Keith: Back by popular demand. :) Anybody know who "Sinking Ship" is meant to be? A hint, it starts with a Led and ends with a Zeppelin. Ahh, two of my favorite bands all together. Sort of. Okay...on with the story.
Keith laughed at Penny's gleeful squeal, sweeping her off her feet before staggering out the door like a pirate carting off his wench. Beth and Polexia stared after them with matching looks of surprise on their faces as Penny's laughter echoed down the hallway.
Polexia turned to Sapphire with wide eyes, "Was that who I thought it was?"
"Keith? Yeah. They're old friends." Sapphire rolled her eyes, lurching off the bed and swaying on her feet before grabbing Polexia's wrist and dragging her to her feet.
"Come on, we're going over to the party." She told the girl as she headed out of the room and walked the short distance to the door next to theirs.
Beth followed eagerly, but Polexia was white as a ghost. Sapphire ignored her protests, too focused on getting close to James again. How dare he reject her, how dare he laugh at her!
The party was in full swing and the luxurious suite was already half-way destroyed. Lamps lay shattered on the floor, paintings hung crooked on the walls, bottles and cigarette butts littered the carpet, and it appeared that someone had set the fern in the corner on fire. Will was leaning out the window, laughing and yelling slurred obscenities at the passersby on the sidewalk below. James was in the corner, strumming his guitar and wearing a smirk that made it obvious that he had orchestrated the whole thing. Leon was nursing a glass of scotch and trying to ignore the dramatically underage blonde who kept stroking his hair. Mark was nowhere to be found. The room was full of other people who were either hangers-on or girls in varying degrees of undress who tried to keep their cool to hide how desperate they really were to get their hands on one of the boys in the band.
Sapphire headed straight for James who looked amused to see her looking like such a mess. Beth thought better of joining the party and turned on her heel to find something better to do, leaving Polexia stranded in the doorway.
"So what are you doing here? I didn't know you were in town." Penny asked Keith around a mouthful of food.
It was morning, or early afternoon, and Keith had ordered every breakfast item on the menu then spread it all out in between them on the bed. Penny smiled at him and stabbed another piece of scrambled egg with her fork.
"Passing through, darling. Just passing through. But I said to myself, I must stop and see my darling Penny Lane. It's been so long." He winked at her, taking a big bite out of his slice of toast.
"I'm glad you did." She winked back.
"So how have you been spending your time darling? I saw a picture of you in one of the gossip rags while I was in London." He informed her nonchalantly, taking a sip from his glass and climbing off the bed.
Penny almost choked on her orange juice, looking incredulous. "What! What kind of picture? What are you talking about?"
"Oh it wasn't a big picture. Just of you getting in a car with that new band….Sinking Ship? Something like that. They identified you as an unknown blonde but I would have known that backside anywhere." He drawled, sliding on his pants and buttoning them.
Penny sighed, flopping back on the pillows as she watched him with a smile.
"Now where is my shirt?" Keith muttered, hands on hips as he looked around the room.
When his gaze landed on Penny, he grinned.
"To hell with getting dressed." He chuckled, climbing over the rattling plates and uneaten food, right into her waiting arms as she giggled blissfully.
All too soon, Penny was forced to kiss Keith goodbye as he rushed to the airport to catch a flight to New York, promising her all the while he would send for her. It wasn't the first time someone had told Penny that and she knew better than to sit around and wait for a call that would never come.
As she drifted down the hallway, humming an old Stones song, she heard voices rising in a heated argument from Sinking Ship's room. Stopping in the doorway, she saw Will standing with Peter and Jay and a few hotel employees. He looked like a schoolboy being scolded, eyes downcast and trying to hide a smile.
Looking up, Will caught sight of Penny and smiled sheepishly around Jay's massive body. Penny waved back, finally noticing the gaping hole in the wall and the smashed TV set that had obviously caused it as well as the rest of the destruction. No wonder he was in trouble. She swallowed her laughter and slipped quietly into her room.
Inside, she found Sapphire sprawled across the bed in her clothes and shoes with a pillow clutched tightly over her face. Beth was on the other bed, painting her toenails a blinding shade of purple. Beyond them, Penny was surprised to see Polexia lounging on the balcony.
"She's still here?" Penny whispered to Beth.
Beth nodded, "She spent the night with Mark. Just came in right before you. How was Keith?"
"Perfect. As always." Penny grinned, climbing onto the bed beside Beth.
"What's wrong with Sapphire?" She asked the redhead, who was intently slathering the purple goop on the nail of her big toe.
"Big fight with James. He laughed in her face and she threw a drink on him. Or so I heard." Beth whispered, glancing over her shoulder at the motionless form in the other bed.
"I did not throw a drink on him. I hit him with a bottle." Sapphire mumbled from beneath the pillow before rolling over, turning her back to the girls.
Penny exchanged a weary look with Beth and stood up to go take a shower, still feeling too delighted to let Sapphire's dramatic evening ruin her good mood.
