Chapter 31: Penny
The booth is too small.
Or maybe it just feels that way because Asher Black is sitting less than an inch away from me, radiating enough heat to bake a tray of cookies
between us.
It’s not like he’s touching me
not even close.
He’s just… there. Heavy. Immovable. Solid in a way that feels almost aggressive.
The kind of presence that takes up air.
I shift slightly, but it doesn’t help.
If anything, it just makes me more aware of him inside out.
–
the way the heat pours off him like he’s a furnace set too high, like he’s boiling from the
Is that just how he is?
Or is he mad?
All of the above, maybe.
I can barely hear myself think over the rush of blood in my ears, over the heavy beat of my own pulse hammering through my body. The noise of the restaurant – laughter, clinking glasses, people shouting over music buzzes against my skin like static.
Across the table, Rebecca twirls her hair around her finger and says, in a voice dripping with sugar and fake innocence,
“Wow, Penelope’s actually eating something for once.”
I freeze with my slice halfway to my mouth.
The words are light, casual, but sharp enough that I feel them slice into me before they even finish echoing.
Tyler doesn’t notice the tone
He laughs and leans in.
–
of course he doesn’t.
“What do you mean?” he says brightly. “Penny eats all the time! She’s like a bottomless pit.”
I blink.
Hard.
Please stop.
Please shut up.
“Seriously,” Tyler barrels on, oblivious, “you should see her after recitals. She could out–eat the whole team. Remember that time vou took down an entire meat–lovers‘ pizza by yourself? I thought you were gonna explode.”
A few people chuckle half–heartedly.
Zoe snorts into her drink.
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Chapter 31: Penny
I can feel my face burning, creeping up from my collarbone to the tops of my ears, hot enough that I wonder if it’s visible from space.
I set the pizza down carefully, pretending I’m not dying inside.
Asher doesn’t move.
Doesn’t laugh.
Doesn’t even breathe differently.
He’s just sitting there – this huge, hot wall of tension at my side and somehow that’s worse, because I know he heard everything.
“Maybe she’s just shy,” Rebecca says sweetly, still twirling her hair.
She leans forward, angling herself toward Asher now.
“I bet you’re shy too, huh, Asher? Maybe you just need someone to help you loosen up.”
She bats her lashes so hard it’s a miracle she doesn’t take off like a helicopter.
I stare down at my plate, wishing it would swallow me whole.
Then, without warning, I feel Asher shift.
He leans forward, elbow on the table, his voice low and so dry it could burn.
“You’re not my type,” he says, straight at Rebecca.
The entire table freezes.
There’s a beat a breath where nobody moves.
Then Jo lets out a low whistle and mutters, “Ouch.”
Even Tyler glances up, eyebrows raised.
Rebecca blinks like she’s been slapped.
She recovers fast – fake laugh, toss of her perfect hair
“Don’t be silly. I’m everyone’s type.”
Asher doesn’t even look at her.
He turns slightly, facing more toward me instead, like she’s not even worth another second of his attention.
My heart twists painfully in my chest.
For a second, I can’t breathe.
I can feel him at my side – the heat rolling off him, the solid curve of his shoulder level with my head – and it’s like standin bonfire. Too much. Too big. Too real.
I risk a glance up at him.
to a
All I can see is the underside of his jaw, the strong line of his throat, the stretch of black fabric over his broad shoulders.
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Chapter 31. Penny
He feels closer than anyone’s ever felt.
I swallow hard and yank my gaze away before he can catch me staring.
Anyway, Rebecca says brightly, forcing a laugh, ‘I guess not everyone appreciates good taste.”
She flashes a smile at the table a smile too wide,
The laughter picks up again, but it sounds thinner
polished – and launches into a story about some party I wasn’t invited to.
More forced.
I force myself to pick up my pizza and take a bite I don’t
taste.
Zoe leans into Tyler’s side again, giggling at something he
He doesn’t pull away.
Of course he doesn’t.
her hand brushing against his arm deliberately.
He probably thinks it’s harmless.
I pick at the crust, feeling small, feeling stupid for feeling small, hating myself for letting any of this get to me.
“You’re quiet,” Asher murmurs, voice low enough that only I can hear it.
I blink, startled.
I didn’t think he’d talk to me.
Not here.
Not now.
“I’m fine,” I say automatically, too fast, too bright.
He hums, skeptical,
The sound vibrates between us, low and deep, like a bass note I can feel more than hear.
I can’t look at him.
If I do, I’ll say something stupid.
If I do, I’ll probably cry.
So I keep my eyes on my plate, the edge of the greasy cardboard slice blurring.
“Don’t let them get to you,” Asher says, voice/a little rougher now. “They’re not worth it.”
I clench my jaw, pressing my nails into my palms under the table.
“I’m used to it,” I say quietly.
‘Doesn’t mean you should be,” he says.
Chapter 31: Penny
Simple: Flat.
Like it’s obvious.
Like there’s no debate.
I sit there, trying not to show how much that hits me.
Trying not to show how much that matters.
Across the booth, Rebecca’s still talking, Zoe still laughing, Tyler still oblivious.
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