BREAKING POINT

What if she and Joey got together and something happened and they had to break up. Audrey would obviously have to be on her brothers side. As she should be, Penny thought truthfully. She couldn’t bear to come between two wonderful siblings. And if that happened, their friendship and relationship would be ruined. Penny didn’t want that.

But it didn’t matter now, obviously. Because Joey was leaving, and he didn’t even bother to say anything about it to her, and maybe soon she’d get her own place and leave with her baby. He’d obviously given up the idea of them being together, because now he was moving on. And she couldn’t blame him. He’d gone through a lot with her. Stayed with her and loved her even when she didn’t return his feelings. She had rejected him so many times and now he he’d finally let her go.

It was all her fault. Penny knew that, but it didn’t stop her from being mad at him. He should have at least told her about it. It was crazy. She knew she should probably calm down before she had a conversation with him about it, but it didn’t stop her from marching to Joey’s bedroom door and knocking on it.

She knocked again when he didn’t open up, but after a while she noticed a dim light come on and soon she heard him move to the door and open it.

He had nothing on but his pyjama bottoms and Penny had to fight to concentrate on the task that had brought her here. She dragged her gaze away from his muscles chest. She needed him to know just how angry she was and she couldn’t afford to be distracted so she focused her gaze on his handsome face.

“Penny?” said Joey, surprised to see her at his door and that time of the night. A few seconds later the expression on his face changed to worry, and Penny had to force herself to stay focused on her anger when he asked in an urgent voice, “Is everything alright?”

“You tell me, Joey” Penny said, “You bought a house? You’re moving in a week? Why didn’t you say anything to me? Were you really just going to leave like that?”

Joey rubbed his sleepy eyes and opened the door a bit wider. “Come in, Penny” he said quietly.

Penny hated how calm he looked. She was angry and she wanted a fight. And it pissed her off even more because she knew deep down inside her that this wasn’t just about Joey leaving. It had something something to do with more personal stuff.

Like the fact that she was going to miss him horribly. Like the fact that she knew she was in love with him and she had probably lost him because she couldn’t bring herself to sort out her feelings sooner.

She brushed past him into the room, hating the way her pulse jumped when her shoulder brushed his bare chest as she walked past him. She felt her nipples stiffen a little and she swore. Bad nipples. She thought.

She stood in the middle of the room and turned to face him.

“Well, what do you have to say for yourself?” she asked him.

Joey took a deep breath. “Look, Penny” he began, “I know that you are mad”

“You know nothing, Joseph Raines” Penny cut in, “You have no idea how mad I am. How long have you been planning this. I know it wasn’t a decision you made out of blue because I know you, Joey, and you won’t do something like that without giving it some thought”

“I made the decision to buy a house a month ago” Joey replied, his head bowed.

“A month!” Penny almost yelled. “I just…. Guess I just thought that as close as we were and with what has been going on between us…. Whatever it is….,  I just thought that you’d tell me about something like that. But I guess I had the wrong idea about our relationship. Maybe it wasn’t as important to you as it was to me.. Good night, Joey. I’m really happy for you…. And your new house”

She tried to walk past him and out of his room, but he wouldn’t let her. He blocked her path and Penny found herself standing in front of his rock hard body.

She shouldn’t touch him…. She told herself. She wouldn’t. Shouldn’t even be thinking about it.  So she she folded her arms around herself and glared at him, waiting for him to speak.

“Wait, Penny” he said.

“What?” she yelled at him. “It’s a little too late to start telling me about your plans, is it not, Joey?”

Something snapped inside Joey and he moved closer. With his height and in the semi darkness, he looked intimidating and Penny took a step back. He took one too after her, bringing himself even closer.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

“Stop it, Penny. Okay, You don’t get to do that, darling” he said. His voice was still low. He wasn’t yelling, but somehow something about the way he spoke had her rooted to where she stood…. Made her speechless. He sounded…. Angry… Hurt.

“You don’t get to play the victim card here, Penny” Joey continued. “I know I was wrong for not telling you about it earlier, and I’m sorry. But I had my reasons. Reasons that you have no right to question”

“I do” Penny retorted stubbornly.

“Oh do you now?” Joey cut in, his voice was a bit louder now and he grabbed her arm. Penny tried to free herself from his grasp, but stopped fighting when she saw that she couldn’t.

“Well if you must know, I didn’t tell you because I knew you would be upset. And there’s this thing about me… With you… This thing in me that hates seeing you hurt. And I don’t want to be the reason why you’re upset. I knew you were the only one who could talk me into staying if you wanted to…. Not Audrey…. Not anyone else…. You. I knew that it would only take you looking at me with those beautiful eyes and I’d be rethinking every damn decision. Yes, you have that damn effect on me because I’m madly in love with you, Penny. I’ve always been. I have loved you right from the first time I set my eyes on you. You have always known how I felt about you, but none of that meant shit to you. You have turned me down so many times, I’m beginning to ask myself if it’s because I’m not just good enough. I know that I can make you happy but you just won’t let me or give me a chance to let you see. I get so fucking hard just thinking about you… Just by fucking staring at you…. And I want to touch you. Show you what it feels like to be truly loved, but you won’t give me a chance. What the hell am I supposed to do? I didn’t want to give you the chance to talk me out of it, that’s why I didn’t tell you “