I blew my nose loudly, ignoring the guys at the table next to us who turned around to see what was going on. “What? When?”
“Tuesday night,” replied Kit. “Murray came home with bruised ribs, but he was so happy it made no sense, so I forced it out of him.”
“Bruised ribs?” I pursed my lips. “Penn had a black eye. Is basketball always so violent?”
Beulah shook her head. “No, but that guy deserved it. When Rafe came back a last month, he was wincing so much I nearly marched him to the emergency room. I thought he’d broken something. Sex became quite a challenge.”
Before I had a chance to ask what she meant, a waiter arrived with all the snacks Lauren had ordered, along with a new bottle of wine. I was suddenly hungrier than I realized, and dug in.
“What guy? What are you talking about?” I asked through a mouthful of melted cheese.
“I forget his name, but he’s in one of the teams they play. I think Rafe said he works for the Governor’s office. Wesley, maybe?”
I frowned. “Wexler? Bryce Wexler?”
She nodded. “Yeah, that’s him.”
“What’s he got to do with this?”
“He’s the one Penn punched on Tuesday for talking shit about you.”
I coughed hard, fifty percent from the strength of the spice in whatever I’d just eaten, and fifty from this announcement. I washed it down with a long sip of wine, “What? Penn punched him on Tuesday?”
I guess that explained why his hand was also a little swollen, and not from my assumption that it was how he’d always come back to me on a Tuesday.
“Didn’t Penn tell you?”
“No…” I shook my head. “No, he came to my place bleeding, with a swollen eye. I asked, but he just said it was basketball. And then he told me he’s loved me since he was five years old, so I kind of forgot to ask again.”
The pair of them sighed in sync. Kit’s chin actually rested on her fists as she stared at me. “OMG that is so cute. Since he was five years old?”
“Apparently. Wait, he really punched Bryce Wexler?”
They nodded.
“Shit.”
“Hang on. Can we go back to how Penn’s been in love with you since he was five years old?” Kit’s eyes opened wider. “I knew it! I knew something was up with him that time at the gala.”
“What gala?”
Kit sipped at her wine. “The Picasso one. He just stared and stared at you.”
“Did he?” I asked. “I don’t remember, though if I’m honest, he’s always been a little standoffish, or a lot standoffish with me. So I probably didn’t think about it.”
“How did you never realize? How is it possible you really never figured it out?”
I picked up one of the little bruschetta and crunched down on it, waiting until I could swallow before I answered. “Because he never spoke to me. I’d be on the receiving end of a few intense stares, but that would be it. I always thought he didn’t like me. It’s been like that since we were kids. Though looking back on it, there’s a few things that make more sense now.”
Beulah’s eyes lit up. “Like what?”
“Um, well… I’ve been thinking about when we were younger, and I remembered this one summer Penn kept picking flowers from the garden and leaving them outside Lauren’s bedroom. His mom kept getting so mad at all the mud he dropped around the house. He must have been around seven or eight.”
“Oh God, that is the cutest,” Kit sighed.
“And he saw me with Bryce Wexler at Lucian’s party, and begged me not to go on a date with him.” My head dropped in my hands. “Shit, what am I going to do? Lauren is so angry.”
“How do you feel about Penn?”
