Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Penelope wakes up in stages.

First it is a series of interrupted dreams— she's at a meeting when there's a sudden and strange earthquake, the whole building rocking slowly and gently, and everyone laughs because it's pleasant, and then the dream morphs and she's standing in front, presenting the meeting and something is spreading her pussy lips apart from under her skirt but she's too afraid to look because what if it's nothing and then she's just looking at her pussy, and then the dream morphs again and she's getting fucked against the wall. When she turns around she doesn't see anyone, but she's pressed against the wall and the entire board room watches with mild expressions as she gets pummeled by a ghost.

The second stage is a point of half wakefulness. She hears herself make a soft noise and feels herself moving, being moved. Something feels a little dry and weird in her pussy but sometimes that happens when she masturbates and goes straight to bed because it's like all the moisture in her body escapes onto her vibrator and she's left dry enough that even moving her legs is mildly annoying and getting fucked is especially annoying.

But what brings her to the surface of reality is the stretch. She gasps so loud her chest rattles and she starts to lift herself up from her prone position but his hand presses flat against the back of her head, shoving her back down into her pillows.

"Shhh," he says, shoving the length of his cock into her so his hips come up to her arse. Penelope cries out, struggling against the weight but she can't knock him off. She lifts her legs at the knees and kicks and reaches behind her at the same time but he merely rests his weight on her arse and spreads his legs so they rest atop hers. He nuzzles her ear with his nose, a soft little motion that contrasts starkly with what's happening at her hips. "C'mon baby, why are you being so difficult?"

She knows that voice. She pauses her squirming, her heart racing. Her throat is dry, and the hair on her legs twitches because she slept with the fan on.

"C-Colin?"

"Daddy, baby," he corrects with a low, measured voice, kissing the space behind her ear.

She swallows hard. She feels like a frightened rabbit, frozen, but her eyes popping out. "I didn't… I didn't know it was you."

Her legs are hairy. Her apartment is a mess, clearly too lived in. Did she brush her teeth before bed? Colin is here. Colin is here.

"Who else has a key to your apartment?" he chuckles into her ear. He presses another kiss, this time to her earlobe. "Take some deep breaths, sweetheart."

"Sorry, you just…startled me."

"That's okay, darling," he rubs her back. He'd gotten her shorts off, but not her shirt. The fabric is soft and cool against her back. "Breathe with me for a minute. Then I want you to say thank you."

"Why?" she asks the pillow.

"Because I brought you a little gift," he says with a relieved little hum, shifting his legs so he's between hers. His hands come off her back and instead grip the sheets on either side of her, and Penelope can lift her head out of the pillows, can gulp down a few calming breaths.

"Little?" she asks once her head stops spinning quite so badly, and Colin chuckles, warm and rich in the mostly-darkness. He always calls them little gifts, even when they're anything but.

"Say thank you," he murmurs, getting up on his knees. He plants one of his big hands on her waist and starts lightly rocking his hips, acclimating her to his cock. He spits on something, then Penelope feels his wet fingers between them, depositing his spit where they meet. "Or do you want me to take it back?"

"No!" Penelope whines. She loves Colin's gifts, and is still deep enough between sleep and terror and excitement that she can be honest about that. She can pretend to be noble in the morning, when whatever piece of jewelry he bought her shines in the sun. "No, please. I want it. I missed you."

He kisses the back of her head, hums sweetly like he appreciated that answer. He's been in France for the past two weeks, and they texted practically every hour of every day, but Penelope missed him so badly he might as well have been one of her organs. She wants his gifts. She wants his attention.

She wants to be his baby.

"Well, baby?" He's fucking her now, slow and casual.

She is his baby.

"Thank you, Daddy." She exhales the words, all the breath leaving her at once. She hears him inhale, like he could smell her words.

"Mmmm, not convinced." He squeezes her waist, massages his thumbs into her back. "What are you gonna do to thank me?"

It's easier for her to move now. Penelope arches her ass up a little bit, getting up on her knees to present herself to him. She squeezes her cunt around him, and presses her face back into the pillows.

"Gooood girl," he says. It seems like all the preamble he needs to start fucking her in sincerity, grunting softly every time his hips meet her arse. "Mmm. Missed this pretty cunt."

"Missed you, Daddy," she whines, her mouth full of pillow.

Colin moans, gripping her hips. He's fucking her steadily faster, until he pounds into her cunt. Penelope squeaks at every thrust, gripping the sheets.

They fall into wordlessness, their bodies crashing together, nothing but the noise of Penelope's whimpers and Colin's harsh breath and the slapping of skin filling Penelope's quiet apartment. Penelope tumbles over the edge first—she always does—crying out and throwing a hand back to grip at Colin's side. He hisses as he follows her down, one hand pulling her hair and the other grabbing onto her asscheek.

Colin always cums inside her. He did it on accident the first time, then she'd woken up to him having snuck out to get her breakfast, flowers, two boxes of plan B (he didn't know how much she weighed), and a sheepish smile. It was the first of many things Colin would come to buy her.

(She can still see the way he smiled at her when she closes her eyes. He looked so nervous that she half-expected him to ask her to be his girlfriend. He didn't. He hesitated for a long time, long enough that Penelope started to think he was going to say that sex with her was a mistake, that they were both drunk and should forget about it.

Instead, he asked if she was on birth control, then offered to pay for it. He does pay for it. Colin pays for everything. In return, Penelope's cunt is always available to him.)

Colin kisses her shoulder, the top of her head. He pulls out with a slick sound, kissing down her back as he crawls back, back, back, until suddenly he's kissing her ass, kissing down the puffy line of her cunt.

He eats her languidly but with a thick, slurping tongue, like a bear eating his final fruits before hibernation. He holds her ass and moans into her cunt, huffs into it, eats her for so long that tears roll down Penelope's cheeks and get lost into the drool on her pillow, that the sun starts rising around the fuzzy corners of her vision. He knows exactly how to make her cum with his mouth and he's choosing not to. He's eating her for his own pleasure, not for hers.

"Daddy, daddydaddydaddy," she's chanting. Her knees ache, and her legs are shaking. Colin notices; he flips her around, lays on his belly, and just keeps going, avoiding her clit except for his nose bumping into it just often enough to keep her on edge, ignoring the tight circles and hard tongue she needs to cum.

When he pulls away, Penelope cries out, her eyes opening for the first time in what feels like forever. He looks a little rumpled, a little relieved, half-illuminated by the first purrs of the sunrise. There's color high on his cheeks and he's smiling as he wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. He looks like an angel.

"Is my baby greedy?" he pouts with mock pity.

Penelope pouts. Her lower lip is trembling as she looks up at him through her lashes. 

"Didn't you already cum?" He pinches her thigh tight enough to make Penelope jump. "Didn't I make you cum?"

She nods, still pouting. She loves when he's a little mean to her; when she's laid out in the luxury of his pleasure, the pain makes the plush even smoother. It's like a good wax.

"Is. My. Baby. Greedy?" he asks, eyebrows raised.

"Yes, Daddy," she whispers, because it's who he is right now. Her daddy, cruel and sweet and everything.

"Say it," he growls.

"I'm your greedy baby," Penelope sniffles.

His face melt into a grin. His hand slips across her thigh.

"Yeah you are," he says. His thumb presses into her clit, and Penelope mewls, legs falling wide open. "So greedy, huh? Takes everything I give her and always wants some more?"

"Yes, yes, Daddy," she gasps. "So greedy. Please touch me."

"Did you miss me?" he asks, starting to rub circles into her clit. It's perfect; it's just what she needs. And when two of his fingers slip into her hole, start fucking her, it's what she needs even more.

Penelope nods, biting her lip. She almost swoons. Colin has bent over her and started kissing her collarbones.

"Tell me. Did you miss me?" His voice rumbles against her body.

"Missed you! Missed you—so much, Daddy. Thought about you all the time."

"Did you miss how Daddy makes you cum?"

"Mhm!" she manages, grabbing onto his shoulders. Her mouth opens, and she tilts her head back.

"Did you miss Daddy's cock?"

"Yes!" she cries. She doesn't want to talk—she can't think.

"Say it. Tell me you missed my big cock."

She doesn't answer right away, too lost in the pleasure of him. He's leaning over her, just enough of his body weight atop her, and his fingers are so perfect, spreading and pressing together as they pound her. She threads her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck. The pleasure is cresting, filling her with brightness.

His hand stops.

"No!" Penelope wails, her eyes snapping open. She picks her head up. Colin's looking down at her, his horrible, impish eyebrow quirked.

"Sorry, I couldn't hear you over how wet you are. Did you say something?"

She throws her head back against the pillows in frustration. "God, you are so—!"

"Handsome?" he smirks. "Wonderful?"

Penelope flares her nostrils.

Colin tilts his head. He bends down, all the way down. First, Penelope thinks he's going to kiss her, and she isn't sure if she should allow it. He doesn't.

"Rich?" he whispers in her ear.

Her breath catches. She turns her head, looking at him. He's so smug she can't take it.

"You just got a little wetter." They're alone in her apartment, and still she feels like the purr of his voice is too loud. "Did you just remember how much money I have?"

"Daddy," she whispers.

"There's something I asked you to say," he says, eyebrows raised.

Her cunt is throbbing, eyes on his. She curls her toes. She might cum, just from this.

"Daddy…" he prompts. Another half-second passes and suddenly his fingers start moving again, fucking her quickly, even faster than before and Penelope feels like her brain might melt out of her ears.

"Daddy!" Penelope cries. She throws her arms around his neck, arches her back. "Daddy- I missed your big cock so much! Oh, Daddy, please!"

He laughs harshly. He's fucking her hard, making her squirm on the bed. "What a sweet girl I have."

He shifts, switches his hand around, starting to rub her clit firmly with all his fingers like he's a dj. Penelope cries out, spreads her legs even wider and when she cums she drops her head back, keening aloud.

She slumps onto the bed, breathing hard. Colin hums appreciatively, shifting back onto his knees. 

"Good girl," he murmurs, just as his soft lips press to her inner thigh. He kisses her pubic mound, then her belly. He strokes her sides and kisses all the way up her chest, then starts sweetly, gently kissing her mouth. He kisses her like a princess, like sleeping beauty. But, maybe a princess who just got ran through.

She also thinks he might have wiped his hand on her bedspread, which is rude.

"Why are you here?" he murmurs, pulling away just enough to form his lips into words. It feels a sudden, obtrusive question, when Penelope is still floating on some distant cloud.

Penelope mumbles something that even she can't understand.

"Hmm?" He squeezes her cheeks with two fingers. "I'm lucky I checked your location before heading home, baby."

Penelope shakes her head. "Eloise," she mumbles.

Eloise doesn't know what's going on between them—because there isn't really anything to know that wouldn't give her an aneurysm. Eloise, I have a free-use contract with your brother and in exchange he pays all my bills and buys me stuff, and yes it's just as bad as it sounds. No, we aren't dating. Yes, I do call him Daddy. She'd have her hanged. She'd have Colin publicly cancelled for paying a sex worker and then, the same day, post an infographic about how society needs to protect prostitutes.

No, Eloise cannot know.

"Oh," Colin says, stroking her cheek. That's it. Oh. Penelope tries not to let her feelings hurt by how obviously he doesn't want Eloise to know about their arrangement. She doesn't want her to know either. "…Did you water my plants?"

Penelope snorts a little. She nods.

"Thank you, Pen," he says. Penelope opens her eyes. He's smiling down at her, cupping her cheek and stroking it like she's something precious. That's the hardest part of this. Colin always treats her like she's his most adored treasure. Sometimes, most of the time, she can pretend it's real. That he doesn't just want a pretty, easy body to cum into. "How are you?"

He's asking about her pussy, about how she felt getting woken up like that. She's told him to do it, encouraged it, even.

"I would've picked you up from the airport," is what she says instead, because it's an easier answer than telling him how safe she feels with him. How she feels like a crown of jewels on a pedestal whenever she's near him. How much she loves being so utterly his, even if he isn't hers. "You should've told me."

He tuts and shakes his head and Penelope knows he recognizes the sidestep. "I landed at five in the morning, Pen. I didn't mind taking an Uber."

"But it makes me sad to think that you don't have anyone waiting for you."

"Weren't you?" he asks, sounding a little too hopeful. "Waiting for me?"

Penelope nods. She was. There was a time in her life where she'd given up on him entirely, had moved on and decided she deserved better than to be in limbo. She didn't talk to him for a year. And then, like he always did, he roped her back into waiting for him.

He's worth waiting for. That's the problem.

"Then I don't see what the problem is," he says. He slumps onto the bed and immediately pulls her into his arms. Penelope hides her smile in his chest. "Daddy's here. All is well."

"Hi, Daddy," she whispers into his chest. His heart is pounding, which pleases her. "I'm so happy you're home."

Colin kisses the top of her head. He starts stroking her back with his fingertips. "I missed you so much. God, this just gets harder and harder."

"I missed you too," she says. She wraps her arm around his waist and nuzzles her cheek against his chest. "I never want you to leave again."

Colin sighs heavily, nodding. "Next time you'll have to come with me."

She looks up at him. "To France?"

Colin nods. "Bordeaux. Or, if you need more time, I'll be going to Ibiza next."

"I can't afford a trip to France," she murmurs, barely holding back her smile.

Colin rolls his eyes. "Puh-lease."

"I can't." The smile wins, but she hides it by looking down, drawing circles on his broad chest. Bordeaux. Bordeaux as Colin's arm candy, getting doted on by him and eating croissants. All of Colin's work people knowing he fucks her. "I don't work anymore, remember?"

He rolls her over suddenly. Penelope squeaks, then laughs as Colin climbs over her. He kisses her neck warmly, slowly, as languid as he kissed her cunt.

"You don't work," he muses, pulling the strap of her tank top down. He doesn't pull away from her neck, and Penelope tries to hold back her little peep when he bites softly onto her pulse point.

"Full time, I mean." She still does some freelance editing. It pays nothing, but she needs to keep the connections. Being his sugar baby, being ready and available whenever he wants her (which seems to be always) is becoming more and more of a full time job. Even when he's abroad, she spends most of her time finding new outfits and removing her body hair (she was supposed to wax next week. Colin is here), keeping her body and hair soft for him and thinking up new ways to send him lewd pictures. She doesn't want him to grow disinterested by their frequent separation.

"Bad job market, huh?" he murmurs, mouthing along the neckline of her tank top.

Penelope nods, stretches out her neck. "So I couldn't afford it."

"Hmm," he says, slowly, slowly revealing her breasts. He cups one of them, ghosts his lips over her nipple. His breath makes her shiver. "That's a shame."

Penelope just nods again. She no longer trusts her voice.

"Of course, your joblessness means that if you could afford it, nothing would stop you from coming."

Penelope flushes, nods again. "That's true," she squeaks.

He presses a warm kiss to her nipple, the bud enveloped in his soft lips. "So if, for example, someone who really wanted you along with them were to pay for your ticket…"

"Colin…" she protests.

"If Daddy gave his babygirl a little gift…"

Penelope shivers. His voice has lowered, deepened. She can never say no to him. Not when he's gently licking her nipple. But she has to at least try.

"Daddy, I can't. It's too expensive," she whines.

"It would be a gift," Colin frowns, lifting his head. She thought that she'd be able to reject his gifts better if he weren't touching her, but she was wrong. Now he's looking at her with that gently urgent Colin look, like a giant puppydog trying to save your life with a game of fetch. "You'd refuse a gift from me?"

This is always how it goes. Always. She hasn't figured out a good refute to his payments when he claims they're all gifts.

(And if, in exchange for his gifts, all he asks is that she give him her body? Something she already wanted to give him? How could she ever deny this man anything?)

They can't live like this forever, she knows, so she wrestles with whether she needs to stop it or enjoy it while it lasts. She's not her mother—she's not a gold digger. It was never supposed to go this long, was never supposed to be this formal. Colin fucked her while drunk and felt bad about it and bought her stuff. Three days later, she'd gotten laid off. He'd come to say goodbye and apologize again for fucking her before heading to the airport and found her sobbing on her kitchen floor, deliriously pulling pans out of her cabinet because she couldn't afford next month's rent.

Pen, he'd said. Let me help you.

Help me how?! she'd sobbed. My life is ruined! I've put everything into this job and now—and now—!

He'd guided her gently onto her back, still crying. He straddled her head and pulled out his cock and pressed it right into her sobbing mouth, and she'd been so astonished that she had just stilled, tears still rolling down her cheeks as she stared up at him.

Shhh, that's right. Just suck, sweetheart. I've got you. I'm going to take care of everything. It'll be a gift, okay? You don't need to worry about a thing. All you need to do is suck.

She did. He came in her mouth and PayPalled her two thousand pounds before she swallowed. He kissed her forehead, promised to call, and left. He couldn't miss his flight.

She laid there for the longest time, staring at the ceiling, wondering if what had happened was real. But it was—her phone buzzed next to her: Colin was texting her, asking if she was okay, asking if she had enough for rent or if she needed another thousand.

She used the money and promised herself that it would never happen again. Penelope and Colin had always been uncomfortably close friends, but he started texting and calling her more than ever, checking in on her constantly, having long text conversations about how both of their days were going. He surely felt bad for what had happened, or maybe bad for her. She couldn't let it happen again.

But then it did—he sent her two thousand pounds at the start of the next month and Penelope, unsure of what else to do with him in Norway, sent him a picture of her tits. She'd never sent a man pictures of her boobs before, so she sent him two (one was slightly blurry). He loved them. He sent her five hundred more pounds and a video of him jacking off, whimpering her name.

And then it kept happening.

Now, most of Penelope's loans are paid off, her rent automatically paid from his bank account. He goes on frequent business trips and brings her extravagant gifts. He encouraged her to quit her job hunt to work on her novel (be more readily accessible to fuck him). Lately, after paying all her bills, he deposits a few thousand pounds into her bank account every month, with the caption: pen money 🤑

"No," she murmurs.

"Don't you like my gifts? You don't like when Daddy takes care of you?"

"You know I do," Penelope pouts.

Colin considers her for a moment longer. He presses his thumb gently into her cheek.

"Can I show you your little present, then?"

Penelope's breath hitches. Having her life paid for is lovely, life-changing, but the gifts he brings back from his business trips have a special place in her heart. They're always so beautiful, so thoughtful. First editions of her favorite books, glamorous skincare products, the most beautiful pieces of jewelry she's ever seen. Once, he bought her an antique typewriter that Hemingway allegedly used, because he knows she hates Hemingway and wanted her to be able to out-write him on his own machine.

Him paying her bills, sending her money—there's a dirty, rotten pleasure from that. Feeling like his own personal whore makes her pussy clench. But his gifts make her feel like his trophy wife. Colin is rich and successful and she's the beautiful girl he wants to impress with his money. She spent so much of her life being shy, ugly little Penelope Featherington. Not any longer. 

Now she's baby.

"Yes, Daddy," she says, fluttering her eyelashes at him. He grins.

"Give Daddy a kiss, first."

Penelope doesn't need to be prompted twice; she leans up, kissing him softly. Colin hums, then climbs off her, pressing another kiss to her lips before he leaves her.

She sits up to watch him, but he doesn't go for his suitcase at the end of the bed. Instead he steps out of the room entirely, comes back a moment later with a garment bag.

Penelope raises her eyebrows. Colin doesn't usually buy her clothes unless Penelope sends him links to things. He's hesitant about buying her clothes, she knows, because he once bought her a yellow Selkie dress that made her look like Daddy's little doll and started fucking her in it and he didn't know how to handle it when she started sobbing (because she didn't know how to ask him to return it).

But today he has a dress.

"I'll be the first to admit," he says, standing completely naked in her bedroom, holding up the bag, "this is more of a gift for me."

"Oh?" It takes her a second to look away from his naked body and at the bag itself. She pictures him in a dress, feels a little dizzy. Colin in a dress, bending her over and fucking her so hard that—

"What are you doing tomorrow?"

She blinks. She hadn't known Colin would be home so soon. She was planning on having a day to deep-clean her apartment, since she knew she wouldn't be doing much cleaning when he got home and she's been busy with Eloise lately.

"Nothing I can't reschedule."

His dimple pops. "You sure?"

She lowers the sheets, crawls to the end of the bed. "I'm always available for you, Daddy."

His cheeks go pink. She sees his cock twitch. He wets his lips.

"I, uh, know you…" he starts, restarts, "I know we don't often go out together."

This is complicated. Colin seems to like her on his arm, but they never go out together as anything more than friends around people they know. Penelope knows he couldn't let it leak to his family that he has a literal, actual sugar baby, that he uses their dear family friend for her body, and she uses him for his money.

"…But I have this work thing tomorrow night and I was thinking…hoping you'd… be my date."

"Your date?" Colin is an influencer, but he partners with some seriously hefty brands who like his adventurous spirit and the old-world swagger of his name, so he's often invited to charity galas and balls and extremely fancy parties thrown by the ultra wealthy. He usually hates the hosts, talks about the people he had to shmooze with like they're scum of the earth—as if he isn't just as rich.

"I have to go," Colin explains. "The caveat for me coming home was me making an appearance at the party, but it's gonna be awful. Worst of the worst. And I was sitting in the plane thinking, man, I'd rather just spend the night with Pen."

Penelope wets her lips, sits back on her heels.

"So, well… If you don't mind being my date…"

She can't say no—of course she can't. Saying yes is sugar baby rule number one. It's rare that she ever wants to deny him something, and it's usually small things like this, but still. She can't.

"Are you sure you wanna take…me?"

"Who else would I take?" he laughs, but he sounds a little nervous.

"I dunno," Penelope murmurs. She really doesn't.

"I want to take you," he frowns. "If you want to come."

"Of course I do," she says. She doesn't. She grew up rich before her dad lost all their money, and society parties are hard enough as regular old Penelope Featherington. This sounds like hell. She's going to be on Colin's arm not as his girlfriend, not as his friend, but as the woman he pays to sleep with? She's going to be a prostitute surrounded by rich people and their rich spouses and what, other escorts? Is she supposed to network there? The thought almost makes her laugh. "You bought me a dress for the party?"

"That was my intention, but I more bought me a dress for you to wear," Colin says, unzipping it.

The first thing Penelope sees is a lingerie set. She stares at it, utterly surprised—is he expecting her to go to a sex party?—but Colin blushes a little and sets the set down on the bed so he can take the dress out of the garment bag.

"Sorry, I should've put that separately," he says. She stares at the lingerie set, her heart racing. Shes worn lingerie for him before, but he's never bought her any. It feels…different somehow. A level of ownership, of customization, of him being her customer that they haven't breached before. Her cunt throbs, staring at it. "You don't have to wear that, it just matched the dress so I thought you might like it."

"No, I can," Penelope says, staring at it. She forces her eyes away and looks at the dress, which he has taken out of the garment bag.

Its dark, dark green velvet, almost black, with just the barest hints of sparkles embedded into the fabric. It looks body-tight, with thin straps and a deep, deep cowl neckline. It's clearly very, very expensive.

"Oh, wow," Penelope says.

"Do you like it? It's, like, a black-tie thing. So I hoped…"

"It's beautiful, Colin. Thank you."

He grins, clearly relieved. He hangs the dress up on her bedroom door, and the lingerie set next to it. Then he climbs back into bed. Penelope cuddles back up to him, tucking herself into his side and slinging an arm around his waist.

"So you'll come with me?"

Penelope nods. "Course, Collie."

Colin sighs in relief and kisses the side of her head. "I'm so glad. Thank you, Pen."

Penelope nods.

"What do you wanna do now?" he asks, dragging fingertips up and down her back. She can't tell if he's vying for more sex. She'd have sex with him. She loves having sex with him. But…

"I…want to sleep some more."

He hums, and Penelope's shoulders slump in relief. "Thank god."

*

They sleep for far too long. Long enough that Penelope wakes up groggy and confused, a little puddle of drool on Colin's shoulder.

Colin's on his phone, scrolling slowly through his Instagram comments. His Instagram comment section looks like it belongs to a proper celebrity—bot comments, fans praising him, the occasional sincere comment about whatever he posted about (Colin tried to make his posts educational). He also gets quite a lot of thirst comments, women and men sending him heart and drool and fire emojis, and more explicit ones too.

She watches him read each of his comments. He likes the ones that engage with the history lesson he posted about and a couple from some of the general fans. He yawns as he opens a comment thread from a woman named Ashley who says I'd let him hunch my back. One of the replies to her post says you shouldn't make light of disabilities. Besides, this post is about the Eiffel Tower, not Notre Dame Cathedral (Colin likes that post). The following reply from Ashley says I'd Eiffel that tower (Colin doesn't like that post, but Penelope watches him hesitate over it for a second before he deletes the whole thread).

She has his post notifications on, so she knew the second he posted last night, quickly commented, Wow, Colin! I didn't know there were apartments in the Eiffel Tower! It's so cool that you got to go in! He likes her comment immediately upon coming to it, then comments, maybe we'll rent one next time ;)

Penelope nuzzles into his shoulder, closing her eyes for a second. He's done this before, replied to her comments with little flirts. She's made appearances on his professional profile a couple of times on his London-based posts (she's much more frequently posted on his private page, which still has a thousand followers. He even posted her naked shoulder once with a heart shaped hickey he left on it, though you couldn't tell it was her), but Colin is all over Penelope's profile, going all the way back to when she first got Instagram and Penelope, Colin, and Eloise used to post their puppy-filtered selfies with their favorite Disney quotes as the caption.

She can already see her notifications now. Every time this happens, his fan base acts like it's the first time. Disgruntled comments, replies asking Colin if this is his girlfriend, comments all over Penelope's page at the random pictures of Colin—they especially like one she took of him holding a croissant as a mustache.

Inevitably, someone will call her fat and ugly. Inevitably, someone without a profile picture will ask Colin why he's with her. Inevitably, someone will comment no, they're clearly not dating—they've been posting each other since 2014. Maybe they're cousins. Someone, likely, will call her a gold digger.

Colin deletes all these comments. Penelope does not.

She looks back up and watches him scroll a little longer. People really seem to think he's sexy in this post, so he keeps deleting the worst thirst comments. He is sexy, of course. He's a little sweaty in all the pictures thanks to the heatwave in Paris, and he's wearing a button down that plunges deep down his chest. Possessiveness shouldn't be swelling in her belly but it is, oh it is.

Colin is hers (he isn't).

He sighs softly, swiping up to clear Instagram from his screen. He responds to a text from Benedict, and then closes all his apps. He looks at his homescreen. It's a picture of her. It isn't one of the ones she sent him, the planned, edited pictures, its the two of them at a restaurant. Eloise took this picture, she thinks. The lighting is fluorescent and there's a huge basket of fries on the table. Colin has his arm slung around her waist, hand resting on her ample hip and Penelope is leaning into his chest. She's laughing at something he said, her head tilted back. She has a double chin. He's looking at her like she's the most beautiful thing in the world.

Penelope slinks down. Colin has a hand loosely resting on her hip and he makes a soft noise, looking down at her.

"Oh! Morning, baby."

"Morning," Penelope says, sliding down the bed. Colin has one knee bent.

"I ordered brunch," he says with a soft smile. "You hungry?"

"Mhm," she says, straddling his leg. His long, muscular leg. Do those girls on Instagram know what it's like to hump his leg while he praises them just condescendingly enough to make them desperate? No. Probably not.

(Do they know how funny he is? Do they know what his breath tastes like in the morning? Do they know how out of place he feels in every room he's in? Do they know how generous he is, how kind?)

Penelope does.

"Should get here in half an hour," he says, though his eyebrow quirks in interest. Penelope settles herself, instead, between his legs. She rests her head on his bent knee. "Are you headed to the bathroom? I'll come with you."

"No," she murmurs. She feels like a cat, lazy and slow and ready to pounce. She rubs her cheek against his knee. Then she bends down, nuzzles her nose against the head of his soft cock.

"Oh," Colin says, pushing himself up on his elbows. He grins, his hair lolling down his forehead. He looks lighthearted and happy, which only makes the jealousy swirl tighter in Penelope's stomach. He could fuck anyone in the world.

"Thank you for my pretty dress, Daddy," Penelope says, nosing down the length of his cock. It twitches and Penelope hums, starting to press soft kisses up his length. She loves him so much, loves even his cock.

"My pleasure, Princess," Colin murmurs. "I can't wait to see you in it."

Penelope smiles softly. "Is a blowjob a good-enough thank you?"

Colin scoffs, stuffing pillows behind his back. "Good enough? Pen, I love your blowjobs. I'd go to war for your blowjobs."

Penelope giggles, wrapping her hand around him. He's hardening, and she likes feeling it. "Is there anything I can do to improve them?"

"No," he murmurs, his head tilting back for a moment. He sighs. "Pen, you're perfect."

She kisses his shaft, then tilts her head side to side, so her mouth slides across the length of it. "Has…" She hesitates, tries to think of a way to word this that won't hurt her own feelings. "Is there…anyone who has done it better?"

"Woah," Colin says. He sits up completely, reaching out to grab Penelope's arms. "Pen, what?"

Penelope blinks up at him, surprised. She raises herself back into her knees. "I just mean… if there's a technique you prefer…"

"Nobody else is—is blowing me," he splutters, staring into her eyes. "There is nobody else. You know that." He reaches over blindly, groping for his phone. "Where is this coming from? Do you want my phone?"

Penelope dips her head, blushing. "No, I didn't mean to… I just…"

He frowns and pulls her into his lap. He places his phone in her hands, then cups her cheeks so she has to look at him. "Is this because I've been traveling so much lately?"

Penelope shrugs a little bit, holding his phone like a chipmunk holds a prized nut. It does feel a little more uncertain when he's far from her. Everything does. She'll be devastated when Colin finally realizes that he wants a normal relationship with a woman who's in his world, who doesn't mooch off him. She won't even be able to grieve their relationship properly; he's her best friend. She knows he deserves better.

Even if she removes emotions from it entirely: her whole life would fall apart if Colin found another girl, wanted a new baby. The job market is terrible.

She puts his phone down.

Colin is frowning. "See? This is exactly why I want to bring you with me, baby."

Right, Penelope thinks, he wants her with him so he never has to find someone else to fuck. He wants her accessible. She can be. She should be. Someone else, someone who doesn't love him as much, who wouldn't care about him as deeply, would take this spot in his life without a bat of an eyelash. She needs to be the best version.

"I'll go with you if it makes you happy," she says. She'll have to figure out how to explain it to Eloise, to her mom. She can't worry about that right now.

"There's nobody but you," he insists, gently squeezing her cheeks. He leans in, kisses her nose gently before he touches their foreheads together. "Whether we're together or apart, you're my girl. Right?"

Penelope nods, blinking hard.

"Yeah," she says softly.

"You're my girl," he insists, his hand going into her hair, tangling in it. "You're the most beautiful girl in the world. I'd never want anyone else."

"Really?" If her voice pitches up, sounds a little girlish, he doesn't say anything. He just nods.

"Yeah, baby." The hand that isn't in her hair cups her neck. He holds her gently but his thumb brushes over her throat. His eyes dip. "You're perfect."

"I'm yours," she whispers back.

He nods slightly, his eyes downward. His thumb presses down ever so lightly against her throat. Penelope takes in a sharp breath, watching his eyes.

"Say it again," he says, looking up at her.

"I'm yours," she moans.

"I'm gonna keep you forever," he breathes, and a squirm runs through Penelope's entire body. "Just you. Mine forever."

His thumb presses down just slightly more. Penelope squeaks. She can breathe, but it's tight, tight.

"Nobody else will ever suck me off, understand?" he asks. "You blow me. You get my cock. You dress up pretty for me and let me eat your cunt."

Penelope nods, her breath shaky.

"Isn't that right? Isn't that your job?"

Penelope nods again, her chin lifted to accommodate his hand around her neck. Her lip is trembling.

"What's that?"

"Yes, Daddy," Penelope squeaks back. "That's my job."

Colin hums, leaning in to press a soft kiss to the corner of her mouth. "Even your breath is mine, isn't it?"

"Yes—yes, Daddy," she manages again, a little more panicked. "Yours."

He smiles gently, and, at the very same moment, squeezes her throat tighter, cutting off her breathing.

Penelope's mouth opens. She grabs Colin's arm with both hands, her mouth moving silently.

"What a good girl I have," Colin says. His words are breathy, like he wants to show off his ability to breathe. "Why don't you show me how good you are?"

Penelope doesn't move for a second, frazzled, shaky by her lack of oxygen. But his cock is hard under her, and she can reach down without looking to grab the base of it.

"That's right," Colin says, releasing her throat. Penelope sucks in a deep breath, her body shaking slightly. Colin smiles at her, keeping one hand tangled in her hair as she gets up on her knees so she can raise his cock and slip it into her cunt.

She sinks back down onto his lap with a wavering little moan. She's a little lightheaded, a little fuzzy. She grabs both of his strong shoulders, and Colin leans back on his propped up pillows.

"Good, good girl," he says. He lifts one arm behind his head, smiling at her. "Go on. You know me best, don't you? Give Daddy what he likes."

Penelope takes a second to breathe. Colin allows it, smiling softly at her, rubbing her thigh with his free hand.

She squeezes his shoulders and lifts herself, starting a slow rhythm atop him. His cock is rock-hard and throbbing, and little noises spill from Penelope's lips.

"Look at you," he smirks. "All in control, aren't you?"

Penelope nods, then shakes her head, confused, fuzzy. Colin chuckles.

"Why don't you go a little faster for me, hm?"

Penelope nods, pressing her hands flat against his chest and starting to grind faster on his cock. She pants softly, curling her fingers in his chest hair.

"Did you not like your little gift?" he asks, eyebrows raised. His mouth is twitching though—gives him away.

"Yes—yes, Daddy. Yes, thank you. Thank you."

"Show me how grateful you are."

Penelope exhales harshly. She reaches down to pull his hand off her hip and put it on her breast instead. She holds his shoulders, bounces on his cock as fast as she's able.

Colin grips her breast, lowers his other hand to grab her other one. He cups them, lets them jiggle in his hands as she bounces. The headboard slams against the wall behind him and she distantly thinks she hears her neighbor banging on the wall but she digs her nails into Colin's shoulders, fucks herself as hard as she can.

"Fuck," Colin groans, his resolve breaking. He paws madly at her tits, throws a hand up to grip her back. She's on top but he's everywhere—inside her and pressing up against her and pawing at her body. "Fuck—fuck, yeah baby. So good. Just like that."

"Daddy!" Penelope mewls.

"Gonna cum? Love your Daddy's cock?"

"Yes!" she cries. "So good—!"

He grunts, grabbing her hips and lying back so he can start fucking up into her. She leans into him, scratching down his chest, arching her back. He's making these life-threateningly sexy little huhs, his breath harsh and punctuating each thrust. Her tits are bouncing, and Colin is grabbing onto her like she's the holy grail.

She wails his name when she cums and then she has to pull off, too sensitive too immediately, her cunt throbbing. Colin makes a surprised little noise, reaching down between them to stroke his cock, just a few seconds until he's cumming all over Penelope's pubic mound.

They're breathing hard when they settle back down, and the neighbor is absolutely pounding on the wall. Colin throws an arm up to rap a little rhythm against the wall as if telling him they're done. The pounding stops after another minute.

"So good, Pen," Colin pants after a little while. He squeezes her thigh, gropes her flesh.

She nods, then fully lets herself slump onto his chest. Colin goes oof, then chuckles, wrapping his arms around her.

"Did I Eiffel your tower, Daddy?"

Colin stiffens beneath her, but then he starts shaking with laughter. He leans back to catch her gaze, then laughs harder when he sees the glint in her eye.

"Yeah, baby," he laughs, leaning up to kiss her. "You always do."

Colin makes her get up so he can clean her off and re-dress her in her pajamas, and then he situates her on the couch with a blanket wrapped around her so he can put her sheets in the wash. He has a pair of joggers low around his hips and bright looking scratch marks going down his chest and shoulders, and when he opens the front door to get the food he ordered, Penelope is both pleased and shy to know someone else sees him with his scratched chest and his bedhead. She's thankful, too, that the delivery guy doesn't recognize Colin.

He settles into the couch next to her with a content little sigh, handing her an iced coffee. She takes a sip—it's a brown sugar latte with oat milk—and watches as he takes the food out. He ordered her a bacon butty with chips and himself a full fry up, and the third box was filled with scones, which he butters and jams before sliding half of them onto her plate and half onto his.

"Here you go, my darling," he says, handing her her plate and a fork. Penelope smiles at him.

"Thank you, Collie."

He squeezes her thigh, smiles at her.

They eat quietly together. Colin flicks through the channels before settling on House Hunters International which is what they always watch when they eat. She spends half the time watching the show and half the time watching him, his profile. He's so handsome it makes her heart ache.

When he finishes his food, he steals little nips of one of her scones until Penelope concedes to giving him the whole thing. He smiles warmly at her, slings an arm around her shoulders as he watches the tv.

When they both finish eating, Colin clears away their plates. She hears him humming in the kitchen, then hears him humming as he walks down the hallway. He comes back a couple of minutes later and sits back down next to her, pulling her feet up onto his lap.

He bends down to kiss the top of her foot. Penelope giggles softly, spreading her toes wide, and Colin kisses each of them. He settles back against the couch with a smile as he starts rubbing her feet.

"How long are you in town?" Penelope asks softly. They can be friends now, she thinks. Normal.

"Just five days," he mumbles. He's not looking at her; his eyes are on her feet. He presses his thumbs into her heel and it sends tingles up her leg. He's pouting a little at her question, like he doesn't realize he's doing it.

"That's it?" He's usually gone for a few weeks, maybe a month, then comes home for a month.

"I was supposed to go straight to Bordeaux after Paris, but…" He sighs, wets his lips. "I just really missed you."

Penelope's mouth opens. "I…I sent you videos." She FaceTimed him too. Every day.

He rests his head back against the sofa, smiles gently at her. He looks more tired than he did a moment ago. He has been traveling a lot. Lately they wouldn't even have phone sex because he's been too tired—they'd talk about their days and then Penelope would show him her boobs. "Yeah, baby. But nothing's as good as the real thing."

She smiles softly, looking down. It is nice to know he still wants to fuck her so much, even months into this.

"So, I thought we might be able to… spend the week together?" He speaks hesitantly, hands still working over her feet.

She wants to. There is literally nothing she wants more—spending time with Colin, getting spoiled, getting positively railed within an inch of her life whenever the whim comes to him. She loves spending time with Colin; she loves Colin. The more this arrangement goes on, the more she loves him, like her body is an endless well of adoration and he's pulling buckets and buckets up.

But Colin being in town means that she belongs to Colin. It's just as he said—she's his. And she wants this (or she would, if it was real), but she has no time for anything, or anyone else. She has to drop off the map because Colin expects all of her attention, but she can't tell anyone where she's going or what she's doing. She's told Eloise she has a headache so often that Eloise asked her to get her eyes checked.

But she has to do it. For the money, yeah, but mainly because it's worth it. Even a little bit of Colin is better than anything else in the world.

"Yeah," she smiles. She wiggles her toes, and Colin kisses them, smiling. "I'd love to."

"Babygirl." He lowers her feet to the couch and starts crawling over her. "I'm so glad."

"Except." Penelope holds a hand up in front of Colin's face, just before he's about to kiss her. She squashes his nose and feels a little bad about it.

He pulls back, frowning. "Except?"

"I…" She shakes her head, wets her lips. "I promised Eloise I'd go to this work thing with her tonight. She, uh…"

He snorts. "Are you gonna be her date, too?"

"Yeah," she says, smiling shyly. "She didn't want to go alone, and enticed me with free dinner."

"I can give you free dinner," he murmurs, tucking her hair behind her ear. His hand slips down to rub her belly, which is batshit of him and makes her melt a little. She imagines herself a little puddle on the couch. "If you wanted dinner while I was gone, I could've sent you dinner. You know I take good care of my baby."

"I can mooch off another Bridgerton now and again."

Colin chuckles. "You don't mooch off me," he says. He kisses her cheek softly.

"I so do."

"Mooching implies I get nothing out of taking care of you." His hand roves up, gently cups her breast. He looks down, his eyes shining like he's looking at the most beautiful thing in the world. "Trust me, Pen. I get a lot."

He's distracted himself by holding her tit, kneading it gently, so Penelope continues.

"Anyway," Penelope says, half-laughing. "I have to go. I promised."

"Fineee," Colin sighs. He shifts down slightly, lying on her chest. He's still holding her boob. She wraps her arms around him. "I guess I'll just… hang out…all alone… in my big, empty apartment…"

"Poor thing," Penelope smiles, petting the back of his neck.

He nods. "Just me and my," he sighs, "huge, throbbing cock…"

Penelope laughs. "And why is it throbbing in this scenario?"

"Because I'll be missing my baby," he pouts, elongating each syllable. He starts rubbing his face against her chest like a cat.

"That doesn't seem a good enough reason to be throbbing…"

"And I'll be looking at pictures of your pussy," he mumbles.

She squawks. "You save the pictures I send you?"

He lifts up his head. His eyes are wide in fear. "Am I not supposed to?"

A giggle spills from her, but she covers her mouth. "You can. I'm just…surprised that you would want to."

He rolls his eyes. There's just enough room on the couch for him to slip off her, so he does, lying on his side between her and the back. He digs through his pocket, his cheek resting on her until his phone reveals itself. He opens it and shows her a photo folder titled "babygirl 💚" with a photo of her face as the cover.

"I save all of them," he says. He opens the folder, showing her. It's full of the curated, naked pictures she sends him, but also selfies, screenshots from her Instagram, pictures that he has taken of her over the years. "This is one of my most prized possessions."

"Oh," Penelope whispers.

She remembers taking each of those photos, remembers scrutinizing over them all, never thinking they looked good enough for him. But all together, it's like a montage, a collage of soft skin and red hair. She looks lovely.

She's never been disillusioned about being beautiful; she knows she's desirable, knows he's doing this because he likes her body. But here, looking at this... It's no wonder he likes to fuck her.

"Do you save the pictures I send you?" he asks quietly. The hand holding her phone rests on her belly, the screen of his phone against her skin. She thinks about how readily he was about to give her his phone. She wants it. But loyalty is something girlfriends worry about, and she is not a girlfriend. "When I'm away?"

She nods, gently touching his wrist. "Of course I do."

He smiles. His mouth purses to a kiss against her shoulder.

"I don't have your throbbing cock arranged into such nice collages, but… it's in there."

Colin laughs. "It's just nice to be remembered."

She looks at him, resting half naked on her couch, tucked into her side. It's mid afternoon and he looks like it's late evening, this beautiful, contradictory man.

"I could never forget you," she whispers. "I'm yours."

He smiles softly. He cups her cheek, brushing his thumb over her skin. "You're all I ever think about."

Penelope leans in, kissing him gently. They aren't doing a scene, and he isn't Daddy, but he doesn't stop her. He kisses her back, as gentle as a hummingbird's wings.

When she pulls away, he's smiling at her. He runs his fingers through her hair, then kisses her shoulder.

"Darling girl," he whispers. "I'm so happy to be home with you."

"Me too," she whispers back. "Never leave again."

He shakes his head. "Never," he lies. She allows it.

They settle into soft quietness. They never cuddled like this before the arrangement. They snuggled, maybe. Got a little closer than she would with other friends. She never felt his coarse chest hair against her bare skin as often as she does now.

"I love cuddling," she says quietly.

"Me too," he murmurs. "Can we cuddle all day? When is Eloise going to steal you from me?"

"Well, I…" She inhales slowly. Will this upset him? "I also need to go get my nails done for the party tomorrow."

"Ooh la la." He lifts her hand and inspects her fingernails. They're black, but overgrown. She always paints them black when he's away; she likes to imagine she's waiting for her husband to return from the war. "What color will you get?"

"What color do you want me to get?"

"Oh! I get to choose?" He looks thrilled. "I've never gotten to choose before."

She smiles coyly. "Well, don't you want to personalize what color wraps around your cock?"

Colin's cheeks go pink and his eyes go wide. She loves that shade. "Pen…"

"Yeah?"

"I jerk off plenty while I'm gone." He noses her shoulder. "If I play my cards right, I won't be getting a single handjob this week."

Penelope laughs, tilting her head back.

"Except tonight, I guess." He kisses her shoulder again. "Unless…you join me afterwards…"

"I'll try. Eloise might try to stay here. I'm closer to the venue than she is."

"Mm." He rests his head on her shoulder. He's quiet for a second, contemplative. "I'm feeling jealous."

Penelope leans her head over. "Would it make you feel better to…come pay for me to get my nails done?"

He's quiet for a second. "Yeah, it would actually," he says, looking up at her.

Penelope giggles.

*

Colin drops her off at the party, a block away so Eloise doesn't see his car. The party is at an upscale bar and restaurant, and when Colin dropped her off, standing there in the blue Selkie dress she'd bought with his card after he'd returned the yellow one, he told her she was gonna be the prettiest girl at the party.

She slides into her seat next to Eloise and kisses her cheek. The party has just started to pick up.

"Hey," Eloise smiles. She's wearing a blue jumpsuit and her hair is blown out. She looks very cute. "I like your nails."

"Thank you," Penelope says. They're dark green with little gold leaves. Colin made her nail girl very nervous by staring over Penelope's shoulder the whole time. "Colin…"

She pauses.

Eloise is eating a piece of buttered bread. Penelope tries to bank on the fact that the piece of bread might have distracted her, but Eloise looks up at her. "Colin…?"

Does Eloise even know Colin's in town? Probably not—when would he have told her?

"Colin sent me a TikTok where a lady had nails like this." That is not a lie. He sent her that TikTok because he'd looked up 'green nail ideas' to match her dress tomorrow and decided this would be the look he paid for.

"Cool." She's disinterested. Penelope won. "Bread?"

"Thanks," she smiles, bumping Eloise's shoulder. Eloise bumps her back.

"Thanks for coming with me. This was gonna be so boring, otherwise." She takes a bite of her bread. "Work parties are so stupid. Like, we see each other every day, why would I want to party with you?" She chews for a second, then looks at Penelope. "How come Danbury never has parties?"

Penelope just shrugs.

The dinner passes without much excitement. She takes a picture of her plate of vodka rigatoni because Colin asked her to send a picture, and Eloise teases her for taking pictures of her food while also eating the most Instagrammable burger she's ever seen (Penelope takes a picture of that too—they burnt the restaurant's logo into the bun). When dinner is over, the party meanders down to the bar. Penelope and Eloise sit on barstools and spin away from the bar and Eloise chats with her coworkers while Penelope smiles politely and sips her mojito.

One very good thing about Eloise is, when Penelope doesn't feel like talking, she doesn't force her to. She's enough conversation for the both of them, and, while this may have annoyed Penelope when she was younger and desperate for more attention, she's now come to see it as a superpower.

Her mojito is good. Her nails are pretty and paid for. Colin is at his apartment, in the same city as her. He's here to see her. He's here to fuck her for a whole work-week, to cash in on the paychecks he's been sending her. Then he's going to leave, and Penelope is going to revert back to being pictures in his phone.

So, yes, Penelope isn't really in the mood to talk to anyone.

Colin being horny is not revolutionary. He has wanted her badly before, has seemed upset by his inability to get to her. Colin keeps her on retainer specifically because he needs to have an emotional connection with the person he's fucking and it's too difficult to maintain a real relationship when he's never in the same city for more than a month. So, when he's horny, he has Penelope. Pretty Penelope, with her wet, willing cunt. He fucks her raw, hard, soft, slow, upside-down—whatever he likes. She's like… a fleshlight, in that way. Ready to receive sperm, no coaxing involved.

(She shivers at her own thinking. Eloise glances at her and Penelope pulls the smile back to her face.)

It's not weird for him to miss her, either. They're friends, exceptionally good friends. She's likely his best friend. Penelope misses Eloise when she hasn't seen her in a while, and she's not even utterly in love with her. It's not weird to be missed.

But it is weird for him to come home for a week, just to drain his balls into her. It's unlike him—he's usually much more strategic, plans much further in advance. She usually has much more time to prepare—her body, her excuses, but also her heart.

It isn't easy, if she's honest. To get fucked by him, to get doted on by him. He's the most attentive lover, the sweetest fake boyfriend, hellbent on taking care of her. He's the only man she's ever met who genuinely gets off on making her feel like a princess, making her cum. He's good at fucking her, and everything they do turns her on.

But she loves him.

She loves him so dearly. Without the money, without the sex (well, she wants the sex), she adores him. It's hard.

"Oh, Pen," Eloise says. "This is Reuben. That attorney I was telling you about?"

Penelope smiles automatically and holds out her hand. Eloise has not told her about Reuben. The blond man who has materialized in front of her, Reuben, shakes it.

"Hi…Pen?" Reuben says.

"Penelope," Penelope offers. Her phone buzzes in her pocket. She takes her hand from his.

"Penelope is a big-time editor at Danbury Publishing," Eloise supplies. Penelope is not an editorial assistant at Danbury Publishing anymore. Penelope is a woman who gets paid to have her feet cummed on.

"Well, I'm very glad you could make it to our little party," Reuben says. His eyes dip down, just a flick. Penelope's phone buzzes again.

She inhales sharply. "Will…you excuse me for just a moment?"

Reuben nods, stepping back. Penelope slips down from her stool, intentionally ignoring Eloise's offer to follow her. She scurries to the bathroom as quick as she can. It's a single bathroom; she slips inside and locks the door behind her, sighing softly.

Colin: miss you babygirl

Colin: my apartment feels so cold without you :( but i hope you're having fun

Penelope: Miss you too

Colin: baby!

Colin: are you having fun?

Colin: are you done? want me to pick u up?

Penelope smiles, chewing on the inside of her cheek.

Penelope: It's not fun because you're not here.

Penelope: But, no. Eloise isn't ready to leave yet.

Colin: :( poor baby

Colin: did you eat?

Penelope sends him a picture of her food, then Eloise's too. He likes them, then returns with a picture of a bunch of fast food wrappers discarded on his coffee table.

Colin: this is the night you *could* have had

Penelope: Oh man. I picked the wrong Bridgerton.

Penelope: This is just like that time I got confused and asked Benedict for forty bucks in exchange for a picture of my cleavage.

Colin:

Colin: i think i deserve a picture for enduring that deeply unfunny joke.

Penelope laughs. She leans against the door and tucks her hair behind her ear.

Penelope: Oh yeah? Of what?

Colin: i seem to recall cleavage mentioned………

She can do that. This dress has cleavage to spare. She sidles up to the mirror and tugs the neckline of her dress as far down as it goes without her stretching it out. She reaches in her dress and lifts her tits up slightly, so part of her nipples shows. She snaps a quick picture and sends it to Colin.

Colin: babygirlllllll 😍

Colin: so beautiful

Colin: this is going to go perfectly in my collection >:) 

Colin: i'm gonna jerk off to this tonight <3🤤

Colin: wait. youre not showing nipple at this party right. i dont remember seeing nipple when i dropped you off

Penelope: Do you want me to?

Colin: no 💕

Colin: i want you to come here and put them in my face

Penelope: Fingers crossed.

Penelope: Okay, text later. Eloise is going to think I got flushed down the toilet.

Colin: babygirl, if you got flushed down the toilet, i'd turn into the Flushed Away rat to come find you

Penelope: So romantic xx

"What was up with that?" Eloise says when she returns to her barseat. "You didn't like him? He's, like, exactly your type."

"He is not my type." She dated one blond man.

"Okay, but he's hot enough. You could've just gone out a few times."

"I'm… kind of seeing someone."

Eloise frowns, her owl eyes turning to a glare. "You didn't tell me."

"It's not a thing yet. I just like him."

Eloise squints at her. Penelope fights the urge to squirm.

"Thank you for trying. I really do appreciate it."

"I'm giving Reuben your number tomorrow."

"El…"

"Just fuck him!" Eloise says, exasperated. "You don't need to date him. Use him for his body!"

Penelope sighs, picks up her mojito to take a sip. Eloise surely watched it. Colin would've watched it, if she were out with him. She's gone to bars with him before; he stands there with his hand over her drink like it's his job.

She misses him. She misses being in his arms. She misses the way he looks at her.

"El?" Penelope asks. She's ordered a basket of chips, and is eating them alone. She begrudgingly offers Penelope the basket; Penelope takes one. "How do you feel about… sugar babies?"

Eloise gives her a confused look. "What? Why?"

"Just something I was reading."

Eloise shrugs. "I mean, you know I think any advantage a woman can get in this world is worth it," she says, looking off, pondering. She jabs her chip into ketchup. "But if she's fucking the guy, that's different."

"Why is it different?"

"Because men will literally pay for feet pictures. Why give them anything more?"

Penelope nods, nibbling on her chip. "What if the sugar baby likes having sex?"

"Then she can have sex with people who don't try to buy her?"

"What if the person she's…sugar babying for is someone she really likes? That's what happens in the book. He was her friend and offered to start paying her bills and she'd…" She hesitates. "She'd been in love with him the entire time."

"That's pathetic," Eloise snorts. "Chasing after him for scraps. How does it end?"

Penelope shakes her head, looking at the bar. "I haven't finished it yet."