Amnesia

Chapter 43

Penny's curled up on the bed, having taken a break from editing photos, a book in one hand and her coffee in another when a knock sounds at the door.

Avi had left relatively early that morning, pressing a kiss to her cheek and whispering good morning before slipping through the door. The group is currently in the middle of a three day break between shows, their next show in New York City not for another two days. The first day off provided each of them with well deserved rest and an opportunity for sightseeing. Avi had almost dragged Penny out of bed the first day off in search of "the best pizza on earth" and Penny had followed, getting more out of his enthusiasm than the eventual pizza.

They spent the whole of yesterday wandering around the city, Penny taking every opportunity she could to photograph the buildings around her, actually relieved at the change in medium from people to buildings. Not that she didn't take the chance to photograph Avi into them as well, of course. Capturing his awe and admiration of the sights before him was more exciting to her than photographing for her own enjoyment.

Penny is glad for yesterday, because today the group is holed up in Kevin's hotel room working on additional songs for the new album, hence Avi's early departure. They were all working hard, eager to get the album fully written and arranged by the end of the year and before the beginning of the European tour. If they were honest with themselves, Penny suspects they'd like to begin recording soon as well and she is fully anticipating that they'll stop at a recording studio sometime before the end of the current tour.

The knock sounds at her door again and she sighs, slipping her book mark in place before setting it aside. As she swings her legs out of the bed, she spots Avi's key card on the bedside table and silently curses his forgetfulness. Keeping a firm hold on her paper coffee cup, Penny opens the door, surprised to find Mitch standing on the other side. "Mitch! I wasn't expecting you," Penny says in way of greeting, holding open the door and inviting him in. "Is everything okay?"

Mitch smirks and slides past her. "Of course you weren't expecting me. You were expecting your stud muffin of a man," he teases lightly. Sniffing the air, he gestures towards her coffee. "Got any more of that?"

Penny nods and walks over to the desk, pouring Mitch a cup of coffee from what was left of the pot she made earlier. Handing it to him, she nods towards the small mini-fridge. "It's not your typical Starbucks, but I managed to find pretty decent vanilla creamer if you want to mask the taste of generic hotel coffee."

Mitch takes her up on the offer, pouring a generous helping of creamer into his cup before stirring with a spoon. Penny watches him and sits down in one of the two chairs in the corner of the room overlooking Times Square. Mitch joins her in the other chair, sitting down with a sigh, taking a sip of coffee. "Are you guys done with rehearsal?" Penny asks, curling her legs underneath her.

Mitch scoffs and shakes his head. "No, just taking a break. Avi and Kevin are in the middle of a musical jam session and can't be torn apart for anything. Even lovely girlfriends."

"I think that's the first time I've heard you compliment me," Penny says with a smile.

Ducking his head, Mitch flashes her a half smile, his gaze underlined with sadness. "I remember when I first met you," he begins, glancing out the window. "Avi was already completely smitten with you, it was disgusting. I made some witty comment about you being Avi's rebound from his previous girlfriend and you immediately threw my comment back in my face with a witty retort of your own." Mitch turns to look over at Penny, his smile evident on his face. "I liked you instantly."

Penny smiles into the rim of her cup and nods, encouraging him to continue.

"We met right around the time I broke up with my boyfriend," Mitch continues. "You barely even knew me back then and you offered to help kick his ass if I needed you to. You also bought me a pint of ice cream and watched Spongebob episodes with me. You were there for me with zero questions asked."