# Royal Pains

## Magnolia Robbins

### Contents

1. Penelope

2. Astrid

3. Penelope

4. Astrid

5. Penelope

6. Astrid

7. Penelope

8. Astrid

9. Penelope

10. Astrid

11. Penelope

Epilogue

Stay in Touch
Copyright © 2017 by Magnolia Robbins. All Rights Reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of very brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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## 1

# Penelope

I am late. Horrendously late.

"Brutus for the LOVE of GOD, GO PEE!" My voice comes out in a hushed and snappy tone. He looks up at me with his big brown eyes and rolling tongue and I swear he's mocking me. It is all I could do not to throw the leash on the ground and let him roam free down the New York City streets.

Finally, the English bulldog manages to find a small spot he likes and relieves himself. We run back up three flights of stairs to my father and my lofty apartment and I let him romp around. I scatter to the kitchen and pour Smokey some food. As I set it on the floor he rubs against my legs and I lean down and scratch him behind the ears. He purrs for a minute before stuffing his cute little kitty face in his dinner.

Only recently had my closet acquired a new selection of clothes. Where there was once a collection of band t-shirts and well-loved jeans, now contained a few sets of dresses and blouses from which I pick through at rapid speed. I decide on a light purple dress that the stylist at the department store said "would bring out my eyes". Whatever that meant.

Once I change, I run to the kitchen again to check on the lasagna in the oven.

Good, it still needed a while longer. Wait, that was bad. Very bad. I needed to be out of this house and soon.

I rush to the bathroom to find that my short blonde hair was going in eight different directions. After fidgeting with it for a while, I run a straightener through it as best I can and wear it like normal. That is a fight I'm not going to win. My new contacts proved to be another losing battle, so I reluctantly settle for my glasses.

As soon as I give myself a good look-over in the mirror, I realize there are remnants of Brutus and Smokey all over me. I do my best to remove the evidence as I make my way back into the living room.

_"We're reporting live from the small country of Liechtenstein, where the royal family is celebrating the birth of their newest son, Jakob Vogt III. The Vogt's have reigned over this sixty square mile nation for hundreds of years."_

The news on the television flickers off and I toss the remote on to the couch as I move into the kitchen. When I check on the lasagna, the cheese is browning nicely on top. It smells delicious when it comes out of the oven. I cut a small slice for myself and scarf it down.

Afterward, my sloppy handwriting makes its way on a post-it note for my father. I slap it to the counter next to the rest of the lasagna. _Enjoy! I'll see you tomorrow. Love you, Penny_

It's almost too painful for me to look at the time. I give Brutus and Smokey some love before I leave. Then I stumble out the door in my high heels towards my old Subaru parked out front of the complex building. As usual, the neighbors have left me barely enough room to back out onto the street and it sends me into a small panic.

As I'm getting in my car, the drizzling rain starts. If I hadn't already been mind-bogglingly late, the crappy weather hadn't commenced, and I wasn't wearing two-inch heels, I would have opted to walk the eight blocks to the University. Instead, I made the even worse mistake of getting into Manhattan traffic.

Obscenities fly as I sit, not very patiently, to make it to a parking space near the building that I could only pray the social was being held in. As I find my way out into the street, I feel my leg give out from under me and a loud snap fills the air. My entire body nearly crumbles to the ground, but I manage to catch myself on the side of my car. As I hobble to the street curb, the rain starts to pelt down.

With one missing heel, I rip open the back door of my car, digging through mountains of crap I should have removed years ago for something else to wear. A pair of old black and white converse sneakers appear in the pile and I stuff them on my feet without thinking twice about it. I check the time as I rush to the meter to pay. I was now officially an hour late. Damn it.

My credit card flies into the machine at lightning speed, and I wait for it to finish the transaction. Just as I feel as if the night couldn't get any worse, I turn toward the road. A car came to a rapid stop, its wheels tossing up street water into the air. It is like the world moves in slow motion for those few seconds and I know that it is coming for me. A shower of a disgusting dirty mess, drenching me from top to bottom.

I stand there on the side of the road, contemplating turning around and walking back home when I hear a faint call over the traffic noise. The car that has wreaked havoc on me parks and I watch a woman run down the sidewalk toward me. She is beautiful, with golden blonde hair and wearing a striking black dress. If I hadn't had been wet, freezing to death, and pissed off to all hell, I would have taken good note of her.

When she reaches me, she holds her umbrella over top of my head, and I let out a shivering laugh, in spite of everything. As if that was going to do any good now.

"Are you alright?" I can tell by the expression on her face how terrible she felt. Suddenly it is very awkward to look her in the eyes. My heart races as I try to think of something to say.

"I'm fine," I reply, feeling the puddles of water surrounding my feet in the sneakers I now wore. From the backseat of my car I pull out a pair of jeans and an all too familiar band shirt from my undergrad years out and stuff them into my arms. As I look up at her again, my eyes grow wide. By the look on her face, she has came to the same realization.

"Are you a new med student?" she asks me, and my heart skips a beat. I nod to her, and she smiles. "I'm Astrid." I watch as she holds out her hand to me.

"Penelope," I reply, barely managing to shake her hand in return. "Call me Penny." She has a striking accent. German, I think. When she finally releases her hand from mine, I can breathe again.

"I'm so sorry again," she smiles at me embarrassed. The two of us start down the street towards the building. "Are you sure you're alright?" I nod, and she looks relieved. "At least we have a fun party to look forward to."

Yes, fun. If you thought socializing with a bunch of strangers that would be your competition for the next four years was fun. Then, sure.

As soon as we make it inside, I make a b-line for the bathroom, separating myself as far away from the beautiful lunatic driver as I can.

I grab a handful of paper towels from the dispenser on the wall and make my way into a stall to remove the sloppy wet dress from my body. As soon as I get back into dry clothes, I feel much better. The hand dryer runs non-stop for a long time as I hold my converse sneakers up to dry. Just as I'm finishing, a woman enters, and I panic. "It's occupied!"

Except the woman had dark brown hair and looked nothing like Astrid. I feel myself getting horrendously embarrassed. "Oh sorry, I didn't mean to intrude on you. I just really need to—" She motions towards the stall, and I nod. When she comes out again, I am putting on my shoes once more. It feels much better now that I'm not squishing around.

"Oh thank God, I was about to burst," the brunette woman says and smiles at me. I can blood rushing to my face, and I look away for a moment trying to calm myself. She washes and dries her hands and then comes to face me.

"I'm Charlotte," she says, holding out her hand. What is with people and the hand shaking? I guess I needed to start getting used to it. She had an accent too, from somewhere in the south. If I had to take a guess, it was likely Mississippi or Georgia, but they all kind of ran together for me at that point. "You're Penelope Waters, right?"

I am quite sure my surprise is written all over my face. She laughs a little when she looks at me. "I am a notorious internet stalker, I apologize. I like to get a good idea of my competition ahead of time." Somehow, in spite of the fact that it really was kind of creepy, she makes it seem less so. Maybe it was the way she smiled at me.

"Well, it was nice to meet you, Ms. Waters. I'll see you outside." I watch her till she disappears out of the room and then breathe a sigh of relief that I'm alone again. It takes me another few minutes to work up the courage to go out and face my peers but finally I manage. I leave my ruined dress in the bathroom to retrieve later.

Much to my displeasure, the room is filled with people. I wander in carefully, heading towards the bartender at the far end of the room. "What'll you be having?" He asks me, and I am immediately flustered.

"Do you have a menu?" I reply, and he looks at me funny.

As soon as I hear her voice, my heart feels as if it is leaping from my chest. "You should try Apfelwein," Astrid says beside me. I stare at her for a moment confused. "Hard cider," she smiles, correcting herself.

Instead of arguing, I nod to the bartender, and he goes to fetch me one. When I turn to her, she is still smiling. It sends a shiver through me, and immediately I am very uncomfortable.

"I don't drink either," she admits, sitting down in the seat next to me. "Hard cider is my favorite. Especially if you like apples."

"How do you know I don't drink?" I manage to ask.

"You asked for a menu," she notes, giving me another one of her smiles and I have to look away from her when she does, embarrassed.

When the waiter brings me back the drink, I can smell the alcohol in it. Good, whatever it took to make me not feel like I wanted to get the hell out of dodge. Astrid watches me as I take a small sip. Before I knew it, I have taken another, and another. She smiles pleased when I finally set it back down on the counter.

"I like apples," I say quietly. If she doesn't quit smiling at me, I'm liable to drink the entire rest of the drink in one fell swoop. We swivel on the barstools and look out at the crowd together. I can almost spot the first year students by their nervous body language when they approach others. It makes me relieved that I wasn't the only one that felt as if I might explode from anxiety.

Once I've finished most of my drink, I finally have enough courage to speak to her.

"So are you from Germany?" It was the first thing I could think of to say. "I was just wondering because of your accent." She takes pause for a moment before she nods.

"Did you know Germany was the first country in the world to adopt daylight savings time?" I ask her. _Way to go, Penny, that's a show stopper right there._

I'm surprised when Astrid looks fascinated. She sits through my random facts as if they are the most interesting thing in the world. When I've finished, she laughs.

"I didn't know someone could know so many interesting things about a country," she smiles at me and it makes my heart do crazy things in my chest. As she is about to speak, she lets out a string of tiny adorable sneezes.

"Are you alright?" I ask her when she's finished. She nods and hops up from her seat. "Come on Penelope, I think it's time we go introduce ourselves."

"My name is Penny," I remind her as we walk down into the crowd.

Astrid and I make the rounds through students and faculty. I can't tell if it's the alcohol or the fact that she does most of the talking when we approach people, but suddenly I don't feel as nervous anymore. Charlotte and I meet up again, and I introduce her to Astrid.

"Now, you're a bit of a mystery," Charlotte says when she looks at her. I can only assume it's about her stalking. "You do a very good job of keeping yourself a secret." Astrid's face looks about as uncomfortable as mine had when she met me on the side of the street outside. "We'll have to keep a careful eye on this one," Charlotte says, and the three of us laugh.

"Hello ladies," a lanky young man approaches us with thick swoopy brown hair and dainty looking everything. He flashes us a smile, holding a drink in his hand. "I'm Oliver." I guess he was likely a native to the same area Charlotte was from, judging by his accent. He wraps his arm around Charlotte's waist, and she swoons over him, giving him a soft kiss on his cheek.

The four of us chat for a while until the music starts to play. I watch as small groups of people congregate out to the center of the room. If socializing wasn't enough, dancing was the worst. Charlotte and Oliver apparently liked making bad decisions because as soon as the crowd began to gather, they started to make their way in it.

Astrid and I watched from the sidelines for a song or two. Whitney Houston comes on to the speakers, and she looks to me playfully.

"No," I say firmly to her, and she lets out a little laugh.

_"I want to dance with somebody,"_ she sings along, in an adorably off-key voice that mixed with her thick accent was hard not to smile at.

"How do you know this song?" I say loudly over the music. She just smiles at me, nodding towards the crowd of people dancing.

_"Feel the heat with somebody."_

"No," I tell her again, trying my best not to give in. My face is flushed to the point it is burning.

She continues singing, and before I know it, I feel her hand wrap around mine. Her touch sends a shiver through me. Even in my extreme displeasure, I let her drag me out. We find our way next to Oliver and Charlotte, and for the first time in a long time, I let myself go.

When I find myself looking at Astrid, swaying to the music and smiling at me, I realize I'm in big trouble. I am about to embark on the four most difficult years of my life, and I have already made a fatal mistake, and it wasn't even my first day.

I like her. I like her a lot.

## 2

# Astrid

The Manhattan skyline stretched around me in every direction as I made my way outside the airport. The sun was just starting to set, filling the skies with brilliant pink and purple hues. While I'd visited many times over the years, it was vastly different from the views of the Alps out of my window, the tree covered hills and the grassy plains. Yet every time I saw it, it was just as breathtaking.

"Get out of the way, lady!" A man yells at me, and I realize I'm standing in the middle of the doorway.

"I'm so sorry!" I apologize, dragging my luggage down the sidewalk. He gives me a strange look before he makes his way across the street. As I stand and admire the view, I hear a car honking. When I turn to look, my cousin, Zoe is hanging her head out of my Aunt Nina's SUV, waving at me happily.

As soon as I reach her, she wraps her arms around my neck through the window.

"How are you, Liebling?" Darling. I laugh, hugging her back.

"Get in, get in!" Nina calls to me, and I swing my luggage into the back seat, hopping inside. Zoe and I continue our extended hug as soon as I can reach her again.

"You two act like you haven't seen each other in years," Nina says as she makes her way out onto the city roads.

"It feels like years," I sigh, squeezing her shoulder. It had only been a few months since we'd last parted ways. I look out the window as the city begins to engulf us. Buildings surround us in every direction as we make our way onto the highway.

"Did you have good flights?" Nina asks me. "Your mother just called to see if you arrived safely." My mother, always one step behind me.

"I'm glad it's over," I reply, taking a long deep breath. It is a whole exhausting day of flying to get to New York.

My aunt's sixty-fifth-floor penthouse in Manhattan never ceases to amaze me. It is like a mansion on top of a building. Far larger and grander than anything anyone could ever need or want, but Nina had always been larger than life. "If you have the money, why not spend it?"

The two story windows fill my view in every direction as the elevator doors open. It is luxuriously white and clean, just the way she likes it. Zoe leads me up to the guest suite, like a private home for all the visitors my aunt had. Now, at her insistence, it would be my home for the next four years of my life.

After I unpack, my cousin comes back bearing a gift wrapped in a department store box. A beautiful black cocktail dress lies inside. We stand for a moment, admiring the view through the large glass windows that line the room.

"Do you think the dress will work for tonight?" Zoe asks as I pull it from its resting place.

"It's perfect!" I smile at her, and she hugs me.

Zoe stays and helps me get ready. Even though it's only been a few short months, I crave her company. Never having a sister, she is as close to one as I know. Outside of the fact that I love the city, if there is another reason I came here for school, it is her.

As Zoe finishes fixing my makeup for me, Nina knocks.

"Come in!" We both call and I hear her wander inside. Even for a guest space, the place is so big it takes her a minute to find us.

"Oh, Schatzi," _Sweetheart_. She says when she sees me. "You look beautiful." Zoe stands proudly beside me as I get to my feet.

"All thanks to the amazing artist," I motion towards my cousin who takes a small, proud bow.

Nina holds her cell phone in her hand and hands it to me. "Do you want to talk to your mother?" I really didn't, but I would anyway. I make my way out into the living room, taking the phone from her hands. My breath rolls in and out a few times before I speak.

"Mama?" I sit down on the plush white couch, putting it to my ear. "How is baby Jakob?"

"Joana says he's well. A perfect little angel."

We exchange pleasantries before she gets right to the point.

"Please tell me you've changed your mind about this silly adventure of yours," she says. I knew it had been coming.

"No, Mama," I reply, leaning back. "I told you I'm staying here with Nina and Zoe and I've made up my mind." My mother knew of my coming to America to be with my aunt. Much to Nina's displeasure, I hadn't told her quite how long or what I was going to be doing. For all she knew, I'd be back in a week.

"But the Hasler's," she argues with me. "Malea wanted the wedding to be soon." The wedding. Every conversation I have with my mother as of late has to do something with the wedding. Lukas Hasler and I have been expected to marry since we were children, though neither of us wanted anything to do with it. And now, he is perhaps the furthest thing from my mind.

"Lukas and I barely know each other mama, we're just friends."

"You have a duty to your family," my mother reminded me. "A duty to your country."

"For once in my life, I'd like to do something for myself," I reply.

When I look at the clock, I realize it is later than I expect it to be. "Mama, I need to go," I interrupt her and hand the phone back to Nina. She rolls her eyes as she places it back to her ear and I laugh, patting her softly on the shoulder as I walk past her.

A few minutes after, I've managed to make my way down to the parking garage. I pull out Zoe's Lexus from the private parking spot and proceed to get lost in a sea of traffic on the Manhattan roads. This is the part I had forgotten about. I would have walked had it not started to rain outside. Instead, I wait patiently for the traffic to move along, drawing closer and closer to my destination.

The University has a beautiful campus. I'd passed it many times on my visits with my aunt and Zoe. I can't help but admire it as I drive down the city streets. As I see the building where I need to park, I catch a glimpse of a space open in front of an old Subaru. I break hard and just as I do, I watch a huge puddle of water splash over a girl standing at a meter. For a minute I sit there mortified, unsure of how to react.

Finally, I move the car into the space and run to her, my umbrella in tote. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" I call as I make my way around the cars and up to her. When we meet eyes as I approach, I can't help but stare at her. Even soaking wet, she is the most interesting woman I'd ever seen. Her short blonde hair clings to the sides of her face. She wears a purple dress that brought out her hazel eyes, and for some strange reason, her feet are stuffed into a pair of old sneakers. As I hold up the umbrella to her, she gives a little laugh, and it makes my heart melt a little.

\---

Penelope seems to be enjoying herself the more the evening goes on. We dance a while, and then we sit together with Oliver and Charlotte and eat appetizers. All the while, I can't keep from catching glances at her.

"Are you from Germany?" Oliver asks me as he takes a sip of his beverage. His big blue eyes stare right into mine. I don't miss a beat and nod in reply. "Where about?"

I'd rehearsed these lines over and over in my head at least a thousand times. "It's a small town called Friedrichshafen. South Germany." My mother had taken me there many times as a child to visit family friends. It was a beautiful costal town, lined with red roofed buildings and boats that spanned all sides. They had the best fish there I'd ever eaten in my life.

"It's by Lake Constance, right?" Oliver smiles.

I think for a moment. Lake Bodensee. No, he's using the American name. I nod. "That's right."

"I apologize, I'm a little obsessed with the area. My parents took me to Switzerland and Austria when we were younger, and I think we passed through Friedrichshafen. Beautiful town." Oliver leans back in his chair, still smiling at me. Suddenly I feel uncomfortable knowing that fact. That at any moment he could ask me a question that I may not know the answer to. That he might, in spite of my efforts to conceal myself, recognize me.

"Quite the world traveler," Charlotte says, kissing him softly on the cheek.

After most of the party had ended Penelope and I stand under the awning of the building watching the rain. I rummage for my umbrella and pull it open, offering to share it with her. She leans in close to me, wrapping her arm around mine, and the two of us make our way out onto the sidewalk. The feeling of her body so close sends a shiver through me I was not expecting. I find myself enjoying the intimate proximity.

"Does it rain a lot where you're from?"

I sigh, remembering the summer nights. The smell of the wet grass. The sound of the water hitting the rooftops. The gentle mists on the hills and up in the mountains. It was enough to make me homesick. When I tell her about it, she smiles, as if she's reliving the memory with me.

"It sounds amazing," she says.

"It really is," I reply. Just as I go to speak again, a sharp gust of wind blows, and the umbrella goes flying. I panic, kicking off my shoes and chasing it down the street. It flies faster than I can catch it, and eventually, I give up, turning back. As I approach, Penelope is laughing softly at me. We meet eyes for a moment and stare at one another, both of us smiling.

"I think we were destined to be in the rain," she says as she hands me my shoes. We make the rest of the trek back to our cars and then stand outside, lost in conversation.

"Who is the band?" I ask her. When she looks up at me, I nod to her shirt. The design is beautiful - Celtic looking. The name, however, unfamiliar.

"You've never heard them?" Penelope asks me, surprised. "I thought you were this cultured lady after knowing who Whitney Houston was." When I smile, she laughs. "Come on. I have them on my phone."

While the rain continues outside, the two of us sit in her Subaru, listening to folky American songs over her car speakers. They are actually surprisingly good. By the time we get through, another hour has passed.

"I probably should be getting home," Penelope notes, and I look to her nodding. I stare at her, looking into her hazel eyes. For a moment it feels as if she is drawing closer to me, but then I see her turn away quickly, her face growing red.

"Thanks for sharing your music, Penelope." I smile as I lean out of the car. "See you Monday?"

"My name is Penny," she reminds me as I exit. I laugh at the fact that she's hung up over it enough to correct me and wave when she takes off down the street.

"I like Penelope," I say to no one in particular.

\---

There is a nervous energy in the room on Monday morning for Dr. Avery's Cell Biology class. It was the first of the day. I'd arrived early, looking for Penelope, who was nowhere to be seen. I sit down next to an empty desk in the front as the lecture begins. I start to worry when she still hasn't arrived.

"Welcome, welcome." He says as we all quiet down in our seats. "I'm sure this is an exciting day for you all. Your first class as medical students. I promise that this won't be an easy course, but it will be an interesting one. Let's get started, shall we?"

As he begins, I notice Penelope sneaking into the room from the back. She finds the seat next to me and rushes to pull out her laptop and textbook from her bag. She does her best to avoid my glances. Even in her frazzled state, she looks as adorable as the first evening I'd met her. Her short blonde hair is tucked behind her ears, her glasses sliding off the edge of her nose, and she is adorned in another band shirt that I didn't recognize.

"Can anyone name structures of the endomembrane system?" Dr. Avery asks the class.

Penelope's hand shoots into the air, followed by a few others, including Oliver. Dr. Avery looks up at her, and she rattles off the names. "The nuclear envelope, plasma membrane, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, lysosomes, and vacuoles."

Dr. Avery looks pleased with her. "And the functions?"

"It synthesizes and transports proteins, metabolizes and transports lipids, and detoxifies poisons."

I hear Oliver murmuring behind us. "And here I thought I was going to be the class star," he jokes with Penelope, and she blushes, returning to her notes.

The two of them take turns trying to outwit each other when Dr. Avery asks questions. By the end of the lecture, Charlotte and I are practically in tears laughing at their competitive streak. After class is dismissed, my face is buried in my textbook and my notes, completely lost. The room has nearly emptied when I feel a pair of eyes looking down at me.

"Class is over," Penelope says quietly, pushing her backpack onto her shoulder.

I look up and smile at her for a moment. "I'm just trying to make sense of everything." She studies me for a long moment and then finally sits down. I hear her rustling in the seat next to me before I look at her. Our eyes only meet for a moment before she turns away.

"Let me see your notes," she asks, looking over at my laptop. I pass it to her, brushing my hand over my textbook before I set it in my lap. I watch her curiously as she reads through what I've written. Occasionally, she gives me a glance, and when we meet eyes, my heart flutters a bit in my chest.

"You're very thorough," she says, continuing to study my notes. When she looks to me, I smile at her, and her face turns bright red. She looks quickly away. Eventually, she manages to speak again. "What were you stuck on, exactly?"

"Mostly just what he was talking about at the end," I explain, leaning over to point to the portion of the notes I was referring to. I can feel her body press softly into mine as I did, but she doesn't move away. "The part about lysosomes." Penelope smiles and reaches over for my textbook. She spends a few minutes reiterating what I had missed in the lecture and when I finally understand, she looks pleased.

"Thanks for helping me," I say, and the two of us meet eyes again. As soon as we do, a wave of sneezes comes on.

"Wow," Penelope notes when I turn back towards her. "Are you sure you aren't allergic to me or something?"

We meet eyes, and I smile softly. "I really hope not."

There it is once more. That strange air between us. Our gaze doesn't waiver. A wave of butterflies fills my stomach as I look at her. Again it seems as if she is leaning into me and I feel as if I want her to. My heart races in my chest as I watch her draw near.

Suddenly she panics and pulls away, stumbling to her feet.

"I have to go," she says, reaching down to grab her backpack. I watch her as she rushes from the room, not looking back.

"Bye, Penelope," I breathe.

## 3

# Penelope

I can't stop thinking about Astrid all morning long. Her adorable smile would come to me while I was studying in the library. I'd start humming Whitney Houston while I was walking through campus. I'd find myself wondering what it would be like for her to wrap her hands around my arm again. To feel her soft skin touching me.

By the time I get to the Anatomy lab, all I want to do is be as far away from her as humanly possible. To be able to focus. But, according to the words of the great Mick Jagger. _You can't always get what you want_.

"Penelope Waters," Dr. Ross calls out across the room, and I raise my hand slowly. He looks at me and smiles. When I see him look down his list of names I feel a lump in the pit of my stomach. "You'll be working with, let's see here."

_Please no, please no, please no._

"Astrid Reynolds."

It is the longest walk in the history of man for me to get from my seat to the front of the room where Astrid sat. She gives me a warm smile when I sit down, and it makes my heart flutter in my chest. I try hard not to look at her, in fear my thoughts are spread perfectly across my face.

The two of us work together, walking from table to table to identify different bones and their structures. To my dismay, Astrid seems to get tripped up a lot.

"So what are the carpal bones?" I ask her as we stand at the table. She looks down at her notes and then back up to me. I watch her eyes roll over them one at a time, pondering her answer before she speaks.

"Scaphoid," she looks at me, and I nod. "Lunate, Triquetrum, Pisiform---"

I watch her trail off for a moment and meet her glance. "Trapezium," I reply. She scratches the back of her head before she writes down her answers in her lab book.

"Trapezium, Trapezoid, Hamate."

"Capitate," I remind her, and she looks up to smile at me. Once again I can feel the burning sensation on my face, and I look away.

As we work, I can't help but find myself constantly distracted by Astrid. When she leans over the next table, studying the femur bone, I watch her shoulder length blonde hair fall down along the sides of her face. She purses her lips in a charming fashion when she is thinking. There is a faint smell of her perfume lingering in the air when I draw close to point out a specific structure she is missing on her notes. Everything about her is so bewildering I can barely think.

By the time the lab ends, I am aching inside. My entire body is begging to escape her in fear I'd do something crazy if I didn't. As I am packing up, after all of the other students have left, I watch Astrid wander around the room, still studying her notes. She looks frustrated.

"Are you okay?" I ask her as I lift my backpack onto my shoulder. She bit her lip as she turned to me and my heart skipped a little beat.

"I'm going to stay here and go over everything one more time." Astrid gave me her beautiful smile. "Just to be sure I have it all down." I could tell by the tone of her voice she was concerned about it.

"Do you need my help?" _What are you doing, Penny? Good God. Get far away. Far, far away._ I had my own grades and sanity to worry about. Yet I couldn't help but feel slightly concerned for her that she was struggling so much and it was just the first week of the semester.

"I'll be alright," she says, her eyes not moving from mine.

I study her for a minute and then nod. "Okay. Well, see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow, Penelope."

When I go to correct her, I stop myself. As I turn to walk out of the room, I realize I'm starting to like it when she calls me that. I'm doomed.

\---

I am pretty certain that most medical student's favorite day of the beginning of their education is the day they have clinic. Except I don't feel very privileged this morning. After oversleeping, losing my keys, and falling flat on my face outside of the clinic, I know it is going to be a bad day. It isn't until I get inside that I realize I have gotten dirt on my brand new white blouse. I do my best to try and clear it off, but it is a futile effort. Instead, I clip my name tag over the stain and hurry to meet the clinic instructor.

"You're late," Dr. Lawson says as I make my way into the offices in the back. Guilty as charged. Late was my middle name. I apologize and join her at the desk where she is looking over the schedule for the day.

"Alright Penelope, tell me about our first patient," she says. I'd went over the chart a hundred times before today. There wasn't a thing about her that I didn't know. I took a deep breath and rattled off all the pertinent information. Dr. Lawson looked impressed. It looked as if I'd recovered from my tardiness.

That was until she spoke. "While a firm knowledge of the patient is good, it's not necessary to go over the whole patient's chart. We don't have time for that. A nice concise summary is all we need." When she writes notes on her clipboard, I can feel my heart racing in my chest. It is all I can do to not try to peek my head over to see what it said. Instead, I force myself to remain calm.

"Do you feel comfortable obtaining a case history from the patient?" Dr. Lawson asks me, and I nod. I felt ready for anything at this point, and I was eager to learn. "Good," she says, looking pleased.

When I'm asked to retrieve our patient, I can feel the nerves wash over me. The sensation is intense. I introduce myself and walk her back to the exam room. Every part of me is shaking. It is becoming difficult to breathe. By the time I reach my seat, I am getting double vision.

Dr. Lawson looks at me concerned for a moment, but after I take a few breaths, I feel a lot calmer. The patient and I exchange pleasantries before I look down at my notes. As soon as I open my mouth to talk, fear washes over me again. I find myself stumbling over my words, barely able to think. Finally, I make such a fool of myself, Dr. Lawson jumps in, and I spend the rest of the day observing.

When I meet with her after the last patient of the morning, I am feeling absolutely mortified. We sit down together at the desk, and her concerned eyes study me over.

"So, how do you think that went?" Dr. Lawson asks me, crossing her arms over her chest.

I want so badly to laugh. I can feel it right on the verge of escaping, but I hold back. "Not great," I reply, sulking. "I don't know what happened to me."

"Students have trouble getting acclimated with clinic sometimes," Dr. Lawson explains to me. I watch as she takes a few more notes on her clipboard as she talks and it only makes my anxiety ten times worse. _Please stop writing, please stop writing_ , I beg her furiously. "I wouldn't be too concerned since this is your first day. I'd like you to make sure you are better prepared for next time. It's only going to get more challenging from here, and I wouldn't want you to fall behind."

Those words killed me. She is worried that I might fall behind. Me. Penelope Waters. Valedictorian of my graduating class in high school. Suma cum laude in undergrad. The girl who everyone begged to help them study. Me. Falling behind.

That just isn't going to be an option.

After I'd convinced Dr. Lawson that my slip ups from clinic wouldn't happen again, I make my way back to the medical school building to sulk in the library for a few hours. Even after convincing myself that it was a fluke, I still couldn't shake my bad mood. It lasts all the way up to Neuroscience when I suddenly get a second wind. Again, I manage to arrive just as class is starting and much to my dismay the only seat available is, again, right next to Astrid.

When I sit down and pull out my laptop, I feel her eyes staring at me. "How was clinic?" she whispers. I try to hide my emotions under a stoic face, but I know I fail miserably.

"It was fine," I reply, trying to avoid eye contact with her. The more she pried, the more I would struggle to keep my frustration a secret. Even barely knowing Astrid, I can tell she doesn't believe a word I am saying by the fact that her eyes still haven't left me. She doesn't say anything else though, and when the class starts I watch her finally turn away. Relief floods through me and I sink back into my chair, finally able to relax.

The class seems to fix my mood. Once again, I find the questions he asks routine and easy. Oliver challenges almost every answer I give. I admire his competitive spirit. As the class goes on, I start to notice Astrid struggling again. This time it seems as if she can't keep up with the professor, who is admittedly going quite fast with his lecture. I can see the anxiety written all over her face as she follows along to his slides.

Suddenly, I'm so distracted by Astrid's plight that I lose track of my own notes. Even when I try to get focused, I find myself glancing over at her, growing increasingly worried.

When class ends, I don't pack up my things right away. Oliver and Charlotte give us a wave as they head out of the classroom and I hear him call out to me. "Three components of chemical synapses?"

"Presynaptic, synaptic cleft, postsynaptic." We exchange smiles after I rattle off the answer. He looks pleased and gives me another wave before he heads out the door.

When I turn back to Astrid, she rests with her hands interlaced around the back of her neck, her face buried down into her laptop. Again, it looks as though she has been taking thorough notes, but by the look on her face it isn't helping any in the least.

I watch as she turns to look at me and offers her adorable smile. "So clinic went okay?"

For whatever reason, I find myself admitting the truth in spite of the fact that I really didn't want to talk about it. At least I thought I didn't, anyway. "It was terrible." I reiterate the events of the morning to her, and she listens patiently, nodding along as I spoke.

"I'm sorry," she says thoughtfully, offering me a small smile. We stare at each other for a moment before she speaks again. "I'm sure it will go better next time." The way she says it with so much reassurance has me believing it the minute it came from her mouth.

"I have to do better next time," I reply. Then I quickly change the subject, looking over to her computer. "Do you need help?"

Astrid sighs, turning back to her notes and scrolling through them slowly. "I feel like I'm a hopeless cause." She laughs softly.

"I doubt you're hopeless," I reply, leaning over to study her computer again. As I do, I feel her glance on me, and when I turn, our faces are very close together. Suddenly that wave of anxiety washes over me. I clear my throat loudly and pull back from her a bit. "He did go pretty fast with his lecture. Here, you can copy my notes if you want." When I hand her my laptop, she takes it from me, and our hands come together for a moment. The most intense feeling shoots through me, sending a shiver from top to bottom. My heart races in my chest. I look away from her, staring up at the front of the room as I hear her clicking away at her keyboard, copying down the notes she'd missed.

We don't speak until she finishes. Finally, she sets the laptop back on my desk. "Thank you so much, Penelope." As soon as she does, I quickly pack my things and stand up from the chair.

"My name is Penny," I remind her again, running a hand through my short blonde hair. I give her a quick glance. "And you're welcome. See you later." Once again I find myself scurrying away from her as fast as I can.

Except for this time I can hear her follow me out into the hall.

"Penelope—I mean Penny," she corrects herself this time. When she does, I realize that I may, in fact, like it when she calls me by my full name better. Maybe I just enjoyed correcting her for some reason or another. _You're weird._

"Hm?" I reply, turning on my heel to face her.

"I was thinking," she says, moving closer towards me. I find myself taking a step back to try and keep the distance from her. "Maybe we could help each other. I'm pretty good at social things," she smiles and I feel my heart jump. "And you seem to know a lot about these classes. I wonder if I can't help you in exchange for you helping me."

For a split second, I find myself considering it. That is before I remember that she is literally the most distracting thing I'd ever come across in my entire life. Saying yes to her would undoubtedly end in disaster.

"I don't know," I reply and I watch her face sink slightly. She hides it well, however, because it disappears only a second after I see it. I decide to be polite. "I'll have to think about it."

She looks pleased with that response and nods before she turns back into the classroom. Suddenly I realize how good it felt to make her happy. Ugh. I was definitely in trouble.

\---

"Thanks, Penny," Jeff smiles at me as he takes his grocery bags. I give him a friendly wave goodbye as he takes off out the building.

College Market is a small grocery on the far side of the University that was almost always filled with students. I have worked there as a cashier since high school and have made plenty of acquaintances along the way. As much as I hate socializing, it pays well and is a steady and flexible job.

After I prep the next set of bags, I look up and am greeted by a friendly face I'd always liked to see. She is an undergraduate student who came in often, sometimes with her mother, sometimes just by herself.

"Hey there Zoe, how are you doing?" I offer a smile as I start to load her groceries into bags. She looks to be in a good mood.

"I'm great," she replies, in her subtle German accent. She and her mother had lived somewhere in the Alps, where exactly I'd never asked. They resided in the city now and had been coming to the grocery as long as I'd been working there. "My cousin just got in from out of town. She's going to be staying for a while. I'm really excited. How'd your first few days of school go?"

"Pretty good," I reply. "It's going to be a lot of work, that's for sure. How did your classes go?"

"Great," she says, helping me move the groceries along. "My cousin started her first day there too."

"What's she studying?"

"Oh," Zoe says, and the two of us meet eyes. "She's a medical student."

My hand slips from a bag of onions, and I watch as they tumble to the ground. Zoe runs around the cash register to help me pick them up off the floor. "God, I'm sorry," I reply, still feeling stunned and out of it. Zoe smiles and shrugs it off.

"Your cousin," I manage to speak again after a few moments. "Her name wouldn't happen to be Astrid, would it?"

When Zoe's face lights up, I feel my anxiety washing over me. "How did you know that? Are you a medical student too?" When I nod, she looks ecstatic. "That's awesome! We should totally do something together sometime."

Nope. The last thing on Earth I needed was to involve myself in extracurricular activities with Astrid Reynolds. That was a disaster waiting to happen. But I didn't tell Zoe this.

"Maybe," I reply, as I finish bagging her groceries. She pays me and offers me another friendly smile as she grabs her bags to leave.

"Small world, huh? I can't believe you know Astrid."

Me either, I think.

## 4

# Astrid

That evening when I arrive back to the penthouse, Nina has dinner on the table. She'd always been a fantastic cook. I could smell it the moment the elevator opened. There is a spread of roasted beef, vegetables, and even ribel, a classic cornmeal dish from home that had been my favorite since I was a child.

"You didn't have to go through all this trouble," I tell her after I've taken my things to the guest suite. She smiles at me when I sit down. Zoe is already digging into her food. My aunt pours me a glass of white wine and the three of us spend the early evening chatting away. It was the most relaxed I'd felt all day.

"I ran into one of your classmates at the grocery today," Zoe says to me after taking a drink. "Penny? Do you know her?"

My heart flutters in my chest at the mention of her name. It is apparent by the look on my face that I do, and my cousin looks pleased. "She works at the grocery store," she says. "I've known her for ages. Isn't that funny? I couldn't believe it."

I couldn't believe it myself. All I could do was offer a nod.

The rest of dinner, even amidst conversation, all I can think about is Penelope. Zoe and I clean up after and let my aunt relax a bit. As we wash dishes, I feel her nudge me in the shoulder.

"So, are you and Penny friends?" She asks me. "She's really nice, I think you'd get along with her."

I can't help but smile when she says this. Were we friends? Or just acquaintances? I couldn't really know for sure. All I knew is that she was one of the most interesting people I'd ever met.

"I think we're friends," I reply as she hands me another dish. I run my hands under the warm water, enjoying the feeling. Cleaning and doing small chores like this has always been relaxing to me. Living with my parents, I very rarely did chores. It is always left up to the housekeeping staff. So when I have the opportunity, I always enjoy it.

I can feel myself blush as my mind wandered to Penelope. There are thoughts in my head that I am surprised are there. Feelings that I didn't expect myself to have.

"What?" Zoe asks me, and I can feel her eyes on the side of my face. When I turn to look at her, she has a curious look. "You're blushing."

"Nothing," I reply, turning my attention back to the dishes. Even with my dismissal, I can still feel her watching me. "It's nothing, Zoe," I repeat myself. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see her smiling.

"Oh my God, you _like_ her," I hear her whisper, nudging me again. This time I can definitely tell my face is getting red. My hand waves as I try to quiet her. Zoe's face can hardly contain her excitement. "I can't believe it!"

"I don't know," I finally admit, giving a shrug. My body relaxes somewhat after admitting the fact. Before I know it, I've let myself slip even more. "I can't stop thinking about her." It is true. She has consumed my thoughts all day, even amidst studying and classes and labs. All I want is to see her again.

"I think she might like you too," Zoe says to me when I finally draw courage enough to look at her. She can tell by my facial expression I am curious what she means. "At the grocery store tonight. When I said your name, she got all flustered. I've never seen her act like that before."

Neither of us says anything for a moment. Finally, I look to her, speaking quietly. "You can't tell anyone. Not even Nina, do you promise? If mama found out about this.."

"Your secret is safe with me," Zoe smiles, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Even if it is the most adorable thing I've ever heard."

I wave my hand at her playfully, and the two of us finish the rest of the dishes together, chatting away.

\---

The week flies by, filling up my days with endless amounts of classwork and studying. I feel as if I never stop. I study while I eat lunch. When I go on walks around campus to stretch my legs, I listen to recorded lectures. Every lab I spend time after, trying to catch up and make sure I understand everything.

Meanwhile, Penelope continues to occupy my thoughts in spare moments. She sits beside me during lectures, letting me check my notes with hers after class. Even Charlotte and Oliver go out of their way to help me. If it weren't for them, I likely would have fallen very far behind.

When Dr. Avery announces our first pop quiz of the year, during the second week of classes, a wave of dread overcomes me. While I feel like I have managed to catch up, my confidence is still shaken. The quiz lasts for half of the class period, and I have to leave two questions blank when he calls time. It doesn't escape my mind until the following class period when he hands them back to us.

"Most of you did very well," Dr. Avery says, shuffling through the papers at the front of the room. "There are a few of you who I wrote to come see me after class. If you wouldn't mind, I'd appreciate it."

Even before I get my test back, I know to expect the worst. When he places it upside down on my desk, it takes me a long while before I manage to flip it over. Sure enough, most of the page is covered in red ink. I see a note scribbled on top to visit with him. After I've stared at it a while, my eyes look over at Penelope. She is looking at me quietly, and I am quite sure she's seen my test marks. I quickly turn it over, offering her a small smile.

"How did you do?" I ask, and she gives me a quick show of her excellent grade. Even with my struggles, I am still happy for her and impressed.

After class, I meet with Dr. Avery.

"Astrid," he smiles at me and ushers for me to sit. "It's a pleasure to get to speak to you. I hear you're one of our more famous international students."

I nod bashfully, offering him a smile as best I can. My nerves are overcoming me. "I guess you could say that," I reply, taking a seat. I have forgotten that most of the staff at the school know of my background. They also know that it is of top priority to keep it from my fellow peers.

"I've been to that area of the country once for a conference. Berlin. Beautiful place. I love the food."

We chat for a bit, mostly him asking questions about my stay so far and offering suggestions of things to do in the city. Finally, we get to the matter at hand.

"I want to talk to you about the quiz," he says, taking mine. I watch him glance it over for a moment before he hands it back. "Now I don't want you to be alarmed. I took a great deal of time to look over your answers. You show a lot of potential. You may want to consider getting some outside help to make sure you understand the material. It's important you get this foundational stuff down." I nod. "And of course, I'm always around if you need some extra help. Don't hesitate to come to me if you need to."

When I leave, I actually feel a lot better than I had felt beforehand. Mostly I just feel relieved to have gotten it over with. I spent the rest of the morning in the library studying. When I finally make my way to Anatomy lab, I'm surprised that Penelope has beaten me there. She is looking over the lab manual when I come to sit beside her.

"Hey," she offers me a smile. Every time she looks at me that way I can feel my insides churn. I can't control myself. I sit down and pull out my things from my bag. My first thought is that she'd bring up the quiz that I knew she had seen but I am pleasantly surprised when she seems to ignore it all together.

The lab today focuses on blood vessels and the heart, most of which I'd remembered from my undergraduate classes. I only need Penelope's assistance a few times and even help her identify a vessel she'd forgotten. By the end of the class, I am starting to feel more confident again.

After I bid my farewell to Penelope and gave a friendly wave to our friends, I make my way down the hallway. As I do, I hear footsteps behind me.

"Hey Astrid, wait up." She has such a charming voice. I loved hearing it. It is lower pitched but still feminine, and she has a little lisp that made it all that much more interesting. When I turn to face her, she is smiling. "You forgot your lab manual."

I can tell after I take it from her that it isn't the only reason she'd come to find me. After a moment she speaks again. "I was going to say," she starts, and I watch her hand run through her hair nervously. "If you would want some extra help with classes, I can tutor you a little. If you want that is. But I don't have to. It's only if you want to.." She stops herself abruptly from rambling, and I can't help but laugh.

"I'd love that, actually," I reply, offering her a smile. "That's nice of you to offer."

"Of course," she says. "Just let me know when and we'll figure something out." I watch her as she turns to leave.

"Thanks, Penny," I call after her as she wanders back down the hall. As I'm about to walk away, I hear her speak once more.

"Hey Astrid," she says, and I look up to her. "You can call me Penelope if you want." After she says it, I watch her face turn a slight shade of pink.

Surprisingly, I arrive back home from school early that day. Nina, who is busy cleaning the already impeccable house she lives in, catches me as I walk inside. She has her phone to her ear. "Do you want to talk to your mother?" It comes out in a hushed whisper. For whatever reason, I had no interest in doing so today. I shake my head, walking past her down the hall to my area of the house.

Most of the late afternoon I spend studying. It's hard to focus, thinking about the idea of Penelope tutoring me. Finally, I give up, just as Zoe arrives back. When she gets home, Nina asks the two of us if we'll run down to the grocery store to pick up some things for dinner. My heart skips a beat at the idea of possibly running into Penelope. I happily oblige. Zoe and I make the ten-minute walk down to the grocery, toting a small cart with us to carry the bags.

Sure enough, as soon as we enter, I spot her ringing up a customer at the far end of the store. Zoe nudges me playfully, and I wave her off as we wander inside. I help her gather up some produce and various items around the store. Every time we draw close to the registers, I catch a glance of Penelope, watching her as she works, completely focused.

Finally, after we gather all of the things we need, we make our way to the registers. I can feel my heart beating in my chest furiously. Penelope's eyes wander over in our direction. When our gaze meets, she looks mortified. I watch her turn away, staring down at the register and across the store towards the exit. Zoe purposefully picks her line, and the two of us wait to approach her.

"Hi there, Penny!" Zoe says enthusiastically after we've placed our cart full of items on the conveyor belt.

"Hi there," she says, and the two of us meet eyes briefly. "Your mother is putting you to work." Zoe smiles at the comment. I watch her as she swiftly moves through the items. She does it so gracefully and meticulously, it is entrancing. Finally, she looks back up to me.

"You look cute in an apron," I smile at her. As soon as I say it, I can't believe I had. My face burns and I watch hers turn equally as red. I feel my nose start to itch and I let out a row of quick sneezes.

"Thanks," she finally manages to say, when I'd finished.

"Do you have clinic tomorrow?" I ask her, trying quickly to change the subject.

She nods as she places more items into a bag and hands it to Zoe. "I'm dreading it. I have to do case history again, and I'm terrified I'm going to mess it up."

Before I can stop myself, I ask. "Would you want to practice? I'm really good at it. I could give you some ideas." I watch her ponder over the invitation for a moment and then she finally nods.

"I get off at eight," Penelope says as she finishes bagging the last of our groceries. As she hands them to me, our hands gently touch again. It lasts just for a moment, and I find myself wishing it had been longer. "There's a coffee shop down the street. Do you want to meet there?"

I smile at her as I help Zoe load the last bit of bags into our cart. "That sounds perfect."

We pay for our groceries and head out. As we walk back to our building, I look to my cousin, who is smiling brightly.

"What?" I ask curiously, brushing a strand of hair out of my face.

"She totally just asked you out on a date!"

## 5

# Penelope

Crap, what did I just do? Had I asked her on a date? As Astrid and Zoe leave, I can feel myself melting into the floor. I have to brace myself against the counter the register sits on to keep myself steady. By the time a customer comes up again, I've managed to recover, but the whole time all I can think about is a few hours from now.

_You look cute in an apron._

She'd look cute in anything, I thought to myself. _God, Penny, get a grip._

By the time eight o'clock rolls around I'd managed to not be absolutely terrified of going down to the coffee shop. Stephanie, the manager, catches me on my way out and asks me to help stock an aisle before I leave. I'm nearly twenty minutes late by the time we finish, and I fly down the street, hoping that Astrid hadn't left yet.

Instead, I am pleasantly surprised to see that she is still waiting for me, sipping tea in a window seat. She waves and smiles that amazing smile when she sees me walk past. After I grab myself a coffee, I sit down across from her. I regret not arriving sooner so we could sit in a less open spot, like in my corner seat I knew and loved.

"Sorry I'm late," I apologize, trying my best to not seem overly flustered. Interestingly enough, she'd changed into a pretty off-white floral print dress and a pink cardigan. It even looked like she'd fixed her hair a bit, braiding her bangs around the side of her head. Had she done it for me? I couldn't be sure. Either way, she looked incredibly cute.

"Don't worry," she smiles, reaching out to gently touch my hand. When she does, it sends a shiver through me. I don't pull away. "I was just sitting here people watching. New York is great for that."

I nod in agreement as she moves her hand away and back into her lap. We both take sips of our drinks, looking at each other intermittently as we sit in somewhat awkward silence.

"So, I thought we could take turns practicing on each other," Astrid says after a minute or so. Practicing on each other. Case History. Right. "Then maybe I can offer some tips for you? Would that help?"

I nod graciously, and Astrid situates herself in her seat. "Alright, I'll go first." She runs through questions with me, and I do my best to make an interesting patient for her. Late fifties, history of chronic heart disease, deaf in one ear. And my favorite part – a circus performer for a living. It makes Astrid laugh, which gives me butterflies. She makes the whole thing seem like a breeze. Talking with her made me feel so comfortable and at ease. I could only imagine how she made a patient feel.

"You're great at that," I reply once she's finished. She blushes a little at the compliment. I watch her fiddle with the edge of her cardigan for a moment before she responds.

"You want to give it a try?"

Astrid is gentle with me when we start. I take my time, thinking through the best way to ask follow up questions that are pertinent to the answers she gives me. When she finishes, she gives me a giant smile. "You did a good job."

"Really?" I ask, surprised. My gut had told me otherwise, but it was nice to hear it coming from her.

"Really," she replies. "You're not as bad as you think you are. The only thing I'd recommend is more eye contact."

If only she realized how difficult maintaining eye contact with her is. It is enough of a challenge with other people, but with her. God, it makes every inch of me uncomfortable staring at her for too long. There are feelings that well up to the surface that I can't control. Feelings that freak me out.

"I'll keep that in mind," I reply, skipping over my whole internal dialogue.

The two of us practice for a while, taking turns. I try to make mental notes of things I like about the way Astrid approaches her questions and her body language towards me. She lets me know things I do well and gently makes suggestions of things I could improve on. Eventually, we stop practicing and our conversations lead elsewhere, talking mostly about our undergraduate studies and school related things.

When I look up at the clock, it is nearing eleven. I can hardly believe it. The shop owner is wiping down counters and preparing to close. Astrid joins me in checking the time, and she laughs a little when she notices it.

"That certainly went fast," she notes, and I agree. "Are you ready to go?"

I nod, taking our cups and setting them on the counter for the barista. She waves thanks to Astrid and me and I head out onto the Manhattan streets. We stand outside for a minute quietly before I break the silence.

"So where do you live exactly?" It is an odd question, but my curiosity gets the best of me. Plus, it was an excuse to know whether or not we can continue our conversation.

She doesn't miss a beat. "Just a few blocks down that way." The direction she points is the same way I'm headed. Without asking, I take off down the street, nodding towards her. The two of us walk side by side, enjoying the crisp fall air. Even at the late hour, it is still rather busy on the streets. There were many places I wouldn't want to walk alone in New York, but this area was certainly not one of them.

Our conversation takes off again, and we chat for a few blocks until my building comes into view. "This is me," I say, nodding towards it.

As we stand outside, now facing one another, I can't help but notice what relatively close proximity we have gotten. Even then, I watch as she moves slightly closer to me. Our eyes meet, and I suddenly find it a little more difficult to breathe.

"Thanks for helping me tonight," I manage to say, brushing my bangs out of my face. Her eyes don't waver from mine, and it sends a little shiver down me.

"Of course," she gives me that smile of hers. God, she's so stinking pretty it's ridiculous.

Again, like several other times, I find myself drawing closer to her still. We watch each other for a long while, neither of us talking. It seems as if she's drawing towards me too. The street is eerily quiet. So quiet, I can hear my racing heartbeat inside of my chest.

"Goodnight, Astrid," I say quietly, holding myself in place. It feels as if we are so close now that I can almost feel her breath on the skin of my face.

"Goodnight, Penelope," she replies, breathlessly. The way she emphasizes my name drives me wild. I can't take it any longer. My body leans forward into her.

Our mouths meet. Softly. Subtly. As if our lips were just meant to tickle one another's. I feel myself smirking when they do, and when I look up she is staring at me curiously. She leans back into me, pushing her lips onto mine again. We take turns, sharing small kisses until finally I put my hands on either side of her face and pull her fully into me. Her hands reach up to grip the edges of my jacket, near the top of my chest. We stand there for what feels like hours, until we finally break apart to breathe. Both lightly panting.

Neither of us speaks for a moment. Astrid releases her grip, and we step apart from each other. Finally, I run my fingers through my hair, feeling myself blushing when I look into her eyes.

"See you tomorrow," I smile at her, turning and running up the steps into the apartment building. Even though I didn't look back, I knew somehow that she was watching me go.

Kissing a girl like that will lead to a terrible night's sleep, I will say that much. All night I stirred, replaying it in my mind over and over. It had felt like a dream. I still couldn't believe I had done it. But I certainly didn't regret it.

The next morning when I wake up, I smell bacon cooking down the hall. I stumble a tired mess, down to the kitchen and find my father making breakfast.

"Good morning, kiddo," he gives me a smile as I manage to find the chair. Before I know it, there's a plate of bacon and eggs sitting in front of me. The toaster clicks and a second later my father tosses on a piece of toast. Brutus sits at my feet, begging me for a scrap of food. I toss him a small bit of bacon from my plate, and he chews it up happily.

"What are you doing home?" I ask curiously, as he places down a cup of coffee in front of me.

"They want me to come in later today," my father says as he fixes himself a plate. A moment later, he's joined me at the table. "They had some big meeting today, so they don't need us for a few hours. Thought I might make my girl something good to eat."

I chow down on the food graciously as the two of us make small talk. It had been a while since my father and I had shared a meal together. Working three jobs with a daughter who was in medical school would do that to you.

I must have been giving off some sort of vibe, because my father suddenly stops mid-conversation, staring at me curiously.

"Something happened," he says, raising a brow at me. I finish off a final bite of the food on my plate and can feel myself getting hot in the face.

"Maybe," I reply before I take a sip of coffee.

"Are you going to clue your old man in, or what?" He gives me a nudge under the table with his foot. Reluctantly, I decided to spill the beans.

"There's a girl in my cohort," I reply, and I watch his face light up. The last time I had a girlfriend had been my freshman year of college. It lasted for a year before an incredibly painful breakup. Since then, I'd focused on my school work. That was until just recently when suddenly it had become increasingly more difficult to do so.

The whole story comes flying out of me at a rapid pace, and my father listens curiously, sipping his coffee. When I finish, he looks pleased.

"A foreign lady, huh?" He teases me, and I do my best to hide my embarrassment. I roll my eyes at him before I stand up and take our plates to the sink.

Later that morning I pace outside of the lecture hall working up the courage to walk inside. When I make my way down to sit next to Astrid, I give her a nod, and she smiles at me. I just catch it for a second as I sit down, but it makes my heart thump hard in my chest. We don't speak to one another the entire lecture. I wait till the class has mostly cleared out before I finally utter words to her, trying to sound as casual as possible.

"Do you want to look over my notes?" I ask her, studying her carefully. So far so good.

Astrid leans into me, glancing at my laptop. She reaches over, scrolling through what I'd written, comparing hers with mine. All the while, I can hardly breathe with her body in such close proximity to my own. All the feelings from yesterday come rushing back at me. When I look at her, she gives me a soft smile before she pulls away.

"I think I actually got it all," she says with a sigh. "For once."

She gets up from her seat, stretching a bit. I watch her lean down to pick up her bag off the floor, all the while entranced by her every motion. It isn't until I hear Charlotte's voice echoing in the distance that I finally break free of her.

"Hey, ladies," her southern drawl calling out as she rounded the corner into the room. "Would you like some lunch?"

The four of us – Oliver, Charlotte, Astrid and I, sit together at a small café on one corner of the University's campus. We share a booth, which makes it all the more difficult for me to focus or be coherent with Astrid sitting mere inches away from me.

Every once in a while through lunch, I feel a brush of Astrid's leg against mine. When the waiter brought our food, and she'd passed my plate to me, our fingers touched, and it drove me mad.

"Biochemistry is going to be the death of me," Charlotte moans as she takes a bite of her French fries. "Dr. Reid is so difficult." The three of us nod in agreement.

"Can you pass the salt?" Astrid whispers to me, and I can feel her breath tickle against my skin. It sends a shiver through me, top to bottom. I oblige, carefully passing it off to her. I don't know if it's just me or not, but her fingers linger for an awfully long time, and it makes my mind wander for a moment, imagining the idea of them lingering other places.

"Earth to Penny," Oliver says, snapping me back into reality. I feel my face go flush as I turn to look at him. When he realizes he has my attention, he repeats himself. "Do you want to go practice in the anatomy lab after lunch?" Astrid has already agreed, and I find myself deciding to tag along as well.

It's nice to have the place to ourselves. Oliver finds Dr. Ross who opens the lab for us and sets up some of the specimens to study. I find myself working alongside Astrid, but it doesn't bother me any in the least. We go through all the bone structures again so she can practice.

I carefully hand her the clavicle bone and stand beside her as she observes it. She thinks for a minute, rolling it over in her hands a few times. Finally, she speaks, noting the conoid tubercle and the impression for the costoclavicular ligament. When I ask her to identify the acromial end versus the sternal end, she gets confused again.

"This is the acromial end?" She has it backward, and when she sees me smile at her, she knows she's messed up. "Ugh, how do you get this right?" I find myself leaning into her and rotating her hands softly with mine, so the bone is facing right-side up. When I touch her, I purposefully linger there for a moment, holding her hands in my own. Enjoying the feeling of her soft skin beneath mine.

When I finally move away, I turn to look at her. "It would help if you weren't looking at it upside down," I laugh. She nudges me playfully in the side.

We move on to the humerus bone. I stand beside her, watching as she studies each piece, naming off the different landmarks. As she works, she stands close beside me, letting our bodies gently graze against one another. God, every part of me is dying inside. I can hardly control myself, never the less pay attention to what she's doing.

The four of us spend at least a few good solid hours in the lab before we finish up and head our separate ways. As Astrid and I make our way down the hall, I feel her staring at me. When I turn to look at her, her eyes are focused intensely on me. "Would you like to study with me?"

My mind is still so far in the gutter the only thing I can think is that I definitely wanted to do more than study, but I didn't dare say that to her. Instead, I just manage to nod.

"Would you want to come over to my apartment?"

Did I ever. Again I manage to keep myself quiet, but it took everything in my power not to let it show on my face.

We walk the handful of blocks it takes to get to the building that Astrid lives in. It is an incredibly tall building, one of the taller ones in Manhattan. I'd passed it before but never gave it much note till now. We enter the lobby, where there is wood and marble abound. There is a large waterfall against one wall.

I can feel myself getting uncomfortable by the level of class the place oozes. It didn't surprise me that Astrid had been wealthy. Yet I doubted she'd ever rub it in anyone's face. "Fancy," I note, as the two of us board the elevator. She smiles at me.

The building is composed of fifty-six floors. As Astrid hits the top floor button and pushes a key into the reader, I suddenly realize I'm not going to just any apartment.

"You live in the PENTHOUSE?" I manage to squeak out as we ride up.

I can see by the look on her face she is embarrassed. "It's my aunt's place. She can be a little extravagant."

Astrid is understating it by a long run. When we reach the top floor and the doors open, I am greeted with the most amazing looking place I have ever seen. There are windows abound that show every view of Manhattan imaginable. Everything inside of the place is pristine and white and perfect in every way. It looks so clean that I hardly wanted to touch anything.

We are greeted by a very eccentric looking woman who definitely looked related to Astrid. If she hadn't called her Auntie, I would have guessed it was her mother.

"This is Penelope," she introduces me, and I stick my hand out to greet her.

"Nina," the woman says, smiling broadly at me. "Pleasure to meet you." Like Zoe, Nina's English and accent were far less prominent than Astrid's, though I much preferred listening to Astrid any day.

"We're going to go study for a bit," Astrid says. I feel her take my hand in her own suddenly and it sends a shockwave through me. Nina waves goodbye to me before I am led down a hallway and through a doorway into a separate area of the house. It looked like a completely different living space entirely. I realize as we make our way in that it must be where Astrid lived.

It's just as beautiful as the rest of the house and offered breathtaking views in three directions out into the city. I am grateful in that moment that I didn't have a fear of heights.

When we were alone, Astrid lets go of my hand, and it falls gently to my side. I ache for her to touch me again but I am quickly distracted as we make our way over to her dining table. It sat against one of the large windows overlooking the city.

"I don't know how you ever leave your apartment," I say, admiring the view. When I turn back, Astrid is setting up her books and laptop on the table. I follow suit, and as I do, she looks up and smiles.

"It's nice to be in it, I think," she says, sitting down. I can't argue with that. New York City is definitely a place that needed to be experienced in all its glory.

After I've organized my things, I sit down beside her, rather than across from her. She eyes me for a moment when I do, and I offer her an innocent smile.

"What first?"

The two of us spend the next few hours, hunched over textbooks, quizzing each other and comparing notes. Astrid makes a point to put herself as close to me as humanly possible. When we look at a textbook, she leans into me, letting our sides linger together while we read. I make a joke, and she laughs against me, her hot breath rolling into my skin.

We get halfway into our Biochemistry notes when I feel her eyes piercing into the side of my face. I turn to look at her and our gazes meet. My heart beats rapidly in my chest when we do. I wonder for a minute if she is going to kiss me. Instead, I'm even more surprised.

"Penelope," she says, breathlessly. God, I can't look at her much longer, or I'll do something crazy. She bites her lip in that incredibly frustratingly sexy way. There is a long pause before she speaks again. "I really like you."

Hearing someone tell you something like that. Something completely vulnerable and honest, is the most amazing thing in the world. I stare at her for a very long time, unable to speak. All at once my emotions overcome me, and I move towards her. She meets me halfway, the two of us pushing against each other.

Our mouths collide together. This time with far stronger intentions than the last time we'd kissed. Astrid's hands reach along the sides of my face, stroking my cheeks with her fingers. Eventually, she breaks from me only long enough to stand. I follow her quickly. She leads me back until we fall across her couch.

We sit side by side, and I run my hands down her body, feeling her curves. I move my mouth down into the crook of her neck, drawing kisses on her smooth skin. Astrid sighs softly, holding my head with her hand and pushing herself back against the couch. Once I've reached the edges of the fabric of her top, I raise my head again to meet her lips. Then I carefully pull her on top, letting her straddle my body. When she looks down at me and our eyes meet, I can see the hunger inside her.

I reach my hands around the side of her face and pull her close. The two of our mouths meet, and they don't break until we are lightly panting. Her fingers trace down my cheeks and run down the length of the upper half of my body. Every part of me aches for her.

Just as I'm about to pull her down into the couch, there is a knock at the door. Astrid, who looks quite panicked, quickly moves from me and does her best to compose herself. I take a deep breath in an attempt to get my heart to settle. It doesn't have much of an effect.

"Come in," Astrid finally calls out, and Nina pokes her head through the front door.

"I thought you girls might be hungry," she smiles between us.

Nina is a fantastic cook and hostess. I'd never had a lot of German food before, but she makes a variety of delicacies for me to try. My favorite is potato pancakes. I beg her for the recipe. Nina, Zoe, Astrid and I spend a long while deep in conversation. I finally realize it has gotten incredibly late and I decide to take my leave, promising I'd visit again soon.

Astrid walks me to the elevators. When she's sure that there's no one watching, she takes my hands in hers. I watch as she slowly leans into me, planting her lips on mine. I take a deep breath in, smelling her sweet scent and tasting the faint remnants of our delicious meal. We linger there for just a moment before she pulls away.

"Have a good night," she says softly to me, offering me that killer smile.

I watch her until the doors of the elevator close. When they do, I slide down the side of the wall into a puddle, hardly able to breathe. If I had thought I was in trouble before, there was no denying it now.

## 6

# Astrid

"Dr. Reid is the worst," Charlotte groans as the four of us wander down the hall towards the library. "I swear if we have another pop quiz in his class, I might just die."

It has been over a week since Penelope has visited Nina's house. Even so, our growing affection for each other hasn't been completely ignored. Instead, we make a sort of game out of it, trying to keep it secret from the others.

"I find him rather enjoyable," Oliver teases. I watch them as they hold hands, swinging their arms slightly as they walked. Charlotte leans over and kisses him on the cheek.

"Quit taunting me," Charlotte rolls her eyes at him. "Not everyone is as smart as you." She turns back to look at Penelope for a moment. "Well, maybe Penny."

When I look at her, she blushes. The two of us walk a little behind the swooning couple. Every once in a while, I move my hand into Penelope's, letting our skin touch briefly. We clasped our pinkies together for a moment when Oliver and Charlotte weren't looking.

As the four of us work in the library, Penelope occasionally holds my hand under the table while we read. I feel her fingers trace circles on my skin and find it increasingly more difficult to concentrate. Finally, I can hardly breathe, and I stand up from the table.

"I'm going to go check on that Neuroscience book we were talking about," I manage to say, running fingers through my hair. I turn swiftly and moments later hear Penelope rise up after me. She says something to the couple that I can't hear. I wander down rows of books till I find a secluded space near the far side of the room. As soon as I turn around, my body is pressed up against the shelves, and Penelope's mouth is on my own. We kiss for a moment, and when we break, she gives me a small smirk, running her hand over the side of my face.

"God, I've wanted to do that all day long," she whispers to me.

"Me too," I breathe, just before she pushes herself on me again. Every kiss she gives grows hungrier and hungrier. Her hands move down the length of me, while I rest mine on the sides of her face. Heat builds up in my body so intense I feel as if I might explode.

Just as she moves her mouth onto my neck, there is a rustle in the row next to us. We break away quickly, and I find myself breathing at a somewhat rapid pace. Oliver peeks his head around a corner. "I found it," he replies, holding the book out. He stares at us for a moment curiously. "It definitely wouldn't be back here."

"We got lost," Penelope admits, casually. I nod in agreement, and Oliver seems satisfied with the answer. The three of us make our way back to Charlotte, and I feel Penelope nudging me in the side occasionally, while I do my best not to giggle.

\---

That night, I find my thoughts wandering all over the place. I sit at the table by the windows looking out into the skyline. Manhattan is beautiful at night and still feels as alive as ever. I spend most of the early evening studying and watching the beautiful pink and purple sunset.

Suddenly, there is a knock at my door.

"Come in," I call, and Zoe wanders inside, toting her backpack over her shoulder. In her hand, she cradles my aunt's phone. It's your mom, she mouths to me. When she reaches me and hands the phone over, I raise it to my ear, grimacing. The call seems to go on for hours. She goes on about every little thing happening at home, while intermittently pestering me about when I was coming back. Finally, I manage to interrupt her long enough to tell her I need to go. Luckily I managed to catch myself before I uttered the words "study."

When I hang up the phone, Zoe is staring at me curiously, having spread out her school things on the other side of the table. "Was she nagging you about Lukas again?"

"Of course," I reply, leaning my head into my hands.

Zoe is quiet for a moment, rustling through her papers and turning on her laptop. When I look up at her, and we meet eyes, she finally decides to speak again. "Are you going to tell her about medical school?"

This gets a laugh out of me. "Can you imagine what she'd do if she knew I was here going to school? She'd make me come home immediately. You're lucky you got out of that whole mess. Not having to worry about all the stress of all the expectations placed on you. Just because you got born into the family you did. Being here is the only way I feel like I have any control over my life."

My cousin nods, understanding. "True. But I do miss home sometimes. It's hard not being able to go back." When my aunt had left with her many years ago, after she'd divorced my uncle, my family had turned their back on her. The only reason my mother and her still spoke is that they were so close. Otherwise, I may have never known Nina or Zoe. A terrifying thought.

"What about Penny?" Zoe asks me. I blush at the mention of her name. When I come back to reality, I look at her.

"What about Penny?" I repeat, somewhat confused by the question.

"Are you going to tell her about everything?" Everything meaning my life back in Europe. The idea had crossed my mind, but I feared the repercussions it might bring. The thing between us had just started and bringing her into such complicated parts of my life didn't seem like the best decision. At least for the time being.

"Eventually," I say, looking up at her. We share a silent glance for a moment, and I can't tell if Zoe disapproves of me or not. Finally, we turn our attention back to our books, and my mind wanders elsewhere.

\---

The next day before Cell Biology, Penelope pulls me into another quiet hallway and kisses me so deeply that it is all I can think about during class. That is until our first exams get passed back. A wave of dread overcomes me until Dr. Avery passes me and sets my test down on my desk with a smile.

"Great job, Astrid," he says, and when I turn my test over and see the A, I let out a small cry of happiness. Penelope looks over at me, and I give her a peek at my test. When she shows me the same grade on her own test, I can hardly believe it. The two of us smile at each other for the longest time, until the lecture starts again.

As soon as the last students leave the classroom, Penelope turns towards me.

"I'm so proud of you," she says, as she reaches for my hand and squeezes it for a moment. I smile back at her softly. The two of us look at each other for a moment. I want so badly to kiss her.

Instead, I do the next best thing. "Would you go on a date with me?"

Penelope looks caught off-guard by the question. It takes her a minute to realize what I've asked and when she does, she is all smiles.

"I was going to ask you the same thing," she laughs, running a hand through her hair. "Yes, I'd love to go on a date with you. I have the perfect place too. My favorite restaurant. Have you had sushi before?"

I shake my head.

"You've never had sushi? Well then, it's settled." Penelope's face lights up. "Do you want to go tonight?"

"Actually, I had a surprise for you. At my house. If you don't mind staying in."

Penelope looks curiously at me. "I don't mind. As long as your aunt doesn't interrupt us again." When she realizes what she says, I watch her face blush.

"She's on a trip this weekend," I reply, teasing at the idea again. Penelope looks pleased. I get up from my chair after I've packed up and lean down, resting my hands on her desk. My face comes forward, so I'm only an inch from her. "Come at seven," I tell her softly, letting my lips linger over hers, without kissing her. It only lasts for a brief moment. I watch her shiver as I pull back and walk away from her without another word.

Zoe is ecstatic when I tell her my plans late that afternoon. "You know you have to make it super romantic now!" The two of had just made a trip to College Market to pick up the things I needed for dinner. She helped me unload everything on to the counter and sort everything out. "You're making chicken?"

"I'm good at making chicken," I retort, unwrapping it and setting it in a bowl with marinade. When I'm through, it goes into the fridge alongside some vegetables I'd planned to roast.

"You're so boring, Astrid," Zoe teases me, and I nudge her in the side. "At least let's go get something for you to drink with it."

The two of us wander into the penthouse in search of something. I have a perfect idea and find it hidden in Nina's liquor fridge, unopened. I pull out the container of hard ciders, and Zoe looks at me questionably. "Really?"

"Trust me," I smile at her, setting them on the counter.

As I work prepping the food, Zoe helps quiz me for Neuroscience. Surprisingly, I feel rather confident as we breeze through my flashcards. As the food cooks in the oven, the two of us finish straightening the place up.

As we're through, Zoe looks at me curiously. "Can I ask you a question?"

We meet eyes, and I nod. "Of course."

"Did you not want to marry Lukas because you like women?" She looks rather embarrassed asking but it was a legitimate question.

"I don't know," I admit, honestly. "I never really cared for Lukas that way. We were always good friends, but I could never imagine marrying him. I don't feel things for him like I feel when I'm with Penelope." It feels strange but satisfying admitting that fact.

Zoe swoons. "Ugh, I'm so jealous. I'm never going to find anyone."

I smile at her, ruffling her hair as I pass her. "Don't worry. It happens when you least expect it to." It certainly had for me.

Zoe helps me get ready again. She braids my hair up around my face, insisting that I needed to "show off my neck." When she rummages through my clothes, she picks out a nice pink lacy dress and hands it to me. By the time she's finished, I feel slightly overdressed, but I trust her judgment.

"You look perfect," Zoe says proudly, basking in her labors.

As we make our way out into the main part of the house, I hear the doorbell echo loudly into the room. When I look at my phone, it is close to seven. Surprisingly, Penelope seems to be early. Zoe rushes off to grab her things. "I'll be out of your way in two seconds, I promise." I laugh as she scrambles around the house.

"Hello?" I answer the intercom, and I hear Penelope's voice echo on the other end. The camera from the lobby switches on, and I can see her standing at the elevator.

"Someone told me to use the buzzer to call you."

I stare at her for a moment on the screen before I answer. "Just ride to the top, I'll let you in." She nods, and I watch her till she disappears behind the doors. A few minutes later I hear the familiar doorbell ring again, and I unlock the elevator. After it opens and Penelope and I meet eyes, I can feel my heart racing in my chest.

She hadn't worn a dress since the first night I'd met her at the social. It was goldenrod and white striped and went down to the bottom of her thighs. Her hair was styled somewhat messy but at the same time somehow neat. It looked perfect.

"You look really nice," I say softly, unable to take my eyes from her. I notice that she is staring just as intensely at me.

"You do too," she replies as I let her into the house. "I made a cheesecake." She hands me a cardboard box, and I peek inside. "It's German style. I don't know how good it is."

It looks amazing. My heart flutters in my chest at the sentiment. The last time I had German cheesecake had been years and years ago. "Thank you," I smile at her softly. We walk to the kitchen, and I put it in the fridge for later.

The two of us stand there a minute more before I hear Zoe running through the middle of the house. "I took the food up," she says to me quickly as she disappears down the hall towards her room.

Penelope looks at me confused.

"Come on, I'll show you." I usher her back into the elevator and press the button to the roof. We ride up for a moment, and when the doors open, I help her step outside, placing my hands over her eyes before I do. "No peeking." She smiles at my instructions.

Before today, it has been a long time since I'd been up here. The last time I can recall is for a party my aunt had thrown a few years ago. It is a great place to host parties. The view is nearly unobstructed in every direction. There is a small garden off to one side. Zoe and I had set up one of the patio tables near the railing of one of the sides of the roof. My aunt has strung lights across the perimeter of the deck, giving it a soft glow yellow against the sunset. Lights hung above too, draping like a giant canopy of electric stars.

As soon as I lead Penelope over to the table, I release my hands from her, and she opens her eyes slowly. My breath pauses, waiting for her reaction. She doesn't gasp in surprise or cover her mouth with her hands. Instead, she stands there, turning in a slow circle to look around at the view.

"Wow," she finally says breathlessly. Zoe has put on some German music from my aunt's collection through the speakers on the roof, and it plays softly in the background. After Penelope takes a seat, I follow suit, unwrapping the food for her. It smells delicious. My mother and Nina would be proud of my culinary abilities. Roasted chicken and vegetables and Zoe had helped me recreate the potato cakes that Penelope had loved so much.

"You really didn't have to go through all this trouble," Penelope says to me as she looks down at the food. I watch as she tastes a bite of the chicken and her eyes roll back into her head. "Okay, I take that back. Go through the trouble whenever you want."

As soon as she's finished taking another bite, she notices the hard cider sitting next to her plate and lets out a laugh. "Apfelwein!" She says, and I smile, impressed she remembered. I raise my drink to her, and we clank our bottles together smiling at one another.

We get lost in conversation for a while, inadvertently talking mostly about school.

"Why did you want to be a doctor?" I ask her curiously.

"My mom was a doctor," she admits, looking out to the city skyline for a minute. "She used to help run a free clinic in Brooklyn before she passed away. It's what I want to do after school."

It takes me a second to catch what she says. At first, I'm not sure how to answer. We share a glance for a moment, and I give her a small smile. "It's nice you want to follow in her footsteps. A good way to honor her memory." Penelope returns the smile and takes another drink of her cider.

"How about you? Why did you want to be a doctor?"

I think for a moment. It definitely wasn't as eloquent of an answer as hers. "Is it cliché if I say I want to help people? And I was good at biology in high school, believe it or not."

She stifles a laugh while she eats and I nudge her playfully with my foot under the table.

"Tell me more about where you're from," Penelope says when she's recovered from her amusement. "You don't really talk about it much."

I am honest when I tell her about the small city that I grew up in. She is surprised to learn that it's quaint and isolated as she'd pictured it to be. The city was actually quite modern. I had most of the same luxuries that were offered in America. Often times, businesses would come from all over and settle there, just because of the lower taxes.

As we talk, I find myself opening up to her more and more. Suddenly, I feel compelled to tell her what I'd been keeping from her, and everyone else I knew since we met. Just as I'm about to, a song comes on the speakers that seems to catch Penelope's attention.

"I recognize this," she says, and the two of us grow quiet. After I sit for a moment, I realize who it is.

"Sarah Connor?" Her music was famous throughout Germany. While I was sure there were people that had heard of her before here, it still surprised me that Penelope had.

I listen for a moment. The song was titled "Wie schön du bist." A popular German love song. It has been a long time since I have heard it. When I get to my feet, I offer my hand to Penelope, smiling. "Would you dance with me?"

Our eyes meet, and she blushes deeply but doesn't protest. Instead, her hand tucks neatly into mine, and I help her to her feet, leading her to a small space away from the table. She takes a moment to ponder the situation before I feel her hands fall gently on my hips. I wrap my arms around her neck, and the two of us begin to sway together.

It is the first time I'd ever danced with another woman. My body leans close to hers, and I rest my face on her shoulder, letting my nose brush against her cheek. She smells faintly like some sort of flower I couldn't recognize. Her skin is warm and nice, and I can hear her breathing softly as we move.

After a long silence, Penelope speaks to me. "What is she saying?"

My head comes up from her shoulder, and we meet eyes. I listen for a moment, thinking about how the words would translate from German to English. Some of it was hard to explain, but I try my best. "She's talking about how she sees this person that she loves, with all their imperfections. She sees the unique qualities about them. And she's asking them if they know how beautiful they are."

" _Es gibt nichts schöneres als dich._ "

"What did she say then?" Penelope asks me, curiously.

I feel my face blushing as I think about it. When I finally look up into her eyes, the two of us stare at each other for a long moment. "There's nothing more beautiful than you."

Time seems to stand still after that. Our swaying slows, yet Penelope does not pull away from me. My hands still wrap around her neck, and our eyes still stare deeply into one another's. She draws her face to mine, placing her lips almost over my own. I hear her take a deep breath in before she pushes into me.

Her lips are smooth and soft and supple. They slide gently over mine, tickling them. Just barely making contact. I feel her smile after a moment, and she pulls away from me.

"Es gibt.. schöneres dich," she tries to repeat it. I let out a breathy laugh.

"Es gibt nichts schöneres als dich," I reply.

When she tries it again, she puts her hand against my cheek, brushing my hair from my face. "Es gibt nichts schöneres als dich." It is perfect. I sigh hearing it. My mother tongue, coming from the lips of such a beautiful, enchanting woman.

Her thumb strokes my cheek for a moment before we come together again. Softly. The world fades around me, and there is only her and I. Just the two of us. Our lips moving over one another's.

I take Penelope's hand and pull her to the elevator. The entire ride down, we hold hands, and I can feel my heart racing in my chest. Her thumb strokes the skin of the back of my hand as we wait. As soon as the doors open, we move swiftly towards my suite. The nervous and excited energy I feel builds exponentially as we make our way inside.

As soon as I shut the door, I turn to her, and she moves her mouth to mine again. We breathe each other in. Our kisses become much more passionate and deliberate. She kisses me deeply until I slowly open my lips and let her taste inside of me. Her tongue dances with my own. We stay together until there is hardly a breath between us. When we leave one another, it is only briefly. Penelope stares into my eyes for a moment before I pull her back to me.

My hands run down the length of her body, feeling her subtle curves beneath my fingertips. I move slowly and meticulously, working my way down and then back up again until my hands reach her face. Her hands move against me. I gasp softly at her touch. When she reaches the edges of my dress, lingering at my thighs, I feel her fingers graze my skin for a moment. I can hardly stand the adrenaline surging through me.

Penelope waits for a moment to gauge my reaction before she moves around behind me. Her mouth comes down on the back of my neck, kissing my exposed skin. She carefully begins to unzip the back of my dress, letting her fingers stroke down the length of my back as it is revealed. She rolls the fabric over my shoulders, her lips drawing over every piece of showing skin before she slides it off my body.

When I turn around to face her, all I want is to kiss her. We do, and I breathe her in, moving my hands down her until my fingers touch the skin of her legs. We look at each other again for a moment, exchanging a silent confirmation of our desires. Slowly, I let my hands draw underneath the fabric and work it over the length of her. As my palms move over her chest, I can feel the small curves of her breasts, naked underneath my hands. It takes my breath away for a moment, knowing I'd just touched her in that way. By the look on her face, she doesn't seem to mind.

The fabric hits the floor, and we finally look at one another. Carefully, my fingers draw over her exposed skin, from her collar bone, down to the waistline of her undergarments. "Wunderschön," I sigh, looking her over.

We move into my bedroom, taking small kisses from one another as we go. As we stand at the foot of the bed, I carefully remove the final pieces of clothing from my body. She follows suit until there is nothing but flesh between us. I lay down against the soft sheets of the bed, and she comes on top of me.

The feeling of her soft skin against mine is exquisite. Our mouths run together for a moment before her lips trail down the side of my neck and onto my collarbone. Her fingers move in slow patterns down my body until she reaches my breasts. She takes them in her hands tenderly, stroking them. Penelope's mouth moves down in between them and then slowly over top of one. I gasp sharply when she licks at it. She moves to the other, taking the same motions. My body writhes in pleasure underneath her.

When she moves away, and down the center of my body, I feel my heart start to race in my chest. As she passes my belly button, I can barely breathe. Just before Penelope makes it to my middle, she breaks away from me. I lift myself up off the bed a bit to meet eyes with her. As I do, she grazes her fingers down the inside of my thighs, one at a time. My entire body shivers at her touch. Her eyes don't waver from mine.

Everything begins to move in slow motion as I watch Penelope's fingers trail over me. It sends the biggest waves of pleasure I have ever felt in my life through the entire length of my body. Once I've felt as if I couldn't take another stroke, her mouth goes down in between my legs, and I let out a soft moan into the room. I fall back against the sheets, and I close my eyes, letting the sensations wash over me.

My body quakes when it happens, which is very soon after her mouth comes on top of me. I can feel the heat building as my body fills with pleasure. Every breath I take is a sharp gasp. The feeling lasts for a long time, crashing into me again and again. When it finally subsides, my body relaxes into the sheets, and Penelope rises up, our two bodies coming together once more.

## 7

# Penelope

_I s this really happening?_

My mouth presses against Astrid's, letting her taste herself for a moment. She sighs when we meet, her hand running through my hair and around my head. We push together passionately, and I find myself being rolled over onto my back. Her naked flesh still presses against mine. I can feel her everywhere.

Astrid's lips linger close. She leans down and whispers softly. "Ich möchte liebe mit dir machen." When I look at her curiously, her mouth trails to my ear and she tells me that she wants me. My entire body trembles as she moves into my skin. The way she does is so calm and careful. Exploring me like I was as foreign as she was.

Suddenly I realize, I must be. She'd never been with a woman before, as far as I knew.

As she navigates down my body slowly, her fingers and mouth working in tandem, I whisper when she touches me in places that I like. We meet eyes, and she seems to enjoy me helping her. It feels as if her motions mimic my own movements on her, minutes earlier. When her hands run over my breasts, I sigh. Those supple lips follow shortly after and I reach to hold her head to my body, running my hands through her beautiful golden locks.

Before long, Astrid moves down further. Her fingers circle my stomach. Her lips trail down the center of me, over my belly button and down close to my middle. I watch her take pause a moment, her gaze meeting mine.

"I'll help you," I whisper, running my hand over her head again. First, she lets her fingers trail along my legs and around the outside. When she is satisfied, I feel her fingers gently fall over me, stroking softly. My body pushes back against the bed sheets, and my muscles tighten.

"That's good," I encourage her as she works into me. Just as she starts to build a rhythm with her hand, I feel the heat of her breath. I was not prepared for how intense it would be to have her mouth in between my legs. When it happens, I cry out so loudly that she pauses for a moment. "It feels amazing," I gasp, propping my body up to meet her eyes. Astrid moves back down on me again, and I let the sensations wash over me. Every touch is thought out as she gently caresses me.

Finally, she finds the spot that sends me into a frenzy. "There," I breathe, falling back again and holding her head gently in my hands. She works over me until the heat and the pleasure come in soft rolls. It seems to go on forever. When it passes, I stroke Astrid's head gently until she pulls up from me and joins me back on the bed.

Our bodies intertwine, so we are touching as much as humanly possible, but still able to look into one another's eyes. Astrid smiles at me, and I reach out to softly stroke the side of her face with my fingertips. We don't speak for a long time. Finally, she rolls over and presses her body against mine. I wrap my arm around her tightly.

"Es gibt nichts schöneres als dich," I remind myself, whispering in her ear. I can feel her laugh and her hand reach up to gently pat my cheek.

"Es gibt nichts schöneres als dich," Astrid repeats, just before I feel her body relax and fall fast asleep.

There hadn't been a time in recent memory that I had awakened in such an amazing way. A beautiful woman lay snuggled against me, her warm flesh pressing against my own. I could hear her breathing quietly, still asleep. My fingers trailed over her skin, and I leaned my mouth into the crook of her neck. I feel her stir against me.

"Good morning," I whisper, kissing her earlobe and running my hand up the side of her body. I hear her sigh softly before she rolls over to meet eyes with me.

"Good morning," Astrid replies, giving a gentle smile that melts me. "Did you sleep well?"

"I don't think I've slept better in my life," I admit. I lean down to kiss her. We stay there for a moment before I take her in my arms. In minutes I have her crying out into the room again.

After we'd both been satisfied, the two of us get dressed. Astrid goes out into the main living space, fetching the cheesecake from the fridge. When she comes back, I laugh.

"Just when I didn't think my morning could get any better, we eat cheesecake for breakfast!"

The two of us sit together chatting away, eating half of the dessert before we stop. Astrid compliments me on multiple occasions about my culinary abilities, but I'm still convinced she's the master chef in this relationship.

Wait, were we in a relationship? It sure felt like it. When I look up to her, her eyes are already on mine. We smile at one another, and she takes my hand in hers. Just where it was meant to be.

\---

Astrid and I continue our private romantic engagements all throughout the semester. I spend nearly every evening at the penthouse, and when we aren't studying, we are passionately engaged in other activities. I'd ask a thousand times to take her out, but she'd insist that we keep our relationship private for the time being, so I oblige. There isn't any way I would turn that beautiful woman down.

The semester blows by, and before we know it, there are finals steadily approaching. We find ourselves spending less time with each other and more time intensely focused on passing our classes. Charlotte and Oliver are attached at our hip most days. When we aren't in class, the four of us are more often than not at the library studying.

Finals last for four days. When I breeze through them, I scare myself senseless, worrying that I'd gone too fast or I am overly confident. All the while, I worry over Astrid too, but every time I watch her during our tests, she seems to be doing alright.

The last day before winter vacation, I meet Dr. Lawson at the clinic for my final set of patients. Thanks to Astrid, most of the routine things I'd gotten the hang of. Today, I'd be doing nearly all of the triage by myself, with Dr. Lawson's supervision. Case history, the physical exam, deciding the next steps. _No pressure_ , I thought to myself as I made my way to the back.

Dr. Lawson greets me with a smile when I see her.

"You're early," she notes. For once in my life, anyway.

Clinic is a breeze. We see a total of ten patients up until lunch time, and I handle nearly everything myself. All I can think about in between appointments is how much I owed to Astrid for helping me overcome my anxieties.

Dr. Lawson meets with me at lunch to discuss my grade. When she shows me the A on the computer, I can barely believe it.

"There are a few things you can work on for next semester, but you deserve it," she says, sitting back in her seat.

When I reach the medical school building, I spot Astrid standing outside, shielding her eyes from the sun. She wears her slick black coat, her hair up in a bun on her head. The snow falling lightly around her makes her look angelic in a way. A sight for sore eyes. As soon as she sees me, her face lights up.

"I passed my classes!" She calls to me, a smile spread across her face.

There is a crowd leaving the building behind her. Before I can think, overwhelmed by the sight of her and the events of the day, I rush to her, my arms wrapping around her body while my mouth draws firmly on hers. In broad daylight, in front of two dozen medical students, I kiss her. Astrid sighs, placing her hand against the side of my cheek and sinking into it. It lasts for a good while before finally, I pull away from her.

"I knew it!" I hear a familiar voice behind us, and when I turn, Charlotte stands behind us, her hand wrapped in Oliver's.

"You knew it?" Oliver scoffs. "I told you something was fishy about them in the library."

"Only after I told you they'd been pining after each other since the beginning of school," Charlotte rolls her eyes at him.

When I look at Astrid, she is blushing. She takes her hand in mine and squeezes it. I lean over and kiss her softly on her forehead, breathing her in.

"I couldn't take it any longer," I whisper to her before I move away.

She smiles at me and leans in to plant another small kiss on my lips. It sends a wave of happiness through me from top to bottom. "I know, me either."

\---

To celebrate our victorious semester and the beginnings of a new chapter in our relationship, Astrid finally lets me take her to my favorite sushi restaurant, Sushi on Main. It was another gem close to the university that I'd gone to hundreds of times over the years.

I meet her that night out front of her apartment building, and the two of us walk the city streets down the few blocks to the restaurant. It is in the basement of a small older-looking brick building. Astrid gives me a questionable look and takes my hand as we walk down the steps.

"Trust me, it doesn't look like much, but it's amazing."

I'm asked to order, given my expertise, and find that my mouth is much bigger than my stomach. Astrid gets a ramen bowl to eat for herself but at my insistence allows me to force sushi on her. I watch curiously as she tries to work the chopsticks to pick up a piece, to no avail. My hand covers my mouth to stifle a laugh. She looks up at me frustrated.

After I finish my food, I move over to her side of the table, sitting beside her. My hand wraps around hers, demonstrating how to correctly hold the chopsticks. When it seems like she has a handle on it, I let her attempt again, and again she fails miserably.

I pick up a less fishy roll with my own set of chopsticks and hold it out for her to try. She looks at me for a moment before she takes it in her mouth. As she tastes it, I watch her facial expression change to one of pleasure. She lets out a small sigh.

"That was amazing," she says when she opens her eyes and looks at me. When our gaze meets, my heart skips a little beat. My thoughts wander on about her adorable face and those perfect pink lips. Suddenly, all I want is to be alone with her again.

In record speed, we finish our food, yet it doesn't seem fast enough. The entire time, the two of us stare at one another longingly. I feel Astrid's foot softly rub against the side of my leg. As soon as we make it outside the restaurant, having completely forgotten our to-go boxes, I bring her along the alleyway and press her body against the brick wall. Our mouths come together in a passionate fury. When we break, I gasp. "Let's go to my place." It's right down the street.

Our hands are clasped together the entire walk home. Running up those three flights of stairs seems like an eternity. Luckily my father is at work for a few more hours at least. I realize, just before I open the door, that Astrid hasn't been to my apartment before. We stand outside for a moment, and I turn to her.

"It's kind of small," I explain. Her big eyes stare at me curiously. "And I don't know how clean it is. I've been kind of busy—" My voice trails off as I watch Astrid draw into me.

"Penelope," she says softly, her face very close to mine.

"Mm?" I reply, doing my best not to kiss her right then and there.

"Open the door," she says, putting her mouth on mine for a moment. We stand there in the hall, our lips moving over one another's before I finally manage to turn around and shakily open the door.

Brutus and Smokey are there to greet us as soon as I do. As I wave them out of the way, I hear Astrid behind me. The minute she closes the door, she erupts into a sneezing fit. When she recovers, her eyes are red and her nose runny. I feel horribly guilty.

"Are you allergic to cats or dogs?" I ask, shooing the animals away down the hall.

"Both," Astrid admits as we make our way into the kitchen. I shuffle through the cabinets for allergy medication and fetch her a glass of water. She takes it graciously.

"I see why you're always sneezing around me now," I laugh. "I should have realized sooner."

"What are their names?" She asks, and I call them over to introduce them to her. Even amidst her allergies, she pets them both softly. Brutus takes to her immediately, wagging his stubby little tail as she scratches his back.

With Astrid's allergies abound, we decide to sit and chat for a while. Eventually, I start craving dessert and the two of us root through cabinets for ingredients to make cookies.

"Let's make Haselnussmakronen," she suggests to me once we find everything she'd been looking for. "Do you have jam?"

"Hasel-what?" I reply, digging through the fridge door for some raspberry jam. When I hand it to her, she smiles at me.

"Macaroons," she says. "They're easy."

Just as I thought that Astrid couldn't be more perfect, her baking skills proved otherwise. The two of us work like a well-oiled machine. Much like her skills at helping me with clinic, she is a great teacher at baking German food as well. Before long, we'd made two dozen tiny and beautiful cookies with jam in the center.

I heat the tea kettle, and the two of us sit, admiring our hard work. By then, Astrid's allergies had settled, and she'd resumed playing with the animals. It made my heart happy that she got along with them so well.

The second I finish making our tea, the front door rattles and my father steps inside. He looks exhausted but happily greets the pets who run up to meet him. When he spots Astrid and me in the kitchen, his face breaks into a smile.

"I didn't realize we'd have guests," he says, looking at me for a moment. "You must be Astrid. I'm Thomas, nice to meet you." My father holds out his hand, and she takes it into a firm handshake.

"I didn't realize Penelope talked about me," she says innocently, looking in my direction.

My father laughs. "Oh, Penny talks about you all the time." As soon as he says it, I nudge him playfully in the side, feeling myself getting red from embarrassment. He offers me a hug, and Astrid smiles between us.

"We made cookies," I look him, trying to change the subject. He looks at them, impressed, picking one out of the bunch to try. "Haselmuchen." I butcher it terribly.

Astrid laughs. "Haselnussmakronen. Macaroons."

"Tasty," my father says, having another after he finishes the first.

The two of us sit at the table a while, munching on cookies and drinking tea. My father has a cup of coffee, given the fact that he'd head off to his other job in a few hours. Astrid gets bombarded with questions about her life overseas. I can tell at points she seems uncomfortable to answer.

"You look so familiar to me," my father says to her as he finishes off a final cookie. He must have eaten nearly an entire tray just by himself. "I can't place it. Are you sure you aren't a famous German actress that I should know about?"

Again, Astrid has a strange look on her face that I can't place. She offers a small smile and waves him off. "I wish," she laughs quietly before taking another sip of tea.

"Alright kiddo," he says to me, standing up from his seat. "I'm going to go get a few hours of sleep." He looks up at Astrid, holding out his hand. "It was a pleasure to finally meet you."

"You too," she says.

"I think I'm going to go over to Astrid's for a while," I tell my father before he leaves. When I say it, Astrid gives me a playful look, which I return before he turns to nod at me.

"Have a good night you two," he waves, calling the animals down the hall with him.

The two of us leave shortly afterward. Quietly, Astrid sneaks me into the dark penthouse, lit only by the city lights outside. I would have stood to admire the view if I hadn't been pulled along softly by a demanding hand. As we walk, she turns to steal kisses from me every couple of steps. We giggle when our mouths meet.

Our clothes hit the floor seconds after we've made it into the suite. Astrid looks beautiful in the faint lights of the city around us. I push her naked frame up onto the glass window in her kitchen, pressing my mouth to her neck. My hand runs down her flesh, in between her legs. She moves against me, gasping softly as I work. Her fingers dig lightly into my back, holding on to me as her body begins to quiver. Every stroke I make causes her to gasp into my ear. I continue until I feel her relax into me.

We move into her bedroom, lying down on the bed. Our mouths meet over and over, and Astrid tries desperately to stay awake, but soon I find her nestled in the sheets, her hand resting on the side of my body. Between the medicine from earlier and her intense release, I knew she couldn't help but be exhausted. My hand strokes down her softly and then rests on her cheek, looking at her in the faint light around us. She is the most beautiful thing in the world.

"Es gibt nichts schöneres als dich," I whisper softly, running my hands over her again and kissing her on her forehead. My eyes glance at her once more before I take the image of her with me in my dreams.

## 8

# Astrid

When I awake the next morning, I find Penelope sleeping soundly beside me. Her blonde hair is tousled, her mouth just slightly open while she breathes quietly. She looks peaceful. For a few minutes, I watch her sleep before I draw my lips on to her skin. My body moves on top, while my mouth works over her. She stirs, her eyes fluttering open as I move over the flesh of her breasts.

Penelope lets out a soft sigh, and I continue downward till I reach her middle. When I come down on top of her, her hips buck upward towards me. My mouth and fingers work together, pleasuring her senseless. When she finally releases, she cries out my name softly into the sheets, her hands buried in my hair. Penelope's thighs squeeze around my head, and I feel her go for a long while. After she relaxes, I move up to kiss her.

"Good morning," I let out a small laugh when we break apart.

She smiles up at me, brushing the hair from my face. "Well good morning to you too." I feel her push her legs together, savoring the remnants of my pleasuring. She wraps her arms around me, holding me close to her. We stay there for a minute before my stomach starts to grumble.

"Want some breakfast?" I ask, looking up at her. Penelope nods eagerly. "Okay, be right back. Don't move." We kiss again briefly before I break away from her and wrap myself in a robe.

I make my way out into the penthouse. It is still early, so I do my best to keep quiet. Partially because I didn't want to disturb my aunt. Partially because I didn't want my aunt knowing that I had company. The hopeful thought didn't last for long.

As I round the corner in the kitchen, I am surprised to find my aunt and cousin sitting at the breakfast bar together, drinking coffee.

"Good morning, Schatzi," Nina says to me with a smile. Zoe hides a bashful face behind her mug. I look at them curiously as I make my way over to the fridge.

"Good morning," I reply, pulling out eggs and bacon.

"Why don't you have Penny join us for breakfast?" my aunt says behind me and I feel my heart start to race a little bit. "I was going to make pancakes." This was bribery at its finest. She made the best pancakes, and she knew I wouldn't turn them down.

"I'll go get her," I reply quietly, making my way out of the kitchen. Before I turn the corner, I look back at her. "How did you.." Nina gives me a mischievous smile. "Never mind, I don't want to know."

As soon as I make it into the suite and back into the bedroom, Penelope pulls me back on the bed, and the two of us kiss softly for a moment. "I change my mind. I'd rather lie here a while."

"My aunt invited you to breakfast," I say when we meet eyes. Fear washes over her face at a rapid pace.

"Did you.." she asks.

"Of course not," I reply quickly. "Somehow she figured it out. But she's making pancakes. And you don't turn down Nina's pancakes. Trust me."

Penelope and I dress swiftly, and the two of us head out into the central part of the penthouse. She holds my hand until we round the corner into the kitchen. I watch her step behind me, making a bashful entrance. My aunt wastes no time trying to make her feel comfortable. We sit at the bar next to Zoe, and the four of us get lost in conversation.

As promised, Nina's pancakes are to die for. They're German style, cooked in a deep cast iron skillet. It is typically served with lemon and powdered sugar, but my aunt liked to put jam on hers. She made one for each of us, giving Penelope hers first. By the time I had gotten mine, she'd finished hers off and started to steal some from me. I batted her hand away, laughing.

"Astrid's a scrooge when it comes to food," Zoe says.

"I've noticed," Penelope replies, looking at me. I roll my eyes at her playfully and push my plate towards her. She takes another sliver from the side and munches on it happily.

After Nina makes herself a pancake, she joins us, sitting on the opposite side of the bar. Mostly the conversation turns to questions about Penelope, which she gladly answers.

The four of us work together to clean the kitchen after we'd finished eating. Penelope hops right in, drying dishes after I wash them in the sink. Our hands touch each time, and it sends shivers through me. We meet eyes, and all I want is to take her back into the bedroom again.

Instead, we are interrupted by the loud ring of the doorbell.

"Now who on Earth is that," my aunt says curiously, walking into the living room. Zoe, Penelope and I watch from the corner of the kitchen as she answers the intercom.

Every ounce of blood runs out of my face. My heart races furiously in my chest. I can't breathe. The minute I hear her voice, it's as if the entire world comes to a standstill. When her pristine German came echoing through the house, it was all I could do to keep myself upright. I suppose I was starting to fall over because I felt Penelope arm around my waist.

"Are you alright?" She asks me. Suddenly it occurs to me that not only was it a bad sign that my mother had decided to show up in New York, but it was even worse that she was here with Penelope.

"One-second dear, I'll let you right in." Nina turns swiftly when the intercom turns off and heads to us. "I'll keep her distracted, but you have to be quick."

"What's going on?" Penelope asks, rather confused.

I can hear my mother's voice echo through the living room. My aunt rambles on with her, both of them chatting in German. They are very excited to see one another. It had been many years since my mother had visited the states.

"Let me show you what I've done with the place since you last visited," Nina says, and I hear them trail off down the hallway to the other end of the house. As soon as they do I pull Penelope along, straight towards the elevator. When we reach it, I turn to face her.

"I can't explain right now, but you'll have to trust me," I tell her quickly.

"Who is that?" She asks me, still looking confused.

"That is my mother," I reply, slightly panicked. "And she can't know you are here. I'll explain everything later, I promise."

As the elevator opens, I help Penelope inside, and when she looks at me again, I move into her, planting a firm kiss on her lips. A kiss that I hope says everything that I couldn't say at that moment. Her eyes stare into mine until the elevators close.

I feel Zoe's hand wrap around my wrist. "Come on. They're coming back." The two of us race towards the other end of the house. We make perfect timing, my mother, and Nina roaming out into the living room just as we did.

"Mama?" I do my best to act surprised. "What are you doing here?"

My mother moves in one swift motion, wrapping her arms tightly around me. "Oh Schatzi," she says, kissing the top of my forehead. "I missed you so much."

In my mixed emotional state, I can't help but feel happy to have her around me again. As much as I want to escape that other world, it didn't take away from the fact that I missed my family dearly.

"I missed you too," I smile at her when we part.

We sit on the couch, the four of us, making conversation and enjoying each others company. Finally, my mother explains the real reason that she had come all the way here.

"I want to take you home," she says, squeezing my shoulder. "It's time for you to fulfill the plan that was laid out for you. Time for you to marry Lukas. Time for you to play your part for your country."

Ever since my birth, that was all I ever heard. My duty to my country. My role in my family. My marriage to Lukas. And I lived in it, accepting my fate for so many years. Finally, when Lukas and I decided our lives were never meant for one another, my mind changed. Suddenly I saw my world for what it really was. Exactly that. My world. So I decided to leave, no matter the consequences. To decide my own fate. And once again, my mother was entangling herself in it.

"I'm not going home, Mama," I tell her quietly, trying my best not to argue.

"You've been here four months," she argues. "Don't you think it's about time you come home to your family? It's Christmas. You have a wedding to plan and Lukas to think about."

I can feel Zoe's hand slowly slide onto mine when my mother says those words. It is the only reason I manage to stop myself from replying with something I shouldn't.

"Mama, I'm never going to marry Lukas. I'm not in love with Lukas."

"This isn't about love, Schatzi. It's about duty," my mother says.

"Lukas and my marriage is merely a formality, and you know it," I found myself rising to my feet. "It doesn't matter if we marry."

Nina stares at us. "Perhaps it would be best-"

"I'll not argue with you," my mother's voice is stern and demanding. The scolding voice she'd gotten when I was a child and disobeyed her. "You're coming home, and that is final."

"Mama, I can't come back with you." The tone of my voice has turned pleading. She stares at me a long while, waiting for the rest. It takes everything in my power to force myself to say it, knowing full well the consequences that would likely come with it.

"I'm going to medical school," I tell her, and I watch her facial expression drop. There is silence between us for a long time. Nina and Zoe look incredibly uncomfortable. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," I apologize. She still says nothing. Instead, she takes a sip of her coffee. I feel Zoe's hand squeeze mine again, and I squeeze it back.

"Astrid," she finally says, and the two of us meet eyes. "I'm going to ask you this once more."

"I can't Mama," I tell her before she even speaks.

"If you've made up your mind, I have no choice but to let you make your own decisions." Relief floods my face when she says this. It doesn't last for long. "However, it doesn't mean I am going to agree with them."

"That's fair," I reply, but she cuts me off quickly before I can say anything else.

"Turning your back on your duties to our family, the people of our country, when you know you have a responsibility. I won't be able to forgive you for that."

Pain shoots through me. My heart sinks deeply into my chest at the thought of having disappointed her. She can hardly stand to look at me. "If you decide to stay, your father and I will not support you with it." When she says it, I know exactly what she means. The way she had worded it made it perfectly clear.

"If you think you can threaten me with your money, you are sorely mistaken," I tell her flatly, insulted that she'd even used it as a means to manipulate me. "Do you know how hard I've been working? This is what I want Mama, why can't you let me do this? I can come back home when I've finished."

"But you won't marry Lukas?"

"I don't love Lukas," I repeat, the two of us meeting eyes again.

"This isn't a matter of love—"

Finally, I can't take it anymore. "No, Mama. You see, that's where you're wrong. It is about love to me. It is about passion. What is life if there is no passion? What is life without things to care about? And don't tell me I don't care about my country because you know very well that I do. But I'm not going to sit here and waste any more time arguing with you when I know what I want." I move swiftly towards the elevator, fetching my coat off the rack.

"And what is that you want so badly that you're willing to throw away the life that was given to you?" My mother calls out to me, and I turn swiftly on my heel.

"To tell someone how much I love them," I reply, stepping onto the elevator and letting the doors close quickly behind me.

The snow is coming down heavily outside. What would normally be a ten-minute walk to Penelope's took a half hour. Just as I am getting ready to open the door into her building, she comes rushing out, bundled in a coat, carrying Brutus.

When we meet eyes, she laughs softly, setting the dog on the ground outside. "What are you doing here?" She asks me, as we stand and stare at each other for a moment. The snow is coming down so hard it 's hard to see her through it.

I pull her close, wrapping my hands around her face and kissing her. Our lips fall together and stay for a long while until I pull away and let out a series of sneezes.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry," Penelope says, and I smile. My eyes wander over her, standing in her cute fuzzy winter coat, her blonde hair blowing in every direction. The small smile returned to me when we meet glances makes my heart beat so hard in my chest I can barely stand it.

"Ich liebe dich," I tell her fervently. I take her gloved hands in mine, pulling her close. It's the only way I can think to say it as strongly as I feel it inside of me.

It takes her a moment to think it over before she realizes what it means. I watch her eyes grow wide, meeting mine. Her hands squeeze back, and she lets out a laugh. "Ich liebe dich too," she says, kissing me softly. When I look down, Brutus is barking at us, wagging his tail.

"I love you too, I guess." I laugh, leaning down to scratch him behind the ears.

## 9

# Penelope

I sit on the couch, while Astrid lays stretched out with her head in my lap. She looks up at me, those big eyes watching me closely.

"I have something I need to talk to you about," she says. The tone of her voice sends a chill through me. For some reason, I have a feeling is something I don't want to hear. "It's about earlier."

She sits up, and we meet eyes. "I'm really sorry for making you leave."

"I understand," I smile softly at her.

She takes her hands in mine before she continues. "Where I'm from, there are still a lot of people who believe that women are meant to get married and have children. Especially my family. They don't understand other ways of thinking. That not everyone has the same ideas."

"My mother has this plan that I'm supposed to marry this man I've known since I was a child. It's an arranged marriage of sorts. She doesn't realize that neither he nor I want anything to do with that arrangement. We never have."

My mind goes deep in thought, imagining the idea of Astrid being promised to someone. Someone she didn't want to be with. It is like I can't decide how to feel, whether to be relieved that she felt that way, or concerned that her family had other plans for her or both. Finally, I manage to shake the doubts from my head.

"She also didn't know I was here for medical school," Astrid admits.

"You didn't tell her about going to school? What did she think you were doing here then?"

"I'm not sure. But I finally told her today. I'm done with that life. I have a life here now. A life with you."

I can't help but smile at her words. She leans into me and kisses me deeply until we both lay down on the couch, our bodies colliding.

\---

Astrid spent the next few days at my father and my apartment, only going home briefly to fetch clothes from the penthouse. By that time her mother had gone back to Europe. It put her in a bit of a solemn mood, but I did my best to remedy it. At the end of the week, I took her out for a surprise. Oliver and Charlotte met us at the other end of the city, both looking rather annoyed that I'd dragged them out of bed so early while we were all on holiday break.

"This better be good," Oliver complains when we make our way down the street after we'd parked. Astrid holds my hand while we walk.

"I promise, it is," I reply as we turn the corner. My heart beats a little faster in my chest when I see it.

The Manhattan Free Clinic.

Astrid looks up at me and smiles brightly. "Is this your mom's clinic?"

I nod at her, smiling softly. Oliver and Charlotte exchange glances.

"Your mom had a clinic?" Charlotte asks, curiously.

"She worked here before she died. Dedicated her whole life to this place." We make our way across the street and into the automatic doors at the front of the building. Warm air greets us when we enter. They'd remodeled since the last time I'd come here many years ago.

"We're going to volunteer for the day," I explain as I wave at the receptionist.

"Dr. Murphy is in the back," she tells me, holding her hand over the microphone on her phone. I nod, waving my friends down the hall.

The four of us spend the day triaging patients, giving exams, administering flu shots and other routine vaccinations, drawing blood, and everything else they could possibly give us to do. It was the best practice I'd had all semester, and Oliver and Charlotte looked extremely grateful to have the opportunity. By the end of the afternoon, all of us were on a high from having spent the whole day in our element.

"I can see why your mom loved it so much," Astrid says, taking my hand again as we leave the building. "That was amazing."

Oliver and Charlotte nod in agreement before they offer the suggestion to get dinner together. The four of us make our way down to the end of the block to an old greasy spoon diner.

We enjoy a nice meal together, taking in the ambiance of the restaurant and the pleasure of each other's company. Our conversations last for hours, having lost all track of time. When the waitress comes with our checks, Astrid beats me to the punch and offers to pay. A few minutes later, we are interrupted again.

"Excuse me," the waitress looks at Astrid, and she smiles at her. "I'm afraid your card isn't working. I tried it a few times, and it keeps saying declined."

A confused look stretches across her face. I quickly pull out my card from my wallet and hand it to the waitress, smiling politely. "Here you go."

I knew as soon as the two of us meet glances that Astrid's parents had done exactly what they had threatened to do. She looks completely panicked.

"It's okay," I say, placing an arm around her. "We'll figure it out." Astrid rests her head on my shoulder sighing. Charlotte reaches for her hand and squeezes it.

That evening, after we'd said our goodbyes to the couple, Astrid and I go to College Market to get her application. She has an on-the-spot interview by Stephanie and is instantly hired on. I can see the relief spread across her face. It occurs to me that in all of her luxuries, she'd likely never held a job before.

As we make our way back to my apartment, I take her hand in mine.

"I have a job!" She exclaims excitedly, looking at me. Her response catches me off-guard and before I know it I'm laughing.

"You have a job," I reply, nudging her softly in the shoulder.

\---

Astrid starts work immediately and continues every day up through Christmas. Most of the shifts we have together, but she takes extra just to make additional money. By then she'd left my father and my apartment to return to the penthouse. I didn't see her as much as I would have liked, but I was happy for her none-the-less.

Christmas Eve came, and we were given the night off. I'd gotten off a bit earlier than Astrid, so I met her at the store when her shift had ended. As we walked down the street back towards our homes, I suddenly take a detour down the sidewalk of another side-street. Astrid looks at me confused as I string her along.

"Where are we going?" She asks curiously.

"I have a surprise for you," I reply. "It's a Christmas present."

"You didn't have to get me anything!"

"I know you got me something, I saw it at your house the other day. And I wanted to do this. You'll like it, I promise." I squeeze her hand. "Now you have to close your eyes from this point on."

Astrid gives me a curious look before she closes her eyes. Somehow I navigate her up a flight of stairs, into an elevator, down a hall, and to a door, without managing to kill either of the two of us.

After we make it inside, I turn the light on low by the door and slowly take my hands away from her eyes. She opens them and looks around, trying to place everything together.

It is an older place. I'd got a good deal on it. Two bedrooms, one bath. It has a beautiful fireplace which I'd lit before I went to pick her up. All hardwood floors. A nice kitchen with a view of the city through the windows. It is certainly not the penthouse, but it is or can be, ours.

There is an air mattress made up by the fire with a bottle of wine beside it. In the corner, I bought a small Christmas tree. Underneath, I stole Astrid's Christmas present for me from Nina. I wonder for a moment if I had been overly presumptuous in assuming she might fancy the idea, but my worries are quickly extinguished.

She turned to meet my eyes, still looking confused. I smiled at her, taking hold of her hands. "What is this place?" She asks me.

"Our home," I reply, and then I think for a moment, trying to remember what I'd learned earlier that day. "Zuhos."

"Zuhause," Astrid laughs, putting her hand on my cheek and kissing me softly. "Are you serious?"

"I just thought it might be nice to have our own place for once," I smile, pulling a key from my coat pocket and placing it in her hand. "Only if you want to."

"Of course I'd want to," she says, wiping happy tears from her eyes.

Astrid and I go late into the evening talking, stretched out across the mattress drinking wine and laughing. After a while, I reach into my pocket for my phone and realize it's after midnight.

"Merry Christmas," I say, rolling over to pull her close to me. Our lips meet for a moment, and I sigh when they do.

"Merry Christmas," she replies when we break, and then moves across the room to get the small box under the tree. "Here, I want you to open it now." She hands it to me, and I inspect the beautiful wrapping job.

"My aunt did it," Astrid admits. "I tried, but I have no idea what I'm doing." I laugh, not the least bit shocked.

Carefully I tear at the paper until I have the box unwrapped. When I open it, I'm surprised to find that the majority of it is mostly empty. At the bottom sits a long card. I look up at her, slightly confused.

"Just open it," Astrid nods to me, and I oblige. It is written in German.

_Fröhliche Weihnachten!_ it reads. "Merry Christmas?" I ask, and she nods.

Before I can open the card all the way, two pieces of thick paper fall into my lap. I hold them up into the firelight and realize they are plane tickets.

"It's technically from my Aunt and Zoe too," Astrid replies. "I got them a month ago. I couldn't wait. It's for this summer. I thought you could come visit."

"I've never been out of the country before," I admit.

"Do you not like it?" Astrid looks worried for a moment, and I smile, wrapping my hand around hers. I pull her to me, and we meet mouths again, passionately. Gently, I lay her down against the bed and pull myself on top of her. "I love you."

"Ich liebe dich," she replies, kissing me. I feel her hand sweep along the side of my face, as our kisses grow hungrier.

"You know what this apartment needs," Astrid says when I break from her.

"Mm?" I reply, placing my lips on the side of her neck. She giggles softly when I do and doesn't finish her thought, wrapping her hands in my hair as I make my way down her.

Neither of us gets much sleep that night, too wrapped up in each other to care otherwise. By morning we are both exhausted and make our way back to the penthouse to catch a few hours of sleep. Nina makes us breakfast, and we sit, the four of us, enjoying each other's company until neither Astrid nor I could keep our eyes open.

As we lay in bed together, before I am able to drift off to sleep, I feel Astrid's hand stroke the side of my face. I look at her curiously. The way she stares at me worries me slightly.

"Are you alright?" I ask her when we meet eyes. I take her hand in mine.

"I want to tell you something," she says softly, her eyes not wavering. "But I don't want you to be mad at me."

"I don't think I could ever be mad at you," I joke playfully, kissing her on the nose.

"I'm serious," she replies, and I can tell by the change of the tone of her voice that she most certainly was.

"What is it?"

"I'm not actually from Germany," she admits. When she says it, I don't really know what to feel, so I ask the first thing that comes to mind.

"Where are you from?"

"Liechtenstein," Astrid says, "It's a small country between Switzerland and Austria."

"Why didn't you tell me?" I ask, not really feeling angry, just more curious than anything.

"My life is just sort of complicated," she says, putting her free hand on the side of my face, stroking my cheek with her thumb. "I haven't told anyone where I'm from. My parents are somewhat in the public eye. I don't really want anything to do with that life anymore. That's why I came here. To get away from all of it."

There is something she isn't telling me, but I don't press her. "Well, wherever you're from, I'm glad you're here regardless." Astrid lets out a sigh and wraps her arm around my body. I kiss her forehead, and the two of us lay there silent. Even though I wasn't angry, something about her feeling as if she couldn't tell me the truth made me feel very uncomfortable. A few minutes later I hear her softly breathing and fast asleep, her head resting on the side of my chest.

Whatever it was, at least she'd told me the truth. Or I hoped so, anyway.

\---

The spring semester passes so quickly it feels like the blink of an eye. The thoughts I'd had over Christmas had seemed to vanish due to how busy we'd become. Living with Astrid had been the best thing that ever happened to me. Between the apartment and her new job, it seemed as if she'd grown some confidence about being independent.

The last day of the semester, Oliver, Charlotte, Astrid and I gather at the computer lab to check our grades. When we find that we all have passed, we make plans to go out to celebrate. Astrid and I go our separate ways for a while so I can go hang out with my dad while he's home from work.

Brutus and Smokey greet me at the door. I missed them a lot since I'd moved out, but I came to visit frequently and to help my Dad out with chores. As I make my way into the kitchen, my father is waiting for me at the table, reading the newspaper. He gives me a glance as I walk into the room.

"Hey kiddo, how was school?"

"I passed all my classes," I tell him, grabbing some coffee before I sit down across from him at the table.

He offers me a smile, taking a sip of coffee. I can tell something is up just by his body language. I offer him a curious look, and he takes a breath before he speaks.

"Do you know about Astrid?" My dad asks me, folding his newspaper on top of itself so that it's back on the front page.

"What do you mean?" I reply curiously, leaning back in the chair.

"I mean, do you know about Astrid," he replies, turning the newspaper around to face me.

On the cover in big bold letters, it reads: **_Liechtenstein's Vogt Family Celebrates the Birth of the Seventh Royal Family Member._**

I look at him, not understanding. He nods towards the paper again, and I breeze through the text. At the bottom of the page is a large photo of all of the Vogts standing together in front of some castle. I remain confused until a familiar individual catches my eye. Her face is unmistakable. The paper comes up to my face so I can study it more carefully. At the bottom, the caption reads the list of names in the photo. The last name makes my heart sink deep into my chest.

Princess Astrid Vogt.

I can hardly breathe. My father and I meet eyes, and he looks just as stunned as I do.

"I shouldn't have shown you," he decides, trying to take the paper back from me. I refuse, folding it in my hands.

"No, you did the right thing," I reply, standing up from the table. "I have to go talk to her."

My father looks at me concerned as I make my way out of the kitchen. I give Brutus and Smokey some love before I leave and then make my way back down into New York's busy streets.

It's late in the afternoon now. When I check my phone, I realize that Astrid and I are supposed to meet Oliver and Charlotte in an hour for dinner. I call Oliver, explaining to him quickly that we'd probably wouldn't be able to make it, barely able to contain my emotions when I did. He sounds concerned but doesn't press me. When I hang up, I force myself to take deep breaths.

Astrid. A Princess. A Princess of an entire country.

_Penny, oh Penny, what have you gotten yourself into?_

A whole year she'd gone without telling me.

_My family is sort of in the public eye_. I remember her words from months ago. How could I not have asked her what she meant? What was I thinking?

By the time I reach our apartment building I am so angry I can hardly see straight. When I open the door, Astrid is stretched out on the couch, reading a book. She smiles at me, but it quickly turns to a look of concern when I come to sit across from her, barely able to contain my frustration.

"Are you alright?" She asks, inching closer to me.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" I ask. "Something, I don't know, you should have told me maybe... months ago. A year ago even."

It doesn't take but just a minute for Astrid to put two and two together. I pass her off the newsletter that had been crinkled up in my hand, and she opens it to the front page. Her eyes grow wide the minute she sees the heading and the picture.

"Oh, Penelope," she says, looking up at me. I can tell by the look in her eyes she feels terrible, but somehow at this moment, it doesn't matter to me.

"Why did you lie to me? All this time?" I ask her, firmly.

For a moment she doesn't have an answer. Finally, she takes a breath. "I didn't mean for it to come out this way."

"How did you mean for it to come out exactly? Were you ever going to tell me?"

Astrid looks up towards the tickets that we'd tacked to the fridge. "I wanted to tell you when we went to Liechtenstein."

"Astrid," I can't even hardly look at her. "You waited an entire year to tell me that you're royalty." Then it occurs to me. "Is that Lukas guy you're supposed to marry—is he a Prince?"

She nods, and I feel my body sink even further into the couch.

"I can't do this." I can feel tears start to run down my face. "This is just too much. You should have told me."

"I know," Astrid says, looking at the floor.

"I have to go," I say, getting to my feet. "I already told Oliver and Charlotte we couldn't make it."

Astrid stands up, trying to reach for my hand. I pull away from her, turning towards the door. "Not right now."

Before she can say another word to me, I leave, unable to look back at her.

I spend hours walking around downtown, lost in my thoughts. Finally, I end up at the coffee shop down the street from College Market. The one where Astrid and I had our first date. For once, in my many years of living, I sat at a window seat, watching people as they walked by.

Just as I was about to leave, I watch as she walks past the building. We meet glances, and she breaks into a small smile, waving at me. I wave back and follow her movements as she enters.

"I was looking everywhere for you," she says.

"Well, you found me," I reply, being careful to be nice, in spite of still feeling frustrated.

For a while, we sit in silence. Astrid fetches herself a tea, and then we watch outside the window.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I ask her again, my voice quiet and somber.

"I wanted to, so many times." She says to me, reaching for my hand. I let her hold it, aching at her touch. "I was worried that you'd want nothing to do with me if you knew the truth."

"Astrid," I look up at her, "There's literally almost nothing that would make me not want anything to do with you. It was the fact that you didn't tell me."

"I'm sorry," she says, unknowing of what else to say. I still can hardly look at her.

"Will you at least tell me the real reason why?" I finally muster up the courage to ask her.

"Because that life isn't me," she says, looking me in the eyes. "I don't think you could possibly understand what it's like to be forced into a world you have no control over. Where everything is decided for you. A life where you didn't get to be yourself."

I sit there quietly, just listening.

"My arranged marriage to Lukas means absolutely nothing. I'm not a successor and even if I was, don't I have the right to decide for myself what becomes of me? I came here to start a new life. To be the person I wanted. To be able to do what I wanted. And I got to be with you."

"Did you ever tell them about me? Your parents?" Her silence indicates she hadn't.

A large part of me understood. But I was still so angry. My hand pulls away from hers.

"I need some time to think." When Astrid and I meet eyes, she looks stunned. "I'll stay with my dad for a little while."

"I'll stay with Nina," Astrid insists, and I can see tears welling up in her eyes. I stand up from the table and look towards the door, in fear I may give into her if I don't.

"Goodbye, Astrid," I say as I make my way to the door without looking back at her.

That night I couldn't sleep. I lay on the couch with Brutus curled into my chest and Smokey at my feet, staring aimlessly into the television and feeling horrendously alone.

My father wakes me in the late morning giving me a kiss goodbye. I can see the concerned look on his face when I open my eyes.

"Did you talk to Astrid?"

I nod, sitting up on the couch.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," he says, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Are you sure you're going to be okay? Do you need me to stay home from work for the day?"

A small smile reaches my face when he offers. I shake my head. "I'll be okay, I promise."

He takes his leave after playing with the animals for a moment. Just as he shuts the door, I hear my phone buzz on the coffee table. For a moment I think it's Astrid and I race for it, panicked. Then I realize it's Charlotte.

"Hello?" I answer, still half asleep.

"What's going on?" She asks me abruptly as I yawn.

"Well, I just woke up," I reply, wiping the sleep from my eyes. "And now I'm petting my dog." I scratch Brutus behind the ears.

"No," Charlotte says, and I can tell by the tone of her voice that she's extremely serious. "Why did Astrid un-enroll from all of our summer classes?"

It takes me a moment to comprehend what she'd asked me. I feel myself sit up a little taller. "She did what?"

"I was double checking I'd gotten all my schedules right this morning, and I noticed we were a person short on our rosters. Astrid's name isn't on them anymore." Again, I still can't comprehend what's going on. "Do you know anything about it?"

"Not at all," I reply, standing up from the couch. "I'll find out though."

As soon as I hang up, I call Astrid. When it goes to her voicemail, I get dressed and head straight to our apartment. When I walk inside, I find all of Astrid's clothes and personal belongings gone. There's no sign of her.

Panicked, I walk down the street as fast as I can towards Nina's. My walk turns into a sprint, which then turns into a run. By the time I'd made it to the building, I was struggling to catch my breath.

As soon as I reach the elevator, I buzz the penthouse. Zoe answers, giving me a little smile. "Hi there Penny," she says.

I waste no time. "Where's Astrid?"

Zoe doesn't answer at first, looking over her shoulder.

"Zoe," I plead with her. "Please tell me where she is. Is she leaving?"

"You can come up," she says finally, and I fly into the elevator the moment the doors open.

It feels like ages getting up to the top. By the time the doors open, I'm so full of panic I can hardly see straight. Zoe meets me at the entrance. "She's in her suite," she says nodding and I race down the hall. When I knock, I hear her sweet voice call out to come in.

I'd never seen her look the way she did before. She sat on the couch surrounded by a mass of tissues, her eyes puffy and red, and her nose running. It looked as if she hadn't had an ounce of sleep the entire night. I don't think. My body just moves to her, falling down beside her on the couch. As I wrap my arms around her, she lets out a little sob.

"What's going on?" I ask her, running my hand through her hair. She continues to cry for a moment, and I let her, holding onto her tightly. Finally, she breaks away from me and looks up.

"I called my parents last night," she says, her voice shaky. "I couldn't stand it any longer. I told them everything. How I was going to stay in New York for school. That I wasn't going to marry Lukas because I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you."

I sit there for a moment listening, not comprehending what she had just said at first. Then suddenly it hits me, and I feel myself let out a little laugh. "You what?"

Astrid looks confused, sniffling loudly.

"You just said," I reply, reaching for her hand. "I mean, you—"

"Penelope," she says, looking up at me. Even in all the chaos that was her form at the moment, I still couldn't help but think she was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen.

"No no no," I stop her, still laughing. "No, I'm not letting you say it. Not right now. Not like this." Astrid looks slightly hurt, but I lean into her, kissing her softly on the lips. "I've thought it too," I admit to her. "But not now. You have to tell me what's wrong."

Astrid realizes that she's gotten off track and as soon as she does, she lets out another sob. I pull her to me again, worried. Eventually, she manages to take deep breaths and calm herself. "My parents, they said that my family was going to disown me like they did to Nina if I didn't come home. That I was dishonoring their traditions. That I would never be able to come back again."

I stare at her horrified. She lets out a loud sniffle and then continues.

"I told them that I couldn't come home. That I wouldn't." Astrid says, tears running down her face. I wipe them away gently with my fingers. "I wasn't going to leave you."

A smile crosses my face then, and I lean in to kiss her on the lips just for a brief moment. When we part, I can't help but ask. "Why did you drop out of your classes?"

"What?" She asks me, confused.

"Charlotte said you'd dropped out of all your classes--" I look at her confused. Panicked, Astrid runs for her computer, pulling open. She concentrates for a minute, clicking away until finally, she pulls open the website. When she turns it towards me, I can see her name clearly on the roster.

"Why would she tell me you'd dropped out," I wonder, confused.

I see Astrid's face drop for a moment, and I can tell once again, she's neglecting to tell me something.

"I had them re-enroll me a little while before you got here," she says, unable to look me in the eyes.

"Why did you drop them in the first place?" Suddenly it occurs to me just as I'd asked. "You were going to go home, weren't you? Back to Liechtenstein?"

"I changed my mind," she says, a defensive tone to her voice. "I couldn't leave you."

For a while, the two of us are silent while I ponder on the situation. I realize at that moment, how much she was sacrificing to stay with me. That it hadn't occurred to me how much she'd still wanted to be able to keep ties with her family and home.

"Astrid," I take her hands in mine again, trying to catch her glance. When she finally looks at me, I smile softly even though I can feel my heart aching inside of my chest. "I think you should go back to Liechtenstein."

"What?" She stares at me in disbelief. "I told you, I'm not going. I want to be with you."

"It's your home," I argue. "I don't want you to lose your home."

Astrid's tears resume down her face. "I don't want to leave you." I knew, even when she said it, that in spite of that fact, she also didn't want to lose everything she'd ever known. And if it meant I had to sacrifice my feelings for that, I was ready to.

"What if I come to Liechtenstein after I get finished with school?" I ask her, being completely serious. She looks up at me curiously. "We can see each other in the summers and on breaks, we'll talk to each other all the time, and I'll come as soon as schools over."

"I don't know if my parents would allow it," Astrid admits. "What about your Dad?"

"Do you know how stoked he'd be to get to come to Europe?" I laugh. "I'm pretty sure he'd be fine with that decision. And if your family doesn't let me in, I'll go to Switzerland. Or Austria. We'll figure it out."

"You'd really do that for me?" Astrid asks, and I can't help but smile at her.

"I pretty much would do anything for you."

For the first time in a long time, I watch her cheeks go a bright shade of pink. It is the most adorable thing and makes my heart race in my chest when I see it. I lean into her, putting my lips on hers and I breathe her in. She pushes into me, and the two of us fall into the couch together, tangled in one another's embrace.

## 10

# Astrid

I lie on top of Penelope, looking into her eyes. All I can think about at that moment is how much I love her. And how much she must love me. She smiles, brushing a strand of my blonde hair from my face before she holds my cheek in her hand. I nuzzle against it, feeling her warmth on me. "Du machst mich so glϋcklich," I say quietly, kissing her hand. "You make me so happy."

"You too," she smiles at me.

My mouth falls down onto hers, and we kiss deeply. I lay my arms down on either side of her face as my lips move over her again and again. She runs her tongue against me, and I push into it with my own. We taste each other for a moment before I move my mouth to her neck, whispering German again softly into her ear. "Du bist die Liebe meines Lebens." I let her ponder it for a moment as I work over her neck before we meet eyes again. "You're the love of my life," I breathe, smiling at her.

Penelope sighs as my hands roll underneath her shirt. I pull it off of her, feeling her naked skin beneath me. I sit on her hips, letting my fingers gently graze down her skin from her shoulders to her stomach. "Mein Herz gehört Dir." She raises her body off the couch a little as I touch her. "My heart belongs to you." My fingers move in swift circles over her breasts before I lean down and draw kisses on her skin.

"Du bist mein Ein und Alles," I say in between kisses. My mouth draws over her breast, and I feel her hands wrap into my hair. She gasps softly as I move between them. When I finish, I look up to her. "You are my everything." I work her pants off of her body slowly, the two of us meeting eyes.

I make my way down her stomach, kissing over her belly button and down into the edges of her middle. I pause when I reach it, looking up at her. "Ich möchte den Rest meines Lebens mit Dir verbringen."

Just as I finish saying it, I let my mouth draw over her. She gasps loudly at my touch, her hands holding firmly against my head as I work. Her breaths turn to pants as she draws closer and closer. I find the spot she likes, and it's only seconds before I feel her hands push down on the back of my head, holding me down on top of her. My mouth works carefully, continuing to pleasure her until she softens.

When I rise up, Penelope meets me halfway, our mouths colliding. We kiss for a moment before she turns me and pushes me down on the couch gently. Her body moves on top of mine, our lips moving together. After a while, she moves her lips slowly to my neck. I feel her hands reach under my shirt and remove it. Before long, we both lie naked against each other. I feel her mouth move down onto my collarbone and chest. Her fingers draw over me and our eyes meet once more.

"You're beautiful," she says to me. "Du siehst wunderschön aus," I reply.

I feel her mouth draw over my breast, licking at it gently. Each time she does, I gasp, rolling my head against the couch. When she finishes, she looks up at me again. "You mean everything to me." She says.

"Du bedeutest alles fϋr mich," I gasp as her mouth resumes moving down in between my legs. Just as I feel the heat rolling off of my skin, she speaks once more.

"I want to spend the rest of my life with you," she says. My hand reaches down to touch the side of her face as I smile.

"Ich möchte den Rest meines Lebens mit Dir verbringen."

There is a pause, as she recognizes it. The words I had spoken only moments ago. When she does, she moves up my body again, planting her lips firmly to mine. I feel her hand reach down between us, slowly stroking me. Her kisses are strong and passionate. As she draws me closer, her mouth moves onto my neck. "Ich liebe Dich", she whispers in my ear, kissing it softly after. I shiver at the way she speaks my mother tongue with such intention. My body quivers, waves of pleasure crashing into me over and over again. I cry out into the room, holding her close to me until I relax on the couch, taking long deep breaths.

\---

I spend another week in New York before I make up my mind to return home. The longer I waited, the more risk I ran of upsetting my parents further. The longer I waited, the more I wanted to never leave. Penelope spent every night with me, savoring every moment we could together. We visited with Charlotte and Oliver on several occasions, and I even took Brutus on a walk, much to Penelope's disapproval.

It hadn't occurred to me how much I'd grown attached to Nina and Zoe until the day I left. She made pancakes in the morning for the four of us, fighting back the tears the entire time. While Penelope ran errands and went to say hello to her father, Zoe and I spent the morning together savoring the last hours we had.

When it came time to go to the airport, I could barely leave.

"Call us when you get home, Schatzi," Nina says, kissing me on my cheek, tears running down her face. She wiped them away with the back of her hand.

"I'm going to miss you so much," Zoe says, her arms wrapping around my neck. I can barely stand how much my heart hurts holding her. Somehow I manage to pull away.

"You and Auntie will just have to visit."

The two of them smile at me, all of us sniffling.

Penelope takes my shoulder and nods towards the elevator. "We better go if you don't want to be late."

Penelope's road rage is the only thing that gets me through the thirty-minute drive from my aunt's house to the airport. I laugh every time she curses at the drivers.

"They're terrible!" She exclaims, looking furious. "We could have died like ten times now!"

I smile at her, and when we catch glances, she smiles back. It lasts briefly before both of us go quiet again.

When we reach the airport, Penelope parks and walks with me up to security. The two of us stand together as she takes my hands in hers.

"That trip is only a few weeks away," I note as I watch her face turn somber. "We'll see each other before you know it." Penelope gives me a small smile, and I put my hand to her cheek.

"Ich liebe Dich," I say, putting my lips to hers for a moment. She sighs when we part, savoring it.

"Ich liebe Dich," she repeats me, putting her head against mine. We stand there for a long moment, neither of us moving.

"Practice your German," I remind her, smiling as best I can. She nods, and I squeeze her hands once more before I let them go.

I turn away from her then, unable to look back at her but knowing she was watching me the entire time.

My mother has a town car pick me up at the Zurich airport for the drive to Vaduz. I call Penelope and Nina as soon as I arrive. The drive is as beautiful as I remember it being, the Alps in every direction and the lush green hills as we made our way through the pass towards Liechtenstein. As we make our way down into the city, I can see Castle Vaduz on the hilltop and the city below. The driver takes me all the way to my parents' home on the far end of town. It is one of the larger cottages, and it is as grand and magnificent as I'd ever remembered it being.

As we pulled into the brick driveway, I can feel my heart sinking in my chest. While it is nice to be home, at the same time all I can think about is New York. That is until my mother comes to meet me at the car.

"Mama," I offer her a smile as I exit. We embrace and even through my longing of everything I'd left behind, it was still wonderful to feel her hug me again.

"Schatzi, I'm so glad you're home," she says, giving me a kiss on the cheek. One of the housekeepers came to take my bags inside, and I stop him.

"I can get them," I look to him and smile. We exchange glances, and he looks rather confused.

"Darling, let him do his job." My mother says, waving my hands away from my bags. I don't back down, looking to her.

"I can carry them, Mama," I say firmly, and she lets it go.

The two of us make our way inside. I'm surprised to see my father waiting for me, tea and biscuits prepared for us to eat. He offers me a hug when I reach him, and once again I find myself happy being in his arms, too.

The three of us sit and enjoy the early afternoon treat, making small talk.

"We've made up your room for you," my mother says to me as she finishes off a biscuit.

"I'll only need it for a few days until I can find myself a place to rent," I reply. As soon as I say it, I watch my parent's horrified expressions.

"You'll do absolutely no such thing," my mother says firmly. I laugh when she says it.

"I'm not asking," I reply. "I'm going to take care of myself for once." I stand up from the chair giving a stretch. "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to go take a nap."

It takes a week to find myself a decent job and a place to live. It is an old pub with a small studio apartment above it. The rent is good, and the pay is enough to let me get by. My parents complain the entire time, insisting I am making a bad decision, but I do it anyway.

\---

One of the stipulations in my return to Liechtenstein is to date, Lukas. I'd reluctantly agreed to a date, in spite of the fact that both of us knew it would amount to nothing. It is a free night on the town, and it would humor my parents.

Lukas picks me up at seven that evening after I spend a long while on the phone with Penelope, telling her about my week and listening to hers. Every time I speak with her, it makes me ache, thinking about missing the medical program and being able to spend my summer in her arms.

In spite of the fact that both of us knew this wasn't a date, I did my best to look presentable. Lukas smiles when he sees me. It has been almost a year since we'd saw each other last. He is a handsome example of a man, with beautiful blonde hair and stunning green eyes. Muscular, but not overly so. Any woman would be lucky to be with him.

"You look nice," he says, offering me his arm as we walked down the downtown streets together.

"You do too," I reply with a smile.

We enjoy a nice meal together at one of the local restaurants. Lukas surprises me with dessert afterward, and the two of us sit and drink coffee and chat a while. Everything about the date seemed to be going smoothly until Lukas gives me an odd look midway through our drinks.

"What?" I ask him curiously as I take a sip of the coffee.

"It's just funny to me," he says, finishing off the last bite of his dessert. "How you manage to put on such a face when you couldn't be more miserable."

"I am not miserable!" I protest. "I was actually thinking that this was going quite well."

"Quite well for someone who is still miserable," he notes, giving me a funny smile.

"Why on Earth do you think I'm miserable?" I ask, still feeling rather defensive.

"Because you've spent the majority of the night talking about New York and your medical school and that girl.."

"Penelope," I say curtly.

"Exactly," he says, still smiling. It is infuriating.

"I don't get what you're saying," I reply, crossing my arms over my chest. "I did exactly what I was supposed to do. I came home. I did my parents biddings. I even went out on a date with you."

"Ouch," he laughs. "Easy on the compliments."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that." I apologize.

"I knew exactly how you meant it," he says as he gets up from his seat and offers me a hand. The two of us walk down the street together, my arm tucked around his, yet again.

"I'm not trying to offend you," he explains as we walk. "I'm just saying that it's plain to see that you're not happy. And as someone who considers you a friend, I think you deserve to be happy. Even if it's not what your parents want."

"I'd be turning my back on a hundred years of tradition," I argue.

"That will still go on, even without you." He says.

"I won't be able to come back to Liechtenstein, my parents will never forgive me."

Lukas rolls his eyes at me, and I turn to stare at him intensely. "Your parents will threaten you, as most parents do at some point or another, but do you really believe they'd ever leave you?"

"I don't know," I admit. "The family turned their backs on Zoe and Nina."

"Your mother still talks to Nina all the time," Lukas says. "And I've known your parents for long enough now to know that there wouldn't be a thing in this world that would cause them to never speak to you again. Even if they threaten it."

We walk in silence for a long time. The idea rolls over in my head again and again. Finally, we make it back to my apartment, and Lukas stands at the foot of the stairway leading up to it, looking at me.

"If it makes you feel any better, there's a girl waiting for my in Zurich," he smiles, and I can tell by the way he thinks of her that she's more than just "some girl." It is the same sort of look that came over me every time I thought of Penelope.

We stand there a while, the two of us enjoying each other's company without conversation. Finally, I lean in and kiss him softly on the cheek.

"Don't be miserable," he says to me, putting a hand on my shoulder. I smile, and he turns away, and I watch him till he disappears down the street.

The next day I receive a phone call bright and early. I awake promptly, thinking that perhaps it was Penelope calling. Instead, I am surprised to see it was Zoe. I put the phone to my ear.

"Hello?" I answer, stepping out of my bed. I hear the noise of the road in the background.

"Can you hear me?" Zoe says loudly into the microphone. I pull the phone away from my ear for a moment.

"Yes, I can hear you. You don't have to shout." I laugh when I hear her fumble with the phone again.

"Can you check and see if there are spare bedrooms at the hotel?

There is silence on the line before I ask the obvious question. "Why?"

"Cause we'll be there in an hour and we need a place to stay! And your tiny little apartment isn't going to tickle Nina's fancy." I hear her remark in the background but can't make out what she says.

"You're here? In Liechtenstein?"

"Technically Switzerland, but close enough."

As soon as I get off the phone, I head down the street to the hotel and book them a room. I wait for them across the street at the cafe while I have a coffee. As soon as I see the taxi pull up, I leave my tip and sprint over to the hotel. Zoe and I wrap into each other's arms, squealing excitedly.

"I can't believe you're here!" I gasp, almost on the verge of tears. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Nina wanted it to be a surprise. It was all your mom's idea." Zoe smiles and I wonder if my mother had asked them to come for me. "You look great. I want to see your apartment!"

The three of us spend the day together catching up. I show them my apartment, which Zoe approves of but my aunt insists it could be "just a tad bit larger." When we go to visit my parents, my mother is thrilled. As I watch them together, I think about what Lukas had told me last night. That my mother, even with Nina's doings, still loved her beyond measure.

In the evening, while my mother and Nina stayed together, Zoe and I went out for a bite to eat. Before I'd even asked her, she knew what was on my mind.

"She misses you," Zoe admits, taking a bite of her sandwich. "She asks about you all the time when we come into the grocery."

Just thinking about her in her green apron makes my heart melt a little. After she says this, I end up telling her about my date with Lukas and what he'd said. And then I tell her the other important piece that had been on my mind.

"I want to ask her to marry me," I admit and I watch my cousin's eyes grow wide.

"REALLY?" She says, quite loudly and I hush her. Her smile is so big it seems to stretch off the sides of her face. "Oh my God, I can't believe it!"

"I was going to talk to my parents when she came in a few weeks and come back with her. I don't think I can stand being without her anymore."

"Oh my God, I hate you so much," Zoe rolls her eyes at me. "If only I could have your love problems."

"Lukas is single," I give her a wink, and she shoves me playfully.

When I lie in bed after I'd left for the evening, I found that I couldn't sleep. Instead, my mind wandered to thoughts of Penelope and what Lukas had said. The more I think about her, the more I wish that I'd never agreed to come back to Liechtenstein in the first place. The more I wish I am with Penelope, in our home, still in school, able to see my cousin and my aunt whenever I pleased. I even missed the silly dog and cat.

I barely sleep, and when I wake the next morning, I call Penelope on her phone. It goes straight to voicemail, but I leave a message anyway.

"I'm going to tell my parents how I feel today," I say into the phone, pacing the floor. "I'm going to tell them, and then I'm going to get on the first plane home, and I'm never leaving you ever again. Ich liebe Dich."

When I hang up, I am fueled by so many emotions that it is an easy walk from town up to my parents.

Zoe and Nina are visiting when I arrive. I hug them both, and when Zoe sees my face, she knows immediately what I intend to do.

"Mama, let's go for a walk," she says, grasping a hold of Nina's wrist. She looks a bit confused, but the two find their way out of the room, leaving my mother and me alone. She looks at me curiously as I sit down in a chair across from her in the living room.

We stare at each other for a moment before I work up the nerve to speak.

"Do you remember when you told me the story about how you and Papa met?" My mother gives me a funny look before she nods. "How you thought he was the most handsome man you'd ever seen. And how you had to sneak into the night to meet with one another because your parents didn't understand how you felt?"

Even still, my mother didn't seem to know where I was going with what I was saying, but I continue anyway.

"Mama, how you felt about Papa is how I feel about Penelope. And you might not understand it, how I could turn away from my country, not marry Lukas, stay in Liechtenstein. But I'll never be happy if I do that. And I know, somewhere deep inside, you want me to be happy. Being with Penelope, going to medical school. That is what makes me happy. And it's what I'm going to do."

My mother looks stunned as I get to my feet. I lean over and kiss her softly on the cheek. "I love you," I tell her before I turn to leave.

"Astrid," she says quietly, and I turn on my heel towards her. "Are you sure this is what you want?" I can't tell how she feels by the tone of her voice. All I know is what I want to say.

"Without question," I reply, smiling softly at her.

Nina and Zoe are nowhere to be seen as I make my way out of the house. Instead of waiting for them, I head back to my apartment, checking messages as I walk. There is still no call from Penelope, but I'd talk to her soon enough. As soon as I arrive, I look up plane tickets.

I nearly jump out of my skin when my phone rings in my pocket. Hopeful of the prospect that it might be Penelope, I quickly pull it from its resting place, only to find that it is Zoe yet again.

"Hello?" I answer, putting the phone to my ear.

"Astrid," Zoe says, sounding somewhat flustered. "I'm pretty sure I just saw Penny."

## 11

# Penelope

Ever since I was a little girl, I'd known I wanted to be a doctor. I'd watched as my mother spent her entire life helping people. She'd been the most passionate person I'd ever met. Yet, even when she'd dedicated her life to medicine, she still loved my father and me more than words could say.

In those weeks after Astrid left, I realized how much it mattered that my mother had us. That we had her. Astrid was all I could think about. Even when we'd talk for hours every day, I'd still miss her. The apartment felt empty without her. I could barely sleep at night and found myself more often than not staying with my father.

One night, Zoe and Nina invited us both over for dinner. They'd cooked a delicious spread of food, as usual, and fawned over my father.

"We're going to go visit my sister and Astrid in a few days," Nina mentions after pestering my father to eat more. When she mentions the trip, I look to Zoe.

"How?" I ask, thinking that they were shunned after Nina had left the family.

"Some magic of Lia's," Nina says. Astrid's mother. "You should come with us and surprise her early."

"It's only a few more weeks until I go," I remark.

"Astrid would be happy to see you," Zoe replies, offering me a smile. I can't help but smile back at the thought of getting to see her. It would be here before I knew it.

"I'll at least take you to the airport," I offer, and the two look pleased and gracious.

My father and I walk together back to his apartment in silence most of the way. As we turn down the main stretch of road, he finally clears his throat.

"They were very nice," he says, smiling. "I'm so full I could explode."

"I love them," I laugh. "I'm glad you had a good time."

We walk in silence again for a moment before my dad speaks again. "You know, your mother and I got engaged four months after we'd been together. Everyone thought we were crazy. But sometimes you just know, right?" He nudges me softly.

"Where is this coming from?" I ask him, feeling my face starting to burn.

"I saw the ring in the bathroom cabinet yesterday," he smiles at me, holding the door before we make our way up the three flights of stairs to the third-floor apartment. I realize then that I should have left it at my apartment.

"You weren't supposed to see that," I manage to say, not able to look at him.

"I think it's nice," he says. "I think you could do a little better is all."

_Ouch_. I look up to him somewhat miffed. "I thought it was a great ring."

My father walks down the hall towards his room without another word. I stand there in shock, unable to believe he'd just insulted my efforts without explaining himself.

"You know, it would be nice if you didn't just walk away while we were talking!" I huff at him as he turns into his room. Instead of walking away, I sort of stand there a minute stunned, unsure of what to think.

Finally, he comes back into the room, toting something in his hand. I watch him curiously, still rather irritated, until he hands it off to me, wrapping my palm around it.

"I wasn't going to give this to you till I knew you were with the right person," he says, offering me a smile. When I open my hand, the oval cut silver banded wedding ring of my mother's shimmered in the light.

It was all I could do not to let out a cry upon seeing it. The last time I had, it was on her finger. I look up at my dad unable to breathe.

"She'd want you to have it," he says, ruffling my hair. I still don't know what to say, only able to hug him tightly. "I'm sure she's going to love it. See, I told you. Better than yours."

"Mine was good," I manage to say, muffled by the fabric of his shirt. But his was, definitely, better.

\---

After taking Zoe and Nina to the airport, I make my way to the apartment that I hadn't been to in a week. As I'm on my way up the steps, my phone rings. Excited at the idea of it being Astrid, I quickly retrieve it from my pocket, only to find that it is Oliver.

"Can you meet us for lunch?" He asks me, and I agree right away. While I talked to them daily, the last time I'd seen them had been when Astrid left. We meet up at a Thai restaurant across the street from campus. Seeing them put me in a great mood.

"How have you been sweetheart?" Charlotte asks me, reaching for my hand. I feel suddenly overcome with emotions. How had I been? Terrible? Unable to think? Breathe?

I distract myself a while, talking to them instead about clinic and our upcoming fall semester of our second year.

"Do you think Astrid will change her mind and come back?" Oliver asks me. Honestly, it had been my secret hope since she'd left me, but I knew the reasons that she had gone. I wasn't about to take that away from her, even if it meant our lives were like this.

"Here, I have something I want to show you guys," I say as I reach into my purse. When I pull out the ring, Charlotte gasps so loud that it draws the attention of most of the crowd in the restaurant. She puts a hand over her mouth for a moment.

"It's beautiful!" She says, taking it carefully from my hands to inspect it. "When you buy me a ring it better be just like this!" I watch her nudge Oliver in the side, and he rolls his eyes at me.

"Thanks for that," he says, taking a sip of his drink.

"Anytime," I reply, laughing. I turn towards Charlotte. "It was my mothers. Do you think it's crazy if I ask her?"

Both of them shake their head almost in unison, and it makes me smile.

"We have a little surprise for you, actually, speaking of that." Charlotte digs in her purse for a moment until she finds what she's looking for.

"Oliver and I pitched in together for this," she slides an envelope across the table, and I open it carefully. Inside, there is a plane ticket. It's marked for tomorrow morning early, to Zurich.

I stare at it for a long time in disbelief. When I look back up at them, I start to hand it back, and Charlotte's hands meet mine back in the middle of the table.

"We want you to go," she says smiling at me.

"You've done nothing but talk about her for weeks straight," Oliver says. "We were getting tired of hearing it." Charlotte nudges him sharply in the side again, and he lets out a laugh. When he does, I smile at him softly.

"If it makes you feel any better, the booking agent said you could call and refund your tickets and get most of the money back, and you can pay us back what you can." Charlotte smiles at me.

I feel myself getting slightly choked up. "You guys really didn't have to do this."

"We kind of did," Oliver argues. "If you brought up how much you missed her one more time.." Charlotte smacks him upside the head playfully, and he laughs again.

"Now you can go give her that beautiful ring!" Charlotte realizes she still has it in her hands. "It's a shame I can't keep it for myself though. I guess that just means you have some shopping to do!"

Oliver sighs and Charlotte and I smile.

The next morning, bright and early, my father takes off work so he can take me to the airport. It felt as if I'd never been this happy before. As he pulls off into the passenger drop off area, he helps me out of the car and gets my luggage.

"I'll be back in a few weeks," I smile at him and he offers me a hug. When he does, I feel him stuff something in my purse. When I look down, he's placed some money.

"To help you with the cab," he explains. "I looked it up. It's an hour trip."

I smile at the fact he was checking on me. "Thanks," I say appreciatively.

We hug again, and I start to take off towards the inside of the airport.

"Hey Penny," he calls out to me, and I turn swiftly to look back at him. "You're going to go propose to a Princess." He laughs, in slight disbelief.

I'd waited my whole life to be brave enough to do something like this.

"I'm going to go propose to Astrid," I correct him with a smile, and he smiles back at me broadly.

"Call me when you get there," he reminds me, and I run to hug him one last time before I head to the airport.

The drive from Zurich to Liechtenstein offered the most beautiful views that I'd ever seen. Growing up in the city, I'd never seen mountains before. Not anything like the Alps. They towered above us in every direction, like skyscrapers, but only larger and more magnificent. Everything was so green I could hardly believe it was real.

The driver tells me when we reach the outskirts of the country. We drive down the stretch of road leading into the city of Vaduz, where Astrid had told me she was from, and I see the castle where Astrid's aunt and uncle lived. As we make our way down into the city, I reach for my phone to call Zoe and let her know I'd arrived safely and get directions to the place where Astrid was staying.

As soon as I pull it from my pocket, I realize its dead. Panicked, I look up to the driver. "You wouldn't happen to know where the Vogt's live?"

"You mean in Vaduz Castle?" He looks back up the hill.

"No," I try to think. "Lia Vogt?"

The driver looks back at me offering a shrug. Suddenly I feel fear wash over me. With no way to contact Zoe or Astrid, I was essentially lost in a foreign country.

"I'll get out here," I finally say and he pulls over on the edge of a street corner in the heart of the downtown area of the city. I pay my fee and step out from the vehicle. Maybe I could find someone to help me.

As I make my way up to a stranger, I forget for a moment where I am.

"Excuse me, do you know where a phone is?" I ask.

They stare at me blankly, and I realize I'm not speaking in German. I reach into my purse for the phrase book I'd gotten for my original trip. Although I had promised Astrid I'd learn some German, I'd gotten too distracted with clinic.

"Telefon?" I ask, and the woman points me down the street. When I reach the corner, there is a small pub. I enter, making my way up to the bar.

The bartender comes immediately, leaning across the counter top. "Was darf es sein?"

_God Penny, why didn't you practice?_

"Telefon?" I ask politely, and he stares at me for a moment before pointing to the far end of the bar. There is a phone hanging on the wall, and I rush to it quickly. As soon as I get there, I realize I don't even have Astrid's phone number memorized. I race back to the counter, pulling open my phrase book again as the bartender comes back to me.

There is no word for book. "Telefon book?" I ask. He seems to understand what I mean but shakes his head. Frustrated, I sit down at the bar, leaning my head on the table.

"Was darf es sein?" He asks me again. I realize he must be asking what I wanted. We exchange glances for a moment before I say the only word I remember. "Apfelwein?" I ask, and he nods, smiling at me. I pass over some money to him, deciding the rest would be the tip and he takes it graciously. Who knew how much I'd just given him.

When he brings the drink back, I sit at the edge of the bar looking at the strangers around the room. The apple taste brings back strong memories. It didn't take long before I finish it and sit it on the counter. As I get up to leave, the bartender delivers me a second one.

"No no," I shake my head. "I didn't order this." He looks confused at me. I point at the drink, and he smiles.

The man nudges his head towards the opposite end of the room. When I turn, I lose my breath. Leaning with one hand on the bar, smiling at me, was the most beautiful sight in the entire world. I run to her as fast as my legs would carry me.

I worry for a moment when I reach her if I should embrace her in public or not, but she wastes no time pulling me into her arms. We kiss, deeply, her hands wrapped around my face.

"What are you doing here?" Astrid gasps when our mouths leave one another.

"I wanted to surprise you," I tell her, running my hand across the side of her face.

"Well you certainly did that," she replies with a laugh.

"Can I borrow your phone?" I ask abruptly, and she gives me a funny look before she digs it from her pocket. "What's Zoe's number?"

"Zoe knew you were coming?" Astrid asks me, but I don't answer. Finally, she roots through her contacts, and as soon as the phone starts to dial, I put it to my ear.

"Alright, tell me where we need to go," I reply.

A taxi picks us up outside the pub, and I let him speak to Zoe for a moment. As soon as he finishes, he nods at me. His eyes can't stop staring at Astrid, and I realize he must know who she is. Meanwhile, Astrid looks completely confused. I reach for her hand, and I can find myself shaking when I do. She looks concerned, leaning over to whisper in my ear.

"Are you alright?" She asks, and I can't help but smile.

"I've never been better in my entire life."

It takes ten minutes to climb the side of the hill over past the castle and into the pasture that lies just beyond it. As soon as the driver turns on the dirt road, Astrid knows exactly where she is.

"Why are we going out here? I haven't been here in ages."

When we're dropped off, I can hardly believe the view all around us. We sit high on the side of a hilltop, the Alps surrounding us. The overlook goes into a beautiful valley of wildflowers and lush green grass. It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.

"So, tell me what you'd want," I turn to her, our eyes meeting. She looks at me curiously.

I study around me a little more, thinking about it for a moment. This had been the place where the royal family members had gotten married for generations. Astrid had wanted to be married here since she was a little girl. When Zoe had told me about it when I'd told her what I planned to do, I knew it was the perfect place. "I'd say obviously we'd have the ceremony right here, because I mean, look at the view." I look out again, and it takes my breath away.

"Maybe over there we could have the reception," I say, pointing in the direction of the mountains that lined the distance. "My dad would love to see the mountains."

Astrid lets out a small laugh and comes to take my hand in hers.

"They usually have the receptions over there," she notes, moving my hand over towards another end of the field. "So you can get a view of the Alps and the overlook." I see what she means and nod.

We pause for a moment before the two of us look at one another again.

"I don't really know how they do it in Germany," I admit as I find myself falling down to a knee. She puts a hand up to her face, stifling a soft sigh.

The two of us stare at each other before I pull my mother's ring from my purse and hand it to her.

"Wills.. micher..a.. heiraten?" There is silence for a moment before she lets out a laugh.

"Did I say it right?" I ask.

She gives me that perfect, amazing smile before she sets herself down on the ground beside me. After I place the ring on her finger, she takes my hands in hers again.

"Penelope," she says softly to me. "I love you. I knew from the first moment I met you that I loved you."

"Ich liebe dich, too," I breathe.

"Willst du mich heiraten?"

I nod, laughing. "I totally butchered it." And she smiles.

# Epilogue

**P enelope**

Astrid and I stand in front of the beautiful red roofed building that sat on the outskirts of downtown Vaduz. It was perfect in every way, having been renovated slightly but still retaining that quaint charm. I'd specifically requested that it not be too lavish or extravagant. It was not what my mother would have wanted.

"They just delivered the last of the supplies today," I tell Astrid. "We'll be able to open up in a week and start seeing patients. I think there might be some coming as far as Zurich." She looks impressed.

We wander inside, taking in the pleasant looking interior. Nina and Zoe had helped us decorate the place, and it looks as spectacular as we'd hoped it would be. Again, it maintained its quaint looking architecture, mixed with some modern updates. Zoe had painted large murals of fields of wildflowers and the Alps on all the walls throughout. Every patient room had a different theme.

As we make our way back outside, I look down the main street leading into Vaduz and then back at the building. Across the front, it read "The Abigail T. Waters Free Clinic." The minute we'd graduated from school, I'd insisted we open it, and Astrid knew just the place.

Suddenly I find myself rummaging through my purse. "Oh, I almost forgot. This came in the mail for you today." I hold out a brown envelope to Astrid. It was thick. She rips it open carefully, pulling out the paper inside. Her Certificate of Citizenship.

"I'm officially a US citizen," she says in disbelief.

"We should go celebrate," I smile. "But only if there are potato pancakes involved."

"Of course," she laughs, taking my arm.

\---

**Astrid**

My mother stands behind me, her hand over her mouth, trying her best not to cry. I look back into the mirror, admiring the beautiful cream colored gown that had belonged to her on her wedding day many years ago.

"You look beautiful Schatzi," she smiles at me, wiping her eyes. When I turn back to her, we come together in a hug, and she wraps her arms around me tightly. As soon as she does, there is a knock at the door.

"Can I come in?" I hear Penny ask as she opens it a crack.

"The brides can't see each other before the wedding, it's bad luck!" My mother says, meeting her at the door. The way she says brides makes me smile.

"Please? I have a surprise for Astrid," Penny says. When my mother looks at me, I nod.

As she enters, in a striking light pink dress that went just below her knees, I can't help but stare at her. She'd let her hair grow out around her shoulders and pieces of it were pinned up around her face. My heart skipped a beat when I saw her, and the two of us couldn't look away.

"Wunderschön," I breathe.

We are very quickly interrupted by the barking of a puppy. She comes bounding in, her floppy ears bouncing as she made her way around the room. Eventually, she came up to meet me, and I reached out to pet her softly behind the ears. She is beautiful, with fuzzy curly hair and big eyes that stared longingly up at me.

"Astrid is allergic to dogs," my mother scolds Penny, and when I look at her, she's smiling.

"I know, that's why I got her this one." I notice, even after I'd pet it for a while, I didn't sneeze. "It's an Irish Water Spaniel. They're hypoallergenic. And, she already knows a trick."

I look at Penelope curiously, and she gives me a mysterious looking smile.

"You'll have to wait and see," she answers me before I have a chance to ask.

The wedding is held in the traditional location, in the rolling hills above Liechtenstein, where Penelope had proposed to me three years prior. When I arrive by town car, I am surprised to see the entire valley covered in beautiful wildflowers. The rest is quite intimate, with a small area set off near the overlook for the ceremony and a tent for the reception.

Penelope had requested only our closest friends and family be invited and I'd happily obliged. Thomas flew in a few days before to help with preparations and visit with Penelope. Nina, Zoe, and her fiancé Evan had come shortly after. Even Charlotte and Oliver had made the trip, bringing along their newborn son Archer, who was as precious as he could be.

Oliver, Charlotte, and Zoe wait as I watch Penelope make her way down the grassy aisle with her father. They kiss each other softly on the cheek before they part. When she turns, I follow, my parents at each of my arms. All the while I can't keep my eyes from Penelope. After my parents let me stand beside her, I take her hands in mine, and the two of us smile.

Nina had insisted on officiating the ceremony after much debate from my parents. She'd gotten her internet license and all. It is small and simple, just the way we had wanted it to be. During the ceremony, as Nina asks for the rings, I am surprised to find our new puppy walking down the aisle after Thomas releases her, toting a satchel around her neck. After Penelope says her vows, she looks to me, and I smile softly. My hand goes to rest gently on her cheek.

"Es gibt nichts schöneres als dich." _There is nothing more beautiful than you._ I say it and that is all that is necessary. Before Nina can tell us otherwise, the two of us kiss softly.

\---

**Penelope**

That evening, as the stars come out and the reception continues on, Astrid finds me out alone, admiring the view. When she joins me, we wrap our hands together, looking up at the sky.

"My father wants to make a toast," she tells me, leaning to give me a kiss on the cheek. The two of us wander back under the tent and sit beside them at the table. When we do, he gets to his feet.

He speaks in rough English, looking at me when he does.

"Traditionally, in our family, our children grow up to marry royalty. We raise them to pass on the rich traditions of our people. To honor our history. To be strong leaders and diplomats."

He looks to Astrid. "My daughter is a fine example of all the qualities of a royal citizen of Liechtenstein. She is a beautiful, intelligent woman, who knows what she wants and has worked hard to do it."

"Now I am sure you are all aware, this is not a traditional wedding. It is far from anything we ever expected. Yet at the same time, it is all we could have ever hoped for our daughter. Her wife, like her, is an outstanding example of a royal citizen."

I stare, slightly confused, as he turns back to meet me. "So as we are keepers of tradition, while they are ever changing, it is with great honor to introduce the newest member of the royal family. Princess Penelope Waters, wife of Princess Astrid Vogt."

Astrid holds tightly to my hand, smiling at me. I can't help but sit stunned, hardly able to take in what I had just heard.

Charlotte looks over at me from down the table. "I think it's time for a first dance!" Oliver hops up from his seat, running over to turn on the music. Before I know it, a familiar song echoes through the night. As Whitney Houston's voice starts to sing, I feel Astrid's eyes on me. When I turn towards her, I am laughing.

"Don't you do it."

" _I want to dance with somebody_ ," she sings to me, holding out her hand. The two of us make our way out onto the dance floor, surrounded by our friends and family. When I find myself watching her, swaying to the music, I reflect on what I'd known since the moment I'd met her.

That I liked her. I liked her a lot.

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