Reckless

Seven years later:

Penelope climbed up the rickety ladder carefully. Disgusted by yet another group that had forced her to find a certain set of books but not even bothering to purchase them. Cursing silently to herself, she concentrated on not falling, as she hated to be up that high. She reached over and placed it in the empty slot when she heard the bell chime above the entrance signaling a new presence. She sighed. So much for hoping to be alone to study.

“I’ll be with you in a moment.” She yelled, as she began to climb down the ladder. She hopped off at the bottom step and dusted off the debris she had accumulated from being up at the densely populated top shelf.

She turned around, hands still attached to her shirt. A man had entered; tall, short brown hair hidden beneath a hat, and from what Penelope could see, a well toned physique. He had his back to her, perusing the bookshelf in front of him. But Penelope recognized him almost instantly.

A bright smile grew on her face. “Christopher Robert Evans!” She said confidently, placing her hands on her hips.

He furrowed his eyebrows, confused at who could possibly recognize him under what he thought was a well put on disguise. He turned around to look at the voice. His expression changed from confused to shock. “Penny?” He asked in disbelief.

She rushed at him and engulfed him in a tight embrace. He took in her tiny frame being in his arms again, something he’d thought he would never feel again. But just as quickly as it happened, she pulled away.

“Oh my god!” She said, looking him up down. “Look at you! You look so good!” The smile never leaving her face.

Chris shook his head. “Not nearly as beautiful as you.” He said, taking in her appearance.

She blushed and stammered out a “thank you,” before quickly composing herself. “What brings you into my neck of the woods?” She asked. She now lived in Rhode Island and attended the prestigious Brown University where she was majoring in Psychology.

“Uh,” He looked around as if to make sure they were alone, which they were. “Filming a movie. I had the day off, thought I’d do some exploring.”

“That’s great.” She was so proud of him for making his dream come happen. She had seen every single one of his movies and loved them all.

Chris looked around again worried a crazy fan would appear as that had been happening quite a bit lately and it made him slightly nervous still. A feeling he was sure he would never get used to. “Do you have some free time later?” He wanted to stay with her but had to run off to finish his errands. “I would really love to catch up.”

She nodded brightly, walking behind the counter pulling out a pen and paper. She quickly scribbled something before handing it to him. “Just call me later.” He nodded, stuffing the paper in his pocket. He hugged again before walking out with a promise to call.

Penelope felt extremely self conscious even though Chris had told her multiple times how amazing she looked. It was one thing to meet up with your ex-boyfriend, but a totally different thing if your ex-boyfriend was now a famous movie star. He was probably just saying that to be nice. She couldn’t compare to the models and actresses he probably surrounded himself with. Chris truly did think she was stunning.

Chris would be lying if he said there wasn’t a day gone by where she didn’t cross his mind at least once. This was the girl he’d been in love with since he was 16. He tried dating others since her, but none compared. He dreamt of the day they would see each other again, but considered it a long shot.

Penelope had tried to forget about Chris, her first love, after they broke up all those years ago, but just found it useless; especially since he was now a household name. She wanted to so badly try and contact him over the years just to see how he was doing but knew she would probably just be forgotten.

Now here they sat seven years later across from each other in a small, quiet restaurant. Nothing fancy, the last thing they wanted was to feel uncomfortable and intimidate the other. The waiter came by asking their drink order; Chris ordering a shot of patron to ease his nerves and cranberry vodka for Penelope.

Penelope looked at him impressed. “You remembered.” She said, as soon as the waiter walked off.

“Of course.” Chris smiled at her. “You used to down those things like it was water.” She nodded, remembering that was her choice of alcohol for every high school party they had attended. “I also remember,” Chris started, pointing his finger at her. “How mad your mom was when she took a sip of your juice only to discover the vodka that was in it.”

Penelope laughed. “Oh man. She went ape shit. I thought I’d never see the light of day again after that.”

“Three solid months of isolation only being let out for school.” Chris mused as he continued to remember the memory. “I thought I was gonna break my back trying to scale that brick wall to your room.”

Penelope laughed as the image flashed in her mind. Chris leaned back and looked at her. “So what’re you doing now? I thought you’d be taking over the world by now.” He asked, folding his arms over his chest.

Penelope shook her head. “Sorry to disappoint mister movie star.” He gave a light chuckle. “No uhm, I go to Brown, studying psychology. One day I’ll be able to sit across from someone and psychoanalyze them.” She raised her eyebrows at his body posture. “Much like the way you’re doing to me right now.”

Chris leaned forward. She was right, he had been doing just that, but not in a bad way. She was so different, yet still so the same. Her green eyes still glittered and her red hair was longer. She had gained a little weight, but he thought she looked better. She still had her witty sense of humor, but she had certainly matured bringing a whole new level of intellect. He felt as though he were falling in love all over again.

He quickly downed the shot the waiter had just bought him before focusing back on her. “Do you still dance?” He had always been enthralled by her passion of movement; the way her slender legs moved in rhythm to create a sensual, yet creative dance.

She shook her head no. “I got into a car accident a few years back and uh…” Penelope faltered a bit and took a sip of her drink. “Things just change is all.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” He said, boldly taking her hand in his. “I know how much you loved it.”

Penelope looked at their hands, noticing how much she missed the feeling. “Don’t worry about it.”

“So what kind of psychology are you looking to get into?” He asked, pulling his hand much to Penelope’s dismay.

“Sex therapy.”

Chris nearly choked on his water, not expecting the bluntness of her answer. She laughed at him.

“Why's that?” he smiled, clearly amused by the career choice.

“I like it. I want to make sure people can get everything they can from it.” She leaned forward, brushing her leg against his causing a small shiver to run through him. “Bad sex can ruin relationships?”

“You know this from personal experience?” He asked quietly, not sure why he didn’t stop himself. She had lost her virginity to him and though they were young, it was certainly good between them. Where they once shared everything together, now he didn’t know what he could talk about and what was off limits.

“Naah,” She shook her head and absentmindedly drew circles on the back of his hand. “Only been with one guy. And I’m fine with that.” She shrugged, keeping her eye contact on their hands.

Chris nodded. “I can respect that.” Deep down, though he would never admit it he was slightly elated that he was still the only one to experience that special moment with her.

“Though I have had fantasies about Captain America.” She mused.

“Does it count since I’m Captain America?” He laughed, his fingers gently playing with hers.

She giggled. The restaurant was slowly starting to empty out and she noticed they were one of the few left. “You wanna maybe continue this somewhere else?”

“Definitely.” He said, his grin growing wider.