“Anyway, something to ponder over the weekend. Class dismissed.”
“I guess I’ll see you on Monday. If you change your mind, you have my number.” Tyler winked at me.
I smiled back at him as he walked away. Wearing Professor Hunter’s sweater to class had taken a lot of courage. But now it was time for the hardest part. I tried to walk as seductively as I possibly could in rain boots, and slowed down slightly when I passed by his desk so that he’d notice me.
“Miss Taylor, if you would, please wait a moment.”
I froze. He had noticed. I never expected him to talk to me after yesterday, though.
“You’re wearing my sweater.”
“I’ve been told I look good in it.”
He was silent for a moment. “You have a date this weekend,” he said casually. He didn’t ask it as a question, but said it as a statement. I felt like there was a trace of anger in his voice.
I gulped. That was none of his business. Especially since he had a girlfriend. “And how was yours?” I replied, with more sass than I intended.
“Hmmm?” he said, and raised his left eyebrow.
“I have another class I need to get to.”
“So do I.”
My heart was racing.
“Well then.” I turned.
“Penny?” The tips of his fingers brushed the back of my wrist.
It sent shivers through me, and my body actually shook. Play hard to get! I went toward the door. Before I walked out I turned just my head, and said, “Have a good weekend, Professor Hunter.”
Saturday
I looked down at my phone one more time. For some reason, I had this hope that Professor Hunter would text me and beg me not to go. Or show up and whisk me away. I carefully clicked on his name, trying not to smudge my nail polish. Even though it was foolish, I couldn’t help wanting to text him. He was most likely on a date with his girlfriend. The thought made me want to text him even more.
“Penny, you need to get ready to go. We need to leave in just a few minutes if we’re going to be there on time.”
I hopped off my bed. “I am ready.”
“What the hell are you wearing?” Melissa said as she looked at my outfit. I was wearing jeans and a tank top. Apparently I was underdressed because she was wearing a new dress. It had a high neckline in the front, but there was no back until just above her butt.
“You look great, Melissa,” I said, trying to change the subject.
She sighed in response and walked over to her closet. “Penny, you need to look hot. Don’t you want Austin to be upset about what he’s been missing?”
“I don’t care about what Austin thinks.”
“Just a second. Here,” she said and tossed me a black dress.
“But…”
“Penny, you’re not wearing jeans to dinner. You’ll make me look ridiculously overdressed. And I bought this specifically for tonight.”
“So bossy,” I mumbled under my breath.
“Yep, now change.”
I pulled on the dress, strapped on my black stilettos, and stood up. “Fine, now I’m ready.”
“Perfect. That’ll make him drool.”
I couldn’t help but smile when I looked in the mirror. The super short, sleek black dress I was wearing had a neckline that plunged to my belly button. The designer must have had a vague sense of modesty, because the dress had a black mesh material between the neckline so that I wasn’t completely exposed. There was a slit up the side, and if it was any higher, the dress wouldn’t be suitable to wear out. I completed the look with a pair of dangly earrings that helped elongate my neck. I felt sexy.
“Ah, I’m excited! Let’s go,” Melissa said.
We made our way out of the dorm. We walked arm in arm along the brick walkway, as was our custom, so that neither one of us fell over in our heels.
“So, are you nervous to see Austin?”
“I’m still mad at him.”
“And you should be. But he clearly misses you, or he wouldn’t have agreed to come.”
I felt myself starting to sweat. “Melissa, I am nervous. Do I really have to do this?”
“You cannot back out at the last minute!”
“I feel like I’m going to be sick.”
“Well, just don’t get sick on him.”
“Melissa!”
“Okay, okay.” We stopped for a moment and she turned to face me. “Here’s what you have to do. Just remember to act confident. And most importantly, don’t say that you’ve missed him. That gives him all the power. You need to make him want you, not the other way around.”
I took a deep breath. “Play hard to get?”
“Exactly.” She grabbed my arm and we started walking again.
We stopped again in front of Kildare’s, the restaurant we were going to. It was only 8 o’clock, so even though we were underage, we’d still be allowed in.
“You ready?” Melissa asked.
“As ready as I can be.”
Melissa stepped into the restaurant first. “Hi,” she said to the hostess. “We’re looking for two… oh, never mind. I see them!”
Josh was waving for us to come over to a booth. He stood up as we approached and so did Austin. My stomach started to churn. I couldn’t be confident. This was Austin. The Austin. The one that strung me along all of last semester and “didn’t do labels.” With his short, light brown hair, grayish blue eyes, and that sexy scruff on his chin, he had this way about him that made me act foolish.
He had me wrapped around his finger, and he knew it. I had slept with him, hoping that would get him to stay. But that wasn’t the case. He just wanted me for my body. So I kept giving it to him. His position on “labels” never changed. And then when the semester ended, I stopped hearing from him. All summer I waited. When I got his, “Babe, it’s hard being here without you. I miss you,” text, I came back to campus as soon as I could. And he had completely disappeared. I felt my knees trembling. I knew I was hurt, but I hadn’t realized how angry I was.
Be confident, Penny. I thought about the way I’d been acting with Professor Hunter. Austin had nothing on Professor Hunter. If I could act sassy and confident and strong around him, then this should be a piece of cake. I can do this.
When we reached the boys, Josh pulled Melissa close and kissed her passionately. This was already awkward. I looked up at Austin.