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Love and Lust Among The Bookshelves - TheLadyIsAVamp and Gina In Orange

Penny about choked on her drink. Whatever way she had expected Bella to react, floating the idea of a union between them was not it. After a hard swallow, she managed to clear her airway again. As she looked at her friend across the table, Penelope could not tear her eyes away from the roguish expression decorating the gorgeous woman's face. "Not bad at all!" she retorted, trying to sound affronted at the suggestion, teasing as it was.

In the back of her mind, Bella started to pop up in the frame of some of Penny's wedding imaginings. The multitude of dresses she had looked at and tried on found themselves wrapped around the blonde woman's enchanting curves. Flashes of her dancing, cutting a cake, simply wearing her irresistible smile while dressed in white brought a secret smile to the redhead's lips. It was unrealistic without a doubt, but certainly not a bad thought.

Before she could move on from that fantasy the dresses from her memory drifted out of sight, replaced instead by an image of the lingerie that Penny had recently looked at for her first night as a newlywed. Although instead of picturing herself wearing it to surprise Malcolm, it was Bella dressed in the alluring outfit, with that same mischievous smile. The thought seemed to bring with it a tingling sensation to several places about her skin, as well as a dizzying lightness to her head. Penny's eye's darted swiftly to the side, suddenly finding it difficult to look her friend in the face. The last several sips of her drink vanished in a flash.

Penny exhaled softly as she tried to make sense of those thoughts, and just where this conversation was going. Finally, she said, "Let's say we did get married." Her gaze drifted back to Bella, a new playfulness showing in her face. "Where would you take me on our honeymoon?" The ice in her glass clinked as she set it down on the table.
 
It was a curious feeling, being so enamoured with someone she knew was taken. As far as she knew, Penny wasn't even interested in women sexually or romantically, but as the literary greats always said - the heart wants what the heart wants. There was no reasoning with her emotions, no rationalising them away. She giggled at Penny's obvious surprise, her mischievous side clearly enjoying the effect it was having on the redhead, especially seeing how flustered the other woman was becoming. Penny was now well and truly on the recieving end of Bella's playful sense of humour.

Yet it wasn't long before the tone of the conversation shifted and Penny began turning the tables on her. A little shiver of excitement passed down Bella's spine as Penny's face took on a playful look, one that made her look so beautiful and tantalising that it almost knocked the blonde sideways. No-one had ever floored her with a look before, not like this. God forbid Penny ever give her proper come to bed eyes. She'd either pass out on the spot or lose all self-control and just launch herself at the other woman. She leaned forward as Penny spoke, her expression and body language conveying keen interest in the other woman's words. Her heart was starting to beat faster as her mind whirled through all the possible options for where they might go on a hypothetical honeymoon, but really, the answer had been there right away, as if her subconscious had already mused over this without her knowing.

"You're probably expecting one of those traditional answers like Hawaii or somewhere hot and exotic, but no...I think I'd take you to England" she said, eyes fixed on Penny as she took a sip of her drink. "Do you know why? Because I'd want to take you to Oxford, specifically the Bodleian library. It's a massive, cathedral-like place with a history that goes back to the 14th century, and the library has more than 13 million books inside, including Shakespeare's First folio, a Gutenberg Bible, and Charles Darwin's 'On the Origin of Species.' Plus, England has so much rich history and literary culture. I can't think of anywhere better for someone who loves books and history as much as we do. Just imagine us curled up on a leather sofa in the Bodleian library together reading through original copies of books few people will ever get to see in person, books that are hundreds of years old and have shaped history..."
 
Penelope sat in rapt attention as Bella seemed to answer her silly hypothetical with what seemed like absolute sincerity. Every word was laced with an infectious excitement, that drew Penny further into this imaginary future. Bella's use of Hawaii as an example stuck her with a wry smirk. That was quite literally Malcolm's only suggestion for their honeymoon destination, citing that it's warm, safe, and English speaking. Not that Penny wouldn't enjoy a Hawaiian vacation. She was far more the beggar than the chooser when it came to actually taking a holiday. Hawaii though, did not light a fire in her green eyes the way that Oxford's historic library did.

"Yes...please. That. I want that." By then, Penny leaned rigidly forward in her seat, as if that would bring her closer to making the idea a reality. Her inner book nerd shown out brilliantly like a pair of diamond coated reading glasses, not that it was ever far from the surface to begin with. "God. Like, for obvious reasons, we can't just go and elope...but can we still go do that anyway?"

In her excitement, Penny chattered on a string of thoughts as they came to mind. "Malcolm would be bored beyond reason, but we don't need to invite him. Maybe we don't tell him about this conversation, "she said, casually mentioning her fiancé by name for the first time. "Oh, and we can visit all kinds of book shops, see Stratford-upon-Avon and The Globe. I know it's a rebuild, but I still want to see it. I would probably read through all of Dickens again if we went to London..."
 
The imaginary future Bella had weaved for them was captivating, and far more exciting than the blonde's own future was shaping up to be. No matter how she looked at it, the idea of doing those things with Penny was what made them exciting. She could picture goimg to those places solo, and she could picture herself going with one of her friends, but it would never be the same as sharing it with Penny.

So when the redhead sat forward enthusiastically and said the wanted it, Bella's heart skipped a beat. Possibly more than one. She sat further forward too, looking deeply into the other woman's eyes as a look of pure excitement crossed over her face.

"We can absolutely do that! And we should! You and me" She said enthusiastically, taking Penny's hands and holding them in her own. "We don't need someone with us who won't appreciate it, so leave him behind! It can be a girlfriends' trip away, just for us! We'll visit the library, check out all the book stores, stop for coffee in the historic cafes, have lunch and wine in old British pubs, go for walks along the rivers and stop in at ancient cathedrals and the theatres, take in a live Dickens performance on stage, we'll do it all!"

Bella grinned happilly and slid her fingers between Penny's, holding her hands more intimately without even realising she was doing it . "When shall we go? Next month?'
 
Penny enjoyed the gentle warmth of Bella's hands holding hers. The small gesture made her want to follow the other woman anywhere she suggested.

‘Next month…’, she thought. How romantically spontaneous that would be. Were Bella a love interest instead of a friend this would fall nicely into a romance novel. To meet someone mere months before her late summer wedding and then follow them on a whirlwind vacation that changes both of their lives. It's more than a little cliche, but all genres have their tried-and-true tropes. While it's certainly not unheard of for said love interest to start out as a friend before their feelings properly develop, that's where reality rained down on the fantasy. Penelope was neither bi nor gay. Her dating history had as many Y chromosomes as partners. None of them even had gender ambiguous names: Jacob, Vince, Paul, and now Malcolm. Malcolm who would soon be her forever partner. Should she really go off on some spur of the moment trip with someone she'd just recently met when she was supposed to be completing planning on her wedding? A life spent doing the responsible thing said 'No'.

Penny said, "Maybe."

"I need to check my calendar," she added, her voice losing some of that confidence and enthusiasm. "There’s just so much going on this summer.” She started thinking through her mental checklist of all the pressing tasks she needed to sort out in the coming weeks: finish the guest list, order the flowers, get alterations on her dress, get a hair stylist, book a band, pick a reception menu... The list seemed to get longer faster than she could address it. Penny managed to just stop herself short of listing them off out loud to Bella.

Withdrawing her hands, from Bella's she rubbed her fingers along both sides of the bridge of her nose, a habit she carried on from when she wore glasses regularly.

"Ugh, I don't want to think about that now." She reached for her glass, but its contents were reduced to grape sized ice cubes in an alcohol flavored, water bath. "I definitely need another drink." She met her eyes to Bella's, her face reflecting the need to be whisked away from another troubling situation. "Then I need you to make me go dance. Please?"
 
Bella waited with bated breath for Penny's reaction, noticing suddenly how much she wanted to enact this crazy plan with her - to run away with Penny for a few days and take in the joys of historical literature with someone else who'd truly appreciate it.

The relief she felt when Penny didn't outright dismiss the idea was palpable. She grinned and gave Penny's hands a squeeze while nodding excitedly. "OK! I'll do the same! Let's check our calenders and see when we have some free time that matches up! Even if we can't do our faux honeymoon, maybe there's somewhere closer to home we can go. Leave it with me, I'll look into it!"

Her energy had returned to its normal bubbly levels, restored by the excitement of possibly going somewhere with Penny, just the two of them. They'd probably need to room somewhere, and the image of them both slipping naked into the same hotel bed and smiling at one another crept into her mind.

She giggled at her companion's request and stood up to get the next round of drinks in. "Now these sound like tasks I can handle! Just be prepared to have dancing with anyone else feel boring after a turn on the dance floor with me" She said playfully, shooting a wink at Penny as she walked past.

A few minutes later she was back with their drinks. She placed Penny's in front if her and took a large sip of her own as she sat down. The alcohol was giving her a happy buzz now, but it was Penny's company that truly had her buzzing.

"Do you get a chance to go out and dance much?" She asked curiously. "I think I'd go mad if I couldn't let my hair down every now and then!"
 
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