Page 46 of Keeping Penny

Laryn sat on one end of the couch, Waffles at her feet as the beagle enthusiastically licked his Kong treat, while Mandy was on the floor with Rain at her side. He had one paw over his Kong, but was snoring loud enough to make everyone laugh. Zita was in the beanbag she’d brought from LA, and Jen was on the other end of the couch. Fred was lying between the main room and the door, thoroughly enjoying his own frozen Kong.

Penny made a seating area on the floor near Mandy and Rain, more than comfortable with all the blankets and pillows around her.

When they were all settled, Mandy raised her glass and said, “I want to make a toast!”

Everyone hoisted their glasses.

“To girlfriends. To nights off. To men who aren’t threatened by their women wanting to get together without them to laugh, chill, and gossip!”

“Hear, hear!”

“I’ll drink to that!”

“Agree!”

“When you find me a man like that, let me know!”

The last came from Jen, and everyone laughed as they sipped their drinks.

“I mean…Chaos and Edge are both single,” Laryn teased.

“As if either of them would take a second glance at me,” Jen scoffed. “Or any man, for that matter.”

“What’s wrong with you?” Zita asked.

Jen took another large swallow of her drink, then put it down. She ticked off each finger as she recited what she considered her flaws. “One, I’m devoted to my job. Two, I have a dog, which you’d think wouldn’t matter, but I’ve talked to four guys online who said they weren’t interested in pets at all. Three, I’m still a virgin. Four, I have no life, and basically go to my job, the grocery store, and home. Where would I meet a man at all, much less one like we just toasted to? And five—and this is the biggest one, and the reason for a couple of the other things I just mentioned—I have alopecia. Which I’ve found out the hard way is a huge turn-off for men.”

“Alopecia?” Zita frowned.

“Yeah. It’s an autoimmune disease, causes hair loss. And it’s not as if I advertise it. This is a wig,” Jen said, pointing to her head. “I’ve got some hair, but it’s super patchy and hideous. I keep it shaved mostly, just in case my wig comes off. I learned a long time ago that being bald seems to be less shocking than half a head of hair.”

“I’m new here but…I’ve seen the way Edge looks at you, Jen. And he definitely seems interested,” Penny said quietly.

“What? He does not.”

“He does,” Laryn agreed. “He’s even asked Obi-Wan if Zita has run into you much at the apartment.”

It was fascinating to see the pink flush make its way into Jen’s cheeks.

“And Edge doesn’t seem like the kind of man to care about something like you wearing a wig,” Zita added.

“It’s not just my head. It’s all of my body hair. Eyelashes, eyebrows, even nose hairs. I’ve learned to be very skilled at using makeup to try to hide it, but it still doesn’t look natural.”

“Whatever,” Mandy said. “Any man worth anything won’t care about that kind of thing.”

“Agreed,” Zita said. “And some men would probably prefer their women not to have any hair…if you know what I mean.”

Everyone chuckled, but Jen didn’t look convinced. “The one man who I’d thought accepted me for who I was, and who I almost lost my virginity to, was so disgusted by my bald head—and the patches of hair that I hadn’t shaved recently—that he’d disagree with you.”

“Fuck him,” Laryn spat. “Don’t let one asshole stop you from trying to find the good ones.”

“Like Edge,” Mandy said with a nod.

“Don’t get all excited about hooking me up with him, you guys. Just because you’re all madly in love with your pilots doesn’t mean he’s looking for a relationship. Especially not with someone whose schedule is just as unpredictable as his. Fred and I get called out at all hours of the day and night. When someone goes missing, time has no meaning. We could work for twelve hours straight, or find the person within an hour.”

“So?” Zita challenged. “I work twenty-two or twenty-four-hour shifts. And if I take a job on a movie set, I could be gone for a month or more. When you love someone, when you click, you figure shit out. Relationships aren’t linear. They’re full of ups and downs. They’re hard. But also worth the hardships that occur from time to time, because the good times outweigh the bad ten to one.”

“So true,” Laryn agreed.