Popsicles

Chapter 11- Penny

After the concert, Kyle dropped Penny off at her house. Penny could still feel Kyle’s hand on hers, even though they physically weren’t touching each other at the moment. As Penny shut the door to Kyle’s car, she walked up to Kyle.

“Thanks for bringing me tonight. It was fun.” Penny said, smiling widely. Kyle nodded, and looked down at Penny, who was only wearing a black t-shirt.

“Are you cold?” Kyle asked, taking off his grey jacket. Penny shook her head and laughed. “What? I’m just trying to be a gentleman!” 

“No, I’m fine right now. Besides, I’m about to go inside.” Penny said, continuing to giggle. Kyle rolled his eyes sarcastically and followed Penny up to her front door. They had noticed that none of the lights were on, and Penny instantly remembered that her mom had gone out to eat with a few friends. 

“Is everything okay?” Kyle asked, jiggling the doorknob. 

“Yeah, I just gotta get my keys out of my bag.” Penny said, struggling to find the keys in her bag. It was pitch black outside so she took her phone and shone it in her purse, continuing to fumble through her junk filled purse. After searching for her keys for five minutes, she realized her keys weren’t in her bag. They were left on the key rack inside her house. “Shoot.”

“What?” Kyle asked, a look of worry etched onto his face. Penny shoved her tiny phone into her purse, and zipped it up. She looked up at the sky, wondering what to do next. Should she call her mom to come home early? No, that would be rude. The last thing Penny wanted to do was intrude her mother’s friendly gathering at who-knows-where. 

“I left my keys inside.” Penny sighed, obviously frustrated. Suddenly, a cool breeze enveloped Penny and goosebumps began to form on her arms. She rubbed her arms, trying to warm herself up. “I have no idea what to do.” 

“Well, first of all,” Kyle started, taking off his grey jacket once again. “Lets warm you up before you freeze to death.” Kyle helped Penny slip her arms into his jacket, and then they continued contemplating on what to do next. 

“We can throw a rock through the window.” Kyle suggested. “Wait, where’s your dad? Shouldn’t he be home?” 

“He’s stationed in Afghanistan actually.” Penny said, looking down at her feet, which were currently freezing inside her shoes. Kyle nodded, feeling a bit guilty of bringing up the topic of her dad. 

“Why don’t you call Katherine? I mean, I would invite you to my place but I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.” Kyle explained, continuing to look through the window placed by the front door. Penny nodded her head, and fished out her phone from her purse once again. She clicked on Katherine’s contact as the phone began to ring. 

“Hello?” Katherine said.

“Hey Katherine, I have a little dilemma.” Penny said, her voice trailing off. 

“Shoot.” 

“So, I’m locked out of my house and I kind of need a place to stay tonight.” 

“You can stay at my place! Wait, but before we make any official plans, how’d the date go?” 

“Good...” Penny said, her voice fading away. She couldn’t help but blush, even though nothing major was going on between Kyle and her. The closest they got was holding hands, and that was only for a few minutes before the concert started. 

“You have to give me the details when I get here to pick you up. You can borrow some of my pajamas. See you in a couple of minutes.” Katherine said, while the sound of beeping from the other line followed right after.