My eyes fluttered open. The early morning sunlight was seeping in through the blinds. I looked at the woman in front of me. She was still sound asleep giving me the opportunity to really take her in. The cover was halfway off of her body. She had a tank top on, but no bra. I could see the outline of her lush breast. The strap to her tank top had slid slightly down her shoulder.

Her hair was wrapped in a scarf of some kind. I had never seen anything like it before, but it was beautiful on her. I loved seeing her in her full natural state. No makeup, no extra frills, just her. I slid my arm along her hip and pulled her into me. I inhaled her scent. She smelled like vanilla. So simple, yet so sweet.

I had to admit that yesterday came as a huge shock to me. She warned me that her mom could be crazy, but nothing could have prepared me for what happened. Inviting her ex like that was insane. Usually I was pretty level headed, but that set me off. I don't know why, but I felt this need to protect Penny. Probably because I was starting to care about her. After everything that happened to my family I was protective of those I cared about. I wanted to punch the Alec dude in the face. Her mom was a whole other story. That lady, if she could even be considered that,  needed some serious help.

Penelope's eyes opened. Big brown eyes looked back at me. I could get lost in her alluring gaze.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey." I couldn’t stop my smile.

She reached her hand out and stroked the stubble on my face.

"I like this."

I hadn't shaved since the morning before last so my beard was trying to grow in.

"I like you," I countered back.

She buried her head into my chest. I kissed the top of her head and stroked her back. It felt good to just hold her like that.

"Do you want me to make you breakfast? I have some turkey bacon, eggs, oatmeal."

"How about we make it together?"

"I like that idea even better."

We worked together in the kitchen making breakfast. Mostly she cooked, and I stood behind her with my arms wrapped around her. I placed kisses along her neck making her giggle. I loved the sound of her laugh. She deserved to laugh and be joyful.

She had a small patio off of her living room that we took our breakfast to. We enjoyed the quiet of the morning and each other's company. After we finished our food, I pulled her from her chair onto my lap. I had thought about everything that went down last night and I decided I wanted to open up to her a little about my family.

"Penny, would you like to go for a walk?"

"Always in personal trainer mode, huh?"

I chuckled. "No, I just want to take a walk with a beautiful lady. I wanted to talk to you about some things and I thought we might as well get some air and exercise."

"Is everything ok?" Her brows furrowed and her lips were turned down into a frown.

I rubbed my hand along her thigh to help calm her.

'Yes, everything is fine. It's nothing to do with us, we're good."

"O-okay then. Let me go change and we can head out."

****

It was another beautiful spring day. There were only a few cotton like clouds floating in the blue sky. The sun was shining making everything seem more vibrant. I held onto Penelope's hand as we walked through the streets of her neighborhood to the nearby park.

I felt my heart beating rapidly in my chest. My hands felt a little clammy. I hoped that Penny would blame it on the heat. My mind was reeling trying to decide what to tell her first and how much to tell her today. There was no way I would be able to tell her everything today. The memories were too painful.

"Let's sit here."

There was a bench that faced a small pond in the park. A mother duck was leading her ducklings around in the water.

"Oh, my goodness they are so cute!"

The little squirts were pretty adorable. We sat and watched them for a while before I gained the courage to speak up.

"So you remember when you asked me about my parents?"

"Yes, I remember. You told me they passed away when you were thirteen."

"That's right. I wanted to tell you a little more about that and my childhood."

"If you’re ready and willing, I'd like to hear that."

I inhaled a deep breath filling my lungs and blew it out through my mouth. I took our intertwined hands and placed them in my lap.

"My parents were a very happy couple. They were high school sweetheart married right after graduation. They went to a community college and rented a small apartment in their hometown."

I looked up at Penelope.  She smiled but didn't say anything. She was giving me her patience.

"Since my parents got together when they were so young they couldn't really afford a honeymoon. They had a small church ceremony. No big extravagant wedding. The year I turned thirteen was the year they celebrated their fifteenth anniversary. They’d finally saved up enough money to go on their dream vacation. We had gone on vacations as a family to places like the grand canyon and the beach, but they were finally going to have their honeymoon."

Penelope squeezed my hand in a gesture of support. I needed it to go on with the next part.

"They’d decided on France. My mom was in love with the idea of visiting Paris. We stayed with my Uncle Dwight while they were gone. They were supposed to be gone for a week. We couldn't really talk to them while they were there because it was expensive to call from out of the country."

I felt the familiar burn behind my eyes. It had been many years since I cried tears for my parents. Mostly because I didn't talk about them much anymore. There was a time when I cried every night.

"The day my parents were set to fly home we saw reports of a plane crash on the news. The news wasn't confirming any information about the flight because families had not been notified. Uncle Dwight seemed on edge, but I didn't worry. Maybe because I was young and naïve. It ended up being our parent's plane."

"Oh, Reed. I'm so sorry. You had to have been so scared."

She scooted closer to me and wrapped her arms around my body. It felt nice to have someone just hold me like that. No one had held me since my mother had died.

"It was scary. I was confused and lost. We had to move with our Uncle Dwight and his wife. Thankfully they were willing to keep us so we didn't have to be split up in foster care. They treated us well, but it just wasn't the same. Your parent's love can't be replaced."

Penelope continued to hold me in her arms rubbing her hand up and down my back. We were silent while she let me quietly mourn.

"Reed, thank you for opening up to me. I know it had to be hard."

"Thank you for listening. It felt good to talk about them."

"May I ask a question?"

"Sure, Penny. Anything."

"You kept saying we. Was there more than just you?"