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“When do we get to meet the famous Sam, huh?” Emily asks.
“Soon?” Spencer shrugs noncommittally, but he’s wearing the adorably goofy smile that’s kinda become his default expression in the last few weeks. It gives Penelope major cheek-pinching urges. She grins and takes a long, noisy sip of blue raspberry margarita through her straw.
Between him, and Emily and JJ finally making it official, it seems like there’s something in the air lately.
“I still haven’t even seen a picture of him,” Emily adds. “You know your phone can take pictures, right? Miracle of modern technology.”
“I can’t wait, Spence,” JJ says sincerely, sliding a little closer to Emily and kissing her on the cheek.
“Oh my god, can you stop being so stinkin’ cute for like a minute?” Penelope says happily. “I just love love, you guys. And tequila.”
“Cheers to that,” Emily says, raising her own massive frosty glass in a toast.
“Not that I don’t love being single, because I am a strong independent woman and also there are too many stuffed animals in my bed to fit another human in there with me, but you guys are totally making me wish I had someone to cuddle,” Penelope rambles. “Like… to smush me, y’know? Not even in a sexy way! I just want big muscular arms around me.”
“Well, why don’t we help you find somebody?” Emily offers.
“What’re you looking for in a guy, Pen?” JJ asks, gesturing around the crowded bar. “See anybody who’s your type?”
Spencer rolls his eyes. “She needs somebody intelligent, and you can’t gauge a person’s intellect by their physical appearance, so it doesn’t really make any sense to -”
“I know you think looks don’t matter, Boy Wonder, but they sure as hell don’t hurt,” Penelope interrupts him. Spencer just smiles to himself and looks down at his phone, distracted by a text.
“What about him, over there on the end of the bar?” Emily asks.
Penelope sneaks a glance and wrinkles her nose expressively. “Meh.”
“Yeah, maybe I’m not helpful here,” Emily says, shrugging. “What with the… gay.”
JJ slurps down some margarita and giggles. “All I see is suits. Nobody’s colorful enough for her.”
“That is true,” Penelope muses, looking around.
“Even your tongue’s colorful,” Spencer remarks, and Penelope sticks out her tongue and crosses her eyes trying to get a good look at it.
“Ooh, over there,” JJ says. She’s not even a little bit subtle as she gestures with her drink.
“Yeah, you don’t need any more of that,” Emily mutters, smiling fondly as she relieves JJ of her glass and hands her a water.
“Bar, right behind you. Lumberjack Ken. With the muscles,” JJ hisses, and Penelope turns to look.
“Wow, okay,” she blurts out. The guy is tall, head and shoulders above most of the crowd, and she can see some serious muscles under his plaid shirt.
“Oh my god, dimples,” JJ points out. Penelope realizes she’s staring, and turns back to the table.
“Huh,” Emily says, with an appraising look over Penelope’s shoulder. “Yeah, okay, even I can admit, that is a good-looking man.”
“Don’t laugh at me,” Penelope scolds Spencer, who’s grinning in a distinctly shit-eating kind of way. “That sort of bone structure just begs to be appreciated. Also, talk about arms, am I right?”
“Well, you’re in luck, because he’s coming this way,” Emily remarks.
Penelope flushes. “Oh, god, do you think he saw me staring like a creepy creeptastic creep? I just wanted to admire from a distance, I wasn’t going to talk to him.”
Emily and JJ are both staring, but Penelope can’t bring herself to turn around again.
“Hey,” Spencer says casually. Lumberjack Ken hands him a fresh soda and wraps one big muscled arm around his shoulders, and then Spencer tilts his chin up for a quick kiss.
“This - you’re…” Penelope squeaks.
“Sam. I’m so glad to finally meet you guys, I’ve heard so much about you.” He aims his blinding dimpled smile around the table at each of the girls in turn; JJ and Emily look just as stunned as Penelope feels. “Sorry I’m so late, traffic was bad.”
The earnest blue-green eyes are almost too much, on top of the sweet, warm smile. He’s like the world’s most jacked puppy.
“This is Penelope, JJ, and Emily,” Spencer says, pointing around the table.
“It is so nice to meet you,” Penelope manages, finding her voice again even though her cheeks are burning.
“Spence,” JJ sputters. “Why didn’t you tell us he was coming?”
“I thought it’d be fun to surprise you,” Spencer says. His voice is innocent, but he’s smiling the smuggest smile Penelope’s ever seen on his face.
“Consider us surprised,” she says weakly.
“Don’t let me interrupt, though,” Sam says. “What were you guys talking about?”
Penelope’s mouth drops open in horror.
“How intelligence is much more important than physical beauty,” Spencer replies cheerfully.
“Says the guy with the cheekbones that could cut glass,” Sam teases. He looks down at Spencer with an expression that can only be described as besotted.
“He’s got a point, Spence,” Emily says wryly, and gives Sam a pointed once-over. “Easy for you to say.”
“If I didn’t love you so much I’d totally hate you,” Penelope agrees. “I don’t suppose there’s any chance you have a brother, Sam?”
Sam and Spencer exchange a look before saying, in unison, “Well, actually…”