Penelope loved going out. In her late-twenties now, those opportunities were fewer as work and family took more of her free time. She didn't mind, but some of her friends felt she was settling too early and abandoning them. This caused some tension, but Penelope had more to worry about than a few party friends getting salty.
Trying to network in the corporate world was proving harder than she'd imagined. Her coworkers were all in their early 40s and worked together for years before Penelope joined the team. This meant when they went out to lunch or for drinks after work, they often forgot to invite her. While she pretended it wasn't a big deal, it really hurt when they all came back laughing from lunch, walking right past her office.
But, things were getting better, she was even invited to join them at a local restaurant on Friday. Well, invited was an overstatement. Two coworkers were talking about plans while in the copy room and mentioned that everyone was welcome.
So Friday morning saw Penelope get up early, do her hair and makeup and grab an extra outfit for the evening. Generally, she wore thin blouses and dress pants. She had a tight ass that she liked showing off, just not at the office. Her chest was average, but her tanned skin made any lingerie set she chose look amazing. She pulled out a tight pair of dark jeans and a shirt that showed more cleavage than her traditional office clothes.
If she showed her coworkers that she knew how to have a good time, they might start inviting her more.
The day dragged on like normal until 4:45 when one of her coworkers stopped by her office on his way out.
"Are you coming to The Brew?" he asked as he leaned in.
"Yep! See you there in a bit."
"Good, see you." He gave a quick nod and headed out. Penelope finished up her email and shut down her computer for the weekend. A few more coworkers filed by, waving. She made a quick stop in the bathroom to slide into her jeans and check her hair. She usually kept her dark hair up, but today it was down and slicked straight. Running her fingers through it, she was satisfied it looked glossy in the bright lights.
She locked her office then followed the secretary out the door.
When she got to The Brew, she immediately ordered a drink. Partly to buy time in looking for her group and partly to get that alcohol courage going early. A hand pressed lightly on her shoulder as the bartender handed her the beer.
"Hi Penelope, we're over there." Her coworker Fran was the one catching her attention. She thanked the older woman as they made their way to the table.
The group dynamic of her coworkers was interesting. They all teased each other constantly and had dry senses of humor, and didn't seem to take the mandatory sexual harassment training to heart. There were jokes about "choking the chicken" and "eating carpet" within the first few minutes of her sitting down. Penelope laughed along, but didn't have enough booze in her system to throw in the innuendos yet.
"So! Do you have a boyfriend, Penelope?" was the first attempt by Fran to engage her in conversation.
"No, I-"
"What about a girlfriend?" called one of the guys from across the table. "It is the 21st century, Fran." The table chuckled.
"No, I'm not dating anyone." Penelope smiled.
"Ah, smart girl," cried the same man. "Playing the field. Wish I still did. I'd be swiping on the Tindr!" He made a motion with his hand and knocked over his drink.
"Easy, Dave! You know I can call Liz."
"She'd be happy to get rid of him," joked another woman. "20 years of marriage to him? She's probably hired a hitman already!"
Her coworkers went on teasing Dave about his apparently gorgeous wife, Liz. More drinks were ordered and Penelope was enjoying the night, when she noticed a wild group of 20-somethings enter. Among them was an old FWB whom she hadn't seen in months. Not wanting to run into him just then, Penelope turned slightly to hide behind Fran and attempted to distract herself with her coworkers' new topic.
But it was hard.
Sam had been her FWB for a long time and they'd just lost touch a few months ago. Sam had started seeing another woman exclusively and Penelope wanted to give him space to try an actual relationship. She was fine at first, totally engrossed in her new job and moving apartments, but as she began settling into her new routine, she found she missed him. Not just the sex, but the work-outs they did at the gym, the movies, the latenight food runs, just the friend stuff.
Peeking around Fran, Penelope saw Sam's group settle on the other side of the restaurant in a corner booth. She turned back to her coworkers confident he wouldn't see her now.
They were still laughing and drinking, but as 7 o'clock came around, their group had grown. Some spouses, some former employees, and mutual friends had joined now, threatening to topple more drinks with the lack of elbow room.
Penelope got up to grab a water from the bar.
She was having a difficult time keeping pace with the drinking as no one was ordering food yet. The alcohol hit her bloom stream and she could practically hear the buzz burning in her brain. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sam's table crowded with hot girls and guys holding a myriad of half-empty glasses and all talking at once.
Making her way to the bar proved difficult in her buzzed state, but she managed to order a water and close her tab for the moment.
As she turned back, Penelope noticed her coworkers were switching tables. Some shifting around had happened to accommodate the new, larger group, and they had moved some tables over. To her surprise, her purse had been left on the old table and the new one didn't seem to have a seat for her.
Fran looked up as she squeezed through the growing bar crowd.
"Oh, Penelope, uh..." she looked around awkwardly, "Guys we need a seat for Penelope." A few people looked up and started looking for a chair.
"I don't see a chair over here," one of them said flatly then turned back to the group.
"Sorry, maybe you can ask them over there for a seat?" Fran gestured to the next table where there clearly wasn't an open chair.
Penelope felt hurt.
"Um, ya know what? I should probably go."
"Oh, are you sure? We could try to make room..."
"No, that's fine. I have dinner plans anyway," she lied smoothly as she backed away, water still in hand.
"Okay, have a good night, Penelope!" Fran waved. A couple other people on the same end of the table nodded polite goodbyes as Penelope turned. Hurt and embarrassed she grabbed her purse and bent her head down as she entered the crowd which barred the way to the door.
"Oh, oh no!"
Penelope had stepped smack into someone's chest, spilling water everywhere and dropping her purse.
She heard a drunken "whoop" followed by the yell of, "Party foul!"
Her coworkers all turned to look as well as everyone in the circle of bodies on that side of the bar. But all of that passed in a second. As a second later the smell of light cologne and a familiar laundry detergent hit her full in the face. She looked up from the chest she'd slammed into and saw Sam. He was looking surprised, but not angry.
"Hi, Penny."
"Uh, hey Sam." She meant it to sound casual but her voice shook.
"How are y-"
