Page 86 of Devoured

"You mean fast."

I bit the inside of my lip. What did she mean by that? I thought about what Brendan had said to her again. He was dead wrong. He was just trying to get into her pants. What she and I had was more than that. "Penny.” I grabbed her hand. "I know what I want. I want you. All of you. I know that I'm older than you. And I may be ready for something more serious than..."

"I didn't mean anything by it."

I wasn’t so sure about that. "Still."

"I'm running just as fast beside you." She squeezed my hand.

Maybe I was just overthinking her words because of those stupid flowers. I wanted to believe that we were good. I leaned toward her until my lips were an inch from hers. "Okay," I whispered. But instead of kissing her, I opened her car door from the inside and then got out.

The city was loud. When I’d moved away last year, I’d told myself I wouldn’t come back. I’d hated the city. I’d hated everyone here. I’d hated the way I was when I was here.

But with Penny beside me?

I couldn’t really explain it. It just…it felt like maybe it could be home again. Maybe I could be okay here. As long as she was beside me.

She joined me on the sidewalk and clasped her hands behind my neck. She looked so happy. How could I not smile when we were together?

She stood on her tiptoes and kissed me.

Yeah, I could definitely get used to New York again with her by my side. Even if all we ever did was visit.

“I like New York better already,” she said.

"Well you're about to like it even more." I pointed to the building we were standing next to. "Because Totonno's Pizzeria isthebest pizza."

She laughed. "You brought me all the way to New York to prove a point?"

"One of the reasons." Mostly I just wanted to be away from campus with her. I opened the door to the pizzeria.

The checkerboard floor and walls covered in frames of newspaper clippings, awards, and black and white family photos…it all felt so homey. Honestly I felt more comfortable here than I had in the apartment I’d shared with Isabella. Isabella refused to step foot in this quaint shop. But Penny seemed perfectly content.

"This is your favorite pizza place?" she asked.

"Yes. Grab us a seat." I walked up to the counter in the back while Penny sat down. Ian was at a corner table. He lowered the newspaper that was covering his face and winked at me.

I remembered him being more subtle than this.

But…in his defense, I actually remembered very little of my adult life in New York. Ian was good at his job. Or else I wouldn’t still be alive standing here.

I quickly ordered and then joined Penny at the table she’d chosen by the window.

"This place doesn't really seem like you," she said as I sat down across from her.

"What do you mean?"

"You tend to be kind of…extravagant."

I smiled. "Not always. I used to come here to eat all the time."

"What was your favorite part about living here?" She put her hand in the center of the table.

I immediately grabbed it. "There's always something to do."

"So you've been pretty bored in a college town?"

"Hardly. You're very entertaining." I smiled at her, but she was looking at someone over my shoulder. Fuck, she wasn’t suspicious of the creep in a baseball hat in the corner, right? I forced myself not to follow her line of sight. It had been a while since I’d had Ian following me around. We were both off our game.

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