“Get off me!” I yelled and pushed him away. I stumbled to my feet. The tears were starting to well in my eyes.
“Geez, Penny, lighten up.”
“Save your advice, Austin. I don’t care. We’re done.”
“Until you call me again, begging to see me.”
He did get my calls! It took every ounce of restraint in me to not slap him.
“Well, until then,” he said. He turned away and walked back up the restaurant steps.
“Grow up, Austin!” I yelled. Without turning around he put his hand up in the air to acknowledge he had heard me, and disappeared back inside the bar. He hadn’t changed at all.
I was done with boys. I wanted a man. And I wanted that man to be Professor Hunter. It was time to find out if he wanted me. Before I could chicken out, I took my phone out of my clutch and texted Professor Hunter. “Any chance I can get a lift?”
Saturday
Not even a minute passed before I got his response: “Where are you?”
“Outside of Kildare’s.”
My phone bleeped. “I’ll be right there.”
I put my phone back in my clutch and sat down on the curb. My knees were bleeding and I was holding my broken heel in my hand. I smiled when it began to drizzle. It was like my fantasies were coming true. After several minutes of nervous waiting, a black Audi coupe rolled up next to me. Even his car was sexy.
Professor Hunter leaned over and opened the car door from the inside. I climbed inside and shut the door.
“Did I wake you?” I asked. He put the car in drive and drove off. His hair was sleek from the rain. He was wearing dark jeans and a gray hoodie. The zipper of his hoodie wasn’t pulled up all the way, and he clearly wasn’t wearing a shirt underneath. His outfit made him look even younger. He really couldn’t be much older than me.
“Yes,” he replied.
The rain quickly picked up. In the silence, the drops began to splash loudly on the windshield. I could tell he was a little grumpy from me disturbing his sleep.
“You live near here?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Where?”
The car pulled to a stop at a red light. He leaned across me and opened up the glove compartment. I gulped. I wanted to kiss him so badly. He grabbed a tissue and placed it gently on one of my cut knees. Ignoring my question, he asked, “Do you want to talk about what happened?”
“I fell, that’s all,” I whispered. His breath smelled minty. I had woken him up and he had taken the time to brush his teeth. Was he going to kiss me? He let go of the tissue and sat back in the driver’s seat. I blotted my knees with the tissue.
“That’s all?” he said, staring at me.
I lifted my stiletto from my lap and shrugged.
When the light turned green he stepped on the gas. “You enjoyed your date then?”
“No.”
We drove on in silence again. We were almost back to my dorm.
“Is that what you wanted to hear?” I added.
“I don’t desire for you to be unhappy, Miss Taylor.”
“Why did you give me your number, Professor Hunter?”
He pulled to the curb outside of my dorm and turned the car off. “You seem keen on putting yourself in dangerous situations.” He glanced quickly at my outfit and then got out of the car.
My face flushed. Professor Hunter ran through the rain and opened up the door on my side. I slowly stepped out, not wanting for this moment to end. I kept blowing all my chances with him.
Instead of turning to walk me to the door he just stood there, staring at me. It was like he was waiting for something. I remembered the dream he recounted in class. He was waiting for something exciting to happen. And it was pouring.
“Professor Hunter…”
There was that look again. It took my breath away. And for the first time I realized that it wasn’t anger or hunger. It was hunger and anger. He leaned down and placed his hands on the car, on either side of me. Our mouths were less than an inch apart. He opened his lips slightly like he was about to say something. I could feel the heat of his breath in the rain. He drew a fraction of an inch closer.
“I can’t seem to stop thinking about you,” I whispered.
Instead of responding, he quickly grabbed the back of my neck and let his lips meet mine. His kiss was full of passion, passion that he had been holding back just as much as I had. He pressed his body against mine and lightly pushed me so that my back was on the cold, wet steel of the car. He leaned into me. The contrast of the heat from his body and the coolness of the car sent a spark through me. I had never wanted someone so badly before. I let my hands wander beneath the back of his hoodie. His skin was so soft.
His lips pulled away from mine and he groaned softly in my ear. “Penny, you need to try to stop.” He stepped back and lifted the hood of his hoodie over his head. He rubbed his forehead as he walked around the car. With one last smoldering glance, he got into his car.
I stood in the rain as I watched him speed off.
Sunday
“Penny?” Melissa nudged me. “Penny it’s nearly dinner time, do you want to get up and get something to eat with me?” Her voice was etched in concern.
“I’m tired,” I groaned and tried to turn over.
“Penny, you have to get up. Tell me what happened last night.” She pulled the sheets off of me. “Oh my God, Penny, are you bleeding?!”
I looked down at my knees. The rain had made the blood trickle down my shins. It looked like something out of a horror film. I started laughing.
“Penny you’re freaking me out.”