Blood in the Golden Palace

Chapter 2: Penny-3

Penny fiddled with her empty glass, and vaguely wondered why she didn’t ask for her phone while she waited. It really didn’t cross her mind until just now. She supposed she could walk over and ask for it, but something about that seemed…weirdly embarrassing. Maybe she figured that the less movement she made, the less likely she’d be to attract attention in that shiny silver dress. Penny sighed and leaned up against a banner. Hopefully the pool deck would be less crowded.

Penny scanned her eyes across the crowd. A lot of dancing, plenty of drinking, endless laughing. It was practically a people zoo. As her eyes trailed the endless sea of heads, they came across something that made her stop dead. For all the looking that Penny was doing, she wasn’t expecting anyone to look back.

It was hard to see at first. The strobe lights didn’t make it easier. But the longer Penny looked, the more she realized that yes, she had locked eyes with a strange man about ten yards from where she was standing. He was tall and handsome, with curly black hair forced to behave against his beautiful jaw. He seemed to be alone, hence why his attention was turned to Penny. For some reason, Penny wasn’t sure she could look away. Surprisingly, she wasn’t even sure that she wanted to. Something about this man’s gaze was hypnotic. And then, through the darkness, he smiled.

That smile was like a shock to Penny’s nervous system. It was suave. Elegant, almost. Funny enough, Penny wasn’t sure she ever saw the man’s eyes scope out her dress. Rather, he kept them politely on her own, and finally held up his drink in a toast. A way of saying hello? Penny smiled meekly and nodded back, before ripping her gaze away. Her cheeks felt hot. She chanced another look. The stranger hadn’t left his spot, nor had he looked away. Penny’s heart slammed into her ears. Was he waiting for something? Inviting her over? Or perhaps, expecting an invitation himself? She wrung her hands with her wet cocktail napkin, pondering. Should she do something? Say something? Her mouth was dry. She stared at the floor. And then glanced up again. There he was, still staring, still smiling.

Timidly, Penny waved. His smile widened. He waved back politely. For some reason, it made Penny giggle. She gripped her glass and stirred the melted ice. She looked up again. The stranger sipped his drink smoothly, wearing a curious expression in his eyes. Without thinking, Penny wet her lips. Slowly, the stranger pushed off from the wall, set his empty drink aside, and made to move forward.

“Hey, sorry about the wait.”

David’s voice was like being jolted awake. Penny snapped over to where David approached, a pair of cocktails in his hands. He handed one off to her and put a hand on her hip. Somehow, her gut didn’t have the same spring it had earlier. “I just got you another vodka cran. I hope that’s okay.”

“What…?” Penny looked at her new drink. “O-oh. Yeah. That’s…” Compelled, she returned to find the stranger again. He was gone completely. Her heart sunk, just a little bit. Forcing her smile to return, she rounded back to David. “That’s perfect. Thanks.”

“Shall we?”

“Let’s.”

Leading her with his hand, David walked Penny up the stairs to the balcony. Beyond the staircase, Penny could see the aqua lights of the pool deck. David opened the door for her. Initially, Penny felt a sudden chill of the winter air, but as they got further out, she realized just how many gas burning fires and heating lamps were working at full power. The fact that walls protected the guests from the gust helped, too. Eventually, they found a delightful spot by a lamp, looking out into the pool, as well as with a view of the water side bar.

“Ah, I guess we coulda gotten drinks up here,” David lamented. “Oh well. Cheers.”

“Cheers.” They clinked their glasses and took a sip. Despite the considerable decrease in people on the pool deck, Penny was feeling even more awkward than usual. Perhaps the crowds had an ability to keep her hidden away, and now she was all but exposed to wandering eyes.

“So.” David leaned back on the couch, his arm resting along the top. “What do you do outside of work? It’s so weird not to see you in that uniform.”

Penny smiled. “Well, I like to cook when I can.”

“Cook?” David took a sip of his drink. “Isn’t that what you do all day? You’re the baker, right?”

“Oh, I just decorate the pastries in the morning,” she said, waving off the question. “I don’t actually get to make anything. Just frost stuff.”

“Hm. Okay, well other than cooking, what do you like to do?”

“Um…” Penny rubbed her knee. “I don’t know. Read, I guess. I’m sorry, I’m boring.”

David pushed himself to sit up straighter and smiled. “It’s cool, I like boring girls.” Penny was sure that he meant it as a compliment, but something about the way he said that made Penny’s smile dwindle a bit. “What do you like to read?”

Penny stared at her drink. “Books…”

“Oh yeah?” Penny didn’t realize it at first, with David’s arm still behind her, his fingers were gently making their way to her arm. She froze as she felt him rub up and down her skin with his nails. “What kinda books?”

“U-um…” Penny took another drink of her cocktail, nearly downing it in one gulp. “I um…I haven’t read anything in a while, but…I like romance books?”

“Romance.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Heh.” David polished off his drink and set the glass aside. Leaning back into the couch, he boldly laid his hand on Penny’s far elbow, effectively encasing her from behind. Penny’s anxiety was starting to overshadow her good mood. “Romance…So you like to cook, you’re a homebody, and you love reading romance novels.” His hand slid down to her hip, his fingers gently scrunching up Penny’s dress. Penny’s heart was thumping in her throat. “You’re like a perfect little housewife, huh?”

“I uh…” Again, something about David’s tone felt insulting. “I don’t know. Don’t you have to, you know…be a wife for that?”

“Maybe.” David pushed himself forward, leaning his elbow on one knee. That hand went further down Penny’s leg. She was acutely aware of how close his fingertips were to the hem of her dress. “That’s real cute. Not too many girls are into stuff like that these days.”

Penny, pushing aside her discomfort, tried to laugh off his comment. “Oh I don’t know,” she said, nervously. “I’ve known a few who…who are into that kinda stuff…”

“I guess. I’ve never met any.” David raised his hand and brushed a bit of hair off her shoulder. Penny tried not to flinch. “You good?”

“Y-yeah, I’m fine!” she insisted. “It’s just cold…” Her words trailed off as she noticed a dark man standing by the poolside bar. It was the stranger from earlier. No doubt about it. Although, rather than watching her, he was deep in conversation with the bartender. It didn’t look like he was getting a drink, either. He looked official. Like he was doing business.

“It is a little chilly,” said David, bringing her out of her daze. “Here. Scootch in.” Without waiting for permission, David wrapped an arm around Penny, bringing her close to him. Penny went stiff without thinking, and tried desperately to look anywhere but at David. In her head, she couldn’t understand why she was suddenly so anxious. Her crush on David was no mystery, after all. Why wasn’t she feeling the fireworks she always thought she’d feel in this kind of situation? “Anybody ever tell you how pretty you are?”

Penny’s knees knocked together, so she clenched her thighs to keep them still. “I…not recently…or…I mean…I guess I…” David chuckled. He ran his fingers through Penny’s hair. Penny tried laughing it off. “H-hey um…it’s…we’re kind of in public.”

“So? Nobody cares.”

“W-well…um…”

“Hey.” David tilted her chin, and Penny felt that cold pit in her stomach widen exponentially. “You’re really pretty, Penny.” He ran his thumb beneath her lips.

“I…I uh…” Something inside took a hold of her body, and Penny grabbed her empty cocktail glass quickly and held it up. “Mind if I get another?”

David blinked. He looked between her and the glass and put on a smile. “Sure. Hopefully this won’t take as long.” David took the empty glasses to the bar and waited for the tender’s attention. Once he was far enough away, Penny took a deep breath and calmed her rushing heart. She tried spotting the mystery man, but he was gone again. Penny leaned back into the seat and sighed, rubbing her forehead.

“Ugh…what’s wrong with me?”

“Dehydrated, maybe?”

Penny shot up in her seat. Sure enough, sitting on the adjacent couch was none other than her mystery man. He was even more handsome up close. He set a tall glass on the table in front of Penny, and she gave him a questionable look. “Don’t worry. It’s just water. Are you doing okay?”

“Um…” Penny squirmed in her seat. “I’m fine. I think.”

“You think.”

“No. Yeah. Yeah, no, I’m fine. Totally fine.”

“I see. And your date?”

“My what?”

The stranger nodded towards the bar. David was in the middle of buying another round for the pair of them. “I couldn’t help but notice you two getting cozy over here. Or at least he was cozy enough.”

Suddenly ashamed, Penny stared at the water glass. “It’s fine. I’m just…I’m okay. He’s my friend.”

“I see.” The stranger pulled out his phone, texting casually. “Are you sure he’s your friend?”

Penny sat up straighter. “What?”

He didn’t elaborate. Shoving his phone back into his pocket, he stood. “Listen, I’m not here to ruin a good time. But if you need some help, I can intervene.”

“Intervene…?”

“Hey. They were out of cranberry, so I got you…” David slowed, and he and Penny’s mystery man exchanged glances. “Penny, who’s this?” His tone was prickly, and it only worsened Penny’s mood.

“I uh. I don’t—”

“Relax,” said the man calmly. “I’m not anyone important. Just decided to take a load off for a bit.”

David eyed him suspiciously. “Okay. Sure.” He watched as the stranger turned to leave. However, before he did, he seemed to remember something, and round back to Penny.

“You know,” said the stranger, “if this is your first time here, you should order an angel shot.” Something in his eyes told Penny more than his words did, and she quickly pieced it all together. “It’s a real life saver. Night.” Helping himself to a cigarette, the mystery man wandered away, leaving Penny in a state of awe.

David glared as the stranger headed back towards the bar. “Creep,” he said. “Probably trying to make moves on you. He didn’t touch you, did he?”

Penny forced a smile. “No, he didn’t do anything. Promise.”

“Okay…” David handed her another vodka, and she took a sip. “The hell was that angel shot thing he was talking about? I didn’t see it on the drink menu.”

“Maybe it’s a special item.”

“Maybe.” David took a sip of his drink and set it aside, immediately assuming his previous position of cupping Penny’s body with his arm. Penny instantly regretted the mystery man taking his leave. “Whatever. Weirdos are weirdos.”

Something odd stuck out in Penny’s brain. “Why would a guy have to be a weirdo to make moves on me?”

David looked as though he’d slipped on a banana peel. “Wait, no, that’s not…” He laughed suddenly, and with another drink, leaned uncomfortably close to Penny. “Come on, don’t be dumb.” In his closeness, more and more details revealed themselves along his face. Penny never noticed the acne on his chin, or his crooked teeth, or the weird size of his ears before now. Even his smile looked creepy at this distance. His fingers found her thigh, and he walked them back down to the bottom of her dress. Penny’s mind was whirling a mile a minute. Before she could open her mouth to protest, David’s was on top of her. He kissed her roughly, and she could feel his tongue fighting its way into her mouth. Penny wasn’t sure what to do, and felt her body freeze over. David’s hand ran up her thigh, skirting just beneath her dress. An overwhelming nausea hit her hard, and fortunately, she had just enough strength to pull away.