Page 65 of Devoured

I nodded at her and she walked out of the room. Penny’s parents were discussing something. Probably butchering a bunch of names. I grabbed Penny’s clothes and handed them to her.

She slid out of bed, making sure to hold the back of her gown. "I want to come back with you," she whispered.

"I'll see what I can do." I winked at her. I could be very persuasive when I needed to. When Penny disappeared into the bathroom I walked over to her parents. “I really would love if she stayed with me until she felt better. I’ll watch over her. And I’ll make sure to let her watch the big game tomorrow night.”

Her father laughed. “Well…” he turned to his wife. “If you think it’s alright.”

Penny’s mom nodded. “If that’s what Penny wants, it’s fine with us.”

I smiled. It seemed like this meeting had actually gone alright. Even though they knew I was sleeping with their daughter. It honestly could have gone a lot worse. I walked over to Penny when she emerged from the bathroom. "If you want to come back with me, you can." I put my hand on her cheek. "Whatever you want to do."

She nodded and went over to her parents. "Is it okay if I go back with him, Dad?"

"As long as you promise to take it easy, Pen." He leaned down and hugged her. "Don't worry us like that again."

"I'm sorry, Dad."

"Call us once in a while, okay?"

I thought he’d flat out ask her about why Tyler had a black eye too. But honestly, I was relieved he didn’t press it. He probably knew that Penny would eventually open up to them about all this.

Penny laughed. "I will. I love you."

"I love you too."

Her mom gave her a hug next. "Don't forget what I told you, Penny," she said. "And when big things happen, call us. No more surprise boyfriends." She laughed. "I love you, sweetie."

"I love you too, Mom."

"Maybe we can come down sometime again soon and take you two out to dinner. Wouldn't that be nice?"

"Sounds wonderful," I said. Hopefully one day we could laugh about the fact that they thought I was a poor college student. "It was really nice meeting you, Mrs. Taylor." I put my hand out for her.

"Don't be ridiculous." She hugged me.

I wasn’t really used to being hugged. Honestly, I wasn’t used to being touched at all, except by Penny. I didn’t really know what to do with my hands, so I awkwardly patted her back.

"And Mr. Taylor." I put my hand out for Penny’s father and this time he shook it without hesitation.

"Just because the Eagles season didn't start out well doesn't mean they won't beat the Giants," he said.

I laughed. "We'll see."

Her parents waved to us and walked out of the room.

Penny closed the distance between us and clasped her hands behind my neck. "You seem to have won over my dad."

Maybe.I wanted to ask her about the fact that he couldn’t remember anyone’s names. But I didn’t want to offend her or anything. "You never told me how intimidating your father is."

"I didn't know he had an intimidating bone in his body until today."

I tried to hide my smile. "Maybe it's because I had to zip up my pants when they came in."

"Do you think they heard that?"

"Well if they didn't, the accelerated heart rate may have tipped them off. Or my rambling about sleeping next to you."

"You were so flustered,” she said. “It was cute. And mortifying, of course."

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