The Dark Side of the Romantic Comedy Ch. 01

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It's not so funny when it happens to you.
14.2k words
4.6
68.4k
99

Part 1 of the 2 part series

Updated 06/08/2023
Created 01/31/2017
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The party was packed with people, scattered throughout the large, suburban mansion, 20 and 30 somethings dressed in the carefully casual manner that was meant to look good without seeming like they were actually trying to impress. They were playing pool or ping pong and watching TV and there was food and booze and dancing and laughing and everyone seemed to be having a raucously good time.

Stuck in the corner of the main room, was, a tall, thin man with dark, curly hair and a handsome, open face who stood nervously looking over the shoulder of an aggressive, tipsy redhead who was making it clear that she was available for any sort of fun at or after the party. But the man just continued to nod absentmindedly, trying, evidently, to extricate himself from a conversation that, at another time, he might have initiated himself. The last few words of a slurred question struck his consciousness and he realized he had to answer.

"...so is it a date then?" He glanced at the redhead with a slightly panicked look.

"Uh...yeah...sure..."

"Can we take your car? I'm...um...probably shouldn't drive." He resumed searching the room over her shoulder.

"Hey...look, I don't want to be rude, but I've really got to find Jason. Could you...uh...text me or something with what you want to do and I'll catch up later?"

A look of surprise overcame the redhead's foggy expression. "Jason? Jason Bright? He came to a party? I thought he'd become a monk or something."

"Yeah...I...uh...talked him into coming and now I can't find him, so I've really got to..."

Just then, a pretty blond with curly hair walked by and the man suddenly gave a slight lurch toward her.

"Hey...hey Cara...hey Cara..."

The blond turned and her face lit up with a broad smile. She nodded to the beers in his hand and raised her eyebrows expectantly.

"Hey Brian. Did you get one of those beers for me?"

He gave her a slightly incredulous look as though he didn't understand what she'd said and then abruptly blurted out his own question.

"Hey...where's Jason? I went for beers and haven't been able to find him since."

The blonde's smile faded and she gestured with her head toward a room off the side. "He was in the entertainment room maybe 15 minutes ago. You might check there." She smiled again. "Why, is he your date or something?"

Brian shot her a level look and gave a brief snort of a laugh. "You'd probably like that wouldn't you Cara? Well, no such luck. It's just that it took me forever to talk him into coming out for some fun, so I'm just a little nervous about him having a good time."

He turned to the redhead that seemed to be a little put out that her domination of Brian had been hijacked by the pretty blonde. "Hey...look...really...text me about what you want to do. I've got to look for Jason here, ok?"

The redhead gave a drunken little pout and nodded her head with muted enthusiasm. "OK. I'll catch you after the..."

But Brian was gone before she finished, aggressively making his way through the crowd toward the entertainment room, where he found a dozen or so people, slouched on the couch, sitting Indian style on the floor or milling around while a music video played on the large screen TV that dominated the room.

He looked around briefly and then caught the attention of a jovial looking fat man who was swaying awkwardly to the music, one hand holding a drink and the other full of potato chips.

"Hey...Bud...have you seen Jason?"

"Jason?"

"Yeah...Jason Bright? He was in here a couple of minutes ago."

"Oh...yeah man. I'm pretty sure he left. Got up all of a sudden and pushed his way out of here like he had to barf or something."

"Left the room?"

"No man...right out the front door."

Brian stood there for a minute, shaking his head slowly trying to make sense of what the fat man had said.

"What...why...what the hell happened?"

"I don't know man. When the game ended we changed channels to some movie and sort of watched that for a couple of minutes when he just up and left..."

"Movie? What movie?"

"Oh...you know...the old one with Dustin Hoffman. The Graduate. But we didn't see much of it 'cause it was right at the end when we tuned in..."

"The end?"

"Yeah...you know...that whole wedding scene where Hoffman comes in and bangs on the glass and the girl runs off with him."

Brian's face began to turn red, starting with a faint shade of pink and progressing, rapidly until he looked something like a tomato with human features. Then slowly he began to throw words at the fat man, carefully enunciated with increasing force and volume for maximum effect.

"You tuned into a movie in which the bride leaves the groom for another man...at...the...fucking...altar, with Jason Bright sitting there watching; the first...fucking... time he comes out of his crappy little apartment in months? You're more of an idiot than I could ever imagine."

*****************

Jason Bright was lying on his side, taking in the sight of his sleeping fiancé. She was breathing softly, rhythmically, each puff of air from her mouth gently ruffling a tuft of straw blond hair that had fallen across her face. To most observers, Penny Miller was a small, attractive woman who was perhaps a few pounds overweight with facial features that were just a little too coarse to be considered classically beautiful. But here, with morning sunlight striking her clear, pale skin to give it a sort of glowing translucence, she looked like an absolute angel to Jason, a gift of love from God himself.

By all accounts, Bright had been tremendously successful in life to that point. He'd done well in high school, excelling at sports and in the classroom, graduating at the top of his class and then managed nearly perfect grades in a double major of finance and statistics before his masters in economics at the Chicago Business School. After that he breezed into a job at one of the top Chicago trading firms and had moved steadily up the corporate ladder with increasing responsibility and increasing money.

But, he'd never really felt like life was turning out the way he wanted until he met Penny, and that was because, despite all of his success in business and athletics, he'd never had anything that resembled a satisfying romantic relationship. In high school he'd been a nervous teenager around girls, overly anxious, absolutely uncertain about how to approach them to talk, let alone form a relationship. He developed some confidence in college when a couple of aggressive girls saw a good thing and wouldn't allow his insecurities get in the way, but still, this only lead to a series of superficial associations that, with or without sex, didn't amount to anything significant in Jason's mind, a pattern that seemed to continue through business school and for a couple of years into his new job.

But then, he met Penny and everything changed. She was easy to be with, vivacious, talkative, attractive, without pretense or conceit. She wanted quiet, relaxing evenings, a house with a picket fence and children, and Jason wanted her. And so, with a sense of comfortable inevitability, their relationship smoothly developed and strengthened, from casual dating, to nights capped with earnest, passionate lovemaking that increased in frequency such that practicality eventually required them to move in together. And then, on a warm summer evening in a small, neighborhood park by the lake, Jason took a knee and with faintly trembling hands offered a ring to Penny who accepted with tears, a smile and an enthusiastic hug.

In the eight months since then, plans had been made, invitations had been sent, dresses picked out and a church in Penny's home town in southern Illinois had been reserved for a date that was now only 6 days away.

Jason smiled at the recollections and leaned over to gently kiss Penny on the cheek. Her eyes fluttered open and she yawned and then smiled lazily, giving off a contented little moan as she arched her back, the covers falling away to expose her breasts and pale, pink nipples.

"Hey baby." She half whispered, smiling back at him as she smoothly ran a hand down his naked flank to his hip and then to his morning erection. "Did you sleep ok?"

He nodded and started to answer but then was brought up short, responding to her gentle squeeze and stroke, and could only let out a light gasp in response. He shimmied closer, enveloping her in his arms as he kissed her lips, her neck, her chest and then her breasts and nipples, licking and sucking until she whimpered softly, thrusting her pelvis forward to him. He pressed his thigh between her legs, feeling the wetness increase as he pushed against her, retraced his kisses back up to her neck and then to her lips again. She moved her legs apart and rolled to her back, pulling him on top of her, returning his kisses passionately, breathing harder, raggedly. He moved a hand down her back and then over her hip, and then slid it between his thigh and her crotch and then cupped and rubbed her aggressively, pushing and exploring her with his fingers, the movements reinforced by the pressure from his thigh.

It wasn't long before Penny reached down and placed her hands on his hips and began pulling Jason inside her legs which she had moved even farther apart. He broke the kiss and pushed himself off the bed to facilitate her unspoken request. He paused to look at her face, flushed, excited, she was-as always-beautiful to him. She took the hesitation to be a form of teasing and gasped out a whispered demand.

"Please...please...I need it now."

Jason nodded, his own desire essentially overwhelming his ability to speak, moved himself between her legs, reached back and grabbed Penny's hands, extending them above her head, and watched her face as he entered her slowly. Her expression turned nearly desperate and she thrust her bottom half forward, and, with a simultaneous gasp uttered by both lovers, completely encased Jason within her.

A look of lustful relief formed on her face as they began to push in and out of each other, the speed and power of their efforts increasing with each thrust until they reached a nearly frantic pace. Finally, covered in a thin film of newly formed sweat, Penny began to arch her back and let out a long, low moan, signaling her orgasm and resulting in a sensation that made it impossible for Jason to prevent his own as he emptied himself into her with a final series of long, aggressive lunges.

They lay next to each other for several minutes, arms, legs and bodies still intertwined, saying nothing, their faces so close that their noses touched and they were taking in each other's breath. Jason felt utterly content and thoroughly satisfied and found himself drifting back to sleep, his eyelids slowly closing, when he felt Penny's hand on his shoulder, gently rocking him.

"Hey, hey...Jase...don't fall back asleep baby. We have lots to do."

Opening his eyes, he smiled at Penny and stroked her face affectionately for a moment and then sat up, shaking his head slightly to clear his senses.

"What all do we have left Pen? I thought we were in pretty good shape?"

"Not much, just a little last minute packing and a few errands. But I want to get an early start OK? You ready to make the big trip to Centerville? Ready to meet the rest of my family and my old friends?"

Jason smiled again. "I'm ready to do anything as long as it's with you."

"Right answer." She purred, stretching her arms lazily above her head, like a confident cat, before wrapping them around Jason's neck. "Right answer."

****

They were making good time down I-55, listening to music and chatting, Penny occasionally sending out a text to friends or family to update their progress toward Centerville or to make some further arrangement about the wedding. About a half hour away from their destination, she became a little quiet and Jason watched her look pensively at the passing scenery. After a couple of minutes of this, he decided to break the silence.

"You ok sweetie? Problem with the caterer or something?"

She looked back at him with a slight look of embarrassed surprise, as though she'd been caught doing something untoward.

"Oh...oh, no. No, I just...I just guess I was thinking about going home and all the ghosts and issues I left behind."

Jason gave an incredulous little grimace in response. "Ghosts? Issues? What are you talking about?"

Penny gave a melancholy sigh and looked out the window absentmindedly for a moment before answering.

"Well...it's really nothing Jase. But, well...you know some of my old friends and some of my family sort of had a specific idea on who I should be with and they aren't...won't be super supportive of the wedding and stuff. That's all."

"Wait, are you saying that your folks don't like me? I thought we got along really well when they came up to meet us. Both times. In fact I had a great time with your Dad. Did I totally get that wrong?"

Penny shook her head emphatically. "Oh, no. No, not at all. My parents love you. They think you're great. Really." She paused, chewing her bottom lip for a moment before continuing.

"But, like I said, some old friends and family they, well, they still think that..."

Penny stopped and looked out the window without finishing her thought, a slightly

"Look Penny, what exactly are you getting at here? You seem to think that I ought to know what the problem is, but I really don't have a clue what the hell you are talking about."

Penny gave out an exasperated sigh.

"Look, Jase. It's...it's about Kenny."

Jason glanced over to Penny before turning his eyes back to the road.

"What about him? I mean, it's over between you for like 5 years now, right? Why is that an issue now? Unless you haven't told me something."

Penny shook her head and then, paradoxically, nodded, her face a mixture of concern, confusion and frustration.

"No...well, yes. Sort of. Look, Jase, I told you everything about Kenny and me that was important. That we were pretty serious through high school and were going to get married and that it just...it just didn't work out..."

Penny stopped, chewing her lip again, a look of uncertainty crossing her face again. Jason shrugged and raised his eyebrows in an expectant gesture until Penny continued again.

"Well, the truth is that a few of my friends seemed to have a lot invested in our...uh...relationship. They thought of it...still think of it...as some sort of romantic fairy tale thing and they are always pushing me to give Kenny another chance. Telling me he's changed and that we were meant to be together and...and shit like that."

Jason pressed his lips together in thought and subconsciously gunned the motor and rapidly passed a car in the slow lane. "So, what are you telling me here? That I have to compete with your ex a week before our wedding? Is that what you're saying?"

Penny clenched her hands in frustration and pushed them into her eyes. "No...no, that's not it. That's not what I'm trying to tell you at all." She dropped her hands and looked earnestly over to Jason, waiting for him to take his eyes off the road to glance at her before beginning again.

"It's just that some of them, a few friends...especially Theresa...may try and...I don't know...may try and push us together or treat you badly or...or something like that. And I just wanted you to be prepared. That's all."

"Theresa? Isn't she one of your bridesmaids? You've asked someone who doesn't...doesn't want us to get married to be in the wedding party? Isn't that a little...uh...weird?"

Penny grimaced. "Well, I get what you are saying. But Theresa is...was...my best friend and I feel...I don't know...obligated to be a bridesmaid. I mean, I was for her wedding and it would seem...rude, maybe...if I didn't have her as one of mine."

She faced Jason, giving him a look that asked for his understanding, but he just looked back at her blankly and then turned to the road for a few minutes to compose himself. Finally, after a few minutes of silence, he let out a long sigh and turned back to Penny, producing the most reassuring smile he could muster.

"Look Penny. I'm in this for the long haul. If there are some people who want to make things tough I can live with that. As long as you're on my side...as long as we both have each other's back, what could go wrong? In the end, it's really just you and me, and nobody else can really hurt us. Right? So...so, just stop worrying. I'll be on my best behavior and I'll be as charming as I can be and I'll bite my tongue whenever I have to. I'm going to do my best to my sure everyone in Centerville knows you've made the right choice and if I can't...then so what? Their opinions don't mean squat in the long run."

All the nervousness drained from Penny's face and, with a contented smile, she snuggled into Jason's shoulder as he continued to drive.

*****

It was almost dusk when they pulled into the driveway of Penny's childhood home, a two story farmhouse on the outskirts of Centerville, set in a quiet neighborhood with large, unfenced yards and dominating old maples and oaks. They'd barely made it a few feet up the walk before Penny's mother, a plush, squat woman with pinned up, graying hair and a pleasant face, exploded out of the front door, squealing with delight, arms open, approaching her daughter like a jiggling, middle aged, heat seeking missile.

"Oh...Penny, how's my beautiful little girl? My blushing bride to be?" She shouted pulling her close with mushy soft arms and enveloping her with a fog of sweet perfume while she kissed her cheek. She clutched her tight for a few moments, savoring the feel of her daughter in her arms before reluctantly letting loose to turn her attention to her son-in-law to be.

"And how are you Jason? It's so nice to see you. You look so good...so handsome." She said, giving him a brief hug before leading them up the walkway to the door. "Come on in now, Papa's waiting inside and dinner is just about ready. And we have so much to talk about."

Papa was Penny's father, a quiet, serious man who got off the couch as they entered the house to greet his daughter with a light hug and Jason with a firm handshake while Mom went to the kitchen to begin bringing the food out to the table. After a few moments of small talk, he led them to the table and, with an air of domestic authority, instructed them where to sit, said a terse grace over the food and nodded his head toward the food, a platter of pork chops, a salad and a bowl heaped with mashed potatoes, a dinner for 4 that could have fed 10.

The initial dinner conversation was almost exclusively about the wedding and was dominated by the women who enthusiastically discussed seating arrangements, finalized plans for dresses, photography settings, the music choices and the menu at the reception.

When Penny mentioned making sure everyone was standing in the right place for the actual ceremony, Mama Miller's face took on a look of pained surprise, as if she'd suddenly remembered some unpleasant detail that had to be worked out, and she turned to Jason.

"Jason, sweetie, when is your Dad coming in? What night I mean?"

Jason put his fork down and finished swallowing a mouthful of potatoes. "I'm pretty sure he has a flight into St. Louis Thursday afternoon, so he should be here by Thursday evening for the rehearsal dinner."

Mama's face suddenly clouded over and she looked like might start to cry, her voice taking on a tone of abject misery.

"Oh...oh Jason, I'm so sorry, I...oh, I was afraid of that. Oh no...oh dear..." Her words got progressively softer as she spoke until they became a mousy little whisper before they just faded away.

Jason, glanced over to Penny looking for some sort guidance about how to react, but she just shrugged, so he turned back to Mama Miller and worked to catch her eye, wrinkling his brow in sympathetic concern. "Look, whatever the problem is, I can't imagine it will be a big issue. I'm sure everything will be ok. Just...just tell me what's wrong."