Page 37 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 11

Saturday

"What about something like this?" I stopped in front of a huge painting of the beach. There was a boardwalk that overlooked the sand and water. It made it feel like we were standing there together, even though we were standing in an art gallery.

"It reminds me of Rehoboth." She leaned her head against my shoulder.

"Me too. It's kind of perfect, right?" I wrapped my arm around her back.

"That's the day I fell in love with you, you know."

I kissed her temple. "You barely knew me." But fuck, I was already in love with her then. I hadn’t admitted it to myself, but I couldn’t get enough of her from the first moment I met her. I was pretty sure I fell in love with her the moment she first fell into my arms.

"I knew enough."

I turned back to the painting. "Let's get it."

"I thought you liked the idea of moving? Why are we buying stuff for a place we might leave?"

"We can bring it with us.” I was trying not to put pressure on this conversation. I’d been hoping she wanted to move. And I was hoping she wanted to go to New York City. But we needed to come to that decision together. I cleared my throat. “Where do you think you want to go?"

"I don't know. Aren't you happiest in New York?"

"I'm happiest when I'm with you." I kissed her temple again. That was the truth. I’d be happy wherever we wound up. As long as we were together. But I really wanted a chance to repair the damage I’d made with my friends. I couldn’t rewind time, but I could apologize.

Maybe it could be like old times again one day.

Well, old times plus Penny. They were all going to love her.

Penny smiled up at me "Maybe I should apply to some places and see if I can get in anywhere before we choose. I'm not sure how easy it's going to be. You said people might not think my grades are valid."

"You can get in wherever you want."

"What do you mean by that?'

"I'm more than willing to make a hefty donation to any university that you choose."

She laughed. "I don't want you to do that."

"How do you think I got Joe to change your incomplete to a withdrawal?"

"James. You're exasperating. I didn't ask you to do that. And now I'm going to drop out. That was a terrible investment."

"Eh. Maybe they'll name a lecture hall after me or something. You know, when things die down."

"I kind of doubt that."

"Then choose your next university wisely so I don't have to keep wasting money. Besides, I've always wanted a building named after me."

She laughed and looked back up at the painting. "I want you to decide where we go. I'm indecisive. You're better at making decisions than me."

"I'd rather make that decision together." I squeezed her shoulder. I meant it. I was going to be better at working together with her from here on out. "Until then, I definitely want this painting. You like it, right?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Okay. I'll be right back." I walked over to the art gallery manager. He seemed surprised that I didn’t try to negotiate the price. But it was a lot cheaper than any art I’d ever bought before. And it was well worth the price. Wherever we ended up, I wanted a little bit of Rehoboth with us.

We walked back over to the painting and the manager pulled the canvas off the wall. “Let me package it up for you. I’ll be right back.”

When he was gone, Penny looked up at me. “James, could we maybe get the picture you sent me the other day printed out?”

“Of Rob giving you the middle finger? I’m sure we can get a better picture than that.”

“It’s the first picture you ever sent me of yourself. I like it. You look really happy. I even made it my background image.” She handed me her phone. She’d cropped Rob out of it so that it was zoomed up on my face.

I did look happy. And I felt guilty that we’d fought so much. From here on out, I planned to only make her smile. “You’re incredibly cute.” I handed her the phone back. “Can it at least be smaller than the painting we just got?”

She laughed. “Yeah, that’s fine. Just like a normal sized picture would be great.”

“Okay.” I wrapped my arm around her shoulders again. “So what else do cozy places have?” Because I literally had no idea. But I wanted everything to be perfect for her.

“James, I need to confess something.”

Fuck. What now?

“It’s not bad,” she quickly said. “I just...” Her voice trailed off.

“When I told you I went to my dorm room after I was upset because it was cozy, that wasn’t the whole truth.

I was embarrassed. When you described what your brother was like, you said he wasn’t independent.

You made it seem like that was a bad thing.

And I don’t want you to think of me that way. ”

She went back to her dorm because she was embarrassed of not seeming independent? I didn’t need her to be independent. I wanted her to depend on me.

“I wanted to prove to you that I could be strong and take care of myself. And I couldn't. I..."

"Penny, I want to take care of you." I kissed her forehead. It was wrong of me to say that about Rob. I was a shitty brother. And I never wanted her to ever doubt how I felt about her. I liked that she relied on me. "I want you to let me take care of you."

"I need you."

I lowered my eyebrows. I wasn’t sure where all this was coming from.

I remembered a lot of last night, but I was sure there were pieces missing.

I wondered if I’d said something stupid.

But…those words were exactly what I wanted to hear.

I wanted her to need me. To need me just as much as she wanted me.

Where need and want blurred because we were so attached to each other.

"Penny, I need you too. You shouldn't be embarrassed about that. "

"I know. But I told you I could handle it. I just wanted you to think I was strong. And I was embarrassed about how wrong I was about everything. Everyone was so horrible. I just felt..."

"Hey." I cupped her chin in my hand. "I do think you're strong. I think you're perfect. You don't need to prove anything to me."

She smiled up at me.

And anyone who thought she was weak just didn’t know her.

Penny was quiet and reserved. Loud people had a bad habit of associating volume with strength.

But they could take their comments and shout them all day and they’d be dead wrong about my girl.

"Does that mean my apartment is cozy enough already? "

She laughed. "It could be cozier."

"Mhm. So back to my original question. What else do we need?"

"A rug in the living room might be nice."

"Good thinking."

***

"What about L.A.?" I asked, as we pulled to a stop at an intersection. I’d asked her a few questions about where she wanted to move while we were shopping. But she wasn’t giving me much back.

She just seemed lost in thought. I knew she hadn’t been many places.

Maybe we needed to do a bit of traveling before we could really decide.

She bit her lip as she mulled it over. "I think I want to stay on the east coast."

"Finally, now we're getting somewhere." I turned to her and smiled. "North or south?"

"North. I think I'd miss the snow."

"Me too." I put my foot on the gas when the light turned green. "But I don't want to go too far north. Tons of snow would be worse than no snow."

"You're probably right." She pulled her legs up onto her seat.

New York City really did seem like a good fit.

But…Penny had told me that she preferred a back yard with grass and friendly neighbors.

Central Park was beautiful though. And we could get an apartment overlooking it.

We could get any apartment she wanted. But I kept my mouth shut. I didn’t want to pressure her.

"If we moved to New York, where would we live?" she asked.

I pictured my parents’ mansion on the outskirts of the city.

That wasn’t the kind of life I wanted. Where there were so many rooms we never had to see each other.

I wanted to be close to Penny. I could do cozy.

"If we moved to New York, I think I'd like you to give the city a try.

Maybe an apartment in Manhattan?" I tried to keep the hopefulness out of my tone. I was used to always getting what I wanted. But this wasn’t just about me anymore. I wanted her to be happy.

"Would that be weird?” she asked. “You know so many people in the city. I wouldn't know anyone at all. Tyler said he was going to interview for a position where he'd have to move there, but that wouldn't be until after he graduates. And he might not even get it."

I forced myself to keep a straight face. When the fuck had she been talking to Tyler? He was such a piece of shit. Breathe. Of course Tyler was choosing to come to New York City after graduation. He was hellbent on messing with me. But the city was big. We’d never have to see him.

I took a deep breath. "You'd know me. Penny, if we moved to New York, I'd still be hanging out with you all the time. I prefer spending my time with you." And she’d like my friends. She already liked Rob.

She pressed her lips together as she stared at me.

I knew I was doing a bad job of hiding my intentions now. She must know that’s where I wanted to move.

"You said you left New York because you needed a change. If you went back, do you think you'd be unhappy again?"

It was a valid concern. I had issues. I’d left NYC to help escape from them.

And my brother had been here for less than 24 hours and I’d already drank more than she’d ever seen me drink.

But things were different now. NYC wasn’t the problem, I was.

But I was doing so much fucking better. Because I had Penny now.