I followed her into the apartment to the room she and Maybelle now shared. She knocked twice on the doorbefore entering. “Hey, hope you’re decent. You have company.”
Following Penny into the room—hoping the exact opposite—I was pleased to see Maybelle wasn’t indecent in the terms of modesty. But she was in the sense that she was caught wearing something truly delicious.
“Huh—” Penny huffed as she glided about. “I’m surprised to see you reading something other than one of your dirty little romances.”
Locking eyes with me over the pages of the journal she was reading, Maybelle’s face burned a fiery red.
“Wow, Penn. Thanks for the heads up,” she drawled as she closed the journal. Then she stood from the bed in nothing but the tiniest shorts I’d ever seen and—my football jersey.
The jersey had looked good on her the day of the scrimmage, but now, it was a whole new kind of attractive. Her fluffy blonde curls fell over the front and her tiny cotton shorts showed off her tan, strong legs.
Shrugging, Penny flung herself out on Maybelle’s bed with a satisfied grin. “Oh, I’m sorry, Belles. Hey, Trey, do you think you could get her more jerseys, or at least a few shirts with your name and number on them? Belles wears this one to bed every night and I’m afraid she’ll wear it out in no time.”
Maybelle looked about ready to maim the sweet redhead. I stepped between a furious Maybelle and her scheming friend, acting as a willing shield.
“Absolutely,” I said, which had Maybelle’s eyes flicking up to me. “I’ll give you my last name any way you like.”
She didn’t speak, but her nose scrunched, and her eyes rolled as she took a long step back from me. She perched on the edge of Penny’s bed that lined the left wall and I followed, taking the seat beside her.
“Oh, my gosh, you two are just the cutest,” Penny crooned, sprawling herself out across Maybelle’s sheets. “Our Belles here really is such a stunner, isn’t she, Trey?”
“She really is,” I answered, ignoring the way Maybelle glared at the side of my face.
Sitting up from the bed, Penny pinned me with a wide-eyed, blue-gray stare. “Has Maybelle told you about her admirer?”
“Penn,” Maybelle groaned in warning.
“Shh, Belles. Trey should know who his competition is.”
Shaking her head, Maybelle stood from the bed, giving me the sweetest view of those damn shorts. “I’m going to take a shower.”
Before she could take one more step toward the exit, I had her hand in mine. She fought for only a second before following my tugging until she was back at my side on the bed.
“Tell me all about this competition,” I encouraged Penny as I leaned back. Reaching behind Maybelle, I played with the coiling curls falling down her back.
She grumbled a few colorful words under her breath as she slouched against my touch. Penny’s smile doubled in size.
“Okay, okay, so at the coffee shop Belles and I work at, there was this guy on her second day that came in and ordered from her. I’ll say this, he’s older, but he’s handsome. He’s got gorgeous blonde hair and dresses all fancy. Like in pressed slacks and stuff. But that’s beside the point. He tips Maybelle every time he comes in, just for taking his order!”
She paused, slanting Maybelle a smile. “But the craziest part is that ever since that first day, he’s been at the coffee shop every single day. The days Maybelle isn’t there, he grabs his coffee and leaves. But the days she’s in, he takes a seat at one table in the far corner of the shop and just watches her.”
Furrowing my brows, I looked to Maybelle, who seemed totally unbothered by this. I turned back toPenny and asked, “What’s his name?”
Maybelle peered up at me, confusion in the lines between her brows while Penny chirped, “Rick, I think. That’s what we write on his orders. Right, Belles?”
She didn’t look at Penny. Her eyes were on me. I twisted, meeting her blue-green stare with my own.
“Why do you want to know his name?”
I shrugged. “So, I know I have the right guy when I come into your work to teach the prick it’s not polite to stare.”
“Please,” she scoffed, breaking our eye contact. “You’ll do no such thing. He hasn’t done anything wrong and I’m not so sure it’s me he’s staring at. I’ve caught him eyeing Penny on more than one occasion.”
“I don’t care who he’s staring at, May,” I said, nudging her with my shoulder. “I’ll still kick his ass.”
Penny giggled and checked her pinging phone before launching up from the bed. “Oh Trey, you’re such a dreamboat. Take care of my bestie, will ya? I gotta go. Daniel’s here to pick me up. I’ll see you both later.”
With a blown kiss, she left the room and shut the door. Leaving Maybelle and me alone, still sitting side by side on Penny’s bed.
