The Heart System

I didn't want Kayla hearing anything Penelope might say, so I disconnected the phone from the car, grabbed it, held it against my shoulder and ear, and merged into the next lane.

"Pen?" I said.

"Hey, I heard you're also coming for dinner," she said. Her voice was loud and careless, like she didn't even check where she was calling from. "Can you come pick me up?"

"Sure. Where do you live?"

"Close to Mendy's," she answered. "I'll send you the location. Thanks."

"Yep."

"I won't show you my tits in the car if you're hoping for that," she added, then hung up.

I blinked. Jesus. I exhaled a laugh, one of those tired ones. Good thing I disconnected the speakers. The last thing I needed was Kayla hearing that. Penelope was… something else. Brutally honest. Sharp-tongued. Didn't care whose toes she stepped on. Hell, the first thing she did when we met was size me up and decide she kinda hated me. But at least she was real. Chaotic real, with no filter.

The light turned green. I steered forward, reconnected the phone to the dashboard with one hand, shoved it into my pocket, and tried to pretend nothing happened.

Kayla kept looking forward, her fingers tapping gently on her knees. She seemed relaxed, thankfully unaware.

"Who was it?" she asked without looking at me.

"Penelope. Mendy's friend." I said. "Wants me to come pick her up. You didn't tell me she'd join us."

Kayla made a face, somewhere between surprise and annoyance. "I didn't know either. Damn… she's actually scary, Evan."

"Scary? How so?"

"I don't mean her giant fake tits," she said, waving her hand. "I mean her personality. When I tried to visit Mendy after she… tried to—kill herself… she snapped at me. Hard. Mendy's mom had to stop her."

"You were lucky, honestly," I said.

She rubbed her arms and leaned back into her seat. "But you managed to meet Mendy anyway. And Penelope. That's how you stopped Richard that time, right?"

"Yeah."

"Tell me… how was Mendy? Before all of this. While Richard was still in her life." Kayla's voice dropped. She stared out the window, her breath fogging the glass. "I'm assuming she's doing better now."

"She was miserable," I said. "Paranoid. She said her panties were stolen, and neither Penelope nor I believed her. We thought she'd finally snapped. But she hadn't. Richard was targeting her."

Kayla's jaw tightened. "Fuck."

The car filled with a heavy, sinking silence. She looked down at her hands. Her thumbs rubbed together anxiously.

"I can't help but feel like this is all my fault," she said quietly.

"Hey," I interrupted. "This is all my fault. I was the one who convinced you. Not you."

She didn't look convinced. She swallowed hard.

"But it's all in the past now," I added. "We have to think about the future."

"And what does the future hold for us?" Kayla asked. She tried to smile, but her eyes were tired.

"A dinner," I said.

Her smile finally cracked into something genuine. "Wow. You really know how to comfort a woman."

I shrugged. "I try."

Itouched the message Penelope sent me on the dashboard and marked it. The damn screen took a second to load, and while I glanced at it, I nearly missed the left turn. I swerved the car sharply and managed to slip into the lane at the last second.

"Alright, fast and idiot, calm down," Kayla said. "You're going to ruin this beauty of a car."

"Yeah, sorry."

Kayla shook her head and leaned back, annoyed but amused. Another red light hit us. This snow was turning the whole city into a slow-moving hell. Every light felt longer than the last. Fine. I might as well check the reputation thing while we were stuck. Since hiding the spicy details about Nala's first time gave me a boost, maybe something else changed.

So… Villain was the worst rank. Seven in total. Villain, Enemy, Bad, Neutral, Good, Big-Hearted, Hero. Each gave passives except Neutral.

╭────────────────────╮

REPUTATION SYSTEM (LVL 11)

VILLAIN░░░░░░███░░░░░░░░ HERO

==========================

Current Reputation: Good

- More EXP gain when making your

partner climax.

╰────────────────────╯

That was it? Honestly, the Bad tier gave better passives. Whatever. Being a Hero probably required stupid sacrifices anyway. I was also sure that when I eventually fucked Delilah behind Ivy's back without her knowing, I'd fall straight toward Villain and ruin this whole thing.

"She lives close by?" Kayla asked, pulling me back to reality.

"Hmm? Who?"

"Penelope," she said. "Is she close by?"

"Oh. Yeah. Just five minutes out of the way."

The UI faded and the light turned green. I eased the car forward. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kayla part her legs slightly so the wine bottle wouldn't roll again. Her dress pulled just a little and… Jesus. Smooth. Warm-looking. Inviting. Hard to believe I had sex with her on that massage table. And her ass… it was huge. Bigger than Nala's. Either she hit the gym eight days a week or she was genetically blessed. Or… maybe both?

She turned her head toward me and I immediately stared ahead like the most innocent man on Earth. Of course that distraction made me miss the next damn turn.

"Oh," Kayla said, checking the dashboard. "You missed a turn."

"Yeah, sorry. I thought it was the second one."

I exhaled, straightened up, and focused harder.

A few boring minutes later, I reached the destination. I found a spot, parked, and waited. Kayla stretched her arms above her head, then leaned back. A shiver ran through her. I turned the AC from four to five, letting more warm air push through the vents.

Her shoulders relaxed almost instantly. She glanced at the dashboard and began playing with the buttons. Checking the time. Changing the brightness. Swiping through menus she didn't need.

"I'm bored," she said, turning her head to the right and staring out the window.

"Yep," I said. "Sorry we had to take a detour. And that I, uh… well, missed a turn."

"Worst ride ever. I'll give you one star."

"Har-har."

This part of the city was calmer than where I lived. The buildings were shorter, maybe five or six floors at most. No neon hell screaming from every corner, just a couple warm yellow storefront signs and the occasional flicker of an old streetlamp. Snow piled on top of parked cars, turning them into white lumps. The whole place felt slower, quieter, older.

Just as I reached for my cigarette pack, I spotted Penelope in the left mirror. She stood on the sidewalk with her arms folded tight against the cold. She wore a thin t-shirt and tight pants. No jacket. No coat. Nothing. And somehow she didn't look bothered by the weather at all. Her chest was impossible to ignore. Those fake tits drew eyes from every direction, men and women both.

"There she is," I said. "She's wearing pretty normal clothes too. I think you really overdid it, Kayla."

"Ugh. Let's just go."

I honked lightly. Penelope's head snapped toward us. She jogged over and opened the back door. As soon as she sat down, she hissed from the cold, then immediately relaxed when the warm air hit her.

The rearview mirror lined up perfectly with her chest. Maybe it was coincidence. Or maybe it was exactly what I wanted to be seeing.

"Hey," I said. "You should've worn a jacket or something."

"I forgot it," Penelope said. "Mm. Hey, Kayla."

"H-hey," Kayla replied with a strained smile. "What's up?"

"Good. Keeping my anus closed for strangers. Unlike you."

Kayla's smile died. My soul left my body for a second.

"Okay," I said as I shifted to reverse and backed out. "Let's not do that. Calm down. We're going to eat a peaceful dinner. For Mendy."

Kayla dropped her elbow to her knee and rubbed her forehead like she was trying to massage the stress out. Honestly, same. I expected some attitude, but not… that level. Penelope wasn't pulling punches. She was swinging bricks.

I merged into the street and turned left. Kayla wedged the wine bottle between her feet and stared out the window with her arms crossed. Penelope, meanwhile, existed in my mirror like a constant distracting hazard.

"You couldn't at least make a reservation somewhere?" Penelope asked.

"I asked Mendy," Kayla said. "She refused. She wanted dinner at home."

"The most important thing is being together," I said. I glanced at the mirror again. "That'll make Mendy happy. She needs some new people in her life."

"Why? So they can betray her again?" Penelope asked.

Emilia flashed through my head again. Fuck. Please be alive. Please.

"I didn't betray her," Kayla said, turning around in her seat. "I didn't even know the girl. Richard tricked us both."

"Sure."

No, no, no. This was getting stupid fast. I couldn't even think straight with the noise in my head and the noise in the backseat.

"Why won't you believe me?" Kayla asked. "Jesus, Penelope. Just… ugh."

"You're lucky Mendy's mother stopped me when I saw you at her house," Penelope said. "Because I swear to God I would have knocked you out."

"I didn't even…"

"Fucking enough," I snapped. My voice came out harsher than I intended. "Both of you, shut the fuck up. We are doing this for Mendy. I didn't pick you up just to listen to you two bitch at each other. Now shut it."

Silence dropped like a brick.

Penelope turned her head to the window. Kayla blinked twice, wide-eyed, like she had never heard me raise my voice before.

My heart sank.

"I'm… ah, just, fuck, sorry," I said. "I shouldn't have yelled."

The UI flashed.

Minus two points from both.

Perfect. Just perfect.