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Post by Penelope VanderMill on Dec 11, 2016 19:41:55 GMT
For as long as she could remember, Penelope's Saturdays had fallen into a comfortable routine. She and her friends would find a club or two to frequent, dressed in something that she knew that her mother would never have approved of, they would have a few too many drinks, and more often than not they would spend the night flirting with men that they would never call again. Last night had been no exception. Her friend Daphne had called and mentioned that she knew someone who had invested in a new club and that the grand opening celebration was going to be filled with dozens of their friends. It promised to be the sort of night that would draw attention and envy as the photos began flooding their social media feeds, and for that reason alone, Penny had wasted no time in readily agreeing to go. She took her time getting dressed, deciding to break in one of her new favorite cocktail dresses - something she had been saving just for an occasion like this - she had straightened her hair and applied her makeup before calling the car to come and pick her up. There had been dancing. And far too much champagne. And some man by the name of Phillip. She remembered enough about the night to know that she hadn't bothered going home with him, for reasons that she couldn't remember now, but she did remember kissing him as the lights of the club pulsated around her. Shaking the thought from her head, she rolled over in her bed to glance at the clock on her bedside table. It was just past ten o'clock which meant that most people were up and moving around already on a Sunday. Well, most people who hadn't been at the club the night before, she amended. Hastily pulling herself out of bed, she decided that ibuprofen and a shower was going to be the only way to return to a state of being a normal, concious human being. After letting the hot water fall on her body for much longer than absolutely necessary, she got out of the shower and toweled off, deciding that what she really needed was a mimosa and some company. Texting Melanie Benson, she invited her to meet her for brunch, an offer that she was pleased to see that her step-brother's girlfriend had accepted. Taking her time to get ready once again, she set her hair in loose curls and pulled on a pale pink blouse, figuring that the color might at least help her to look more alive. By the time she arrived, she was a few minutes late and shielding her eyes from the sun with a large pair of black sunglasses. Spotting Melanie, she made her way over to her and took the open seat at the table, ordering a mimosa before the server could even get the word "hello" out. "How have you been?" she asked the brunette after the server had left to fetch their drinks. |
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Post by Melanie Benson on Dec 11, 2016 20:07:23 GMT
Melanie had been pleased when Penny invited her to brunch. She'd taken a liking to Tripp's step-sister after the initial Colette fiasco and also felt like she understood her a bit - having previously exhibited the same kind of behavior. She sipped a cup of coffee and observed her admittedly hungover friend and gave her an empathetic look. "I've been doing well," she told her with a smile.
"How about you?" she asked. "Though I could guess how your previous night went," she laughed softly, ordering some food. "You should come over one night for dinner," she told her. "I'll cook." Melanie held the belief that the friends of Penny's that she'd met were far too vapid and Penny deserved better company.
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Post by Penelope VanderMill on Dec 11, 2016 20:49:23 GMT
Placing her sunglasses into her purse, Penny allowed herself a minute to adjust to the light before taking an appreciative sip of the mimosa that the server had placed on the table in front of her. She ordered another drink, just in case this one went down too easily, and a small plate of food to pick at. Looking back at her friend, she was reminded of what it was that she was sure that Tripp liked about the woman sitting across from her. Melanie was pretty, that much was obvious, but the knowing look at the she seemed to have when she mentioned her previous night also spoke to her familarity with situations like this. Penny wondered whether or not she would ever be able to get Melanie to join her on a night out. She knew that Tripp probably wouldn't have liked that idea very much.
At the offer of dinner, she smiled softly. "As much as I appreciate the offer, being a third wheel to you and Tripp isn't necessarily my idea of fun. I'm sure he would much prefer if I just forgot where you lived anyway. But I'm always open for brunch. And nights out. There's another club opening next week, you should come with us. It'll be a lot of fun."
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Post by Melanie Benson on Dec 12, 2016 0:02:23 GMT
Melanie pursed her lips briefly when Penny declined her invitation to dinner. "Well, perhaps I can invite my brother to join and we'll make it a family sort of thing," she suggested. "There aren't any interesting men you've come across that you might want to bring as a buffer for Tripp? After all, it's my home too and Tripp knows we're friendly. And I think it would do him good to spend more time with family," she nodded. "If we could turn it into a group thing, I'm sure he wouldn't object. I can talk to him about it."
She smiled at the other woman's invitation for a night on the town. "That sounds fun, let me know when and I'll see if I've got anything planned for that night." It had, after all, been quite some time since Melanie had gone to anything like a club opening. There once was a time where such an event wouldn't have been complete without her. However, since she'd entered a relationship with Tripp, she had taken more to going out to dinner or social gatherings or spending her evenings in with him having dinner. Gone were the days of sipping vodka martinis and flirting with strange men - but she didn't really see the harm in a night of dancing and sipping champagne with a few friends.
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Post by Penelope VanderMill on Dec 12, 2016 0:16:12 GMT
Penny shrugged, unsure of what exactly a sibling-filled dinner would have looked like at the Benson-VanderMill apartment. She knew that she was meant to be playing nice when it came to Tripp, but she had a difficult time letting bygones be bygones. Too many years of each of them resenting each other had made her realize that her own prejudices against her step-brother were much more deeply rooted than she would have originally thought. It was just going to take some time - and probably a couple of drinks - in order for her to start being able to put it all in the past.
"I'm sure I could find plenty of interesting men to invite," she assured her friend with a smile. "I'm just positive that Tripp would find something wrong with all of them. But let me know when you're having this group dinner and I'll be sure to be there."
Group dinners were one thing, but club openings were much more her speed, which is why she was glad that Melanie had agreed to come. She could only imagine how the night would unfold, or how Melanie would let her hair down, if Penny were to immerse her in the sort of nights like she had only hours ago. "Fantastic," she grinned. "I think it'll be good for you to have a girls night. Dinners with Tripp must get exhausting. I'm much better company, I assure you."
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Post by Melanie Benson on Dec 12, 2016 0:27:40 GMT
Melanie smiled at Penny, laughing softly. Though at her comment about Tripp finding something wrong with any man Penelope chose to bring to dinner, the gears in her head began turning. Quickly, in her mind, she ran through a list of Tripp's friend, limiting it to the list of single and attractive ones. It took her a moment to land on who she was thinking of before she already had a plan to set into motion.
She laughed again at Penny's assertion she was better company than Tripp. "I don't know, I really like dinner with him. I never thought I would - I used to only want to go to club openings and bar hopping," she admitted. "But it's nice, you know- having someone that comes home to you and who knows you." She thought then about just how far she and Tripp had come in the months they'd been together. Their lives together had all together become rather fluid. He let her know when he was running late, she was able to know when he'd had a rough day without being told. She enjoyed playing the part of homemaker and girlfriend, and he loosened up around her in a way she knew was different than he ever had with anyone else in the past. But family was important to Melanie, and whether they liked it or not, Penny and Tripp were family. Therefore, the gears turned and Melanie Benson returned briefly to her favorite past time from long before her time with Tripp - scheming.
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Post by Penelope VanderMill on Dec 16, 2016 14:36:01 GMT
Perhaps the last thing she wanted to admit was that Melanie's description of her life with Tripp was appealing. Not because she was envious of their relationship, at least not really. Penelope knew that she was different than her stepbrother. She had different desires and their personalities couldn't have been more different, but even more than that, she knew that she wasn't going to be the driving force behind a domesticated lifestyle. That was why she understood Melanie more, even connected with her more.
"Well," she said, sipping her mimosa before adding teasingly, "For those of us who are perpetually alone, bar hopping and club openings are great."
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Post by Melanie Benson on Dec 16, 2016 19:44:38 GMT
Melanie shook her head with a laugh. "'Perpetually alone'?" she questioned. "You don't have to be, you know. You just need to find the right kind of guy, who you tend not to find bar hopping or at club openings - trust me, I know that type." She thanked the server who placed her food in front of her and thoughtfully took a bite. "You could let me set you up with someone, if you'd like," she suggested casually. "It would be fun," she nodded.
The truth was that Melanie knew it would be easier to have Penny and Tripp spend more time together if Penny had someone to bring along - a bit of a buffer so she could spend more time with her boyfriend's step-sister without also having to include her vapid club hopping friends. Melanie could think of no better reason to set her up with one of Tripp's colleagues, that way Tripp would already know he liked the other man well enough to spend time with during social occasions when it was the four of them. The other couples they knew were dreadfully dull and Melanie wasn't sure why no one had previously acknowledged her genius before - but that was fine, she privately acknowledged it enough for everyone.
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Post by Penelope VanderMill on Dec 16, 2016 21:07:01 GMT
There was some appeal to finding "the right guy", she had to admit. Penny had reached the age where her friends had started meeting the men that they had deemed worthy of being a first husband and she had to admit that sometimes she felt a twinge of jealousy. But she often took was more than happy to accept wearing a hideous bridesmaid dress and an open bar as an invitation to find someone to keep her occupied. But, the narcissistic side of her was curious what it would feel like if roles were reversed and all attention was on her.
She didn't mean to laugh, but when Melanie suggested that she could always facilitate a date between herself and someone else, she just couldn't help it. It wasn't, admittedly, a terrible idea. She just wouldn't have ever pictured it.
"That entirely depends on what sort of man you think I'd be interested in. I mean, aside from gorgeous, of course." She momentarily ignored her plate, choosing instead to continue nursing her drink while she mulled over the idea of being set up.
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Post by Melanie Benson on Dec 17, 2016 0:55:29 GMT
Melanie arched a brow, wondering briefly why Penelope might doubt Melanie's abilities to set her up. After all, Melanie never felt as though she were bad at anything she attempted - save for playing the harp, but she convinced herself that it hadn't been an honest effort and if she'd really given it an honest effort, she could play professionally. She smiled at her and nodded, "I think that I have a pretty good idea of the right sort," she told Penny. Gorgeous, of course had to be at the top of the list as well as the sort who'd be willing to go out and have fun. She could hardly see Penny being the sort to settle for quiet dinners in ALL the time. But of course, the benefit of setting her up with one of Tripp's colleagues meant that he'd have one foot in both worlds at least - able to have a good time and dote on Penny all she'd like but still able to be grounded and settled enough to know what he wanted long term. Much like Tripp had been with Melanie, patience would probably also be required.
"So, are you interested?" Melanie questioned before taking a sip of her coffee.
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Post by Penelope VanderMill on Dec 19, 2016 1:12:17 GMT
She contemplated the idea for a moment, taking another sip of her mimosa. There were pros and cons to the idea she admitted - the pros being obvious. Penny would get the chance to join the ranks of her friends as they went on double-dates, went away with their boyfriends, fiances, and husbands, and above all else, wouldn't have to go home alone night after night. But the cons of the situation were pulling her strongly. If she agreed, she felt like she was going to be admitting to Melanie that she didn't' think that she could get a boyfriend on her own. Which, if she thought about it honestly, she wasn't sure that she could. She had never been the type to seek out a boyfriend - always being more than content to meet someone for a few hours and then forget about them the next day, but the more that she saw Tripp and Melanie together, the more the idea intrigued her. She knew that Melanie sometimes saw a version of herself in Penny, but the truth was that Penny saw a future version of her life in Melanie too.
Sighing, she nodded. "Sure. It couldn't hurt."
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