Eruption

2

I rested my head on James' shoulder. Lunch had been so much fun. I loved catching up with my parents and all the goings-on in Delaware. It helped me feel connected to the life I had left behind. At least, I thought I had left it behind. I wanted to fit into James' life. I didn't want to cause him unnecessary stress. But that's exactly what I was doing. I didn't know what to do in order for his parents to like me. Liking me was far off, though. James and I had been dating for two and a half years and they still hadn't even met me.

I closed my eyes and listened to the sounds of the city as our driver, Ian, expertly sped us through the city streets. The cars honking now seemed to relax me instead of unsettling me. This was my home now. I just wished I fit in a little better.

"Hey." James grabbed my chin and tilted my face up to his. "You've been awfully quiet."

I bit my lip.

"Penny, we're supposed to be celebrating."

I felt a lump building in my throat. "They're not going to come to our wedding, are they?"

He sighed and pressed his forehead against mine. "I think maybe that's for the best."

I pulled back. "How can you say that? They're your parents. They should be there."

"I love you. That's all that matters."

"I'm going dress shopping tomorrow."

He smiled. "I know."

"Your mom should be there."

"You don't want her fashion advice, trust me." He placed a soft kiss against my neck. "How about we focus on something else?" He kissed my neck again and placed his hand on my thigh, running his fingers along the hem of my dress.

I laughed and grabbed his hand. "We're almost back to our place."

"Your point is?" He kissed my collarbone, making a moan escape from my lips.

"My point is that Ian will know that we're having s*x back here if we don't come out when he parks."

James laughed. "You're acting like we haven't done it before. Ian doesn't care. Being discreet is in his job description."

I ran my hand through James' hair. "We'll be back in five minutes."

He sighed and moved his hand off my thigh. "Well, if you insist on talking, I'd like to revisit the internship idea."

"I'm still thinking about it."

"That's not what you said to Melissa." He grabbed my hand and ran his thumb along my palm.

"I know." I looked down at his hand. "What would people think?"

"Is that really the reason? You've never seemed that worried about what other people think."

I looked back up at him. He was right. That wasn't the real reason. "I didn't earn it, James."

"You just graduated with honors from NYCU. You're just as qualified as all the other interns we've already hired. I wanted to give you an actual job, but you shot that down right away. If you insist on proving yourself, this is the way to do it."

"I don't know."

"You don't have to accept it. I'm not going to force you to work with me. You don't have to work at all. You know that."

I laughed. "Of course I have to work. I already owe you so much."

"You don't owe me anything." He lowered his eyebrows slightly. "I hope you don't really feel that way."

"I owe you everything."

"Penny..."

"I'm not talking about money. You know that. I'm talking about you. Where would I be without you?"

"Jobless, for one."

"You're not going to let this go, are you?"

"Not a chance."

"If I don't hear back from anywhere by next week, I'll do it."

He smiled. "This is going to be so much fun."

"I said if. It's not a done deal yet."

"I'm pretty sure you'll be working with me."

I laughed. "When I asked you not to interfere with my applying for jobs, I never imagined you'd be telling places not to hire me."

"What, you think I called all the places you interviewed with and told them how awful you are?"

"I'd hope not. Maybe that's what you did with your parents too. Is that why they don't want to meet me? You told them about all my flaws and scared them away?"

"I love all your flaws."

The car came to a stop.

"What do you think my flaws are?" I asked.

He smiled at me and got out of the car. I quickly climbed out of the car and grabbed his hand.

"James, what are my flaws?"

He squeezed my hand and typed in the code for the elevators. The doors immediately opened and he pulled me inside.

I stared up at him and pursed my lips.

"There's just too many to name," he said. "The list is endless."

I lightly pushed his shoulder. "Just tell me the biggest then."

"Hmm." The elevator came to a stop and he swiped his access card against the reader. The doors opened behind us.

"You know how good I am at getting information out of you." I trailed my hand down the front of his dress shirt, stopping at his belt.

He grabbed my hand and smiled. "Turn around, Penny."

I looked over my shoulder. There were tons of people standing in the living room of our apartment.

"Surprise!" Melissa yelled. Everyone else quickly yelled surprise too.

I could feel my face turning red. Had they all heard what I just said? I quickly turned back around to look up at James.

He smiled down at me. "For one, you're very bad at telling when you're being thrown a surprise party. Congratulations, baby."

Saturday

"Well that wasn't awkward at all," Rob said as he leaned down and hugged me.

"So everyone did hear?" I asked. I had talked to almost everyone and escaped to the kitchen to catch my breath. I wasn't as good at parties as James was. Networking wasn't something I was good at. And I had just embarrassed myself in front of all my friends and a few people I'd probably consider more of acquaintances. They'd probably remain acquaintances now.

"That you were about to give James head to extract information from him? Oh, yeah, everyone heard that," he said as he let me out of his embrace and handed me a drink.

I laughed. "Well, no one's mentioned it but you. Not everyone has as dirty of a mind as you."

"Or you." He winked at me. "How was lunch with my parents?"

"They canceled again."

"You're kidding. They're really holding out."

"Holding out for what?"

"James to change his mind, I guess."

Right. My biggest fear was that they'd just start throwing women at James that were way more suitable to be their daughter in law. I looked down at the drink Rob had given me. "What is this?"

"Trust me, you'll like it."

"You're not roofieing me, are you?"

He laughed. "The girl my brother is about to marry? I would never."

"I never believe anything you say, you know."

"That's how I prefer it. But it's just a s*x on the beach. If you'd prefer the actual thing, I think we could arrange that, though."

"I'll take the drink. Are you still enjoying living on campus?" I took a sip of my drink. It was sweet, but very strong.

"Of course. That's a ridiculous question. I'm living the dream."