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“Innocent?” she suggested as she filled both glasses from her Brita jug. That was what everyone thought about her. Sweet, good little Penny. The “little” in her case being figurative, of course. Because of her size, men tended to assume she was inexperienced. Naive. Desperate.
“Wholesome.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Thanks.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard you swear.”
She shrugged as she carried the water to the table. “My parents discouraged it—strenuously—so I never got into the habit. But that doesn’t mean I disapprove when other people do it. I’m not a prude.”
“So you didn’t mind when I did it?”
“You mean earlier, when…” When he’d been naked in her bed, begging to fuck her. Her cheeks heated at the memory. “No, that was hot.”
“I was a little worried I might have offended you.”
“Definitely not. Feel free to talk as dirty as you want.” She propped her chin in her hand as she watched him eat his omelet. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Did you really have somewhere to be yesterday when you left?”
He glanced up. “Did you think I was lying?”
Yes. She shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
“I really had somewhere I had to go.”
“Have you got another girl on the side?” she teased. “More than one, maybe?”
“No.” He shook his head and stabbed at his omelet. “I went to see George in the hospital.”
“Oh.” Penny sat back in her chair, ashamed for being so suspicious. “That’s nice. I’ll bet he was happy to see you.”
“He was. I almost didn’t go though.” He flicked a glance at her. “I wanted to stay with you.”
A warm tingle traveled down her spine. “I’m glad you went. I think he’s missed you.”
“They’re transferring him to a rehab facility next week.”
“Yeah. Mike told me.”
“Did he also tell you he wants to move his father up to San Jose?”
Penny frowned. “George won’t allow that.”
Caleb shook his head. “I’m not sure he’ll have a choice.”
“First you’re moving away and now maybe George too?” He looked pained, so she tried to put an optimistic spin on it. “Maybe George will be happy to be closer to his family. Just like I’m sure you’ll be happy in med school.”
Caleb pushed his chair back and stood up. He scooped up both their plates and carried them to the sink.
Penny followed him. “I can do the dishes.”
He shook his head and turned on the water. “My mess, my dishes.”
“You cooked for me. It’s the least I can do.” As she said it, she thought about all the meals she’d made for past boyfriends, and how she’d always wound up doing the dishes too. She could count on one hand the number of times one of them had helped clean up. What a bunch of selfish jerks.
Although…it was possible they’d offered at first and she’d turned down their assistance. She had a particular way she liked things done, and it was easier to just do it herself than supervise someone else and make sure they did it right. Maybe it had been her fault. Maybe she’d trained them not to help by insisting on doing it all herself.
