"God you're sexy,” I said.
Her face flushed.
"This is when you look the most beautiful. When your hair is mussed up, your cheeks are pink, and you're wearing one of my shirts." I pulled the wrapped box out from behind my back.
"But my birthday isn't for another few weeks."
"It's not for your birthday." I sat down beside her and placed the box in her hands.
"What is it?"
"Open it, baby."
She smiled at me, then pulled the bow loose, and tore into the paper. She lifted the lid and slid the tissue paper to the side. It was a new bikini. It was a deep blue, the same color as the ocean. The fabric was lightweight and softer than her other bikini. Delicate almost. Ellen had sent me a few pictures from the store, and we’d both agreed that it was the nicest one. I shuddered thinking about Ellen looking at bathing suits with my sister in mind. Gross. I shook the thought away. It was perfect for Penny and no one else. And I couldn’t wait for her to try it on. She was going to look sexy as hell.
She ran her fingers across the fabric. "You didn't need to do that,” she said.
"I wanted to. Besides, it's my fault that we lost your last one."
She laughed. "We didn't lose it. You somehow convinced me to get naked in public and it got stolen."
"I hate to break it to you, but it didn't take that much convincing." I leaned in and kissed her.
"But this is probably the most expensive thing I own now. It's too much." She put the lid back on the box and pushed it back into my hands.
Wait, what? I never expected her to reject it. "Penny, it's a gift."
"I know. I'm sorry, I do love it. But I'm not used to getting extravagant gifts like this."
"Well you better get used to it. I want to be able to buy you things. I want to get you everything you've ever wanted."
She shook her head. "I don't want anything. I just want you."
"That's refreshing to know." Truly. More than she realized. I cupped her chin in my hand. That was the most comforting thing about all this. She liked me before she knew I was rich. It made what was going on between us real. She liked me for me. "I've never met anyone like you." I leaned in and kissed her again. But now I was worried my other surprise for her wouldn’t go so well either.
I pulled back and ran my hand through my hair. "Well, don't get mad at me. I didn't realize that you weren't going to like getting presents. I also picked up a few other things for you for whenever you want to spend the night." Well…Ellen did. This was all probably too soon. But after I’d slept in Penny’s hard bed a few days ago, I wanted to make sure she didn’t have to spend another night being uncomfortable. If that was what she wanted. And I knew what I wanted. To be all in with her. I already was.
"What?" she asked.
I stood up and held my hand out for her. She grabbed it and I pulled her to her feet. I led her past the kitchen, into my bedroom, and flipped the light on in my closet. Ellen had moved a row of my shirts and in their place were a ton of new clothes. For Penny.
She looked so excited as she ran her hand along the jeans, t-shirts, short dresses, skirts, and blouses. And shoes. There were new sneakers, some flats, and a few high heels with varying lengths of stilettos. I was especially excited to see her in those. But I was more excited by the fact that she looked so damn happy.
"I can't accept all of this,” she said. “I mean, I can't accept any of this. Please tell me that you can return everything?"
"I can, but I'm not going to."
"Why?"
"Penny, your face lit up when you saw everything. I understand that you aren't used to being showered with gifts. But I want you to have these things, or else I wouldn't have bought them for you. I want you to be comfortable staying here whenever you want."
She blushed. "It's all so nice. But how did you even know my size?"
"I think I know your body pretty well." I put my hand on the small of her back. "And you left your clothes here that one morning."
She cringed.
I opened one of my drawers, not caring to remember how shitty I’d felt walking out of the bathroom and seeing that she’d left. The drawer was filled with lacy panties with matching bras. These with the heels would be especially nice.
"So these are the kinds of things you like me to wear?"
I pulled her into my arms. "I prefer you in nothing at all." Whenever we touched I was filled with so much warmth. I had the strangest realization that this was probably what happiness felt like.
"Professor Hunter, this is all too much. I appreciate the gesture, but I don't need any of this."
I wrapped my arms tighter around her. Her intoxicating smell was everywhere. Yeah, this was what happiness was.
"I feel like a Disney princess. Which makes you the handsome prince that rescued me. But I didn't even realize that I needed rescuing."
I laughed. "If I'm the prince, I certainly hope that you'll be my princess." But honestly, she had it all wrong. She was saving me, not the other way around. Dr. Clark was right. It had been far too long since I’d trusted someone. Penny made it easy.
She smiled up at me. "It's like I moved in without having to actually move any of my things. I guess that is rather convenient."
"It is."
"So you really want me to keep all this stuff?"
"I'm going to want to spoil you. That's something that you're going to have to accept. I want to give you everything. But I bought these things for you mainly because I want you to consider spending more time here. I thought that having these things here would make that easier. Besides, your bed is so uncomfortable," I added.
"I don't mind my bed. Actually I'm really used to it. It's quite comfortable now."
Had I read this all wrong? I hoped my disappointment wasn’t written on my face. "I'm not trying to pressure you, Penny. I know I have some things I need to deal with. And I promise that I am dealing with them. I'm just hoping that you'll consider spending more time here. I'm happiest when you're next to me." I traced my thumb along her lower lip.
"You mean like a few nights a week?"
"If that's what you want."
"What do you want?"
"If it was up to me, I'd have you here all the time." Permanently. I leaned down to kiss her, but she pulled away.
"I need to talk to you."
Why did she keep pushing me away? "We are talking. And I can't think of a better conversation to have."
"No, I mean I need to tell you something." She grabbed my arms and unwound herself from me. I instantly felt cold. She walked out of my closet and sat down on the bed.
I didn’t want to know whatever she wanted to tell me. I could tell it was bad news. I could already feel her slipping away. The distance between us was unsettling. I closed the gap between us and I sat down beside her. "I'll return everything. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." I’d fucked up. Clearly.
"It's not that. I love the idea of spending more time with you. I just need to tell you something."