May 1, 2012

It was early morning. Stu hadn't slept much. All night he'd been tormented by what he'd overheard. He wanted to just march up to Penny and Drew and confront them, but for some reason, he didn't. Sighing, he got out of bed, got dressed, and grabbed his wallet and key-card. He took the elevator down to the lobby to get a capuchino. As he headed back towards the elevator, he seen Penny coming out of the small gym. She reached the elevator before him and pressed the button.

By the time he got to the elevator, the doors opened and they stepped inside. Penny pressed the '8' button before turning to ask him, "What floor?"

"Um...eight."

She smiled at him, a simple friendly smile.

Do it, he told himself, confront her! "So, did the police ever catch your burglar?"

"Huh? Oh...yeah...it was just a couple of juvenile deliquents, they'd already been in trouble with the law before. They were trying to get drug money."

"Damn." He paused, "Did you get your jewelry back?"

"Most of it. The pawn shop it had been sold to had already sold..." she took a deep breath. "They had already sold my rings...my...wedding rings that you gave me."

She didn't look at him. She couldn't.

"You still had them?"

She shrugged, "I had intended to get rid of them, but I've been so busy since I got back from Europe, and then there was the accident and everything...I guess it just slipped my mind."

Stu gently touched her cheek. His fingertips grazing her skin as he tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Penny looked up at him.

There was no time to think about anything before it happened. Her arms were around his neck, his arms around her waist, their mouths together in a kiss. She closed her eyes, feeling his tongue against her lips. She opened her mouth to him, their tongues dancing, fighting for control. Her hand was in his hair, her fingers tangling in it. Stu brought one of his hands up, caressing the back of her head while the other hand pulled her even closer to him.

Penny brought herself to her senses right as the elevator stopped on the eigth floor. She placed her hands on his chest, pushing him away as the elevator "dinged" and the doors opened. "This is wrong, we can't." was all she could manage. She hurried out of the elevator and started off down the hall.

"Penny..." Stu wanted her to stay, he wanted to wrap his arms around her again.

"No, Stu."

"Penny, I know you and Drew aren't actually dating." She stopped, her back still to him. "I heard you and him talking. I know you still love me...or at least, that you love me again."

She turned, facing him, but not looking at him, "Yeah, but you and Alicia are together."

Stu was speechless. All he could do was watch as she continued down the hall, disappearing around the corner. He turned and slowly walked back to his room.

7:38 PM

Drew and Penny "broke up" that day. If Stu had discovered the secret there was no sense in continuing the charade. Now, Penny sat in the women's locker room, lacing up her boots for what she hoped was her last match against Alicia Fox. There was a knock on the door, then it opened before Penny could respond.

Penny grinned at the face that appeared. "Layla!" she shouted. Penny jumped up and hugged her friend, "I missed you!"

"I've missed you."

"You're all better now?"

Layla shrugged, "I have to wear a knee brace, but it's nothing I can't imagine." They hugged again, before sitting back down. They sat and talked, and caught up.

8:03 PM

Alicia started to open the door, but stopped when she heard the conversation going on, "So, when am I getting my shot, Champ?"

Alicia heard Penny laugh, "Soon enough. Once I prove to Laurinaitis that Alicia is a waste of a contract, he'll need a new number one contender."

Alicia stood there, the door slightly cracked, listening to Penny and Layla belittle her. She was about to just barge in there, when Layla changed the subject, "So, how are things with you and Stu, is it weird being around each other?"

Through the crack, Alicia could just barely see Penny shrug, "It was a little bit at first, then things kind of went back to how they were before we ever even started dating, but..."

"But what?"

"Well...this morning...this morning he kissed me, and I...I love him, but I can't do that, even if he is with someone I can't stand, I just can't condone in kissing someone that's in a relationship of any kind."

Alicia carefully shut the door back, hoping Layla nor Penny would notice, and fighting off the tears, she marched down the hall to confront her boyfriend.