Page 6 of The Perfect Play

She still had her fingers on the tuner, changing it to one of the country radio stations instead of the loud metal I’d been listening to. “Not when I’m in here, it doesn’t. How can you understand anything they’re saying anyway? It’s just a lot of loud instruments and screaming.”

She tapped her foot along with the mellow beat, her mouth moving with the words, drawing my eyes to her lips. Since when did I care about the lips of Penny Davis? I’d done my fair share of kissing the girls of Rosemont High in the last two years, but I’d never had such an urge to kiss someone as I had right then. Was it that she hated me to the point where it was like pulling teeth to get her to accept a ride home? Or was it—

“Watch out!” Penny pointed to the car stopped at the exit. “This was a bad idea. Why I even thought of accepting a ride from you was a lapse in judgment on my part.” She was clinging to the handlebar above the window, looking as though she was ready to hop out at any moment.

“Chill,” I said, trying to calm my own heart rate. I didn’t need to be in another accident, and the fact that I’d let myself get that distracted while behind the wheel had my stomach twisted in knots. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

She looked at me, rolled her eyes, and shook her head. “Yeah, you’ve told me that before.” She pulled her arms tight against her middle and frowned, her attention on something in front of us. If I hadn’t known better, I’d have said she was trying to light something on fire.

I didn’t want to admit it, but she was right. Years ago, she and I did everything together, and every time her parents fought, she’d come over and hide out in my room. I’d do everything I could to reassure her that I’d never hurt her, at least not like her parents did to each other. And then I’d ditched her right around the time her mother walked out. Acted like she no longer existed.

Guilt constricted my chest, making it difficult to breathe. Some friend I was. But there was a lot more to it than that. I couldn’t tell her why. After everything that had happened in the few short years since, I wasn’t worthy to be her friend—or anything more, for that matter.

“How many advanced classes are you taking this year?” I asked, hoping to pull my mind from the well of deep thoughts.

“Four. The more tests I can take and pass, the less I have to pay for college. I’m hoping to have an associate’s by the time we graduate.”

I thought about my dismal schedule and laughed. “Associate’s. Do you still want to be a therapist?”

She looked at me as though surprised I would actually remember something like that. “Yep. It’s a long road to get there, but I want to help people.” Sadness passed over her features, and she rolled her lips in, glancing down at her intertwined fingers.

“Well, if anyone can do it, my money’s on you, Pen. I’ll be lucky to graduate at all at the rate I’m going.” The D plus from my last history test flashed in my mind, and I grimaced.

“It doesn’t make you weak to actually try in school, Jake,” Penny said. She’d turned her body toward me, leaning her head against the window as she stared in my direction.

I pulled onto our street and then turned into my driveway a few seconds later. “You sound like my mother.”

Shifting into park, I caught her shaking her head and hopping out of the Jeep like it was suddenly on fire. She stomped over the small strip of grass that ran between our driveways and was almost in the house before I shouted, “You’re welcome for the ride.”

A sarcastic, “Thank you,” rang out before the door slammed shut. I guess it wasn’t possible to make up for three and a half years all in one day.

Chapter 5

Penny

Thankfully, I’d remembered to dry my uniform the night before, because with the delay, I was going to have to throw it on and bike to the diner. I hated being late. It was the worst thing a person could do when other people were depending on them, and I knew tonight was going to be crazy. The Rosemont Book Club usually came in on the third Tuesday of the month, and given how many ladies attended, I was usually hopping around the diner to keep up.

I threw my wallet and phone into a small drawstring backpack and redid my ponytail, smoothing back the wisps that kept flying out the sides. Running out the door, I grabbed my old bike, grateful my father took such care in maintaining things like that. He knew how unreliable my car was, but with funds so tight, this was the best option when things didn’t go as planned.

As I pushed on the pedals to cross the driveway, movement from the upper window of the White house drew my attention, and I saw Jake looking down at me with an expression I’d never seen on him before. Old Jake was always transparent, but new Jake seemed to be guarding so much behind the mask of indifference and sarcasm. This look, though, was something mixed, as though he were feeling both pity and shame at the same moment.

I thought about flipping him off, but that wasn’t my style, no matter how much his just leaving me behind still hurt after all this time.

Lou’s Diner was a mile away from our house, and I pulled up breathless and one minute late. I parked my bike around back and ran into the kitchen, pulling an apron from the wall and tying the strings in back.

“Penny Davis, late?” came a deep rumbling voice behind me.

I turned to see my boss, Lou, flipping burgers next to the grill. “I know, I know. I had tryouts today, and then my car wouldn’t start, so I had to ride my bike. I’ll make it up to you, Lou.” I gave him a small smile.

He waved his hand at me. “It’s all good, girl. I’m just glad to see you. We’ve got the monthly book group in the back corner, and I’m afraid Claudia is ready to quit.”

The Rosemont Book Club consisted of nearly fifteen ladies in their sixties and seventies. Each of them liked to meddle in the townspeople’s lives, and I’d never met a more opinionated group of people. But they could also be the typical sweet old grandmas if shown you weren’t one to be walked all over.

“Do you want me to take them from Claudia?” I asked, making sure my apron was stocked with straws and my order pad.

“Yes, please,” came a feminine voice from the other side of the prep station in the middle of the kitchen. Claudia looked more frazzled than usual, her slightly graying hair looking more silver in the fluorescent lighting. “They’re driving me crazy, and all I’ve done is bring the drinks out.”

I waved a hand and smiled. “No problem. I’ll go make sure we’ve got everything figured out.”

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