Her once true love defects to Dauntless, abandoning her.
Penelope finds herself lonesome two years later. She has everything she could ask for, but nothing is fulfilling. That's until she comes across Charlie again. Old feelings are lost but somethi...
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FOR the first time, I hadn't received hell for coming across Charlie, or for even speaking to him. Surprisingly, Eric let that whole situation go. He didn't force me to go home, where he usually berated me then did what I hated most. But, I wasn't completely off the hook and I was still forbidden to speak with Charlie.
Sometimes it felt like I was more of a child than a young woman.
That night hadn't changed a lot, but Eric made an exception. Besides continuing to forbid any sort of contact from Charlie, he made a better person of himself. It might have kept me on my toes but I was accepting whatever little change he was making.
"Did you guys like my gift?"
I frowned, popping a cashew in my mouth.
"We sent you a thank you note," I replied.
"Yeah, but that was while you were on the whole I-don't-want-to-open-the-wedding-gifts-yet, so you never actually saw what I got you guys."
When it dawned on me that Raymond was absolutely right, he laughed. The thank you notes were sent out, but I hadn't decided to open the gifts until long after that. The result was that we received some wonderful things, but there was a clutter we had to find room for. Thankfully, Eric and I found room for most stuff, while some went into the guest bedroom/mini library.
"Well, thank you for the wine bottle, but you do know I don't drink, right?"
Raymond nodded, taking a drink from his bottle of water.
"Still pretty awesome. How many people get a personalized bottle with their names on it? Not many."
"You got a solid point, man," Eric quickly chimed in.
Watching him walk through the doorway set my senses on high alert, and I instantly stiffened. Eric caught on to my change, which made him shake his head. It wasn't time to let tension come between us, especially when around friends. So, I forced a smile and leaned back.
"Mister and Missus Agrippa, still strange to say, but who gives a damn!" Raymond boomed happily.
I gave a damn, but only because it still felt strange to me. The year before, I wasn't married, but the following year changed that completely.
"So, big question for you two."
Eric raised his pierced eyebrow. He had finally settled down next to me, an arm thrown around my shoulders. Then, there was the subtle way in which his thumb brushed my arm, somehow soothing my nerves. I had completely ignored Raymond, and instead set my attention on Eric.
His attention was on our friend, who had gotten some answer from Eric. I only watched him chewing what might have been the inside of his cheek, then the repeated nodding of his head. Finally, he turned and met my eyes, something that oddly terrified me.
