Kylie
“I went to yoga today with Ben,” I announce as I stroll into Penny’s apartment. It’s not technically a lie. Her head snaps around and her eyes go wide.
“No you didn’t.”
I love that Penny looks perfectly content. She’s made the apartment shine with little pieces of her own style. What she’s brought adds a warmth to the place as well as Dalton to his knees. I respect that.
“Ask Ben.” I pour myself some of Dalton’s best Scotch. I know it’s his best because I gave it to him. God, I am competitive. “During lunch today we met at a yoga studio. Hot yoga.”
“How did you like it?” She absolutely thinks I’m lying. Her question is more of a quiz than polite conversation.
“It was terrible.” I admit. “It was unbearably hot. We left early.”
“You got kicked out of yoga?” Penny laughs as she pats the spot on the couch next to her.
“It was a mutual decision to part ways,” I counter with a smile. “Technically Ben got us kicked out. But at least I can now say I tried yoga.”
“Did you try anything else with Ben?” She nudges me with her elbow and winks.
“It’s like you don’t know me at all. Ben lives in the same building. There is no way I’d mess around with him and have to be his neighbor.”
“So, you’re not seeing him?”
I take a swig of the Scotch. “I’m not seeing him.”
“You’re just having dinner with him and trying out yoga together.”
“Don’t make it into more than it is, Penny.”
My phone pings with a message from Ben.
Ben: Breakfast tomorrow morning?
I type: No. And show it to Penny. “See. There’s nothing there.”
Ben: Dinner tonight followed by wild sex and then breakfast?
I laugh and shake my head, then type: Still no.
“What did he say?” Penny leans in to read the text but I turn the phone away.
“Nothing. He likes to joke around.” I check the time on a clock on the wall. “Where’s Dalton?”
“Working late.” Penny looks suddenly evasive and that makes me nervous. She is a horrible liar. “He’s having trouble with a client.”
“Which one?”
Penny moves away and starts to set the table. “I don’t remember.”
I put my glass down and follow her. “Which one, Penny?”
She pushes some hair out of her face. “If I tell you, you can’t say anything to him. Promise me.”
“I promise.”
“It’s a couple of his actual clients. He thinks someone in this building is pressuring them to drop him. Right now it’s not a big deal, but I can tell it bothers him. It’s not crushing his business or anything; it’s a matter of pride. It has me wondering if we should move, Kylie. I mean, is this place really worth it?”
My hands clench at my sides. “Does he have any idea who is going after him?”
Penny’s eyes widen. “Even if he did I wouldn’t tell you. Don’t get involved, Kylie. He can handle this. Maybe we don’t belong here anymore—any of us.”
And let them win? I don’t say it, but the question rocks through me.
“We should go back to talking about Ben. I think you two would be good together.” Her voice raises a few playful octaves. I let her off the hook and drop the conversation about Dalton because I know she won’t crack.
“Ben and I would be good, until we’re not,” I scoff. “Ben reminds me of dad. He doesn’t charge people for half of the work he does. He’s been between projects ever since I met him. That would drive me insane. I need structure. He and I would last a day.”
“But you do like him?”
“Mom liked Dad. She must have even loved him, but that wasn’t enough, was it?” I know this is a bad topic. Penny and I have never been able to see eye to eye on what happened between our parents. I think my father was selflessly selfish. It sounds like an impossible way to be, but he managed it. He’d give our last dollar away to someone who needed it, forgetting we needed it too. Penny admires that as heroic. No, heroic was our mother who found ways to pay the bills after he emptied her bank account. “They were two very different people. They had to know it wouldn’t work.”
“You are not Mom and Ben is not Dad.”
She doesn’t mean it as an insult, but it strikes me that way. I’ve always fallen miles short of my mother. She’s tougher than I am. Demands more of the people around her than I do. Her career trajectory blows mine out of the water. When Penny reminds me I am not our mother all I can think is . . . no, sadly I’m not.
We’re quiet for a little while.
“Ben is a good guy, Kylie. Maybe you should let your heart take the lead—”
“Yeah, that works out well for me, doesn’t it?”
“This is different Kylie. You’re not a college kid anymore. Ben isn’t that guy either. Don’t make him pay for something he isn’t guilty of. It might be time to trust someone again.”
“I did yoga today, Penny. Hot yoga. For over five minutes. Baby steps.”
“It’ll work out, Kylie.” Penny pats my leg.
“Do you ever wonder what it was like between Mom and Dad before we were born? Was it ever good? It had to be good at some point, right?”
“I like to think it was.” Penny leans her head back the same way, and we’re both staring at the ceiling when Dalton comes in. “I wish we could have been there to see it.”
“Is the sky falling?” he asks as he walks in, looking up too.
I draw in a deep breath but keep my eyes fixed on the ceiling. “We’re trying to figure out how our parents ended up together. It’s like a tiger and a weasel decided to get married. Completely different species with no chance at a future.”
Penny shakes her head. “Neither of them were perfect.”
“But they should have known they would be bad for each other.”
“I see this is an upbeat evening.” Dalton pours himself a Scotch. “Penny? Kylie?”
I decline with a wave. I’ve already had a glass, and I don’t want to get mushy or emotional. Alcohol and I don’t mix well.
Penny walks over and gives Dalton a lingering kiss. When it ends, she hugs him and asks, “How was your day?”
He holds her to him and kisses her forehead. “Frustrating, but happily over.”
“Kylie went to yoga with Ben today,” Penny announces cheerfully.
“Should we put helmets on and duck because pigs are flying?” For all Dalton’s bluster he’s got a sharp sense of humor I can appreciate. He’s good for Penny, and that’s all that matters to me.
I stand and make my way toward the door.
“Where are you going?” Penny asks, sounding worried.
“Back to my place.”
“To stare at you know what?”
“My vision board.”
“Stay and have dinner with us.” Penny pouts, but I don’t give in.
Seeing Dalton with Penny reminds me why I started the wall. I knew the day would come when one of the egomaniacs in the building decided to take another swipe at us. It was only a matter of time. I played nice with them and waited, but that doesn’t mean my punch is ready to be delivered. All I need now is a name. Luckily, I can probably get it with one phone call. “You two enjoy dinner without me. No need to worry. I’m off to bed. Relaxing is exhausting.”
Dalton chuckles. “Say hi to Ben for me.”
“I’m not seeing him tonight.” Dalton opens his mouth to say more, and I wave for him to stop. “I’m not seeing him period.”
“He says you’re already smitten.”
“He’s delusional.”
“She likes him,” Penny assures Dalton as I walk away.
I leave that conversation alone. Penny’s happy. She won’t be if she knows what I’m planning. She won’t sleep a wink. It’s best she doesn’t know. It’s for her own good.
A short time later I end a call with my building mole—Alex has been very informative today, but we’ve decided no more phone calls. We need to be more careful. Tonight he has a good idea who might be messing with Dalton, and he’ll get back to me when he knows more.
I’m done waiting for confirmation on everything. It’s time for action. I take a push pin and jam it into one of the photographs, piercing one man in the forehead. Even if he isn’t the one who’s causing trouble for Dalton, it’ll send a message. These men think they are untouchable, that they can’t be taken down. They’re about to see how very wrong they are.