Chapter 3

Clyde stood there looking hard at Penelope.

"What's going on?" He said, and this time his voice was edged with anger.

"Why do you do this to me?" Penelope demanded, "Why do you always give me that look when something happens and you're the last one to know?"

"Because I care about you!" He said sharply, "Okay? Does that make you happy? So what's the big secret around here?"

Penelope gave a sigh.

"Sylvester's here."

His eyes widened and his hand screwed into a fist.

"No! Not that freak... not Sneekly-"

Penelope stepped forward, her hand closed over his fist as she explained everything:

"He's nothing like the man he used to be! He came here because he wanted to say sorry to me."

"Sorry? That lunatic almost killed you once!"

"He is not a lunatic!" She said, lowering her voice, "He was sick, Clyde! He was sick and now he's better and he wants us to be friends. I don't see a problem with that considering I should have helped him get out of jail a long time ago! We both know he wasn't responsible for his actions!"

Clyde relaxed his hand and nodded, reluctantly agreeing with this woman who he had worked so hard to get together with –Penelope figured in his plans, at least, her money did – and he knew she would never agree to marry him if he started letting her see what he was really like - and then the shipping business and her fortune would never be his...

Clyde forced a smile.

"Well as you put it that way babe, I see your point of view."

Penelope smiled and her eyes lit up.

"Oh Clyde!" She exclaimed, "You are so kind and sweet! I knew you'd understand once I explained! Come in and meet him!"

And she stepped aside and Clyde entered the house.

As Penelope led the way up the hall, Clyde followed, his face darkening into a scowl behind her back as she wiggled her way towards the front room in a tight dress and those white high heeled boots that she was so fond of wearing. Clyde had always thought she made such an effort to look sexy or him, but after a while he had realized Penelope always dressed like this – and while she looked hot he had to admit he was a lucky guy to have a girl like her – but the thought of her dressed like this with Sneekly in the house, crazy Sneekly who should still be in jail...he felt as if his blood was boiling over.

Then Penelope went into the front room and he followed her in.

"Sylvester," She said sweetly, "This is my fiancée Clyde McDonald."

He had been lying back on the sofa and as he looked at Clyde and saw his expression he sat up sharply.

"Don't get up!" Penelope said at once, placing her hands on his shoulders and easing him back down again.

Sylvester had caught the look in Clyde's eyes – a look that was far from friendly. And he didn't seem to be too fond of Penelope right now, either...

Penelope's hands were still on his shoulders and Sylvester couldn't move. Instead he had to lay there and watch the conversation that took place between the two people who stood over him:

"He mustn't get up," Penelope said, "He's just had a seizure. He's okay now, he took his medication - it was the light in the kitchen, it was flickering terribly – that's what made him have a fit. Could you fix it for me, honey?"

Clyde seemed tense but he nodded.

"Sure," He said reluctantly, "I got a spare tube a while back. It's in the garage; I'll go and get it."

And he turned and walked from the room.

Penelope watched him leave and her face lit up in a radiant smile.

"He's the kindest, sweetest guy!" She exclaimed, "He's only just got here and look what he's doing – he's fixing the light for me and he's doing it right now this minute! He didn't have to do that...he's so kind!"

Sylvester looked at her doubtfully, but Penelope had missed the look on his face as her thoughts filled with Clyde and his devotion to her.

"Maybe I should go."

Sylvester sat up quickly, before Penelope could make him lie down again.

"Don't leave!" She exclaimed, "We've only just..."

And then she stopped, surprised at what she was about to say. She sat down on the sofa beside him.

"Only just what?"

She frowned, still trying to understand her own thoughts that had come to her so fast.

"We've only just...found each other again." She said quietly.

And as she looked at him he blinked, feeling surprised at the depth of emotion he saw in her eyes. It was fleeting but he couldn't fail to spot it - and seeing that glimmer of something deeper than friendship, no matter how brief it had been, had made his heart miss a beat.

"No, I really think I should go."

Sylvester got up.

So did Penelope.

"I really don't want you going any where!"

She gripped his arm.

Her brown eyes were wide with concern and he wanted to hug her but he held it back.

"I'll be absolutely fine now - I've taken the meds, I just need to go home and rest."

"You can rest here."

He smiled on hearing that remark; he had tried so hard to get in here to speak to her and now it seemed as if she didn't want to let him go...

"Penelope, I have to go. I need to go back to my new apartment; I have some things to do. You know where I live, why don't you come over tomorrow? The bar doesn't open until the evening so maybe you could come over and we could have coffee or something. You could meet my room mate; he seems like a nice guy."

Penelope smiled.

"Oh Sylvester I'd love to!" She exclaimed.

Then she hugged him.

That hug was unexpected and so was the flood of emotion that washed over him as he put his arms around her and returned her embrace. She lingered, holding him tightly, but he stepped back again and checked his watch.

"I really should get going now."

Penelope looked at him pleadingly.

He smiled apologetically.

"I have things to do, I've only just moved in to my new place."

"Okay, I'll get your jacket."

Penelope left the room and Sylvester picked up his pills and walked out to the hall and waited.

As Penelope joined him again, she still had a worried look in her eyes.

"Are you sure you'll be okay? How about I give you a ride home?"

Sylvester put his jacket on and shook his head.

"No, I'll be just fine."

He headed for the door.

"Wait!" She called out hurrying to catch up with him.

He opened the floor, saw it was still raining and looked back at her.

"Take this." She said, handing him her pink, lace edged umbrella, "I can pick it up again when I see you tomorrow. I'll come over about eleven, would that be a good time?"

Sylvester smiled.

"I'm looking forward to it already." He said warmly.

The he stepped out onto the porch and opened the umbrella.

Penelope stood at the door and watched him walk down the path.

As he reached the gate he looked back and she smiled, then he was out of the gate and out of light and Penelope closed the door.

"I put the new light in the kitchen."

She turned around sharply, catching her breath as she saw Clyde standing behind her.

"You made me jump!" She exclaimed.

For a brief, confusing moment she thought his eyes seemed different almost as if he was... angry with her?

But that look soon vanished and he smiled.

"Sounds like you and Sylvester have a lot of catching up to do. What did you say about seeing him tomorrow?"

"I'm going over to his apartment." She replied, "We didn't have much of a chance to talk today - not properly, not with him being ill like he was. Why don't you come with me tomorrow? You could get to know him."

Clyde shook his head, looking back at her with softness in his eyes that hid his real feelings on the matter:

As far as he was concerned, freaky Sneekly had to go. It was clear Penelope liked the guy and he couldn't let that get any further or his chances of marrying her and getting his hands on her money would be absolutely zero.

He didn't know what he was going to do about Sneekly yet, but he was sure he would come up with something...

"I can't, I told you before, I'm busy tomorrow. Maybe you could see him some other time."

"No, I want to see him tomorrow." Penelope replied, then she smiled and he saw a sparkle in her eyes that made him sure about the fact that Sneekly definitely had to go.

"I've regretted so much over the years." She said to him," And now I'm glad I've met him again. I can see now that he was telling the truth – he was sick back then, he didn't know what he was doing. But that's all over now, he's changed and I'm happy for him that his life's working out. I want to be around for him, Clyde."

Clyde took in a deep breath, knowing he had to handle this carefully.

"Penelope, I don't want you to –"

His cell phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket, recognized the number and glanced at her briefly.

"This is urgent. I've been waiting for this call. I'll take it outside. I have to go."

He gave her a brief kiss and then walked off down the hall, answering the phone in a low voice as he went out side and closed the front door behind him.

Moments later his car roared into life and he took off at speed.

Penelope stood alone in the hallway, still thinking about Clyde.

"Why does he always take his calls alone?" She wondered aloud, then she shrugged, went back into the kitchen and made some coffee.

The storm clouds were still dark overhead but the light was fixed now and as she made the coffee she smiled as her thoughts moved onto brighter subjects:

Sylvester...she was seeing him again tomorrow...

After walking back to his apartment, Sylvester closed the umbrella, gave it a shake to lose the raindrops and took out his new set of keys and went into the bar.

Then he went up the stairs to the apartment and unlocked the door.

Snoozy was on the sofa with the TV on, there was also a stack of untouched paperwork on the table and he was looking as if he was thinking about dozing off for a while, but he soon woke up and became alert on seeing Sylvester.

"Hey, welcome back! Did you want to get started on some of this paperwork?"

And then he frowned.

"It's got a bit out of hand...I keep putting the hard stuff back to bottom of the pile and it's really stacked up lately!"

"I'll start on the paperwork tomorrow." Sylvester told him, "I just went to see an old friend and while I was there something happened. I guess it's just the strain of getting out of jail today – but there was a flickering light in her kitchen and it gave me a slight seizure."

Snoozy abandoned the paperwork and got up, going over to him with a look of concern in his eyes.

"Maybe you should lie down or something."

Sylvester found he had to agree; he knew he needed to rest, but he hadn't wanted to worry Penelope by telling her that.

"I was supposed to be buying some new stuff today, just to help me get settled in - but I think I'll have to leave it until tomorrow."

Snoozy smiled.

"How about if I help you out? You give me some money and I'll go and get you some shopping while you take it easy?"

"Sounds good to me."

He counted off a few notes from the wad of cash Sparks had given him and handed it to Snoozy.

"I'll go and do it right now!" He said, "You just take it easy, Sylvester!"

Then he grabbed his coat and he was gone out the door before Sylvester had a chance to even tell him what he needed to buy.

He gave a weary sigh and went through to his bedroom, then he sat down heavily on the bed and slipped off his jacket.

As he lay back on the soft pillows he smiled, realizing Penelope's closed umbrella was still in his hand.

He looked at it fondly, everything about it reminded him of her; it was pink, it was edged with lace and even the white handle reminded him of her high heeled boots...

Then he playfully wrapped his arm around the umbrella and lay there for a moment, imagining Penelope was by his side.

"I think you're so beautiful." He said quietly, imagining her there beside him, and then he leaned a little closer and gave the umbrella an affectionate kiss.

And then Sylvester laughed, shaking his head as he wondered what had possessed him to do a crazy thing like that. Then he tuned on his back and closed his eyes, drifting into a comfortable sleep with Penelope Pitstop's pink umbrella beside him.

The door closed loudly and shook Sylvester out of a restful sleep.

He turned on his side and glanced at the clock; he had slept for almost three hours.

Penelope's umbrella was still on the pillow beside him and he left it there and got up feeling a lot better for sleeping on such a comfortable bed after all the years he had spent living in a prison cell.

"I'm back!" Snoozy called out.

"I'm in here!" Sylvester called back to him.

Moments later Snoozy came through the doorway carrying several heavy bags that he dumped onto the bed.

"There you go," He said, smiling at Sylvester, "I got you everything you need!"

Sylvester looked doubtfully at the shopping. He had needed to get some clothes mainly, but it seemed like Snoozy had other ideas...

"What did you get for me?" He asked him.

Snoozy opened up a bag and pulled out several top shelf porn magazines.

"You've been in jail a long time- and every guy wants these under his bed, right?"

Sylvester just stared at him, feeling at a loss for words.

"And I got you some chocolate bars, and some of those cool wall stickers with moons and stars on them. You can stick them on the wall and watch them glow in the dark! I got myself some too – I hope you don't mind..."

He rifled through the second bag.

"And I bought you some drinks –no alcohol, just some lemonade - and I got you some ice cream, the kind with strawberry swirls in it!"

Then he handed him the rest of the money back.

"And look, you've got lots of change left over!"

Snoozy saw the look on his face and his smile faded.

"I got the wrong things?" He wondered.

Sylvester smiled kindly.

"You tried your best. Did you get me any toiletries? I need deodorant and bubble bath and shampoo."

"You'll have to use mine for now." Snoozy said, "Sorry about that...next time maybe you should give me a list then I'll know exactly what to get."

"There's no need." He promised him, "I'll do my own shopping tomorrow after Penelope's been over to see me."

"Penelope? Is she your girlfriend?"

On hearing those words Sylvester smiled; If only she was his girlfriend, that was definitely something to dream about and a far more exciting thought than anything those top shelf magazines could ever do for him...

"She's an old friend of mine." He told him, "And it's really important that I see her again. We've got a lot to talk about."

Snoozy was still smiling.

"So she IS your girlfriend!"

Sylvester laughed.

"No, she's my friend. She's my friend and I'm very fond of her. She's got a boyfriend..."

As he carried on talking, Snoozy was busy trying to open the packaging to get to the glow in the dark stars.

"So she's not single then?" He said, still trying to open the packaging.

"No, she's with this guy, I don't know what it is about him but I don't like him. Clyde someone..." He thought about it and remembered the name.

"Clyde McDonald."

The packaging split and the stickers spilled out onto the carpet.

"Oh shit sorry..." Snoozy's voice sounded edged with panic all of a sudden.

"It's okay, don't get worked up."

Snoozy dropped to his knees and began to pick up the stickers with shaking hands.

His eyes had widened at the thought of Clyde:

He knew him.

He remembered him from the old days.

He could never forget being pinned up against the wall down a dark alley while Clyde held a knife up to his face.

"If you tell anyone what I did I'll kill you!" He had promised him...

This was Clyde McDonald, former leader of the Anthill Mob, back in the days when the gang had all been teenagers and Clyde, their leader, had been the youngest of all of them - sixteen years old and with blood on his hands already... Clyde, the guy who had boasted about killing two people and robbing their house to get money to start up his drugs business...

"So," Clyde had said as he put the knife away but kept a firm grip on Snoozy's collar as he pinned him to the wall, "Are you in? I need people under me. I trust you."

Snoozy had shaken his head.

"No, no way –not drugs. I won't do it..."

Sylvester noticed Snoozy was shaking as he got up from the floor.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine. I...I just remembered I've got some stuff to be getting on with – I'd better go downstairs, I have to open the bar soon."

Then he hurried from the room, closing the door behind him.

Sylvester stared after him, wondering what had caused such a sudden change in Snoozy's mood.

Then he noticed the ice cream was melting, the top wasn't on the tub properly and ice cream was dripping onto the floor – had Snoozy been eating it on the way home?

He gave a sigh and went through to the kitchen to find something to clean up the mess with.

Morning came with bright sunshine blazing through Penelope's bedroom window, she got up, headed for the shower, then after the shower she wrapped herself in a pink towel and sat at her dressing table and turned on her pink hairdryer.

When the hairdryer was finally turned off she flicked her hairbrush through her long blonde hair and then started to put on her make up.

All the while she got ready she had a smile on her face as she thought about Sylvester; the past didn't matter any more – it had all been put in its place.

What mattered was right here and now, what mattered was the future...

Penelope was putting on her lipstick.

The kiss proof one...

She put the lipstick back down on the table and looked into the mirror.

"Now don't go getting those kinds of thoughts!" She told her reflection, "He's just a friend. And you have Clyde to think of."

Then as doubts flickered in her mind they reflected in her eyes:

Did she really love Clyde?

He said he loved her.

She wanted to love him.

She wanted to have a great romance, so why not with Clyde?

She gave a sigh, thinking about the things she usually pushed far from her thoughts:

Every time he asked to move in, she said no.

Every time he asked to marry her she told him she wanted to wait.

There had been times when she had been lying here in this room wrapped in his arms and he had been making love to her yet not making love - because it felt as if something was missing and if that feeling was constant, was this really love?

She didn't want to think about Clyde any more.

Penelope stood up, smiling as she brushed her hands down her pink silk underwear. Her bra and panties were all lace and silk and she was sure she looked great like this- she had been champion of many sports back in her college days and she had kept that shapely toned body...

Her eyes grew wider as she turned from the mirror.

Why had she just thought something like that?

Why had she just thought as if...as if what?

As if Sylvester was going to see her in her underwear?

She shook her head and opened the closet, thoughtfully running her hand along an array of dresses, most them some kind of shade of pink.

As she glanced at the clock on the bedroom wall she giggled as another thought came to mind:

She would be late to go and meet him if she took too long...

Why was she making such a fuss about her appearance today?

Then she took out a pale pink dress and held it up, noticing this one was short and light and slipped on – and off easily...

"Stop it!" She said aloud, taking the dress from the hanger and slipping it on, "You just want to look nice, that's all – you're not thinking about giving him...easy access!"

Penelope wondered about shoes but then decided on her favourite white boots again.

When she was finally ready she grabbed her purse and her car keys, took a final look in the mirror, decided she looked good and then she left the house.

As she walked over to her car she was thinking of Sylvester and thinking of him made her smile.

"Behave yourself Penelope!" She said under her breath as she got into her car and started the engine.

Then she drove away at speed, because even though she felt that she ought to behave herself around Sylvester, she still couldn't wait to see him again...

When Penelope reached the bar, the entrance was locked.

She looked through the window and saw someone moving around inside, polishing tables.

Then the door opened.

It wasn't Sylvester.

Penelope found herself looking at a tall guy around her own age who she had never seen before in her life.

But he smiled at her as if he had known her forever.

"Hi!" He said warmly, "You must be Penelope!"

"How did you know that?" She wondered.

"Sylvester described you...blonde, white boots, likes pink...pretty..."

A flicker of surprise registered in her eyes:

Sylvester thought she was pretty?

"Is he around?" She wondered.

"Yeah, he's upstairs in the apartment. You just go out that door and down the hall and-"

He paused, getting lost with his own directions.

"No, I'll show you the way."

He led her from the bar out into a corridor, they walked to the end of it and then he led her up a flight of stairs. When they got to the top he passed an open door that led to an office and he went on to the door at the end of the hall and opened it.

"This is the apartment." He told her, "You're a bit early...he's probably in his room...just go straight up the hall, it's the door right at the end."

She smiled.

"Thanks..." Then she paused.

"What's your name?"

"Everyone calls me Snoozy." He replied, "So you can call me Snoozy too."

She laughed.

"That's a strange name –but I'm not likely to forget it!"

Then she walked off down the hall.

Penelope knocked on the door.

"Yeah, it's open!" Sylvester called out.

Penelope walked in.

She looked at him in surprise.

He looked back at her and snatched up a spare shirt he had borrowed from Snoozy.

"I didn't know it was you...you're early."

And he looked away as he quickly slipped the shirt on, covering the tattoos that were etched on his toned arms.

"No – show me." She said, looking at him in fascination as he pulled his shirt together and made a move to button it up.

He laughed nervously and felt heat spreading through his face.

"You don't want to see my tattoos, Penelope- it's just something I got in prison."

Penelope sat down on his bed.

"I want to see."

Sylvester reluctantly opened his shirt again and striped it off.

He sat down beside her and indicated to the crucifix on his upper arm and the writing beneath it.

"This is the first one I had – it says Only God can judge me. I saw a couple of other guys with a similar tattoo and I decided to have one, because I know I was guilty in the eyes of the law but I knew I didn't willingly make the choice to do what I did, even if the judge didn't see it that way. That's why I had that tattoo."

"I like that one." She said, reaching over and briefly touching his other arm.

He glanced down at the entwined hearts carried by doves and the scrolled words Mom and Dad.

"I had that one for my late parents." He told her.

"How come you're allowed to get a tattoo in prison?" She wondered.

Sylvester looked at her in surprise; Penelope didn't know much at all about the world he had lived in behind bars...

"Well it's not legal." He told her, "And it wasn't like going to a professional and getting it done – I had to keep going back for hours at a time to get the work finished. The guy who tattooed me made his tattoo pistol from radio parts and wire brush bristles. And being a tattooist in jail is a risky business- its called slinging ink and any guy who gets caught doing that gets fifteen days in solitary confinement. Let me show you something else, Penelope - this will surprise you!"."

Penelope gave a gasp.

"Oh my goodness!" She exclaimed, "That IS a big one!"

And outside the door, Snoozy, who had been about to knock and ask if they wanted a coffee, froze on the spot as his eyes grew wider...

He heard Sylvester laugh softly.

"It's not the first time I've had that said to me. Must people like it when I show it to them, they usually think it's quite impressive."

"It certainly is!" She exclaimed, "Can I touch it?"

"If you want to." He replied.

There was a pause.

"It's so big!" Penelope said again, "And beautiful! I've never seen one quite like it before; I just can't take my eyes off it!"

And behind the door, Snoozy put his hand to his mouth to stifle his laughter...Sylvester certainly wasn't wasting any time now he was out of jail... Then Snoozy remembered who Penelope's boyfriend was and his smile faded... she was McDonald's girl? She was the last person Sylvester needed to get tangled up with...

The he heard Penelope speak again.

"I'm glad you showed it to me. What does Snoozy think of it?"

"Me?" He whispered in confusion as he stared at the closed door wishing he could see through it, "Why would I want to see it?"

"He hasn't seen it yet." Sylvester replied, "But I'll show it to him eventually. I'm sure he'll like it."

"What?" Snoozy exclaimed under his breath.

Then as he stepped away from the door a floorboard creaked loudly and Snoozy stumbled forward, in a hurry to silence the board but a stepped too far and slammed into the door with a thump.

"What was that?" Penelope wondered.

Sylvester opened the door.

Snoozy smiled sheepishly.

"I didn't want to interrupt...was I interrupting something?"

"No." Sylvester replied, seeing the look on his face and putting two and two together – he was standing there minus his shirt and Penelope was sitting on the bed and clearly by the look in his eyes, Snoozy had got the wrong idea.

He laughed and felt his face flush again.

"I was just showing Penelope my tiger."

"Your what?"

"My tiger."

Sylvester turned around and Snoozy stared at the detailed, deeply colourful picture inked into his skin of a large tiger that looked as if it were leaping out of his back.

As he finally understood what the conversation had been about, he started to smile.

"That's a big tattoo!" He remarked, noticing the way it covered most of his upper back.

Sylvester grabbed his shirt and put it on, leaving it unbuttoned.

"What did you want?" He wondered.

"I just wondered if you both wanted a coffee." Snoozy said.

Sylvester glanced at Penelope who shook her head.

"No thanks, were just fine." He replied.

Snoozy smiled.

"Then I'll go back downstairs. I've got a lot to do. I won't disturb you again; I can see you've got a lot to talk about."

Then he left the room and closed the door firmly.

As she heard him walk back down the hall towards the stairs, Penelope giggled.

"Did he think we were..."

Sylvester smiled and knew he was blushing yet again.

"I do believe he did think something along those lines!"

He sat down on the bed once more and his smile faded as he thought about is time in prison.

"Sparks paid for my tattoos. He knew I wanted to get some so he helped me out. He helped me out in a lot of ways."

Penelope sat in silence as she noticed the change in his mood and he carried on talking quietly.

"He hated me at first. He thought I was a sex offender when he heard about what I'd done, trying to abduct a teenage girl...I told him I couldn't remember anything about it, I kept telling him that to stop him from killing me – I don't think he was too convinced until I collapsed and that's when he heard about the tumor. He found out I was sick and it had made me do crazy things. Then he came to see me in the hospital."

Sylvester blinked several times, determined not to weep over a past he had already shed too many tears over.

"I was just about ready to give up on life. I woke up from the surgery to find out I'd lost the use of my arm and then I just wished I'd died from the damned thing instead of surviving it. All I could see was the rest of my life living like that, crippled and stuck behind bars. "

As he talked, he looked down at the floor.

He knew Penelope was listening, he knew all he had to do was look at her and her arms would be around him – but he wanted to explain everything, no matter how difficult it was to talk about.

"Sparks got me back on my feet. He got me working out in the gym to get the use of my arm back. He even helped me to find a lawyer who could use the medical evidence to get my sentance reduced. He's been a good friend to me. He helped me because I'm the same age as his son. His son died after a car accident. That's the only reason I'm here today, Penelope –because of Sparks."

And he looked at her.

Penelope was sitting there with tears in her eyes.

"I should have helped you!" She said as she gave a sob, "I could have talked to the court. I'm sorry I turned my back –"

"No."

He put his arms around her and pulled her into a tight embrace, realizing as he held her that he hadn't thought about reaching for her, it had been instinct; he never wanted that beautiful woman to shed a single tear over him...

"But I wish I'd done something to help you!"

He was still holding her.

"Don't cry, Penelope. It's the past, it's gone."

And he pulled back a little, placing a gentle hand on her arm to steady her while he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped her eyes.

"I don't want to make you cry." He said softly as he started to smile, "I want us to get along and be happy with it. I think we can do that."

Penelope blinked back tears and managed to return his smile.

" I like the sound of that."

Then she looked into his eyes.

"Sylvester?"

"What, Penelope?"

She leaned closer and kissed his cheek.

As she pulled back again and looked into his eyes he felt more than a little confused.

"What was that for?" He said nervously, feeling sure he must have missed something somewhere:

Penelope had just kissed him?

She sat a little closer and reached up, first studying his face intently and the running her hand over his hair.

"I'm so glad you made it." She said softly, "I never stopped caring about you. I cried over you when I heard you were sick. I prayed for you. I couldn't tell anyone because I thought they wouldn't understand how I could care after what you did, but I knew by then it wasn't your fault... all I knew for sure was, I just wanted you to be okay."

She was gently stroking his cheek as she leaned closer. Sylvester leaned in too, feeling nervous and unsure and as their lips touched he held her gently, she clung to him even though he felt clumsy and definitely out of practise.

Their kiss grew deeper and he pulled away again.

"Slow down!" He said breathlessly, "It's been a long time since I've been close to a woman! I'm not sure if I'm ready to..."

Penelope smiled and kissed him again and then let go.

"Maybe I was planning to kiss you all the long." She admitted, "I don't know. I tried not to because I'm with Clyde, but I can't help it - I just know I needed to be close to you."

"I know." He said quietly, feeling sure there was nothing he could add to that statement because it echoed his own sentiments completely.

They looked at each other.

Penelope felt an ache in her heart as their eyes met.

Sylvester felt the same ache and it went all the way to his arms because he was no longer holding her and he felt empty without her.

"It was just a kiss." He said quietly," A wonderful kiss, but all the same harmless, just a kiss..."

Penelope leaned closer.

"Then maybe I should give you another one." She whispered to him.

Sylvester looked at her.

"I'm not sure we should be doing this."

Penelope's smile faded.

"I guess you're right."

She got up and so did Sylvester.

"Maybe we should talk another time." Penelope suggested, "When we've both got used to the idea that you're out of jail and things have changed."

And she smiled.

"Sounds good to me." He agreed.

They reached the door together and Sylvester stepped behind her to open it.

Penelope turned and looked back at him.

Their eyes met once more and suddenly his thoughts were a thousand miles from opening that door and watching her walk away.

"I guess one more kiss wouldn't hurt...a little kiss goodbye..."

Penelope looked into his eyes as she felt a flutter of excitement as she moved closer to him- she was sure this was not just a kiss – and she was sure there was every chance she would not be walking out of this door any time soon, either...

"Just a kiss." She whispered and he gently slid his arms around her.

"Sure, that's all it is..."

Their lips touched and he held her tighter, they were kissing hard and deep and neither of them wanted to be the first to make the break and pull away again:

This was not just a kiss.

This was the start of something much deeper and they both knew it...