful to you. Why not fall in love with a smart man? Someone like your father.”

“Mom, I think that’s the last kind of man I would ever consider marrying,” Penelope deadpanned. “Besides, who ever said I was even remotely interested in Jack? He’s a brainless compulsive womanizer who doesn’t know how to keep it in his pants!”

“You think he’s gorgeous! You want him so badly, don’t you? You know, I could put in a good word for you. Just wear a dress like tonight and let me do the makeup and hair for you and—”