Falling for my boyfriend’s Navy brother
Chapter 71: Penny
The contract lies in front of me like a mountain, its pages crisp and dense with small priol. My i Trom it. Penelope Vales. Penelope Vales. Lead sole. Tril. Mic
y name is 1:
Typed so many times almost art to dimaskóciala
Iches on the end of a pen and lean back against the beahead. My ballet bag sits on the flour, still had zipped, like even it can’t believe what t happened. I’ve read through the first four pages–introduction, renditions, expectations–hut there’s still a stark to go. Behearsal schedules, perberende dates, studio regulations, matsition plans, mental health support resources. It’s overwhelming and exhilarating all at once,
I should be focused. I want to be focused. But my brain keeps tripping over the same thought, looping around the sam
Tyler had plans.
It’s stupid, right? He has a life. Friends. Things he committed in, lle’s not obligated in rearrange his would just because I got the best news of mine. Still… I can’t shake the ache. This was the kind of moment you dream of sharing. The kind of moment that deserved firmworks or a dinner or at least one person insisting on doing something ridiculous and over–the–top just to see you smile,
He used to do that. Not that long ago, actually.
I blink rapidly as tear start to well, determined not to let them fall No. I won’t let this feeling tamish today. I worked too hard, bed through too many shoes, pushed through too many cracked nails and sleepless rights and self–docht to cry over a boy who couldn’t say no to a Friday night hangost
I exhale through my nose, fold another page over, and keep reading. I underline something about warm–up protocols in red. I reach for a highlighter and freeze when a soft knock taps at the door.
1 sit up a little
le straighter, sniff once, and say,
“Come in.”
The door open a rack, and Asher steps in, keys twirling lacity in his hand. He’s in a black hoodie now, sloves shoved up to his elbows, revealing the same tattoos I’ve gotten a little too used to seeing. His hair’s still damp from his earlier shower, and something about that feels so… domestic. Like this is our house and he’s checking in on me before we go run errands or something.
He studies mAR
dies me for a second, eyes unreadable, then mods toward the keys. “You coming?”
I blink. “What?”
“We’re going somewhere.”
1 drop my pen “her, I’m really-” I shake my head and gesture vaguely at the papers. “I don’t think I’m up for it right now. You’ve already done enough. today.”
He walks fully into the room and perches at the edge of my bed, like he’s done this a hundred times before. He looks at me, calm but serious “Penny”
The way he says it–it’s not soft, but it’s not harsh either–stops my excuse in its tracks.
He continues. “I spend most hours of every day surrounded by death, pain, injuries, stress, when something good happens, something worth remembering. “there’s always something to moum at the same time. That’s just how it goes. You learn to live with it, learn to carry it”
I stay quiet. His eyes hold mine, and there’s a weight in then I don’t fully understand but feel in my bones.
“I’m home now,” he says, voire lower. “And I haven’t seen someone be that happy about an accomplishment is years. Maybe ever. You’re glowing. You earne amething incredible. And I’m not going to let my idiot beather ruin that ”
I press my lips together, trying not to cry again, but apparently today I’m just a mess of nerves and joy and sadness, because a tear slips out anyway-
His hand reaches up and brushes it away before I can even react. He lingers there, thumb still–et the corner of my eye, his palm warm against my check,
“I want to do something that I can’t do when I’m out there,” he says quietly “tant to celebrate with someone who actually has something to celebrate. I can’t promise I love whatever we do, and I reserve the right to make fun of you if it’s ridiculous”
“Rude”
Chapter 71: Penny
but I’m doing this as much for you as 1
1 let out a shaky laugh and sniff again. “Yon make it really hard to say no, you know that?”
He stands and gestures at me. “Now, do I have to drag you out of this room or are you going to put your Penny smile back on and Ellow me willingly
I smile without meaning in, the kind that aches just a little.
“Would you rather,” I start, already grinning, “have to frown every time you’re happy, or give a foll, teeth haring, super intense mile every time you’re sad?
He points at me. “There she is.”
I throw a pillow at him. He dodges it with a smirk.
“I didn’t hear an answer,” I say as I stand and tug on my shoes.
He opens the
door and starts down the stairs. “Frowning’s my natural state. And I don’t get sad.
I follow him. “You don’t get sad?”
“No. But I do get annoyed. Like when people ask me weird questions on the daily.”
I laugh, skipping the last step just to bump his shoulder. “You love it.”
He doesn’t deny it.
In the car, I buckle in and he turns his phone toward me. A map is open, and at the top of the screen is a familiar name,
“Oh my god,” I gasp. “You found the fair!
“You said it’s your favorite.”
“You actually listened?”
He side–eyes. “I’m not deaf.”
1 grin so hard my cheeks hurt. “This is going to be the best day ever.”
He starts the engine. “Put your seatbelt on, princess.”
Chapter Comments
3
