“Don’t bother Duke. You’re just wasting your time. No reason for you to ruin your night by dealing with my sister. Let her get sent off to boarding school,” Chadwick says with a dismissal wave of his hand. He turns around and instantly his eyes zone in on Lauren. That’s the one thing that Penelope is blind to. She sees the best in people and wants to believe in it—unlike Lauren, who only uses Penelope to get to Sebastian.
With a disgusted shake of my head, I place the glass in my hand on the table beside me and turn around and head downstairs. Penelope has already made it out the door, so I need to move fast enough to catch her—but then again in those heels she had on I doubt she can move too fast. Although, she could easily be mistaken for a street walker and we don’t need that. The club has gotten fuller since our arrival and I have to nudge and elbow my way through the crowd until I reach the door. Once I’m outside I take a deep breath of smog mixed with the slight salty tinge in the air. It’s still better than the sweat and alcohol riddled air inside the club. As I scan the area in front of me I spot Penelope easily enough. When I reach her my hand instantly darts out to wrap around her bicep. The moment her silky soft skin slides through my hands my body reacts. My temperature rises and suddenly the air feels heavy.
Penelope’s hazel eyes meet mine. Her cheeks are flushed, lips painted red, hair dancing in the Hampton Falls breeze. Suddenly, the urge to kiss her hits me. It’s not the first time that it’s hit me, but it’s the first time that I’ve worried I might actually give into it.. I’ve known Penelope my entire life. The lingering urge to make a move on the quick-witted and beautiful woman she’s grown into isn’t new to me. My eyes follow her anytime we are around one another. “Penelope.”
She sighs and shakes her head. “What are you doing Duke?”
“Taking you home,” I reply. “You shouldn’t be out here alone. The world isn’t a place for beautiful things.”
I watch as her head tips to the side. Long caramel colored ringlets tickle my hand that is still grasping her bicep. Her hazel eyes lock on me. “I’m not as naive as everyone thinks I am when it comes to the world.”
“I didn’t mean it like that.” I shake my head. “It’s just the way you’re dressed puts off a certain vibe that could be easily misunderstood. I don’t want you in a situation where you could end up hurt Penelope.”
Silence falls between us. The pulsing music, the traffic on the street beside us and voices from the line of people behind us waiting to get into the club have gone mute to my ears. “You know, you’re the only person who calls me Penelope.” She’s not wrong. Everyone else refers to her as Pen or Penny. Neither seem to suit her like her given name does though, at least to me. “I don’t want to go home,” she admits quietly. Her shoulders sag in defeat.
“Okay, then we won’t.”
She looks at me once more. “I don’t want to stay here either.”
I’m walking on thin ice here. Being around Penelope is too high of a temptation. I’ve been trained to keep emotions out of everything. The female species are only necessary for one thing. If you let your emotions get tangled into the equation then you lose sight of what truly matters. That’s what has been drilled into my head since birth. Penelope is the one girl I can’t keep my emotions away from. They’re fully entangled in every way possible. Spending time alone with her is placing myself too close to the fire. Knowing everything I know, I still say, “We don’t have to. Where do you want to go?”
“Somewhere we can be free,” is her only reply and I know exactly where to take her.
Five
Penelope
I follow Duke around to the back of the club. His hand is on the small of my back the entire time. Tingles dance up and down my spine and I’m shocked that I’ve managed to not fall in these ridiculous shoes I put on for the night. Duke’s bright yellow Audi comes into sight. He unlocks the car and opens the passenger side door. As I pass him the scent of his cologne engulfs me and I swear I get a little weak in the knees. Duke is so close that the slightest move from either of us will have us chest to chest. My skin prickles with unnecessary anticipation. I may be completely in love with Duke, but as I have always said, I am nothing to him. Disappointment wraps around me, smothering me like a warm blanket. After what feels like a bucket of cold water which is really just disappointment, I slide into the seat and he shuts the door. No matter what I can’t help but watch as he walks around the front of the car.
Once he’s settled and has started the car the music takes over the silence that sits between us. His choice of music has always thrown me for a loop. James Bay plays through the speakers and before I realize it Duke already has us on the street and moving toward whatever destination he has decided on. As we come to a stop at a red light I glance at him. His large, strong hands wrapped around the steering wheel makes me wonder what they would feel like if they were tangled in my hair while his lips claim mine. The car suddenly feels hot and stuffy. I attempt to distract myself. “Where are we going?”
Duke looks over at me, his blue eyes pinning me to my seat. I fight the urge to squirm under his watchful stare. “It’s a surprise,” he finally admits.
My eyes roll and Duke raises his eyebrows in question. “I hate surprises.”
He shakes his head. “No one actually hates surprises, Penelope. That’s just something people say thinking it will make them seem less demanding of sorts.”
“Well, I hate to break it to you but you’re wrong.”
Duke pulls the car into one of the port parking lots. “I’m never wrong.”
“I know it’s rare for you but it’s true. At least when it comes to me. Surprises should be fun and exciting but I’ve literally never had a surprise work out that way.”
A cocky smirk graces Duke’s handsome face. “Well, there is a first time for everything.”
Duke kills the engine then climbs out of the car. The passenger door opens and there he stands like some form of God under the moonlight. “What are we doing here?”
“You said you didn’t want to go home. Neither do I. My boat seemed like a good solution for the both of us.” Duke moves to the trunk of the car before I manage to get one leg out of the car. I join him and see him rummaging through an overnight bag. He produces some clothes and shoves them in my direction. “Here. They won’t fit perfectly but they’re something.”
I look down at the gray sweats and black t-shirt in my arms. “You keep clothes in your car?”
Duke shuts the trunk and shrugs his shoulders with one arm full of clothes. “I do. You never know when they might come in handy.”
“Do you spend a lot of nights away from your house?” I ask as I follow behind him toward his boat. He never answers but eventually we reach his boat. He takes my hand, helping me on board, then leads us below deck. “Are you just going to ignore my question?”
“I was planning on it.” I shake my head and drop the clothes onto the leather sofa against the wall. “Penelope, you aren’t the only one searching for freedom in this suffocating world. Some of us are more discreet about it but it doesn’t mean we don’t want it as well.”
I scoff. “TheDuke Parrish wants freedom?”