Man Like Me

The weekend seemed painfully long and Penelope was anxiously waiting for Robert to arrive. She couldn’t even focus on her book properly, she just wanted to talk to him, see how he was and maybe know what he had done on the weekend. Penelope had started to wonder if Robert had a wife or a girlfriend. He was attractive she couldn’t deny that, so the most reasonable thing was that he was a committed man, which was why, Penelope didn’t want to get too involved. Suddenly she started replaying in her mind the last time she had seen him.

“Thank you.” I whispered as I grabbed tightly onto the back of Robert’s leather jacket. His hair smelled wonderfully, his cologne was appealing, his beard was sexy and I noticed that he seemed to be in a nice shape, his arms were strong and his chest was muscular. A small smirk grew in my face and I blushed madly, trying to push away all my thoughts about his attractive physic.

Suddenly he hugged me tighter, compressing me against his chest. I felt so comfortable in his arms and he hugged me like I had never been hugged by anyone else, only I knew how much I needed that hug.

“Honey? Is that you?” My mom spoke out of nowhere and my eyes widened as I pushed away from Robert and peeked down the hall. There was only a light coming from mom’s bedroom and I was slightly relieved that mom hadn’t decided to step out of her room. I glanced at Robert and saw him stand in a rigid posture, obviously nervous and I chuckled at him.

“Yes mom, it’s me!” I replied cheerfully as Rob picked Jarvis up carefully.

“How was the Theater?” Mom asked.

“It was very good, the actors were extraordinary! But I’ll tell you everything tomorrow, go to bed.” I replied, hoping that mom wouldn’t decide to go check up on me personally on that exact moment.

“Alright sweetie. Sleep well.” Mom replied and the sound of a door closing was heard. My breathing came back to normal, as so as, my heart beat and I took off my shoes and lead Robert outside without a noise. I found myself smiling again and there was a warm sensation in my chest. No one had ever been this nice or gentlemanlike to me before, so I loved Robert’s attitude.

“Thank you, again. It’s the second time you save me.” I said with a smile as I noticed Robert observing her intently. He looked extremely beautiful and handsome in that moment. It was perfection at its best.

“Don’t mention it. It was my pleasure.” Robert smiled back and I couldn’t help but smile wider and feel a slight heat rise to her cheeks.

We stared into each other’s eyes in silence and as Robert took a step forward somewhat nervously I took a step back clumsily, slightly flushed.

“I should get back inside…” I said nervously wrapping my hands around each other. I was slightly scared of what could happen if we got carried away.

“Yes, you’re right. It’s cold and you don’t have a jacket or any shoes.” Robert laughed quietly and I couldn’t help but to giggle.

“Good night.” I said, with a small smile.

“Good night.” Robert replied. As I walked back to my house I felt Robert’s eyes on my back the whole way.

“Good morning!” Robert’s cheerful tone made Penelope jump slightly as she widened her eyes and came out of her daydreaming state.

“Oh … hi!” Penelope smiled as she rested her hand in her chest, her heart beating really fast as her breathing started to calm down. She spoke shyly and as she glanced at his face, she felt her cheeks burning. Something was changing inside of her.

“How are you?” Robert asked. Penelope noticed he had sunglasses on but she could feel his gaze on her face and he was really interested in knowing.

“Better. And how are you? Enjoyed the weekend?” She asked still timidly as her thoughts started getting dirtier and dirtier. The attraction towards Robert was getting very physical but she wanted to stop herself from thinking like that, she felt like a pervert.

“Yes, Jarvis and I had a great time.” Robert said.

Robert seemed so calm but he was very nervous and he had come up with a brilliant plan. He would pretend to also be a fan of Tony Stark, mostly because he wanted a reason for Penelope to like him more and to talk to him but he would never tell her the truth. He couldn’t stand probably being pitied by her, he didn’t want to be seen as a victim who wrote most of his so-called ‘masterpieces’ when he was seriously depressed. He loved the way Penelope looked at him. To her he was just Robert from the train, who had a dog. Penelope saw Robert as a normal person, she made him feel normal because she knew so little but wanted to know so much and that made him appreciate her. All he wanted was to feel normal for a change.

“Are you still reading that?” Robert asked as he noticed Penelope grasping tightly onto ‘Flourishing’.

“Yeah, I’m pretty much hooked.” Penelope smiled nicely. She felt such a relief when the conversation turned to books that she became instantly confident.

“I’m reading it too.” Robert said with a grin as the train arrived and they sat next to each other.

They started discussing the book and Robert was impressed by Penelope’s ability to read more than one book at the same time. She was almost ending “Flourishing” and she had already bought “Nurturing”. Robert felt a huge feeling of pride fill up his chest, he was loving Penelope’s speech as she defended his books and characters, and he felt so honored to have her being such a fan. Normally, when he got fan mail, which he responded to, most of the letters made him feel that he was appreciated but Penelope was the final person he needed to hear to be sure that he was, indeed, a good writer.

“But don’t you think it’s too dramatic?” Robert teased. He was attacking his own work for his pure amusement. He liked to question everything, especially himself but right now,
Penelope’s slightly outraged reaction to his questions was delighting him. He had found something that made her tick. She established close relationships with characters and stories, so Robert’s work was perfect for her. She spoke of the book as if she was defending a friend of hers and to Robert she was the reader every writer wished to have as a fan.

“Are you kidding me? It’s absolute perfection! It balances feelings, with drama, with life and with reflections! It’s a magnificent portrait of human condition!” Penelope stated as she felt completely shocked at Robert’s opinion of the books. It was almost like he was making it on purpose.

“Alright! I see that you can turn into a lioness.” Robert laughed as Penelope blushed a deep shade of red. Suddenly she started spotting the Capital, so she placed the inside her bag while Robert put his sunglasses back to his face.

“Here we go. One more day.” Penelope said as she left the carriage and took a deep breath.

“Subway?” Robert asked and Penelope nodded. That was where they would separate ways.

“Then, see you later… maybe?” Robert asked. Penelope smiled widely in return and nodded with her head again as Robert was conducted by his impulses and leaned in kissing her cheek. When he realized what he had done, he quickly waved and left.

“He kissed my cheek.” Penelope mumbled still with her mouth hanging open as she touched her cheek with her fingertips. She remembered the feeling of his lips and his beard touching her skin and she blushed madly, despite her huge smile.

“I kissed her cheek. What a fool!” Robert thought as he walked like a madman. “She’ll probably think I’m a perv…” Robert regretted but he had no idea of how happy he had left Penelope.



Later that afternoon, Robert and Penelope met again on the train home but she was no longer as happy and Robert could feel it. Her presence seemed to have become heavy.

“What happened?” He asked as he glanced at Penelope’s face.

“Well…” She spoke “I have to do a course-work, it’s for Creative Writing. I need to write a love story with 50 pages.” She sighed because for the first time in her life, she didn’t have any inspiration. She was living her first writer’s block.

Robert had to hold himself not to squeal with excitement.

“Any mandatory themes?” Robert asked.

“Well no vampires, werewolves and fantasy in general. My professor wants us to explore the human emotions.” Penelope said as she sighed deeper and glanced at the blue sky. For a moment Robert lost himself in that picture. “Don’t get me wrong, I love human psychology. I’m just not a great writer.” Penelope said sadly.

“In that case, I can be of assistance.” Robert smirked.

Penelope immediately turned her face to him with surprise “How so?” She questioned.

“I like writing and I can help you develop a plot. But only if you want my help.” Robert said smiling.

Penelope seemed to ponder for a moment “Hmm… wouldn’t you mind?” She asked as she realized that she no idea of what profession Robert had.

“I would love- I mean, no. Of course I don’t mind.” Robert said his excitement almost pouring out of his veins. “What do you think about going to get some coffee?” Robert’s smile got wider as he sensed Penelope wouldn’t go back now.

“Sounds good to me. Tomorrow afternoon?” She asked rather nervously. Robert was aware that she was suddenly uncomfortable, but he wanted to prove to her that she could trust him.