BREAKING POINT

Penny loved every inch of the house. And as he showed her around, she understood more why he loved it. A home for a family… As he had said. She wanted the same thing too…. she always had. There was a time when that dream included Jeremy…. Not anymore. Right now, she could almost picture herself, Joey and Howard being a real family. Maybe with two other babies… Maybe twins. She loved twins. Always hoped she’d have them someday. Once she heard the twins were never born to women who wanted them, but that was probably another old wives tale, she thought.

Joey’s voice snapped her back to reality.

“Thank you for coming, Penny” he was saying, “You have no idea how much I have missed you. Missed hanging out with you”

“I have missed you too. Howard too. The house is really not the same without you” Penny replied softly, and seeing the way his eyes darkened with desire as he stared at her, she moved away and sat on the couch, grabbing the remote and turning on the TV.

Joey left the room and returned a few minutes later with a bowl of chips and orange juice.

“Which movie do you think we should see?” he asked as he took a seat beside her.

Penny shrugged. “I dunno. Oh!…. How about the last episode of Game of thrones. I know we were watching it together and I couldn’t bring myself to finish it without you…. when we weren’t talking”

Joey smiled and patted her arm. “I understand” he said softly, “I haven’t seen it either. Old habits die hard. It’s a good idea. Let’s watch it now then”

An hour later, Penny was dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief while Joey was laughing and hugging her at the same time.

“Oh come on darling,” he said, trying to make her feel better and also trying to stop himself from laughing…. and failing. “It’s just a movie, honey”

Penny punched him lightly on the shoulder.” You don’t get to laugh at me”  she said, “Look, I know it’s just a movie, okay. But it was just so sad seeing all those innocent people dead just because certain people wanted the throne and power. I really thought Queen Daenerys was going to be the one to take the throne and maintain peace and order, but the I didn’t see the character change coming at all. I mean, how could she burn down a city filled with people. That’s just horrible. Oh the movie had such a terrible ending. So different from the one I wanted”

Joey nodded his head in agreement. “Yes,” he said, “I think the queen snapped after watching her trusted and loyal friend, Missandei, being beheaded right in front of her. Now that’s not easy to see… Could screw someone up real bad… Seeing someone you love die that way”

“Yeah, but still. I hate the way the movie ended. I’m almost mad at myself for watching it”

“So how did you want the movie to end?” he asked, grinning at her, “Seriously, I want to know your own version of the ending of Game of thrones. So tell me, how did you want it to end?”

Penny pouted, much to Joey’s amusement. But this was one of the things he loved about her. The way she cared.

“Well,” Penny began, “At first I wanted Queen Daenerys and Jon Snow, my two favorites to get together and be together. They did get together, but they were related… And we all know that doesn’t mean much in Game of thrones universe, but…”

Joey giggled and Penny punched him lightly on the shoulder before she continued speaking.

“Anyways, I just thought that they would rule. The throne for Queen Daenerys, and the North for Jon. And everyone would be happy…. But just look” she pointed towards the TV, as if she could be heard somehow by the creators of the movie. “They ruined it”

Joey laughed and pulled her closer to him so that she was almost seated on his lap. And she liked the feeling. She closed her eyes and enjoyed moment. Right now, she felt safe. Listening to his heart beat and inhaling that wonderful, manly scent. She could forget about game of thrones for now and enjoy this, she thought.

When she opened her eyes, she saw that he was staring intently at her. Her heart almost stopped beating as she watched him.

She reached up to touch his face. Her hand paused in midair.

Do it, Penny.

But she couldn’t. Her hand slid back to her side. They had switched off the light in the room so except for the light from the TV, the room was pretty dark. And they could only see each others faces when the scenes on the TV changed.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered into the dark.

The sound of him moving his head toward her made the heat in her cheeks flare back to life.Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

“What for?” Joey asked.

Penny was sorry she’d been mean to him. She had been callous and tactless. She was sorry she’d been difficult. That she’d turned him down so many times. She was sorry that, despite the fact that he’d been there for her, In every circumstance she faced, it had taken her this long to realize how she felt about him. That she loved him.

With Jeremy it had all been in her head. She had been obsessed and infatuated with Jeremy. Now she knew what it felt like to love and be loved right back. She and Joey had friendship, companionship, respect, trust and were so attracted to each other. This time everything felt right.

She wanted to say thank you, but she didn’t really know how to start. She was sorry for a lot of things, but couldn’t find the words to connect that feeling to one thought.

“I’m so sorry, Joey….. About everything.” was all she said. In her mind it encompassed everything she felt guilty for.

Joey moved some more, but in the darkness she couldn’t pinpoint how.

“There’s nothing to be sorry for, Penny” he said, “You had a lot on your plate. You went through so much and you had other things like your work and Howard to worry about. You didn’t need me complicating issues for you.” He paused then added, “But we are here now, and I just want to know if you feel the same way about me… Because I’m confused as hell about that. Do you want me too, Penny?”

Penny simply nodded, and Joey didn’t even bother to hide his thoughts from her anymore. Didn’t try to hide the fact that he was mentally undressing her with his eyes and judging from the look in her eyes, she got his message loud and clear. Even if she didn’t, he was sure she could feel the growing bulge between his legs, pressing and rubbing intimately against her thigh.

In the position she was in, pressed against him like that, her blouse had slipped downwards a little, exposing her smooth skin and a good portion of her cleavage. That was enough to make any man loose his senses.

He had to touch her, Joey thought. He had to touch her or he was going to loose his damn mind. And this time, just like before, he didn’t think. And he didn’t want to think, because if he did, a million reasons why what he was about to do was a bad idea would fly into his head. That idea seemed great as far as he was concerned right about now.