I have forgotten the whole affair thing for a moment because I am still in awe of the view. When he turns another time right, I got hit back to reality. I see a lot of cabin standing in a row, a lot of people who are walking about, being really busy. Johnny parks the car at the end of the parking and turns off the engine. He turns a little to look at me, and I see Billy coming.
"Your cousin is here."
Johnny looks outside and smiles when he sees Billy. He quickly steps out and I watch them hugging and smiling. Billy looks at me and nudges his head as he looks back at Johny. I watch my sweet boyfriend coming to my side to open the door.
"I thought you never would open the door."
He chuckles and gives me a kiss as I step out. I look at Billy who came to me. I hug him shortly.
"I see you both are doing well."
"Yes, still very happy."
"Where's Pen?"
"In her cabin, your assistant has Pen's cabin here."
"Amanda will be here tomorrow. She's travelling with my parents and her girlfriend."
Billy looks curiously at me, and I smile. I went to the trunk and Johnny quickly follows me.
"Let me."
"I can do this myself."
"I know, but I want you to be careful, okay?"
I sigh deeply, but do take my beauty case. Billy came to help us. I watch them and smile. They are truly like brothers. I follow them up a little hill to a cabin that stands almost in the woods. I look at it and start to frown.
"Why this one?"
"This is the one Max gave me years ago, and the only one I'm allowed to use every summer. He likes to punish me."
"If you tell me, cuz, I still think he's just jealous of you."
Johnny opens the door and let us go in first. I look around and inhale deeply. This is just too sad for words. I am going to change things in here, even if we are only staying here for three weeks. I watch them putting down the suitcases. There is not even a closet for our clothes. Billy is watching me as I went to sit down on the bed that squeaked because of my weight.
Dear lord, not even a decent bed. I know I am not going to sleep well on this bed. I am way too used to my box spring bed or to Johnny's heavenly silken one. Which is also a box spring. I guess I am a little spoiled, but I love to have a good night rest.
"Pen is looking forward to see you again."
"We'll visit her in a bit."
"All right, well, I need to go back. Max asked me to prepare things for tomorrow when the guests arrive."
"You just arrived and you're working already."
"Yeah, need to keep myself busy."
Johnny rolls his eyes. Billy went away and I am still looking around. He looks at me when I let out a deep sigh. I watch him and he puts his hands in his pockets.
"I know this cabin sucks."
"It does, are we allowed to change things in here?"
"I don't think Max cares."
"Good, because I am going to order a new bed."
"Baby, don't please, it's not worth it."
"Maybe not for you, but for me it is. I want to sleep on a good bed, with you in my arms."
"You got spoiled."
"I know, but please let me."
I see him looking at me with his stern expression. I give him my most appealing grin. He chuckles about my face and rolls his eyes. I giggle a little.
"I can't stop you anyway."
"I know."
He came closer and kneels in front of me. I look in his eyes. He lays his hands on my thighs and starts to smile. I bite my lip and start to smile as well.
"Hmm, but I would love to do it once with you on this bed."
"Why?"
"I want to break it and make it squeak so loud that everyone wakes up and can hear us."
I giggle as he watches me with that grin. I grab his face and lean in to kiss him. I kiss him deeply, making him moan. I stop the kiss and look at his face. He still has his eyes closed.
"Damn."
"Shall we go to Penny?"
He opens his eyes and licks his lips.
"I want to do something else first."
"We'll be doing that the whole night, okay? I want to see Penny and the rest of the resort."
"Fine."
He stands straight and I stand up with his help.
"It's so weird, you know."
"What, Pen?"
She looks at Johnny as I sit on the couch. Her cabin is really nice, comfortable and a lot of luxury. I bet that Ron has told Max to give her one of the best cabins.
"Well, I'm here as a guest this year, with a broken leg, and you…"
"I know, but I want you to enjoy it, it's a holiday for you now."
"Will you be alright? You know how people are around here."
"I'll be fine, really, don't worry."
She looks at me and inhales deeply, then she looks back at him and starts to smile again. It did not went unnoticed by me. Does she hate me or something? I do not know what I have done to her to make her hate me, I certainly do not hate her. I need to let her talk to Johnny. She will tell him more.
"How are things between the two of you?"
I keep watching her. Is she hoping we will break up? So that she can have him for herself again and be miserable together with him? Why is she still jealous?
"Great, I asked Baby to move in with me, we'll be buying a house together."
"Buying a house?"
"Yes, after we get back from Kellerman's we're going to look around."
"Moving in together? Isn't that a little too early?"
"I see you're still jealous."
She looks at me and inhales deeply. Then she looks away. I see him frowning about that. I guess he has, just like me, thought that Penny was over her jealousy.
"Pen?"
"Yeah?"
"Why are you so jealous?"
"I don't know."
I stand up and went to the door. Johnny looks at me.
"Where are you going, Baby?"
"Outside, to look at the view."
I wink at him and step outside, closing the door behind me. I look at the lake and inhales deeply. This is something they need to talk about without me being present. I hope Johnny got that message. He leans forward with his elbows on his knees and looks at Penny who has wrapped her arms around her waist.
"Pen."
"I don't want to talk about it."
"We should talk, this isn't healthy, every time I came to visit you, you seem so cold and distant, especially to Baby. What has she done to you? I thought you liked her."
"I do like her, but I feel she only came to work for you so she could get you. Like a predator, and I can't stop this feeling. I can't seem to stop thinking that she's using you."
He stands up and sighs deeply. She looks at him for a second and then away again.
"Pen."
His voice more warningly. She looks back at him. He puts his hands in his pockets as he keeps looking at her. She sees his expression and inhales deeply.
"Do you know anything about Baby at all?"
"That she's good at her job? And she told me about what your father told her, and she's great at organizing events and networking. What's more to know?"
"You never really took a moment to get to know her. I know you like her, you said so from the beginning. But liking someone is not the same as knowing someone, you never took a moment to ask her anything about herself."
"Should I? She's only your assistant."
"She's my girlfriend, and the mother of my unborn child."
"What?!"
He inhales deeply and sits himself down again. She cannot believe her ears as she keeps looking at him. He turns his head and looks at her face, he sees her expression, all disbelief and disappointment.
"Are you joking, Johnny? What in the world makes you think you can have unprotective sex with a seventeen-year-old girl?"
"We only had unprotected sex the first day we've spend together, and yes it wasn't smart, but I love her. Pen, why can't you just be happy for me?"
"She's only seventeen, she's like eight years younger or so, and you don't know what love is."
"Do you, Pen? Do you know what love is? You've got a stalker who wants you dead, and somehow you're not fighting against him. It's like you love to have a stalker. I tried to help you so many times, Billy too, and even Baby, and all you do is whine about it, refusing our help, and telling me I don't know what love means, and that Baby would be just after my money. Well, guess what, Pen? Baby is a billionaire, with a huge lot connections, she's an entrepreneur, she has hired Amanda to be her assistant, offering her to study to become a dance instructor and to be my part-time assistant."
He sees her getting confused about several things now. He could have known that Penny only is judging of what she has seen.
"Baby is not just a seventeen-year-old girl, she's the love of my life, she loves me, a damaged, miserable man who didn't know what to do with his life. I want to be a better man because of her. I want to do my best for dad as well, I know what I want now, and that's also because of Baby. Of all people, I always thought that you would be the one who would be most happy for me. But what do I see? Nothing but jealousy. You don't want me to be happy, you want me to be as miserable as you are until you'll be happy in your life. And you know what?"
He sees her starting to cry, he did not want to hurt her, but she needs to hear the truth. All he wants for her is to be happy for him because that is what best friends do, being happy for each other and being supportive.
"I give you a chance to get to know Baby, I mean, to really get to know her, and if you still feel the same about her after that, then I'll end our friendship. If you've changed your mind about her after that, then I sincerely hope you'll try to let her help you with your case, okay? I know you've stopped the whole process, god knows why."
He stands up and inhales deeply as he keeps looking at her. She looks up at him with her eyes totally red form crying.
"I love you, Pen, and I probably always will. So, please, try for me, if not for yourself. The last few weeks have been horrible between us, every time I came to visit you to see how you're doing, you started about this, scolding me and all that. Why can't you even try to change your own life? Do it for yourself, try not to let your life to depend on my happiness. I want you to be as happy as I am. I'm sure there's someone who can make you very happy, but you got to accept the things as they are."
He wants to walk to the door. I am still waiting outside. Though I am getting hungry now.
"I'm sorry."
He stops in his track and turns to look at her. He sees her face, her begging eyes.
"I'm so sorry, I've always thought I knew better than you what would be good for you, and I've been letting my own judgment taking the hand of my own thoughts."
"What do you mean?"
"I've seen women using you. I've seen how you've been losing your own mind with this addiction of yours. I've seen everything, and besides the fact that I really like Baby, I can see how she handles you. I got jealous because she does a better job at it than I do. I got jealous because I don't have you for myself anymore. Baby has been right when you both came to the hospital. I don't want to be jealous, and I want to get to know her better, but somehow, I don't know, this feeling always seem to take over when she's around."
He inhales deeply and went back to sit down next to her. She turns a little and he takes her hands. She looks at them and then back up at his face. He keeps watching her face as he waits for her to go on.
"And I'm jealous that you've got a special smile only for her."
"Can you try to turn this jealousy into happiness?"
"I will try."
"I'm glad to hear that, because I don't want to lose you, but as I told you at the hospital, I will choose Baby over everything else."
She looks at his face, she can see he means those words.
"You really love her, don't you?"
"More than anything in this world."
"And she's really pregnant?"
"Yes, she did a few tests yesterday and they're all positive. She still needs to tell her father, so please don't tell anyone, okay?"
She nods and tries to smile at him. He smiles at her and pulls her into a hug. She hugs him back.
"She didn't expect to get pregnant already, but we did it a lot that day. So, it's our own fault, but as weird as this may sound to you, I love the thought of becoming a father."
She let him go and sees his happy smile. He gives her a kiss on her cheek and stands up.
"I hope the baby will be like you."
"And I hope it will be like Baby, you'll see, I know you'll love her too eventually."
"I would like to have dinner with you and Baby somewhere this week."
"Of course, we'll make plans very soon."
She moves herself a little, so she sits more comfortable. He went to the door and then turns. She looks at him and smiles.
"You'll always be my best friend, Pen."
"I love you."
"I love you too, and I want the best for you, so please think about re-opening the case."
"I will."
I turn as I hear the door opening. He looks at me as he closes the door behind him. He inhales deeply and takes my hand. We went down the stairs without saying anything. I guess it was some conversation he had with her, but I am sure it will be fine eventually. It must be, they are best friends for life.