Wouldn't You Like to Know?

Eleven

Eleven

It had been nearly a week since Penelope had seen Colin. She tried hard not to think about it, except that she had seen pictures and videos of him out with other women. Dancing in night clubs. Flirting. Posing for pictures with fans. As she sat there doom scrolling on Instagram, she couldn't help but realize she was being ridiculous. They weren't even in a relationship. Colin had basically said she should be his workplace booty call. Meanwhile, Penelope had ignored calls and texts from David Debling, another old friend of hers that had actually stayed in her life.

David was a journalist. He wrote at The New York Times and worked with Eloise. He had been the one to get Penelope's book passed onto her when Penelope hadn't been brave enough to. He had been one of the few people that had stuck around when her father had been arrested.

He had also texted her that morning and asked her to go to coffee. Something they'd been trying to plan for the past month now that she kept on putting off because she had been on deadline for the last, final installment of The Gossip book series. She had had trouble writing it.

This morning though, after seeing yet another post of Colin out with women, she decided she was going to call David. She had let herself be fooled by Colin for the last time. She was one of the richest writers in the world, damn it. She wasn't a simpering, teenage girl that was obsessed with him. If Colin Bridgerton actually wanted her, he could come and get her. But she wouldn't be waiting.

She called David.

He answered on the first ring. "Penelope? Is that you?"

Penelope smiled. "Hi! Um, good morning."

"Good morning to you too---are you mad at me?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm not mad at you. I've been busy. I was working on a deadline for the last book."

"Oooh----did you finally get it written, Lulu Rochester?"

She blushed. He was also one of the few people who knew her real identity. "You know I don't talk about my work. As far as everyone knows, Lulu Rochester is currently vacationing somewhere with a beach view to do some research for the final installment of the series."

David chuckled. He had a deep laugh, and she had always like the sound of that. Penelope had dated on and off, but she had been careful with David because he was one of her few friends. She hadn't wanted to lose him by dating him only to break his heart. If that was even what would happen...

"Right," said David, "that's code for you still have writer's block. You know what could help you with your writer's block?"

Penelope found herself blushing even though he wasn't in the room with her. She always blushed. Why was that? "What exactly did you have in mind, Debling?"

"How about a night out on the town? I can take you to go see Hadestown for the millionth time, and we'll have dinner. I'm supposed to review it anyway for a Broadway retrospective I'm doing."

"Broadway retrospective? That's not very politically. Isn't that what you normally write?"

"Yes, but our features editor is currently on bedrest because she's pregnant, so I'm helping pick up the slack. Come on, Penelope. I thought you were finally coming around to the idea of us. I saw the pictures of you and Bridgerton----what happened?"

Penelope sighed. "Nothing happened. He's starring in the movie version of The Gossip. He was there to drop off some paperwork."

"Did you tell him about Lulu?"

Penelope played with one of her red curls. "No, I didn't. That would mean him finding out that Wallflowers was inspired by him and he'd know every, dirty thought I had ever had.

David laughed. "Wouldn't that be a relief, though?"

She shook her head. "Writing about the Bridgerton's was what made me lose their friendship in the first place."

"Pen, there are plenty, more interesting people in this life than the Bridgerton's. You spend your whole life in that little brownstone of yours. You need to get out and meet people besides them. You're in New York. One of the most interesting cities on the planet. Let me take you out and really introduce you to the city."

Penelope smiled. That was why she liked being David's friend. He always had a way of getting her out of a funk. "You know what? Hell yeah! Let's do that. I could use some fun and thanks to the payday I got, I won't have to worry about being a broke, deadweight."

"Good. Hadestown, this Friday. And then we'll do dinner and drinks before, yeah?"

"Sounds perfect."

"You're going to start living your life, Penelope. You'll make it a beautiful one. I'm sure. Now, go write your damn book. You've got it in you. Besides, I already know that the movie is going to be wildly successful even if it does have Colin Bridgerton in it. The studio is going to be clamoring to adapt the whole series, and you will be rolling in the dough."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah, really. Get to work, Lulu Rochester."

Penelope let out a little, nervous laugh. "Alright. Go to work. I'm sure you've got human interest pieces on animals or great grandparents to write."

"Yes, I have one on a duck in Central Park."

"Will you take pictures and send them to me?"

"Of course I will. I know how much you love them."

"Right. See you this weekend."

"See you."

The call ended. It was not the weekend plans that she had hoped for, but it was something. David at least knew exactly what he wanted. Unlike Colin Bridgerton, who seemed to know absolutely nothing, although Penelope had once thought that he hung the moon. She was going to have to realize that he didn't and she could do that herself.