Page 24 of Loved

Ditching classes with me was going to be the least of Penny’s parents' worries.

"So what are you two kids doing here?" Mrs. Bennett asked.

Kids?Okay, so she definitely didn’t know about the article. Or else she’d know I was a grown ass man. I looked down at my outfit. I didn’t think I looked like a kid either way though.

"I was just showing James where I grew up,” Penny said. “A little tour of town."

"Well that's fun. Your parents are going to be so thrilled that you're visiting. I think having an empty nest doesn't suit them very well. I was thinking about giving them one of my cats. I know you already have a cat, but trust me, two is better than one."

Penny laughed. "I'm sure they'd really appreciate that."

"Did you know that I used to babysit Penny when she was a wee little thing?" Mrs. Bennett asked. "The thing that stands out the most was that it was almost impossible to ever get her in the tub. She was always so feisty. I always thought it was the red hair."

Penny’s face was completely red.

I laughed. "She's still pretty feisty."

It was Mrs. Bennett's turn to blush. "Oh my." She lightly touched my arm. "Well I don't want to interfere with the tour. I'll let you two kids get to it." She waved and walked off.

I waited till she was out of earshot to turn back to Penny. "Not a fan of baths, huh? I never would have guessed that. We always have so much fun in the shower."

Penny did not seem pleased by my comment. She grabbed my car keys out of my hand and walked past me.

Where the hell did she think she was going with my car?

Chapter 8

Wednesday

Penny started to walk toward the driver’s side door.

“Hey.”

She didn’t turn her head.

Before she took another step, I grabbed her wrist. "What are you doing?"

"You wanted a tour."

I was relieved that she wasn’t trying to run away from me. "I'll drive." I held out my hand for the keys.

"You won't be able to see anything I show you then. Can't you give up control for just a few minutes? I want to show you something."

Was this one of those instances where she wanted me to be vulnerable or something? I didn’t love it. But I could tell she really wanted to drive. And I was curious to see where she’d take me. I took a deep breath and dropped her wrist.

She smiled and walked around the car. She opened up the driver's door and climbed in.

I reluctantly sat down in the passenger’s seat.

Penny was so far away from the wheel, I wasn’t sure she could even reach it. She looked around for how to adjust the seat. She pressed a button and the seat got even lower. Her head was beneath the top of the steering wheel now. Even if she could reach the wheel, she wouldn’t be able to see a damn thing.

I laughed. "Here." I leaned over her and pressed a few buttons. As the seat rose, I placed a kiss against her lips.

She grabbed my chin. "You should probably put your seatbelt on, James."

I lowered my eyebrows. I really hoped she wasn’t planning on speeding. I’d never seen her drive, but based on how she was trying to adjust the seat…I wasn’t expecting much. I sat back in my seat. As soon as my buckle clicked into place, Penny put her foot down on the gas hard.

The car jolted forward.

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