---------------------
--------Jake-------
I stand there, not knowing what to do, or say, or even think. My body is completely frozen, my mind is blank, and all I can do is just stare at her with wide eyes.
She stares back at me, with an unusual expression on her face. It's not so much that it's unusual, it's just unusual for her. Then she lets out a bit of a sigh, rolls her eyes and looks towards the ground.
She brings her eyes up to meet mine again, and nodding slightly, she says sarcastically, "You're right, Jake. I feel 100% better."
She quickly walks towards the door, opens it, and walks out, closing it loudly. Not slamming, just loudly.
I stare off into space for a bit longer until I find my way to the couch and fall onto it. Then I just stare at the ceiling, lost in my thoughts.
How did this happen? When did this happen? And most importantly, why did this have to happen to me?
I love someone else, and Penny is my employee. She's my friend. My best friend. And now she's in love with me?
This is awful. I'll have to break Penny's heart, and ruin our friendship. Why was I the one who always has to make huge decisions? Why did I have to choose one person over another?
Why did this have to happen to me?
Then I think for a second, and realize, I am the biggest jerk on the planet.
'Why did this have to happen to me?' What about Penny?
She put her heart, her pride - herself on the line, for me. For the person she loves. And all I can do is stand there and blink? In fact, I don't even think I was blinking!
Penny is the one who will suffer. Penny is the one who has been suffering all along! She's had feelings bottled up inside with no one to turn to for help. She had no ear to listen to her, no shoulder to cry on. At least I could talk about my love for Dylan. I had Penny there to listen to me.
Oh God. She'd been listening to me pine after Dylan all along.
That would have to be the greatest pain of all.
------Penny-------
I sit down at my desk and pull out some work to do, only I don't work. I can't.
Why did I have to tell him?
I knew all along that he didn't feel the same way. I knew that he didn't love me, or have any feelings for me whatsoever. I'm Penny, his assistant, his friend who he talked to at work, and occasionally outside the office. I don't even know if "friend" is the word to use, but I knew how he felt the whole time, that Dylan was the one he wanted, and still wants.
Yet, I still told him anyway.
Sometimes I really hate myself.
--------Jake-------
I decide to call Penny into my office. I need to talk to her; I need to know how bad this thing really is. Most of all, I need to know if she's okay.
I know she won't want to talk to me, so I call her in when Dylan and Frank are getting coffee. She can't refuse while there are people watching.
She enters my office and sits on the couch. I stand in front of her, looking at her.
"What?" she asks, staring back at me.
"I just think we should talk about this."
"Okay, so let's talk about it."
"Okay." Suddenly I'm lost for words.
"Alright," she says, waiting for me to start.
"First of all, I'd like to apologize for not saying anything when you told me, it's just that I was so surprised. I mean, how long have you felt this way?"
"I don't know, a while," she says, looking at the floor.
I frown, catching the sad tone in her voice and the depressing look upon her face.
"Penny, I'm, I'm sorry. You should know that I do care about you. You're my best friend. I, I don't know what to say. I feel really bad."
"I don't want you to feel sorry for me, Jake," she says, standing up to face me. "I don't need pity."
"I know, I know how you feel," I say, nodding.
"No you don't," she tells me, shaking her head. "Look, Jake, everything that is wrong in my life is my fault. It's the truth, and I accept it."
"How is everything your fault?"
"Because, it's my fault that I'm stuck in this dead-end job. It's my fault that people don't like me for being rude. It's my fault that I'm in love with you. They are decisions, Jake. Decisions that I've made and I can't go back on. Decisions that will never be changed, because it's too late, and I need to just take the responsibility. So I've taken it. I come to work here every day; I continue to joke and tease people, pissing them off, and I don't care; and now I've just told you that I love you, and I'm ready to take the consequences, no matter how much it hurts. It's my fault, so I deal with it."
"Penny, maybe this job and your attitude are your own fault, but loving me is not. You can't choose who you fall in love with. And if you could, my choice would be different. I would've picked y-" I stop, knowing that if I go on, I could really break her heart.
"You would've picked who?" she asks, sort of curiously, sort of angrily.
"Um, nobody." How am I going to get out of this?
"Me? You would've picked me?" she asks. I sigh. "My God, Jake, what are you trying to do? I don't expect anything from you! I don't want anything from you! So if you think you're going to make me feel better by telling me that you wished you loved me, then just stop. Because you're not, and you don't. So just take it back right now, while you still have the chance."
I look at her, taking in every feature on her beautiful face. Her cute little nose; the unique birthmark on her tanned cheek; her long, dark eyelashes; perfectly shaped eyebrows; deep, expressive eyes; and her lips, that look so soft. I want to touch them, to feel them, to know them.
Closing my eyes, I lean in and kiss her. I was right. Her lips are extremely soft, and smooth. I love how they feel against mine.
I gently use my tongue to open her mouth. There is no resistance from her.
As the kiss deepens, I place my right hand on her back and pull her closer to me. Her arms, which have been dangling by her side, move up and rest on my shoulders, wrapping around my neck.
Our bodies press tightly together, tongues tumbling over one another. She tastes so sweet, so wonderful.
It is incredible.
The kiss ends and immediately goes into a hug. Bodies still pressed together, arms still holding each other, I plant a single gentle kiss on her neck as I feel her breath on mine.
She pulls away, arms still around my neck, my hands now resting on her hips. We stare at each other.
She's not smiling, but she's not frowning either. She looks a little bit confused, like she's wondering something.
She closes her eyes and leans in, pressing her lips to mine softly. She pulls away again to look at me.
"I was just checking something," she explains.
I give her a small smile. There is a strange heated tension between us as we continue gazing into each other's eyes, still holding one another. We don't speak, just stare. There is an unspoken chemistry that I can't explain.
I want to kiss her again. But as I plan my move, the door opens. Our heads both turn to see whom it is, breaking the stare.
It's Dylan.
---------------------
A/N: Update soon.
--------Jake-------
I stand there, not knowing what to do, or say, or even think. My body is completely frozen, my mind is blank, and all I can do is just stare at her with wide eyes.
She stares back at me, with an unusual expression on her face. It's not so much that it's unusual, it's just unusual for her. Then she lets out a bit of a sigh, rolls her eyes and looks towards the ground.
She brings her eyes up to meet mine again, and nodding slightly, she says sarcastically, "You're right, Jake. I feel 100% better."
She quickly walks towards the door, opens it, and walks out, closing it loudly. Not slamming, just loudly.
I stare off into space for a bit longer until I find my way to the couch and fall onto it. Then I just stare at the ceiling, lost in my thoughts.
How did this happen? When did this happen? And most importantly, why did this have to happen to me?
I love someone else, and Penny is my employee. She's my friend. My best friend. And now she's in love with me?
This is awful. I'll have to break Penny's heart, and ruin our friendship. Why was I the one who always has to make huge decisions? Why did I have to choose one person over another?
Why did this have to happen to me?
Then I think for a second, and realize, I am the biggest jerk on the planet.
'Why did this have to happen to me?' What about Penny?
She put her heart, her pride - herself on the line, for me. For the person she loves. And all I can do is stand there and blink? In fact, I don't even think I was blinking!
Penny is the one who will suffer. Penny is the one who has been suffering all along! She's had feelings bottled up inside with no one to turn to for help. She had no ear to listen to her, no shoulder to cry on. At least I could talk about my love for Dylan. I had Penny there to listen to me.
Oh God. She'd been listening to me pine after Dylan all along.
That would have to be the greatest pain of all.
------Penny-------
I sit down at my desk and pull out some work to do, only I don't work. I can't.
Why did I have to tell him?
I knew all along that he didn't feel the same way. I knew that he didn't love me, or have any feelings for me whatsoever. I'm Penny, his assistant, his friend who he talked to at work, and occasionally outside the office. I don't even know if "friend" is the word to use, but I knew how he felt the whole time, that Dylan was the one he wanted, and still wants.
Yet, I still told him anyway.
Sometimes I really hate myself.
--------Jake-------
I decide to call Penny into my office. I need to talk to her; I need to know how bad this thing really is. Most of all, I need to know if she's okay.
I know she won't want to talk to me, so I call her in when Dylan and Frank are getting coffee. She can't refuse while there are people watching.
She enters my office and sits on the couch. I stand in front of her, looking at her.
"What?" she asks, staring back at me.
"I just think we should talk about this."
"Okay, so let's talk about it."
"Okay." Suddenly I'm lost for words.
"Alright," she says, waiting for me to start.
"First of all, I'd like to apologize for not saying anything when you told me, it's just that I was so surprised. I mean, how long have you felt this way?"
"I don't know, a while," she says, looking at the floor.
I frown, catching the sad tone in her voice and the depressing look upon her face.
"Penny, I'm, I'm sorry. You should know that I do care about you. You're my best friend. I, I don't know what to say. I feel really bad."
"I don't want you to feel sorry for me, Jake," she says, standing up to face me. "I don't need pity."
"I know, I know how you feel," I say, nodding.
"No you don't," she tells me, shaking her head. "Look, Jake, everything that is wrong in my life is my fault. It's the truth, and I accept it."
"How is everything your fault?"
"Because, it's my fault that I'm stuck in this dead-end job. It's my fault that people don't like me for being rude. It's my fault that I'm in love with you. They are decisions, Jake. Decisions that I've made and I can't go back on. Decisions that will never be changed, because it's too late, and I need to just take the responsibility. So I've taken it. I come to work here every day; I continue to joke and tease people, pissing them off, and I don't care; and now I've just told you that I love you, and I'm ready to take the consequences, no matter how much it hurts. It's my fault, so I deal with it."
"Penny, maybe this job and your attitude are your own fault, but loving me is not. You can't choose who you fall in love with. And if you could, my choice would be different. I would've picked y-" I stop, knowing that if I go on, I could really break her heart.
"You would've picked who?" she asks, sort of curiously, sort of angrily.
"Um, nobody." How am I going to get out of this?
"Me? You would've picked me?" she asks. I sigh. "My God, Jake, what are you trying to do? I don't expect anything from you! I don't want anything from you! So if you think you're going to make me feel better by telling me that you wished you loved me, then just stop. Because you're not, and you don't. So just take it back right now, while you still have the chance."
I look at her, taking in every feature on her beautiful face. Her cute little nose; the unique birthmark on her tanned cheek; her long, dark eyelashes; perfectly shaped eyebrows; deep, expressive eyes; and her lips, that look so soft. I want to touch them, to feel them, to know them.
Closing my eyes, I lean in and kiss her. I was right. Her lips are extremely soft, and smooth. I love how they feel against mine.
I gently use my tongue to open her mouth. There is no resistance from her.
As the kiss deepens, I place my right hand on her back and pull her closer to me. Her arms, which have been dangling by her side, move up and rest on my shoulders, wrapping around my neck.
Our bodies press tightly together, tongues tumbling over one another. She tastes so sweet, so wonderful.
It is incredible.
The kiss ends and immediately goes into a hug. Bodies still pressed together, arms still holding each other, I plant a single gentle kiss on her neck as I feel her breath on mine.
She pulls away, arms still around my neck, my hands now resting on her hips. We stare at each other.
She's not smiling, but she's not frowning either. She looks a little bit confused, like she's wondering something.
She closes her eyes and leans in, pressing her lips to mine softly. She pulls away again to look at me.
"I was just checking something," she explains.
I give her a small smile. There is a strange heated tension between us as we continue gazing into each other's eyes, still holding one another. We don't speak, just stare. There is an unspoken chemistry that I can't explain.
I want to kiss her again. But as I plan my move, the door opens. Our heads both turn to see whom it is, breaking the stare.
It's Dylan.
---------------------
A/N: Update soon.