New Story. Sorry, this is a bad day for me so I have nothing clever to say. Hope you enjoy this and thanks for everything on my other stories.
"Ladies, ladies, please!" Penelope pleaded with them as the three women followed her into the room.
"Garcia, what is it that we need to sneak around the office for?"
"It's not that. It's just- Ugh!" Penelope moved to lean against her desk. "Tara, please shut the door."
"Sure." Tara eyed her but followed her instruction. She made her way back into the open part of the room to stand in between Emily and JJ.
Penelope shut her eyes and then opened them to see the three women in front of her staring in her direction. "Okay, gals. I found a ring."
"A ring?" Emily's eyebrow went high on her forehead.
"Yes, a ring. Sam left his jacket on my couch, and I went to pick it up and hang it in the closet until I had him over again, and a ring box fell out of the pocket."
"And it was…" JJ's tilted her head at Penelope.
"Yes, JJ. I believe it was a ring for me. I opened the box; it was an engagement ring for sure. And since he's been begging me to be official again for some time now, I have to assume as much." Penelope huffed. The logistics weren't the issue.
"Okay, and this is," Tara glanced to her comrades on either side of her, "a bad thing?"
"Very, very bad." Penelope pushed off the desk and began pacing. "This is what happened with Kevin. I found out he wanted to propose, and I had to put a stop to it. Then, poof, no boyfriend anymore. Sam is not my boyfriend, and I don't want him to be, but it was already hard enough trying to tell him I enjoy hanging out with him occasionally but not regularly. I doubt he is going to continue to help me learn new music when I officially have to break his heart too."
Emily blew out a breath, "So… you need to..."
"What I need is to make sure I am never alone with Sam again ever in life, but that would be a terrible conversation too. I guess I need to break off what isn't on anymore anyway. Or maybe I need him to not want me? I don't know. The point is, I like having someone to call when I want to, but I don't want that to change, but it'll have to just like last time with Kevin, and we all know that didn't end super pleasantly. And Sam is still in my music group. Do you know how hard it is to find a group of middle aged adults that like to get together and learn wind instruments they failed at in sixth grade? It's not like I can just change softball leagues here."
JJ silently chuckled. "So really you're worried about your hobby and about it being inconvenient to have to find someone else to call when you want to be taken out to dinner?"
"Uh, sort of?" Penelope raised one shoulder. "I mean, it's not like it's pleasant to tell someone that you have no intention of ever marrying them. It never goes well."
"I've been proposed to once, and I said yes. It eventually broke off, but I have never been in that predicament, let alone twice," Tara informed her.
"I put Will off for a while, but let's be honest. I had his kid. That is a far bigger commitment than marriage. I was just fearful about what it would make me feel about my job and feeling independent, but that feeling wasn't going to last forever." JJ gave Penelope an apologetic smile.
"I've had a few of the guys talk about it, but, if it had happened… not sure I would have been scared by it. Looks like you're the hot ticket item, PG. You have to turn 'em down and break their souls." Emily laughed, and the other girls followed suit.
Penelope glared at them. "Ha ha, you guys. This isn't funny. I don't enjoy this predicament. It isn't pleasant." She sighed and threw herself back into her chair. "Maybe I should just let him. Maybe I should just say 'yes' and get it all over with."
"Really? You broke up with him years ago because you didn't even like him anymore." JJ gave her an incredulous raise of her eyebrow.
"Okay, maybe I should just call Kevin, or, hell, Shane, or literally anyone else in my past that wanted more and see if they still do. Just try it out once and for all. It's not like the dating pool is getting better out there." Penelope threw her head back.
"Garcia, you don't mean that." JJ stepped forward to sit on the desk and put a comforting hand on Penelope's arm.
"Don't I? It's sort of bullshit out there. I'm going to turn forty and meet the right guy? Doubtful. That's not how it works."
"Thanks for reminding us." Emily scoffed and scowled at her. Penelope rolled her eyes in return.
"Okay, but really. As much as we are all strong feminist ladies, who can all make it on our own, if we did want someone, it's not like there are a bunch of nice handsome men in their forties who are unattached, no kids, and are stable worthwhile catches."
"I see what you mean, but that's not always the case. Derek was a prime example of that." JJ countered. "And Luke, for that matter."
"Derek was an enigma. And also, you're sort of wrong. Yes, he was single, no kids, and a good guy, but it took him awhile to get there. Good for him for getting it right, but most of them don't wait. I am not carting some divorced dad's three kids to soccer practice so that his nosey ex-wife can judge how I pack her kids' snacks." Penelope shook her head. "And we all know my infatuation with Luke ended immediately and entirely the day I met Lisa. So let's not even mention it. Just like you all agreed we wouldn't."
"Okay." Tara nodded. "So you don't date someone with kids then." Tara shrugged.
"Oh, and I want to be someone's second wife? I want to be at my wedding and have their Great Aunt Carol tell me how much better Lizzy looked in her dress and how she picked better centerpieces? Get real!" Penelope huffed.
"Okay, so no divorcees either," Emily suggested
Penelope stuck her neck out. "And where am I going to find that guy? Derek was a unicorn, and, even then, Savannah still had a bit of a challenge on her hands. We've all seen his conquests over the years. Did any of you think he would be a good idea to commit to?" She gave them all a raised eyebrow, and they nodded in acquiescence of her point. "But hot guys in their forties that aren't broken are not easy to come by. So, shouldn't I take one of the ones I found already? Am I just being greedy?"
"If it's not right for you, then it's not right. I broke up with my fiancé because of that. I don't regret it. I might've regretted making the mistake of marrying him though." Tara smiled at her with sympathy.
Penelope sighed. "I know. I get it. But I do like being in a partnership, and I'm just wondering what it is that isn't right with these guys? They're nice. They're fine. But they just aren't what I am looking for. Why do I even bother dating them?"
"Because you have to find that out first?" JJ rubbed her arm again. "Garcia, you do know what you are looking for. Remember those stupid lists we made when we were drunk? They hold up, even more than a decade later. Will ended up being almost everything on my list. You know what you want, and it's not anyone you've already dated."
"Yeah, okay." Penelope shrugged. "I guess I will just cut Sam off at the pass. We are going to a music thing this weekend in Harper's Ferry. I'll just tell him that I don't think we should hang out alone anymore. Hopefully, he understands that would put a damper on the whole marriage thing."
"Good for you. And hey, maybe we can all try and set each other up? Or maybe do a single's mixer? I was talking to Luke about him setting me up with one of his buddies, so what if we all bring some friends and just let it all happen? We can have a party, no pressure, and you can see that there are some great guys out there still." Tara smiled at her hopefully.
Penelope sighed, but it was less pathetic. "Sure. but does that mean I have to bring friends too? Crap." Penelope twisted her nose up. "And they can't be you two?" She nodded at Tara and Emily since JJ was a married woman.
"You can round up a friend or two. Didn't you say you met some hippie girl in your music group that Spence might like? Bring her," JJ recommended. "And see, Spence is another great example of a good guy who is out there, in his thirties and unattached."
"Yeah, maybe I can bring her. But then Sam might hear about singles' night." She scoffed. "Please tell me that's not what we're calling it."
"No. We'll just ask some friends to come to a gathering and say that there will only be two couples there at most so they shouldn't feel awkward about attending alone. Leave it at that." Emily lifted a shoulder.
"So we are invited?" JJ grinned.
"I don't know, honey. I think the cost of admission for married couples should be at least four hot single dudes." Penelope clicked her tongue at her.
JJ crossed her arms. "Fine. I don't want to attend anyway."
"Matt probably has at least four hot friends," Tara argued.
"Well, tell him the same thing, but also tell him to let Kristy know they will be the only couple there. They might not find it that interesting after all." Penelope shrugged. "Whatever. Let's all just go if we want, and bring friends, and leave it at that."
"Great, I'll ask Dave if he would mind playing host, and also tell him we will try and find some age appropriate single ladies for him." Emily nodded. "Oh, wait, so we are telling the guys the truth about this then, right?"
"How else do we scam them into bringing friends over?" Penelope queried.
Tara and Emily exchanged glances, and Penelope frowned as she tried to sort out that thought process. JJ stood up from the desk. "I'll do it, and that will be my admission cost. I'll tell them that I decided to play matchmaker. It's all on me. I'm the one that wanted to do this. I want couples to hang out with, blah blah. They'll buy it. I will explain the parameters. They'll indulge the married lady with two kids that just wants to have some fun setting her friends up. I'm sure I could persuade Kristy into leaning into the idea too."
"You're not wrong." Emily smirked at Penelope.
"Okay. Fine. Alright. I'm in." Penelope rolled her eyes. "How did my complaint lead us here?"
"I don't know, but this should be a good time anyway." Tara winked at her and led the other two ladies towards the door.
"Actually, we needed to consult on that double homicide. PG, can you type it up for us? We'll round up the boys." Emily followed JJ and Tara out of the room. Penelope grabbed her tablet and followed them through the glass doors.
When they entered, they saw Luke and Matt picking up a few files from the floor. There was a box of paperclips that had been tipped over in between their desks, a phone off the hook with the cord dangling from Luke's desk, and a tipped over water bottle on Matt's.
"Are you boys serious? We left you alone for ten minutes!" Emily's incredulous face scanned the mess in front of her. The women at her sides were amused but also in disbelief. "What the hell happened?"
Luke tried to answer, "Uh- I - uh-"
Matt stacked the file folders he'd retrieved from the floor on his desk. "We were talking about a buddy of ours that was getting married soon. I tried to show Luke the post and almost dropped my cell, and he tried to catch it. Then we both sort of knocked some things over. Oops." Matt shrugged, but he gave them his sweet smile that was hard to ever get mad at.
The women scoffed. "Geez, who knew you two would get so worked up over a friend's social media post." JJ smirked. "However, it's funny you should mention such a thing. I wanted to do a get together."
Rossi and Spencer joined the group, standing behind Luke's desk. "We always have a get together. Unless you're getting married again, that seems to have very little to do with this." Rossi took a sip from his coffee cup.
"That's what I'm saying. Only two of us on this team are married. We should have a singles mixer. Sort of. Everyone bring some single friends, and we just have a no pressure gathering." JJ raised her eyes. "It'll be fun."
"And you'll be allowed to attend?" Rossi asked JJ.
"Matt and I and our spouses will be the exception to the rule," JJ countered.
Penelope sighed. "Actually, Jayge, Rossi is right. Is this a good idea? Em is sort of still seeing Marc, and Luke has a girlfriend. It's not like the majority of us are single anymore." She hadn't thought about that before they decided on this.
"But isn't that the point. We're supposed to bring single friends. So… what does it matter if all of us are single?" Luke questioned.
"Yeah, plus, Marc and I are… sort of not seeing each other except when we're in the same country, which is rare." Emily pouted her bottom lip, then shrugged.
"Okay. So it's settled then. Only single people at the party except those of us on the team and our partners, should they choose to attend. Otherwise just invite single friends, but don't make it weird. Just say it's a gathering for all of us generally, but mention that it won't be a couple-y thing. Problem solved." JJ nodded.
"Great. Now we have work to do." Emily led the way towards the conference room. "Oh, and Dave? Thanks for hosting the party next Saturday. What would we do without you?"