Amnesia

Chapter 36

Penny finds Mitch sitting in the front of the bus on one of the long side couches, barefooted in his pajama pants and t-shirt, eating a bowl of cereal. She pauses at the entrance between the front lounge and the row of bunks, briefly contemplating holing herself away in the back lounge until the others start waking up.

Mitch catches her eye and smirks mid-chew, wiping at a drop of milk on his chin. "Well, good morning, Penny," he begins, a mischievous tone laced in his voice. "I hope you didn't find it too hard to fall asleep last night."

Penny narrows her eyes at him, remains silent and pulls down the box of Lucky Charms from the cabinet, sliding into the booth across from him. She wordlessly pulls a handful from the box and stares at Mitch while she eats, determined not to give him the satisfaction of a response.

"Ah, so you did find it difficult to sleep last night." He sets his finished bowl aside and swipes his bangs from his forehead. "That's okay. We all know how grinding it can be beginning tour again," he says innocently, a broad grin stretching across his face.

"You can prove nothing," Penny says with a scowl, her ears burning at the innuendo in Mitch's words.

Mitch scoffs. "Oh, please," he says, dismissing her with a wave of his hand. "I've been helping you two ruffle each other's feathers from the moment you started dating."

Despite her best efforts, Penny's cheeks flush with warmth and she drops her eyes to the table, pulling out another handful of cereal as Avi enters the front of the bus. His clothes are rumpled with sleep, hair tousled and his eyes are barely open against the morning light coming in through the windows. He wordlessly slides into the booth next to Penny, pressing a quick kiss to her temple before nudging the cereal box in his direction.

"Good morning, Ahhh-vee," Mitch drawls, his shit-eating grin a near permanent fixture on his face. "I hope you're over the hump of getting back on tour."

Avi pauses mid chew and glances over to Penny, who's buried her face in her hands. She peeks up at him through the cracks in her fingers, shaking her head in dismay. Avi seems to contemplate the cereal still in his hands, quirking his mouth as he bites the inside of his lip. Popping one last marshmallow into his mouth, he throws the remaining handful of cereal at Mitch, smiling as Mitch squawks in protest, throwing his hands out to protest his face.

"Do we need to mention your past hookups on the bus," Avi begins with a smirk, sliding a hand under the table to resting reassuringly against Penny's knee, "or do I need to enlighten Penny of all of your adventures?"

Mitch flicks a piece of cereal from his pants, scowling at the two of them. "Ugh, fine, you win," Mitch concedes, throwing his hands up in surrender. He gives them one final glance and a pout before slouching down in his seat and turning on the TV, flicking through the channels. "Both of you suck, just so you know."

Avi scoffs and puffs his chest out in triumph, turning to give Penny a smile. She has dropped her hands from her face, picking pieces of marshmallow out from the box. Avi's hand slides a bit further up her thigh, his fingers lingering along the inside of her leg and she shivers as he presses himself closer to her. "Don't worry," he whispers, his lips close to her ear, his breath warm against her skin. "He's just jealous he didn't have the same fun we had last night."

He pulls back, his face the perfect mask of innocence as he digs into the box and pulls another handful of cereal into his palm. Avi munches happily as Penny stares at him, punching him lightly in the shoulder as a smirk tugs at his lips.

You are so fucked when he gets you alone.

Penny bites her lip to keep from groaning. God, I hope so.