Page 52 of Between Now and Always

“Ah, Joe, I hear you’re a fellow Brooklynite,” Penn claps in delight, grasps Joes hands and beams at him with the same lovely warmth she showed me.

“Yes ma’am. I sure am. Thank you kindly for the invite. This is already the second best Thanksgiving I can remember in my whole life,” he says with more energy than he’s shown all day.

“You can’t call me ma’am, Joe. Everyone calls me Penn. And we’re so happy to have you two and Beth here, today.”

“What a beautiful home you have, Penn,” Porsha says, turning in a circle to take in the beautifully decorated apartment.

“Ah, thank you, decorating for the holidays is my favorite thing to do. I kind of go all out,” Penn claps her hands in delight.

She’s not kidding. The open concept space is home to her kitchen, dining and family room.

The furniture and appliances and finishings are all done in shades of cream, white and light grey. But from the accent pillows to the coffee table knick knacks, everything else screams “Thanksgiving Day.”

Pumpkin shaped candle holders adorn every table. A wreath of fall colored leaves is slung on the huge fireplace. A gold sign that “Gather” hangs above it.

The showpiece of the space is the huge dining room table that’s set up in the middle of the room.

“Hey guys,” Carter’s shouted greeting has us all turning around to see him jog down the stairs behind us. His grin is as wide as his whole face and he’s dressed in jeans, a white t-shirt with a turkey on it and is barefoot.

The five o’clock shadow is back and he looks so much like he did that summer. My whole body clenches when I remember the scrape of his beard on the inside of my thighs, while he treated my pussy like it was a delicacy.

I press my palms to my flaming cheeks, and Porsha nudges me, her eyes wide with “what are you doing?” My blush deepens, but I shove my hands into my coat pockets and hope that no one notices.

“Joe! You made it,” he grins broadly as he approaches.

“Sure did. Thank you for inviting me,” Joe sticks his hand out to shake it, and Carter grasps it, but only to pull him into a hug that Joe returns immediately.

I try to regain my composure. It’s really hard.

He’ssobeautiful.

Oh God.

Why do I want the only man I can’t have?

“Thank you for having us. This is Porsha,” I gesture at her.

She smiles. “Very nice to meet you, finally. I love your music.”

“Thank you. And nice to meet you, too.”

“Hey, Happy Thanksgiving,” I say.

He smiles. “You, too.” And then, he presses a kiss to his mother’s cheek and wraps an arm around her waist and looks down at her fondly.

“Penn has been going nuts all week. She’s been cooking for days and talking about you nonstop.”

He’s smiling like nothing is wrong, but I feel… rejected. I dart a glance at Penn and don’t miss the pained expression on her face before she clears it and smiles at me.

We’re saved from the awkward moment by the elevator’s ding. We all turn and as the door opens to reveal Nadia and the man she was with the night of the award ceremony.

He’s wearing a bow tie, a little less sedate than the brightly colored one he wore that night. I wonder if that’s his signature look.

His slightly square demeanor is tarnished by the hair mussed and sticking up all over his head and the hot pink smudges around his mouth that are the same color as what’s left of Nadia’s bright lipstick.

Her white blouse is untucked, her jeans partially unzipped.

Nadia, oblivious to the way they look sees me and her eyes widen with unrestrained glee.

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