“Mom?”
I looked up at the sound of Penny’s voice cutting through haze of the morning. Her eyes flicked over to where I stood near the kitchen sink before focusing on Nikki who scribbled something else down on her notepad.
“What are you doing?” Penny asked with a tired smile. “You look like you’re annoying Gabriel.”
Nikki glanced up at me indifferently. “I am getting you all groceries. That’s what I’m doing. I’ll be back in a little bit. There is a supermarket down the street that I can walk to.”
She kissed Penny on the apple of her check before the front door clicked shut behind her. Penny and I stood there in a mild daze before she let out a strained laugh.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “She can be tenacious about things.”
I shook my head. “I’m just glad that we have some alone time to talk.”
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“I suppose,” Penny said, and reached up to twirl a finger through her hair nervously. “I’m sorry about kicking you out last night. I just didn’t want things to get out of control.”
My erection already throbbed with the temptation to take advantage of the time we had alone together. This was why we never had the chance to talk. We both wanted to be physically close to one another. Just one kiss. It wouldn’t hurt to indulge in one little kiss.
Penny’s eyes widened as I approached, but she didn’t back away. She looked up at me through long, dark lashes that framed her beautiful eyes.
“What are you doing?” she whispered, panic intermingling with desire. “What if—”
“Alyssa is gone,” I said, quieting her fears. “And your mom just left. Just one kiss.”
I pushed my lips against hers. A small sigh escaped her lips as she returned the kiss. Her arms wound around my neck, and she tilted her head back for an even deeper kiss. Our tongues touched lightly while I slid my hands along the slope of her back to grasp her firm ass cheeks through the sweat pants she wore.
“Hey, Penny. I was thinking that—”
The sound of Nikki’s voice felt like cold water splashing over Penny and me. I didn’t even have time to let go of Penny when her mother strolled back into the kitchen, stopping in complete shock and horror. Her wide eyes swept over Penny, who hastily moved away, before “What the hell is going on?” she yelled.
“Mom,” Penny started. “Please, don’t freak out. Don’t—”
Nikki didn’t bother hearing the rest of her daughter’s words. Her eyes cut at me coldly as she turned to walk out of the room.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN - PENNY
The door slammed shut so hard behind my mom that the mirror on the wall crashed down to the floor and shattered into a million pieces. Tears were streaming down my face as I gently pulled myself away from Gabriel who stood quietly behind me.
“I have to go after her,” I whispered. “After everything that has happened, I need to go talk to her alone for a moment.”
Gabriel nodded in understanding. “I understand. I’ll give you both a few minutes alone.”
Mindful of the shattered glass on the floor, I slipped into a pair of boots to jog down the hallway, hoping to find her standing at the elevators. She was nowhere in sight at the end of the hallway. The only clue I had was the little indicator above the elevator doors that was traveling downward to the lobby.
I pushed past the stairwell entrance and jogged down the steps as fast as I could. The air was bitterly cold in here, and every breath stung my chest. This was the last thing I’d wanted to happen, but it was out in the open now, like I had assumed it would be eventually. I just wanted to minimize the damage.
As much as I wanted to explore my feelings for Gabriel, I didn’t want to lose my mother in the process. She had just lost her boyfriend after he assaulted me. Even though the guy was a piece of shit, I knew it had rocked her world. She had cared about him, even if the feeling wasn’t mutual. It was a lot for her to handle, and I was supposed to be the one person she could cling to at a time like this. But I had just shocked her to the core, too. I needed to catch up to her and explain everything. She deserved that much, at least.
I reached the lobby just in time to see the elevator doors slide open. My mother stormed out of them with a furious expression painting her face. She stopped short when I jogged into her path, holding up my hands.
“Hold on,” I panted, trying to catch my breath. “Please, Mom. Just hear me out.”
“The truth would be nice to hear,” she said darkly. “I just walked in on you kissing Gabriel, or was it him kissing you?”
“We were both kissing each other. It wasn’t one-sided.”
My mother crossed her arms over her breasts. “I can’t believe you, Penny. Do you have any idea how old Gabriel is?”