Strictly Roommates

Two Months Later

Penelope's POV

Penelope smiled at some of the older ladies who were waving at her. It had been a while since she had come home, but she was glad she was here.

She had spent the majority of the summer on the west coast with Brent, spending his Stanley Cup day with him and his friends and family. It had been great, but not the same as Stanley Cup day with Jon here in Winnipeg. But he didn't call her when he got the cup, and she assumed he'd be spending it with Lindsey anyways. Instead, she saw photos online of Jon with the cup and his parents but no Lindsey. Maybe they had broken up after all. Not that Penelope would know, as communication between her and Jon had decreased gradually. The last time they spoke to each other, it was just a random text message two weeks ago.

But she knew he would be here tonight. Here, at a beautiful golf course a few hours away from Winnipeg, celebrating the wedding of one of their close childhood friends. The ceremony had been beautiful, and Penelope found herself almost in tears as the bride and groom said their vows.

After the dinner, Penelope found herself on the dance floor with Tom, a guy from her elementary school. He was telling her how he had spent his whole life living in Winnipeg and how he didn't understand why people move away from such a great place. Penelope spent the entire time trying not to tell him that it's guys like these that drive people out of this city.

But then right on cue, a tall, tan, handsome man came to her rescue. He politely asked to cut in, and Tom willingly accepted after realizing it was the famous Jonathan Toews asking.

Penelope looked down at the ground. It had been a long, long time since she had seen him in person, and the dark grey suit he wore didn't make it any easier. But she told herself to calm down, and looked Jon straight in his beautiful brown eyes.

"Jon." She said politely.

"Long time no see, Pen." He gave her his famous half-smile, half-smirk. Penelope wanted to punch him in the gut for having the ability to give her butterflies even after so long.

She nodded silently, choosing to sway to the music instead. She glanced at the bride and groom, completely oblivious to the people around them. She envied them. She wanted that - to be so completely in love that nothing else mattered.

"Where's Brent?" Jon asked curiously.

Penelope snapped her head back to Jon. "He's in Vancouver," she said casually.

"Why didn't you bring him?"

Penelope shrugged. "Just felt like I needed some alone time to visit my family and friends. We've spent the whole summer together."

"Trouble in paradise?"

Penelope gave Jon a small smile. "No, everything's fine."

--

Jon's POV

He didn't like the way Penelope was so reserved. He wasn't used to this. He was used to them being able to tell each other everything. But he found himself in the same position. He wanted to tell her that he and Lindsey broke up, that he found her fucking another guy on HIS bed when she thought he was away for training camp. How he suffered a minor concussion and that was the reason he had to go back to Chicago in the middle of camp. How he wasn't even sure if he would be able to play at the beginning of next season. How the Stanley Cup day had sucked without her by his side. But he didn't know where to start, didn't know whether she was his to have anymore.

"You look nice," Jon started, gazing down at Penelope's red cocktail gown.

"Thanks," she said.

He studied her eyes. There was something wrong, and he could tell by the way her eyes faltered whenever they met each other's gazes. But he also knew she wasn't ready to share, so he figured he would open up first in hopes of getting her to share her feelings later.

"So... Lindsey and I broke up. You were right. I found her and another guy in my bed back in Chicago."

Penelope grimaced. "I'm sorry, Jon. That's something I don't want to be right about."

Jon shrugged. "Shit happens, I'm not dwelling on it."

Penelope nodded. "You okay?"

"I've been good, just spending some down time with my family here, catching up with some old friends, but I wish-"

Jon was interrupted by a loud applause. "All you unmarried ladies... come on down for the bouquet toss!!"

Penelope untangled her arms from Jon's neck. "I'll be back. Hope I don't get trampled over by some of these desperate bitches."

Jon laughed and watched her walk off. He watched a handful of girls stand in a crowd, waiting anxiously for the bride to toss her bouquet.

"3...2...1....go!!" Jon watched the pretty bouquet of pink peonies fly through the air and a massive number of hands travelling in its direction. He shook his head. He did not want to be in that crowd right now. He watched a bunch of people tumble to the ground, and then he saw Penelope emerge from the crowd, hair undone but with the bouquet in hand.

"I got it!!" She yelled, grinning straight at Jon.

He couldn't help but smile back. He had missed her.

--

Penelope's POV

Penelope had spent the rest of the evening dancing, drinking wine, and indulging in little desserts. It was the perfect summer wedding.

"You wanna walk back to the hotel, Pen?" Jon asked, leaning against one of the lighted pillars.

Penelope nodded. She was happily buzzed, and totally ready to hit the sack. She had gotten up early to drive to the golf course.

She took off her strappy heels and walked quietly, her shoes dangling in one hand. She and Jon made small talk, slowly easing back into the patterns of their old friendship.

Before she knew it, they were in the elevator.

"I'm on floor 18, what about you?" Penelope asked.

"19." Jon answered with a smile.

"Of course," Penelope laughed softly.

They rode the elevator in silence, both of them happily but silently enjoying each other's company. The elevator dinged and the doors opened to floor 18.

"Well... here's my floor. Good night, Jon. It was so great seeing you." Penelope pulled Jon into a quick hug.

Jon reluctantly let go. "I'll walk you to your room," he decided.

Penelope didn't argue. A couple more minutes with her old best friend didn't hurt.

"So you excited for the upcoming season?"

Jon cleared his throat. "Yeah...it's gonna be good." He lied. He still hadn't told Penelope about his injury.

"Alright, here's my room." Penelope said softly.

Jon nodded. "Good night, Pen." He leaned in and placed a small kiss on her cheek, breathing in the familiar scent that was his best friend.

"Good night, Jon." she whispered, brushing his hair out of his eyes. It was getting a bit long for the summer time.

He watched her fish the key card out of her clutch before starting down the hallway back to the elevator. Penelope had the door half open when she heard Jon shuffle back.

"Pen-" Jon said breathlessly.

"Yeah?" She waited, the door propped open by her elbow.

"Did you wear that dress for me?" Jon asked.

Penelope looked offended. "Excuse me?"

"You. Did you pick that red dress because you knew you would be seeing me tonight? Because you know how much I love you in red?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but Brent actually picked out this dress."

Jon scoffed. "Does he like white lingerie as well?"

Penelope's smile faded. "What the hell, Jon? Did you peek down my dress? What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Jon leaned against the wall. "Answer the question, Pen."

Penelope stepped inside and threw her clutch on the bed before stepping outside the room again. "Why would I know what kind of lingerie you like?"

Jon laughed. "Don't pretend like you don't. I bring you to go lingerie shopping with me for all my girlfriends."

Penelope swallowed hard. She never minded before, but the last time she and Jon went to Victoria's Secret it had been particularly painful. Jon had picked out a beautiful white lace teddy for Lindsey, claiming how nice white looked against tan skin and how it made all girls look virginal and innocent.

Penelope shook her head. "You're ridiculous, Jon. Get over yourself. Good night." She walked inside.

"Wait-" Jon said, slapping his palm on the door to prevent her from slamming it in his face. "Can I come in?"

"No, Jon. You may not. I think you've invaded enough of my privacy for one night."

Jon pleaded silently with his eyes. "Please, Pen. Just five minutes."

Penelope could never resist his eyes. Before she knew it, she was opening the door for him. "Fine, you have three minutes."

"Pen, the summer has been miserable without you. I went to Toronto to train with some of the other guys in the NHL, but ended up getting a minor concussion after being hit in a practice game. I went back to Chicago wanting to just rest in my bed, and instead I find Lindsey and some douchebag fucking on top of my bed spread. I came home for my Stanley Cup day, but my head just throbbed the entire day and it just wasn't the same without you. The doctor said I shouldn't be doing any strenuous activity, but I've just been working out to prevent myself from going crazy. The whole summer, all I wanted to do was see you." Jon took a deep breath. "Now that you're here, I'm completely unprepared. I want to fix our friendship. I want it to be like old times. Just us, lying on the couch, eating ice cream and watching movies. But really, I just really, really, want to do this." Jon leaned down and put his hand on her cheek before placing a soft kiss on Penelope's lips.

Penelope pulled away. "Jon, I-"

Jon nodded. "I know, you're dating Seabs. You guys are serious. I'm sorry."

Penelope looked up at Jon, her eyes filled with uncertainty. "I-"

"Shhh, Pen. It's gonna be okay." He wrapped his arms around her waist before pulling her in for another kiss.

This time, Penelope didn't pull away. She felt her shoulders sigh with relief, as if a weight had been lifted off her. The kissing got more heated as the two made their way to the bed.

Penelope didn't want to stop. She knew that once she paused, her conscious would catch up with her actions and she couldn't have that right now. She straddled Jon's lap as she unbuttoned his dress shirt.

Jon flipped them over so that her back was on the bed and he was on top of her. "You thought I would never figure it out, didn't you?"

Penelope couldn't think. "Figure what out?"

Jon smirked. "That we slept together. That perfume smell in my apartment drove me nuts for weeks. But slowly it started coming together. I remember how much you liked it when I did this..." Jon said, nibbling gently at the sensitive spot on Penelope's neck. "And this..." he said, reaching under her dress to stroke her inner thigh gently.

Penelope moaned. Being with Jon felt so, so good. "Stop talking, Jon. Just get to work."

Jon grinned. "Yes, ma'am."

--

Jon's POV

The next morning Jon woke up happily, his arms wrapped around Penelope and the familiar scent of her shampoo filling his nose. She rolled around in his arms so that she was facing him.

"Morning, Pen." He said, placing a kiss on her forehead.

"Mm, morning." She replied, snuggling into his chest.

"So...are we gonna talk about last night?" He asked, twirling her hair around his finger.

Last night had been amazing. After a hot first round of sex, the two of them had laid down and told each other every detail of the summer. Then Penelope explained the full events of that faithful night between them. And confessed how she hadn't been able to get Jon out of her mind since then. They ended the night with slow, passionate, toe-curling sex.

Penelope sighed. "I'm going to talk to Brent. Give me some time.

--

Two Weeks Later

Jon had returned back to Chicago for preseason camp, having been cleared by the medical team to play. Penelope had decided to stay for a couple weeks in Winnipeg before going back to work in Chicago.

"Hey, baby, still not sleeping?"

Penelope smiled at Jon's voice. "Soon, just finished having dinner with my cousins."

Jon laughed. "Tell them I say hi."

"Will do, good night, Jon."

"Good night, Pen."

Penelope hung up and changed into her pajamas. Suddenly, she felt her phone vibrating again.

"Yes, Jon?"

'One more question." Jon asked. "Will you move in with me?"