257: Boomer
I shouldn’t look at her like this.
But I do. Every time.
Even now, standing under the buzzing fluorescents of the studio hallway, her cheeks flushed from rehearsal and that gauzy costume slipping off one shoulder like something out of a dream I look. I always do.
Penny.
It doesn’t matter that I know the rules. Doesn’t matter that she’s in love with someone else. That I’d never
cross the line. That I can’t.
She’s like… breath held in a cathedral. Light through stained glass. A secret you want to keep even when it breaks you.
I pretend I’m here for Mila.
And I am. Mostly.
But Penny’s still part of the equation I haven’t figured out how to solve. A ghost that still feels real.
She sees me
–
really sees me
—
and that glow in her face when she runs into my arms hits like a punch to the ribs. Like forgiveness I didn’t earn.
“Booms!” she says, and throws her whole self into me. Small, light, radiant.
I hold her tight and breathe her in. That scent of hers–coconut and vanilla and something uniquely her- hits me like it always does. Warmth. Longing. A need I shouldn’t entertain.
She pulls back and grins up at me. “What are you doing here?”
I open my mouth, but nothing comes out at first.
What am I doing here?
Looking for an excuse, probably.
But then Mila cuts in, confident and electric. “We’ve been talking. And he’s hot, so now he’s taking me for
sushi.”
Right. That’s the excuse.
And suddenly the atmosphere changes. Penny blinks. Stares at Mila. Then at me. Then back again. Her jaw drops a little before she bursts into laughter, pure and real and beautiful, and it shakes something loose in my chest.
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Chapter 257: Boomer
She hugs Mila goodbye, throws a wink my way, and says something about not breaking me. Mila makes some wild joke about taking full advantage, and yeah–my ears burn. I know I blush. And when we leave, Penny’s laughter follows us down the hallway like a melody I almost remember.
But the weight of her doesn’t leave my chest.
It never really does.
Later that night, I lie in bed, lights off, the soft hum of the fan spinning overhead. My phone buzzes.
Mila: Next time I’m picking the restaurant. Sushi was cute but I need spice. Like fire. Like death. Like noodles that melt your tongue off.
I chuckle, thumb hovering over the screen.
Me: So… Thai?
Mila: Exactly. You get me. Scary.
Me: I live to terrify you.
I hit send, and then… I don’t know. I just stare at the screen for a minute.
Because two weeks ago, this felt impossible.
Two weeks ago, I was still reeling from Penny’s hands on my shoulders, from that night in the snow, from the knowledge that she would never be mine. And now?
Now I’m texting someone else. Someone who wears chaos like a crown and insults my music taste with surgical precision. Someone who doesn’t flinch when I’m quiet, or weird, or way too intense.
Mila.
She’s unpredictable. Loud in all the ways Penny is soft. She’s made of bold lipstick and unfiltered opinions and the kind of loyalty that makes you feel bulletproof. And she knows about Penny. I told her the first time we started talking really talking
really talking after that dinner.
–
–
I’d said, “I used to… feel something. For Penny.”
And she just sipped her soda, looked me dead in the eye, and said, “Of course you did. She’s literally a fairy. I love her too. It’s okay. Doesn’t scare me.”
And that was that.
No jealousy. No games.
Just this strange, slow, easy orbit we’ve fallen into. Texts. Jokes. Sharing songs. Her sending me memes at 2AM and me actually smiling like a dumbass when I see her name light up my screen.
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Chapter 257: Boomer
1 still don’t know where it’s going. And I’m okay with that.
It feels like something… good. Something that doesn’t demand all my pieces at once. Mila doesn’t ask me for anything she just meets me where I am.
And yet, still…
I glance toward my dresser drawer. The one I told myself I wouldn’t open again.
But I do.
I slide it open just an inch and stare down at the thing tucked in the back corner.
Penny’s scrunchie.
I shouldn’t have kept it. It slipped off her wrist weeks ago, and I told myself I’d return it the next time I saw her. But then I didn’t.
Because I’m weak. Or stupid. Or something in between.
It still smells like her.
I press it to my face for half a second, breathing her in, and then drop it back in the drawer and shut it like it might burn me.
That chapter’s closed.
Or it should be.
Because there’s this new chapter now. One with storm–colored eyes and laughter that hits like static and lips that say exactly what they mean.
Mila.
She’s going to ruin me in a completely different way.
And maybe I want her to.
Chapter Comments
KellyCouch
Penny needs to be with both!!!!
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