Make a Wish

New Friends Meet Old

Turning 21 was honestly not a big deal to Penelope. It was just another year to her. Except this year would have been rather lonely, considering she was finishing her bachelor's degree with a semester abroad in America. She had no family (though she couldn't complain too much about that), but no friends either. No Eloise and no Colin. At least they called and texted her all the time. She missed them like crazy, and this day probably would have been spent moping about her flat, eating her favorite fat and sugar filled snacks, and watching trash TV. Had it not been for Kaitlyn and Yasmin anyway.
Penelope had met them at Uni, and they became fast friends. The two girls quickly decided upon discovering that is was her birthday that those plans were a 'travesty' and insisted on going out. So, here she was at a crowded downtown pub ringing in another year of her life with a watered down vodka cran. 
"Cheers to your first legal drink!" Yasmin wooed. Yes, she was indeed a 'woo girl', Penelope thought with a fond roll of her eyes.
"Cheers!" Penelope and Kaitlyn yelled in unison, Penelope's a bit halfhearted, not that the girls noticed. They clinked their drinks together and each took a sip. Just as Penelope was about to take another drink, she felt a heavy presence behind her, the scent of her favorite cologne filled her lungs, and a puff of hot air brushed against her ear.
"Who's going to tell them that you can drink at eighteen in England?" A rather cheeky voice whispered, one she knew all too well.
Penelope jumped down from her stool and threw her arms around him. "Colin!" She exclaimed.
She felt Colin relax in her arms as he hugged her back. "Hi, Pen," he sighed, his smile still present.
Penelope pulled back and shot him a confused look. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in Sri Lanka."
"I had to come see my girl for her birthday, didn't I?" He said with a grin that made her melt. The two stared at one another for what felt like an eternity. The rest of the world seemed to fade away as they basked in the overwhelming feeling of home that washed over them. Until two girls quite loudly cleared their throats.
Penelope's eyes bulged for a moment as she snapped herself out of her lovesick daze. Damn it, she was doing it again, Penelope cursed herself. Whenever she was around Colin, it was like she forgot all sense of self and time. "Oh! This is Colin. Colin, this is Kaitlyn and Yasmin, my friends from Uni," she rushed to say.
Yasmin grinned, leaning back in her seat with a knowing glint in her eyes. "So you're Colin. We've heard so much about you." Penelope didn't like the way she said that, and she really didn't like how proud Colin looked at having heard she talked about him so much. Of course she talked about him, she was in love with him! But he didn't need to know that! She glared at her friends, subtly kicking Yasmin under that table.
Kaitlyn took a slow sip from her drink. "Seems like you two are always on the phone. I don't know how Penny ever gets any studying done," she mused.
"Kaitlyn!" Penelope hissed. God, she needed new friends. Americans were not good at reading social cues.
"What did I say?" Kaitlyn pouted, feigning innocence.
Colin chuckled beside her, rubbing the back of his neck in that sheepishly adorable way he always did. "Yep, that's me. Trust me, I'm sure Pen here is just as annoyed with me as you are."
"More," Penelope teased. He chuckled in response.
"So, what are we drinking? Wait, do you mind if I join you?" He asked. Colin was always so good at making friends wherever he went, Penelope thought, a bit jealous but mostly in awe. Everything about him just put people at ease, especially her.
"Not at all," Yasmin assured him, clearly charmed. Luckily, her friends knew how she felt about Colin, and they wouldn't try anything, not. "Sit," she said, patting the table in a friendly manner. "We've got vodka crans to warm up, then we'll probably do some shots of tequila."
Colin made an immediate face of disgust. "Ugh, no. Pen's gonna want something fruity and sweet, and more alcohol than that. I'll go order for everyone. Be right back."
Penelope wasn't even surprised that he'd offer to order for her. He did it all the time, even at restaurants. He just knew her so well. Yet another thing she loved about him.
"So...THE Colin?" Her friend asked when he was gone.
Penelope groaned, slamming her head onto the sticky tabletop, regretting ever telling these two anything. "Shut up, Yasmin," she grumbled.
"I didn't say anything," Yasmin denied, taking a casual sip of her nearly gone vodka cran.
"He's my friend," Penelope insisted, downing the rest of her drink. "He thinks of me as a sister. That's it."
Yasmin hummed in response, clearly not buying it. "If you say so. My brother didn't even drive out from Pittsburg to see me on my birthday and that's only a few hours away."
Penelope rolled her eyes. How could she explain unrequited love to these two gorgeous women who've probably never been dumped in their lives? "Colin travels for work. This is nothing to him. It's probably a layover to London. Honestly, it doesn't mean anything. Now can we please stop talking about it and drink?" She begged, shaking her empty glass.
"Of course," Kaitlyn said, a bit more sympathetic. "You know, since we're already going to be making some bad decisions tonight, have you considered if you want to take anyone home with you?"
Penelope laughed right in their faces. They did not know her at all if they thought she'd go for that. "God no. I'm really not sure I want my first time to be a drunken one night stand," she said, stirring the ice in her glass. Behind her, she heard Colin begin coughing violently. Penelope rushed to take the drinks from him and patted him softly on the back. "Col, are you okay?" She asked, worried.
"Yup, fine," he choked out, his voice strangled as he tried to recover. He managed a tight smile, which quickly broke with another sputtered cough. "Went down the wrong pipe. All good." Penelope smiled back, unsure until he returned it genuinely. That was enough for her, and she regretfully took her hand away. "I got everyone some..." Colin paused, his cheeks and ears turning beet red. "Some cocktails. The bartender said they're good," he mumbled.
"Thanks, Colin," Yasmin said, reaching for one of the bright colored glasses. "Ooh, these are good!" She hummed.
"Yeah, what are they called?" Kaitlyn asked.
"Um..." He paused again, his face growing impossibly brighter. "Pop My Cherry," he mumbled.
Immediately, Kaitlyn and Yasmin began laughing hysterically. Penelope realized by Colin's reaction that he must have heard her declaration earlier. She wasn't embarrassed by it, per se. It's not like she was going out of her way to have sex or not have sex. It would happen when it was supposed to. She certainly didn't want Colin to be embarrassed about it though. It wasn't a big deal.
The girls continued laughing. "Shut up," Penelope hissed. "Thank you, Col," she said sweetly, putting a hand on his upper arm to assure him that he didn't need to worry. She reached over to grab the other glass and took a slow slip. She let out an involuntary moan as the fruity, boozy flavors hit her tongue. "You were right, I like this a lot better." Colin just looked away uncomfortably, and Penelope once again wished she hadn't said anything. He really must have thought of her as a sister if this was his reaction to the mere idea or her having sex.
"Well," Kaitlyn said, breaking the tension. "We're gonna go order another round." Nevermind that they had barely started drinking these ones. "Penny, do you want another Pop My Cherry?" The girls start laughing again, hanging onto each other's shoulders so they didn't fall over.
Penelope ducked her head in her hands. "Oh my God, you two! Yes, fine, whatever. Go." Anything to get them to stop teasing about the virginity thing. Finally, they go, leaving Colin and Penelope alone. "I'm so sorry about them," Penelope apologizes.
"It's...it's fine," Colin says, still a bit awkward. "While I have you alone, I wanted to give you your present."
She looked around the bar, wondering why he chose this moment to give her the present. Maybe he really was on layover and was leaving in the morning. "Now?" She asked.
Colin nodded. "I can't wait." He reached into his coat pocket to pull out a sleek black book.
"Col, what is this?"
"It's my journals," he explained, more shy than she had ever seen him. "I got a friend to compile them into a book, and I'm going to send it into a publisher."
"Colin, that's amazing!" She explaimed, grabbing his hand excitedly, unable to keep the look of sheer joy off her face. "I'm so proud of you!"
His smile in response was softer, but still a bit bashful. "I couldn't have done it without you, Pen. Honestly. But there's more. Look inside."
Penelope opened the book and began reading aloud the handwriting that she instantly recognized as Colin's.
"For seeing something in me that even I couldn't. You are my biggest supporter and my greatest muse, and I owe all of my success to you. Happy birthday, Pen." She could already feel the tears burning her eyes, and then she saw something shimmering under the bright lights of the room. A necklace. A gorgeous diamond necklace that must have cost him a fortune and she definitely didn't deserve. "Col..." she said, feeling the tears fall as a wave of emotions came over her. Luckily, she chose waterproof mascara.
"Please don't cry, Pen. I hate seeing you cry" Colin whispered, slightly panicked. For someone so good at charming and comforting people, he was never any good at seeing her cry. He wiped the tears from her eyes and forced her gaze on his.
She gave a watery laugh. "They're happy tears, Col. Thank you for this," she said, holding up the journal. "And the necklace...which had better be fake because I most definitely do not deserve something this beautiful."
Colin scowled, then his face softened. "Oh, it's real. And you most definitely do deserve it. You deserve all the diamonds in the world, Pen. You deserve everything, and I never want to hear you say otherwise."
"Thank...thank you," she whispered, unsure if there was anything else to be said. "Could you maybe put it on me?"
"O-okay," he stammered. "Turn around." His fingers brushed against her neck for perhaps a moment too long as he fiddled with the clasp.
"How does it look?" She asked, turning again to face him.
"Breathtaking," Colin replied, his eyes never leaving hers as he let out a shuddering breath just to prove his word.
Yet another eternity passed as they stared at one another, until Penelope's friends once again interrupted. "So," Kaitlyn announced, "we decided to try something called a Princess---woah, what the hell, dude?! Did you make Penelope cry?!"
"What?" Colin shouted, jumping away from her. "No! I mean, not like that."
"Kaitlyn, it's fine," Penelope said, placating everyone. "Colin just said something really sweet and I'm being all weepy about it," she explained, wiping her cheeks.
Kaitlyn still looked skeptical. "Okay...but if you hurt her, I'll kick your ass," she promised. "I don't need to know you to know I shouldn't trust you. All men are pigs. It's a fact."
Colin chuckled, leaning to whisper in Penelope's ear. "It's a bit like having Eloise around, isn't it?"
"Where do you think she gets it from?" Penelope snickered.
"What?"
"Kaitlyn and El are dating."
A look of understanding washed over Colin's face. "Ah, so this is the Kitty my sister has been talking so incessantly about," he surmised.
"Hey!" Kaitlyn protested. "Only Ellie gets to call me that!"
Colin grinned smugly, far too pleased to be able to hold this over his sister's head. "Oh, I am so going to torture her about this."
"Where'd you get the necklace, Penelope?" Yasmin asked suddenly.
"Colin gave it to me just now. Isn't it pretty?" Penelope ran her fingers delicately across the sparkling gem resting above her breasts.
"It's gorgeous," Yasmin practically swooned. "You know, my brother has never bought me jewelery..." she pouted.
"For God's sake, Yasmin, let it go," Penelope begged, rolling her eyes as she took another sip of her drink.
"Did you tell them I was your brother?" Colin asked, sounding confused and slightly hurt. Surely there was no reason to be.
"I said you were like a brother, because we've known each other for so long. It doesn't matter," she said avoidantly, finishing her drink and reaching for another.
A few drinks later, the girls (and Colin) decided it was time to go home.
"We're gonna grab an Uber to our place. You wanna come, Penny? Colin can come too if he wants," Kaitlyn offered.
"Actually, I was going to walk home. It's just a few blocks," Penelope said, never one to burden anyone.
"By yourself?" Colin scoffed. "No way, I'll walk you."
"How chivalrous," Yasmin drawled, clearly tipsy. "Have birthday, Penny! Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"
"So, nothing then?" Kaitlyn joked. "Happy birthday, Penny," she said with a parting hug and kiss on the cheek.
"Thanks, girls. See you later," Penelope called after them with a wave as she began walking towards her apartment with Colin. Alone.