That’s a Wrap

“OK, Penny, just move a little closer to Aubrey. Great…stay right there! Wow, I can’t believe how similar you two are,” said the photographer.

I did all I could not to roll my eyes. It was the last promo shoot before we launched them on Jan. 1. Then my January would be filled with a media tour, all the while I’d be getting the Tonight Show page ready for our Super Bowl special. Needless to say, 2015 was going to start off crazy, but I was loving every second of it.

But this photographer was crazy. Wanting us to pose in all these weird positions. Make the same faces, etc. I mean, did he not understand the point of us looking alike was on purpose? She was playing my alter-ego in a series I created. Whatever. We made the most of it.

“That’s a wrap ladies! Thanks for being awesome!” he said.

“So, what are you doing for the holidays?” Aubrey Plaza asked as we collected our things after the shoot.

“Christmas Eve I’ll be heading to Trent’s uncle’s house and then Christmas Day I’ll be going to see my parents. You?” I asked.

“Heading to L.A. tonight to see the family. Well, enjoy and I’ll see you next year for our media tour. You’re doing great for a first-time writer/producer,” she said, giving me a hug.

“Thanks!”

After the shoot, I headed into the Tonight Show offices to grab a couple things so that I could work from home while I was off for the next week and a half. Yes! You read that right. I was actually going to be off and doing nothing for 12 days straight. And of course, I’d be working, but in the comfort of my sweats and a big glass of wine.

“Hey babe, almost done,” I said, swinging by Trent’s office before I headed out.

“Yes,” he said smiling. “Want to get a drink?”

“Sure. Can we drop this stuff off at your place though?” I asked, motioning to the bag full of notebooks and my laptop.

“Yea. But there’s no guarantee we’ll make it back out,” he said, raising his eyebrows.

“Oh really?”

“It’s been a long time, baby. I’m horny.”

“Trent! It’s been three days!” I said, laughing.

“That’s three days I haven’t been inside you…”

“True. OK. I’ll get us some beer on the way to your place and I’ll be waiting for you…”

“Naked?” he finished for me.

“Yes, naked.”

************

“Hmmmmm. Perhaps I underestimated just how much I missed you?” I said, as he slipped two fingers inside me and continued working his tongue magic.

I screamed out and arched my back, pushing myself further as he brought me over the edge and kept me there.

“Welcome back,” he said, as he kissed me and hovered over me.

“Oh no, baby. After that, I need a short intermission, roll over,” I said, pushing him on his back and kissing my way down his body.

After a while of him squirming as I swirled my tongue around him, he said, “Baby, if you want to fuck, you better get on top of me now, I’m really close.”

I happily obliged and rode him until we both came. OK. Well, he let me come a few times and then came. But who’s counting?

************************

“And this is my aunt Gertie and uncle Dave,” Trent said, introducing me to the rest of his family. It was the first time I was meeting his extended family and I was only a little overwhelmed. Not by meeting everyone, but by how welcoming they were. In all my relationships, I rarely, if ever, met anyone’s family. But Trent was so eager to introduce me and I could see why. They were fantastic. I immediately felt comfortable and quickly fell into conversation with Gertie about work.

After dinner, I curled up on the couch with Nick as he showed me some of the presents he got. I looked up and saw Trent smiling at us across the room and I knew there was nowhere else in the world I’d rather be than right here with Trent and his family.

Christmas Day was just as amazing at my parents house.

We exchanged gifts later that night, and each one (and there were several which I wasn’t expecting), was more perfect than the one I previously opened. I honestly didn’t even know when he had time to shop for me, but he put so much thought into each one, it almost brought me to tears.

“Merry Christmas, baby,” he said as we cuddled in bed that night.

“Merry Christmas. Thank you for an amazing holiday season,” I said, kissing him.

“Thank you! I didn’t know how this year would pan out with my divorce, but meeting you was the best thing that could happen to me.”

“I love you,” I said smiling.

That night we made love nice and slow before we drifted off to sleep with smiles on our faces. Yea, I had a pretty good feeling 2015 was going to be an even better year.

Last Christmas

“What started out as doing me a favor because I had just met a guy, turned into something amazing for Jess. Who knew that a sort of blind date would turn into something forever. And when Jason proposed at the Islanders game, we all knew they were perfect for each other. So let’s raise a glass for Jason and Jess!” I said, holding up my glass, while everyone clinked and said cheers.

After my speech, I headed out into the hallway. I didn’t feel like listening to Tony’s best man speech. Plus my maid of honor duties would be over soon.

“That was a great speech, babe,” Trent said, putting his arms around me from behind and kissing my neck.

“Thanks,” I said, turning around to face him. “Crap.”

“What?” Trent said, turning around to see Hillary coming up to us.

“Hey Penny,” she said, looking from me to him.

“Hey Hillary, this is Trent,” I said introducing them as they shook hands.

“Do you think we can go somewhere to talk for a bit?” she asked.

I had managed to avoid her for much of the night, but I knew it was inevitable. The truth was, I knew she wanted to talk about Tony and her relationship, and possibly ask questions about our relationship, since I wasn’t entirely sure how much she actually knew. But I just didn’t want to open old wounds. It was over. And now with April pregnant, there was just no way I could ever even consider staying friends with Tony.

“Um, sure,” I said.

Trent gave me a look to ask if I was OK, but he knew I would be. He kissed my cheek.

“Nice to meet you, Hillary,” he said.

“He seems nice,” she said, after he walked away.

“He is. He’s great. So what did you want to talk about?”

“Do you want to go get a drink at the bar?”

“Sure.”

We walked over and sat down in the lounge area.

“I just want to apologize to you. It seems that Tony wasn’t entirely honest with me about your relationship. I had no idea you guys dated for over a year. I actually found out from Jess and Jason a little while ago…”

“Hillary, I told you at the engagement party we had lived together…”

“He had just said he was crashing on a friend’s couch while his mom updated the house he had lived in.”

“And you didn’t find it strange that you were never invited to that said friend’s house,” I said, using air quotes.

“No, he’d just come and pick me up when we’d go out. And then he kissed me at the New Year’s party…”

“Wait, he kissed you?” I said, raising my eyebrows.

“Yea. And when I asked what your relationship was with him, he brushed it off and said you guys were just friends.”

“And you didn’t find it strange that we went to bed together that night?”

“Not really. He and I sleep, well slept, in the same bed all the time. But since he started dating April…”

“Hillary,” I said, cutting her off. I’d heard enough. “I appreciate your apology. I know it probably wasn’t easy coming to me like this.”

“I just didn’t want there to be hard feelings between us. I feel horrible for the way I’d treated you. I just had no clue.”

“It’s fine. I get it. We got played, well, sort of,” I said. “But I’ve moved on and I’m in a really good place. And I hope you are too.”

“I am. Well, I’m dating some people. So we’ll see how they pan out. We should hang out again for real, though.”

“We should,” I said. “You know how to reach me.”

*******************************

“So are you going to hang out?” Emily asked later that night.

“Meh. I’ll see how I feel and where I’m at. She just reminds me of him. It’s unfortunate.”

“Who cares? Let’s go dance!” she said, pulling me on the dance floor with the girls.

As a slow song came on, I looked around for Trent and made eye contact with Tony. Ahh! He started to make his way over, but Trent intercepted before he could reach me.

“There you are!” I said, wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing him.

“How did your chat go?” he asked.

“As expected.”

“I can’t wait to spend the holidays with you this year,” he said, changing the subject.

“Me too. It’s amazing how fast this year went and what a better place I’m in this Christmas than last. Thank you,” I said.

“For what?”

“For being you and making me smile each and every day.”

I could see Tony out of the corner of my eye. I felt a very small pang in my heart. But it wasn’t a pang of longing or regret. It was a pang because I felt bad. I just hoped he’d be happy with April or whoever he’ll end up with. Yes, he hurt me. But we’ve all been hurt before. And sometimes people just aren’t right for each other. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Life and love are about trial and error. But eventually you’ll land on your feet and be really, really happy.

“What are you thinking about?” Trent asked.

“Life.”

“You’re nuts. You know that?”

“So, you’ve told me. Now, let’s get out of here. I’m horny.”

“And she’s back, folks,” he said, laughing and leading me off the dance floor.

Snow Turned Into Rain

You know that song “Same Old Lang Syne” by Dan Fogelberg? I only listen to it during Christmas time, but it’s not really a Christmas song. Anyway, I’m writing this while Jess gets ready to walk down the aisle, literally. And that song came on the radio and I just laughed because I knew that it would be a long while for Tony and I to get to that point when I’d actually want to be in the same room with him to catch up, just as the song is about.

There is someone I would like to catch up with who came up randomly this week. I guess being very happy in my relationship with Trent made me a little curious about what Scott was up to. Lizzy and I decided to look up him up on Facebook. And imagine my surprise when I saw photos from his wedding. And I had a slight pang of jealously and then I just smiled because he seemed genuinely happy. It’s not that I don’t think he was happy when we were together, but it’s a different kind of happy. I understand now that some people just aren’t made for each other. When you realize that, it’s easy to let all those sad and depressed feelings fall away and be happy for someone who you used to love. And that’s how I felt when I saw photos of him and her. All those times he tried to catch up, I had brushed him off and treated him like crap wasn’t really right of me. But I guess seeing as how deep down I wasn’t in the right relationship myself I could see why I felt that way. Now, though, now I could almost see myself reaching out to catch up and get to know the girl. Almost.

That said, the rest of the week went by pretty smoothly. The photo shoots were a nightmare, but I got through them. Mostly because they wanted me in them and I HATE being in front of the camera or the spotlight. I guess I should have thought twice about that before I decided to make my own TV series. It’s different when Jimmy features me in segments because I’m playing a stupid part or bit.

And then Thursday rolled around. I told Trent not to worry about taking off for the rehearsal dinner because it would just be chaotic non-sense. But in the end, I wish I had him there.

*********

“OK. Can I have the maid of honor and best man, please?” said the wedding coordinator.

Tony and I smiled politely at each other as the coordinator explained to us that after the ceremony we’d have to go back into the church to sign the marriage certificates. We went through the motions during the rehearsal, me walking down the aisle by myself and then linking arms with Tony going back down. I could see April burning a hole through me as that happened, which was completely unnecessary.

“Oh my God,” Emily said, handing me a glass of wine. “Did you see her? She’s a house.”

“Oh, I saw her,” I said, taking a gulp. “She was glaring at me the whole time. Which is really, really dumb. I don’t want her stupid baby daddy.”

“Maybe she’s just jealous because she’s fat now.”

“Well, she should have thought about that before getting knocked up.”

“I hope their baby is ugly,” Emily said.

I almost spit out my wine. “You’re awesome,” I said, smiling.

“Come on, let’s go be social,” she said, and we walked back into the restaurant.

My phone buzzed a little while later, right before cake.

Hey babe, I’m outside the restaurant, should I just come in? Trent texted.

I practically ran outside and into his arms.

“You’re here!” I said, kissing him.

“I am. I knew you’d need me, so I left right after the show,” he said, hugging me tightly.

“I love you,” I said, not able to wipe the smile off my face. “Let’s go in, they are about to do cake.”

“Great! I love cake,” he said.

“No you don’t,” I said, laughing.

“I know, but I love you.”

As we walked inside, it was more than April who was staring a hole into me. Tony was glaring at me as April hit his shoulder, bringing him back to reality.

“Is that him?” Trent whispered to me as everyone moved around the table to make room for him.

“Yup.”

“Wow, she’s huge,” he giggled. “And not very attractive. I definitely am the winner in all this.”

“I didn’t know it was a game,” I said.

“It’s always a game, sweetie. Should I go introduce myself?” he said, laughing and kissing me gently.

“There will be plenty of time for that on Saturday. Behave yourself for tonight. And you can get your prize later.”

He just raised his eyebrows as I brushed my hand between his legs underneath the table.

*******

On the way out of the restaurant, my phone buzzed with an email. It was from Hillary. I hadn’t seen her since the shower, and even then we were both just cordial toward each other.

To: Penny R.
From: Hillary
Saturday

Hey Penny.

I just wanted to see how you were holding up. I know the rehearsal was probably tough for you. I was hoping we could chat a bit before the wedding, but it looks like we’ve run out of time. I hope that I could get your ear a bit on Saturday, though. I think I need to clear the air about some things.
-Hillary

That was something I wasn’t expecting. The problem is, I think I already know what she’s going to say. But I did email her back and said I looked forward to chatting with her at the wedding.

Well, the snow has turned to rain or rather has disappeared, so Jess is pumped. And I’m being called to take some photos before the church. You’ll hear all about the wedding soon!

Most Wonderful Time of the Year

“OK, you have an interview with EW Wednesday morning, then US Weekly. But you can phone that one in. Then, I have a list of questions that you can just answer by Thursday morning for some other websites that want to feature stories on your show,” Anna said, as we went over my week’s schedule on Tuesday.

Monday, I basically went straight from the airport to work, which was fine because I was thoroughly relaxed and fucked. I was actually surprised I got a tan down there, as we spent a lot of time in the hotel room.

“Grrr. That’s a lot of interviews,” I said, sighing. I hated being the center of attention. I almost wished I could send a proxy ‘me’ out on these media things, but I know it’s important for my face to be seen. And it’s been getting a lot of buzz. Anna has been doing a great job with the social media aspect.

“Well, only one is in person, and you love Entertainment Weekly, so I figured you’d want to be there for that one,” she said. “Then, do you want to go over next week’s schedule?”

“Sure, why not?” I said. I knew I had signed up for this, but it was just getting so crazy.

“Monday and Tuesday, you have to be there for the promo shoots, which are in a studio in mid-town. Thursday night is the dress rehearsal for Jess’ wedding. Saturday morning you have an early appointment for hair and make-up….”

“Got it. And then the wedding I’ve been dreading for the past eight months is in the afternoon…”

“Why dreading?” she asked, then realized why I said it. “Right. Sorry.”

“It’s fine. I’ll just have to see him and her one last time, then that’s it. I won’t ever have to see them again.”

“At least Trent is coming with you,” she offered.

I smiled. “Yea.”

It was a good thing that I was so busy, because I hadn’t really give that much thought into seeing Tony and April at the wedding. I could picture it already though. With her pregnant, he’ll probably get really, really drunk and embarrass himself or something. Whenever he’d get together with Jason, that’s what they’d do anyway. Which is why I wasn’t planning on getting drunk. Just a couple drinks to loosen up, and then maybe sneak off with Trent somewhere.

*********

“So I have some news,” Josie announced at the girls dinner Thursday night. I normally don’t make the girls dinners because I’m working at the Tonight Show, but with the show’s cancellation due to Jimmy’s new baby (yes, I kept that one a secret too), I joined them at the last minute.

“You’re pregnant!” Mandy said, guessing for us all.

“Yup! I’m due in June,” she said, smiling.

“Ohhh! Jayden will have a birthday month buddy!” Emily said, getting excited.

“So many babies and weddings!” I said, actually happy for everyone this time around. I had a lot to be thankful and happy about.

“When are you getting married?” Mandy said, looking at me.

“Really? You’ve been with Jeff for like two years now. I should be asking you that,” I said, turning the attention off me.

The truth was, I had a really good feeling that things may be headed in that direction with Trent, and I didn’t want to ruin it by talking about it. Plus it was scary. The last time I had that discussion with a guy, he broke up with me. It was a sore subject. And it was a good time of year for good things to be happening. The tension was high last year around this time with Tony, and after such a great Thanksgiving with Trent, I knew Christmas would be even better.

**********************

“What do you want for Christmas?” I asked Trent as we lay in bed together Friday night.

As he lazily ran his hand up and down my stomach, I ran my along his back.

“Oooo, baby. That feels so good,” he said. “I just want you in a bow.”

“Really? Well, now you ruined my surprise,” I said.

He looked up at me and smiled. “I love you.”

“I love you too. But seriously, what do you want? You have everything already.”

“I’m sure you’ll think of something. I don’t really want anything though. I don’t want you spending a lot on me.”

“I know that, but I have to get you something!”

“Socks?” he offered.

“You do seem to need socks, I’m always washing the ones you leave here.”

“My feet are always cold, just like yours,” he said, putting his feet on mine. “Like ice.”

“Yes.”

“You’re perfect, Penny,” he said, kissing my belly button and moved lower. “Now, what do you want for Christmas?”

“You to stay down there all night,” I said, moaning and pushing my hips up for easier access.

“Done,” he said, smiling as he dipped his head and licked my sweet spot.

Yes, it was going to be a very good Christmas this year. Now, I just had to get through this crazy wedding weekend for Jess and I could focus on everything else.

Greetings from Puerto Rico!

*Editor’s Note: This entry was written a few days ago.*

What a difference the second time around makes? I’m sitting here, sipping on some fruity frozen cocktail while enjoying the sun and listening to my honey sleep beside me. Who knew over six months ago I would be this happy?

Thanksgiving was a whirlwind, but so much fun. In fact, I can’t even remember the last Thanksgiving I had that was just so fun. Trent helped me put the finishing touches on my desserts, lots of cookies and treats and then we headed to my parents. While Trent had met my parents already, and they loved him, it would be the first time meeting my grandmother and my aunts and uncles. And not surprising, they loved him too. But it was funny to see my aunts get all flustered around him because he was a ‘celebrity.’

“So, what’s it like to meet celebrities?” my one aunt asked.

“Um, you guys know I meet them a lot more than Trent does right?” I said, insulted.

“You don’t count,” said my uncle, laughing.

“OK. I’ll be sure to remember that when I write you out of my show…” I said, laughing too.

“How is your show going?” my cousin asked.

“It’s great! We finished filming a few weeks ago and now we’re editing. The launch date for Netflix is in February,” I said smiling, as Trent squeezed my hand.

“Wow, that’s so exciting!” she said.

“Yea, and nerve-wrecking. After it launches, the network will let us know if we get a green light for a second season, but I still have to outline everything in case we do…”

“They would start filming pretty quickly after the first one is released,” Trent finished.

“How do you find the time between that and Jimmy?” she asked.

“Um…I sleep when I can. My mind is always going a billion miles a minute with ideas for the show and for Jimmy. I can’t keep them straight sometimes. But I do have my own assistant, which is so foreign to me.”

“And we’re going to Puerto Rico tomorrow and we’re not thinking about work for three days,” Trent said.

“That’s right! You really do live the life,” she said.

It was nice to be home and bring me back down from my crazy cloud of work and non-sense. After Trent went to pick up his son to go to his parents, I gossiped with my cousins some more about him. Because what else would we do?

“He’s really nice! So personable!” she said.

“Yea, he’s a good one.”

“Is it weird with his son? Or his ex-wife?”

“Eh. We’re limiting time with his son for a bit. We need to figure out what we’re doing. We know this is for real, but don’t want to upset his ex or get attached too quickly. And his ex is a whole other story…” I said, launching into the craziness that was Melanie for a while.

****************************************

We took an early flight Friday morning so we could maximize our time down there. After sleeping the way down, we headed straight to the hotel room to break in the bed.

“You are so sexy,” Trent said, as I put on my bikini. “I can’t keep my hands off you.”

He untied my bikini bottom, as he caressed my ass.

“We’re never going to make it to the beach at this rate,” I said, as he pushed me on the bed and kissed my thighs.

I moaned as he worked magic with his tongue.

“I don’t hear you complaining too much,” he said, looking up at me.

“Shhh. Don’t stop,” I said, pushing his head back down.

After I came at least three times, I reached down and tugged on his shorts.

“No, no. We have to go to the beach. There’s drinks with our names on them…” he said, moving out of my grasp.

“Not so fast mister,” I said, pulling him back down. I reached down and stroked him until he was hard again. “Mmmm. That didn’t take much.”

“It’s you Pen. You do incredible things to me. I’m always turned on,” he said as he slipped inside me.

**************************

And as Trent sleeps beside me, I know I shouldn’t be on my laptop, but I can’t help it! I’m so happy I’m afraid the other shoe will drop. But I have to go with it. I plan to just lay here for the rest of the trip and get drunk and have sloppy sex. And then wake up and do it all over again for another day before heading back to the craziness that is my life. But I wouldn’t change a thing.