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Penelope raced out of her flat, barely managing to keep her skirt from twisting around and her purse from spilling all over the floor as she struggled to put her shoes on. She tripped out the door, her heels barely staying on, and inserted her key into the lock as quickly as possible. Of course, today of all days, the lock would decide to give her a hard time, choosing to do that annoying sticking thing it did on occasion. After struggling with it for a good 3 minutes, she finally managed to get it locked before she twisted away from her place with a huff.
Damn it, she thought. She was going to be so late. She knew she shouldn’t have pressed snooze on her alarm so many times this morning, but after having stayed up so late last night working on her newest article, she couldn’t help it; the bed was just so inviting and the blanket was so warm. How was she supposed to say no to that? She hoped her title as the magazine’s money-maker, the notorious but ever secretive gossip columnist, Lady Whistledown, would help her stay on her boss’s good side.
Guess I’ll find out, she mused to herself, hoping against all hope that Lady Danbury was in a good mood today and would be lenient with her for arriving so late.
She rushed down the hallway towards the lifts, praying they were cooperating today and that they weren’t all jammed with rowdy kids, or worse, someone with awful B.O. Thankfully, luck seemed to be on her side for something, as she noticed that one of the doors was just about to close and that it was heading down.
“Hold the door,” she screamed to the occupant, sending a massive thank you to the universe as an arm emerged from inside, preventing the door from closing just in time.
Penelope all but ran to the lift, skidding inside and nearly took down the handsome stranger she had actually been eyeing for months. She had seen him in passing throughout the hallway and lobby, immediately spotting him when he moved him as it was almost unheard of for people her age to live in this flat complex. It was typically filled with senior citizens and small families, so when this living Adonis had suddenly appeared, Penelope had absolutely taken notice. She was too shy to introduce herself to him though, and she assumed he would never go for someone like her anyways.
“Sorry,” she squeaked when her hands landed on his chest, trying not to notice how sculpted his muscles were under her fingers.
“No problem,” he replied, smiling down at her. She couldn’t help but notice the dimple in his right cheek when he did that and tried not to swoon even more. It wasn’t fair for someone to be this attractive.
She quickly removed her hands from his chest, smoothing down her skirt in a nervous attempt to distract herself from thinking about anything but the man standing next to her. It seemed that was for naught, though, as he had other ideas.
“I’m Colin, by the way.”
“Penelope.”
“Nice to meet you, Penelope. I’ve seen you around a few times but haven’t had the chance to introduce myself yet. It seems fate has stepped in, though,” he said, and the charming manner in which he told her that, and the fact that he had taken notice of her too, made her stomach swoop in a way that had nothing to do with the movement of the lift.
“Oh,” she murmured in reply, unsure of how else to respond. She could feel her face blossoming into the telltale signs of a blush, her face suffused in a rosy hue. She knew it was probably completely unflattering, but she couldn’t help it as she was completely flummoxed by Colin and his flirting (was he flirting? She wasn’t sure.). Just being in his presence was sending her brain into overdrive, her thoughts spiraling in a million and one directions, so having him tell her that he had wanted to meet her for a while felt like too much to comprehend.
“Yeah, I’ve definitely noticed you since you’re so-“
His reply was cut off as the lights began to flicker off and on before they cut off completely, followed by the lift grinding to a screeching halt. Penelope let out a little warble at the sudden jolt, pressing herself flat against the back walls of the lift.
“Are you okay?” Colin asked worriedly, whipping out his phone to shine light on them. He also attempted to call the building super, but let out a sigh resignedly when he noticed he had no signal. He turned his phone to show her the lack of bars, grimacing. She took her phone out in an attempt to also call for help but noticed she, too, had no service.
“Yes, thanks. Just didn’t expect that. Also, now I’m thinking about how I’m really gonna be late for work and hoping my boss doesn’t absolutely murder me. She’s not exactly the most forgiving person about that kind of thing.”
“Well if she does, you can always come back and haunt her,” he teased her. Penelope laughed at the unexpected response, turning to face him in the dim light. She turned her phone’s flashlight on to assist with the lighting situation before plopping on the floor, twisting her legs to the side to avoid accidentally flashing Colin. He took the hint as well, sliding to the floor beside her and placing his phone in flashlight mode facing up so that they could see relatively well in the tight space.
“Any idea how long we’ll be here,” he asked.
“No idea. I’ve never been stuck in a lift before. You?”
“Nope. Wanna find some way to pass the time?”
She looked at him skeptically, unsure of what he had in mind before he quickly clarified at her hesitance. “Talking! I meant talking! Not anything weird or creepy!”
She snorted at his attempt to mollify her before she nodded, allowing him to initiate the conversation since he was the one who had brought it up.
“So, where are you from?”
“Really? That’s how you’re gonna start this,” she quipped, raising an eyebrow in amusement at his stereotypical (and almost date-like?) inquiry.
“I panicked, okay! You’ve got me a little flustered here.” She wasn’t sure how to interpret that, but chose to ignore it, despite the massive amount of butterflies that erupted in her stomach.
“I’m from London. Very exciting, I know. You?”
“Me too. Any siblings?”
“3, all sisters. How about you?”
“7.”
“7,” she guffawed. “Your poor mother!”
“I know,” he smiled, his eyes taking on a wistful quality. “She had her hands quite full with us, especially my youngest siblings. We were definitely not an easy lot to take care of. But we love each other immensely and look out for one another even now.”
“Your parents must love each other a lot to have had so many children.”
“They did. My dad passed when I was 12.”
“Oh Colin, I’m so sorry. My dad passed when I was 16, so I understand,” Penelope told him, reaching out to place her hand over his lightly as she attempted to offer him comfort. She could tell that even after all this time, it still hurt for him. She had never been overly fond of her own father, but the wound still smarted every now and then.
“Thank you,” he said, turning his hand over to interlace their fingers together. Penelope’s hand tingled from the increased contact, though she hoped Colin couldn’t tell anything was amiss with her. She squeezed his hand, hoping it conveyed a sense of sympathy.
“Tell me about your siblings,” she said, trying to steer the conversation back to lighter topics.
“Oh boy,” he told her, his face taking on a nostalgic quality as he began to speak earnestly about them. “Well Anthony is the oldest and he’s kind of a prick, although he’s less so now that he married Kate, who’s great. I can’t say I blame him for being that way though, since he had to take on a lot of responsibility after dad passed. Then there’s Benedict, who’s an artist and is kind of wild. He’s married to Sophie, who’s very sweet. There’s Daphne, who can seem soft-spoken until you upset her and then she’s pretty fierce. She’s married to Anthony’s best friend, Simon. Eloise is my next youngest sister and she is… let’s just say you don’t want to get on her bad side. She is also very opinionated and will let everyone know it. And I mean everyone. Franchesca is pretty quiet, but she also has a great sense of humor. And finally, Gregory and Hyacinth are my two youngest siblings and basically go at each other like cats and dogs any chance they get. My mum basically has a hard time keeping them from flinging food at each other at the dinner table every night.”
“You really love your family, don’t you,” Penelope said, admiring the way he spoke about his siblings so fondly. Her relationship with her own family was so strained, she couldn’t imagine speaking about them so positively. Felicity was the only one she had any semblance of a decent relationship with, and she was off at university, so Penelope hardly got to see her and only spoke with her via text since they were both so busy with work and schoolwork, respectively.
“I do,” he replied, grinning at her. “They’re not always the easiest to be around and we don’t always get along, but I wouldn’t trade them in for the world. And I should know, since I’ve basically been everywhere.”
“Oh wow,” Penelope breathed. “That sounds incredible. Do you have a favorite place you’ve visited?”
Colin’s face scrunched up in thought, his mouth tilting adorably to the side as he pondered her query. His face really is so unfairly attractive, she mused, trying not to stare at what she surmised must have been the world’s most perfect eyebrows.
“Probably Bali. The culture there is incredible! The natural landscape is so gorgeous. And the beaches are absolutely stunning! You should definitely check it out sometime,” Colin’s response shook Penelope from her thoughts, giving an internal sigh of relief that he was too swept up in his own recollections to pay attention to the woman practically drooling sitting right in front of him.
“I’ll put it on my list, although I doubt I’ll be able to go, what with my complete lack of funds. But a girl can dream, I suppose.”
“I guess I’ll just have to bring you with me the next time I go,” Colin said, accompanying his reply with another heart-stopping smile and a wink, which shocked Penelope into silence. She felt her cheeks heat once more and lowered her eyes to her lap, hoping the low lighting provided by the cell phones would hide her blush.
“You’re really gorgeous when you do that, you know,” Colin told her, untangling their hands and reaching out to lift her chin so she could meet his gaze.
“Do what,” Penelope whispered, her voice having left her as soon as she felt Colin’s fingers touch her face.
“Blush. It gives your cheeks this pink color and makes your freckles stand out even more. It makes me want to kiss them.”
“What?” Penelope stammered, unsure if she had heard him correctly. She could feel her pulse thumping in her ears and was having trouble concentrating. It felt like she was going to wake from this dream at any moment.
“I’d really like to kiss you, Penelope. If that’s okay,” Colin murmured, tilting his head to the side in question. Penelope could only nod her head enthusiastically in assent, as words had left her head as soon as Colin had spoken. Colin chuckled good-naturedly before pulling her face towards his, enveloping her lower lip in his.
Penelope was not new to kissing. She had kissed many people during her life and while they had all (for the most part) been enjoyable, none of them compared to the absolute heaven that was Colin’s mouth on hers. She swore his mouth was made for kissing, his plush lips perfectly wrapped around hers. She felt hungry for him, wanting to do nothing but sup at his lips for the rest of her days.
When his tongue tentatively brushed against her lip, she opened her mouth willingly, letting out an involuntary moan as their kiss deepened. Her fingers carded through his hair as his moved to frame her face more intently, angling it so that he could get her as close to him as possible.
She took this as a sign to move closer, all but crawling into his lap. Colin groaned at this, moving one of his hands down to her hip to adjust her further onto his lap so that she was now perched directly over his groin, while his other hand moved to her hair. Her skirt limited her ability to fully take advantage of the position, but she made do, leaning into him as much as possible as she began kissing her way down his neck and towards the collar of his shirt. She enjoyed the noise Colin made as she sucked on his Adam’s apple, the vibrations sending a thrill straight to her core. She continued making her way to the other side of his neck before she began planting kisses all along his jawline and then made a path back to his mouth.
Evidently Colin thoroughly appreciated what she was doing, as Penelope could feel the evidence of his desire underneath her growing steadily the more she did. She felt powerful, using what little leverage she had to pull him closer as their mouths continued their endless dance with one another. She never wanted to stop, and it seemed neither did he.
The hand on her hip had begun to move further down, molding to her arse and giving it a generous squeeze. Now it was Penelope’s turn to make the obscene sounds as he fondled her, her eyes rolling back into her head. She didn’t think it could feel so good to be touched this way, but Colin’s hands felt like they were made to give her pleasure.
Just as Penelope was about to see if she could get Colin to take his shirt off, the lift suddenly flooded with light as it began its descent down again. She and Colin separated, looking at each other before they both burst into laughter. They swiftly disentangled themselves from one another, moving to grab their phones off the floor before standing and looking at each other.
“I’ve been wanting to kiss you since I first saw you,” Colin said, moving to tuck a piece of hair behind Penelope’s ear.
“You have?” Penelope replied incredulously, awestruck that this handsome man wanted her of all people.
“Yeah,” he told her, smiling down at her. “You’re beautiful, Penelope. I’ve been trying to figure out how to ask you out, but never got the opportunity. I’m kind of glad we got stuck in here today.”
“Me too, although I’m not sure my boss would agree,” she laughed.
“Well, if she gives you any trouble, I’ll come in and confirm that you really did get stuck in a lift. In the meantime, would you like to have dinner with me tonight?”
“I’d love to,” she told him, her grin nearly overtaking her face. Penelope couldn’t believe how her luck had turned around today. She couldn’t wait to tell Edwina about this.
Suddenly, she remembered something Colin had said about one of his brothers.
“Wait, you said that Anthony was married to someone named Kate, right? Does Kate happen to have any sisters?”
“Uh, yeah. One. Why?” Colin responded as though she was coming from out of nowhere with this question, which, to be fair, she kind of was.
“Do you know if her name is Edwina, by any chance?”
“Okay, how do you know that?” Colin looked down at Penelope in puzzlement. Just as he asked her that, the lift came to a stop, except this time, it was to their intended destination. The doors opened and they walked out together, pausing in the lobby before they knew they had to head off in their separate directions.
“Edwina is one of my closest friends and she talks about Kate all the time. I only just realized that your brother was her brother-in-law. Isn’t it funny how that worked out?”
“I can’t believe it. What a small world!”
“Even smaller when you’re trapped in a lift together,” she replied cheekily.