I laughed. “If you insist.” I walked back up the stairs and he followed me. I opened the door to my room and let him in.
“So remember when I promised you that our next date would be sweatpants, popcorn, and a movie?”
“Tyler…”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. This isn’t a date. But…” he rummaged in his backpack and pulled out a bag of un-popped microwave popcorn. “I figured since you were sick you might be wearing sweatpants.” He looked down at my legs. “And I was correct. I made sure to wear some too.” He was wearing dark gray sweatpants and a white t-shirt. He put the popcorn in the microwave and pulled a DVD out of his bag. “And I brought a movie.”
He really was a sweet guy. “Tyler, I can’t ask you to miss your party for this. Melissa made it seem like it was going to be lots of fun.”
“Trust me, there is nothing I’d rather be doing.” He handed me the disc. I looked down and saw that it was The Princess Bride.
“This is my favorite movie.”
“Yeah. I’d be lying if I didn’t confess that Melissa told me. But I already owned it, because I like it too.” He smiled at me as he pulled the popcorn out of the microwave, then sat on the end of my bed.
I put the movie in and sat down next to him.
“Popcorn?” he asked and put the bag down between us.
“You’re a really good friend, Tyler.”
“Yeah I know.” He laughed and put his arms behind his head and leaned against the wall.
“No seriously. I’ve never really had a guy friend that was genuinely nice just because he cared.”
“Honestly, I’m just paying my dues.” He winked at me. “But I like being friends with you too. And since we’re just friends, I can do stuff like this and not get in trouble.” He slid over and put his arm around my back.
“Is that right?”
“I’m just here to take care of you.” He tapped his shoulder that was closest to me.
“So I guess since we’re friends I’m supposed to rest my head on your shoulder?”
“Well, I mean if you want. I just had an itch. But I promise I won’t read into it.”
I leaned my head on his shoulder. In the movie, Westley was just saying goodbye to Buttercup so he could go off and find a fortune so that they could get married.
“I never understood why she was always so mean to him at first,” Tyler said.
“Because she didn’t realize that she loved him yet.”
“Right,” Tyler said. He rested his head on top of mine.
Saturday
My head rose and fell with his breath. I was dreaming about Professor Hunter again; dreaming about being wrapped in his strong arms. I listened to his slow, steady heartbeat. I could lay here forever in his embrace. I let my hand wander beneath his shirt and felt his abs. His body seemed to tense from my touch, which made his muscles even more pronounced. He was so sexy.
“Are you feeling any better?” he whispered.
I almost jumped out of my skin. Tyler. I was with Tyler, not Professor Hunter. We must have fallen asleep watching the movie. I pulled my hand out from under his shirt and sat up.
“You lovebirds must have been exhausted. It’s almost noon,” Melissa laughed.
Oh my God, Melissa’s here? All I wanted to do was disappear back into my dream. I felt my face flushing. “We fell asleep watching a movie,” I said quietly. I didn’t want to look down at Tyler and I didn’t want to make eye contact with Melissa so I just stared at my lap.
“Sure,” Melissa said.
I heard Tyler yawn as he sat up beside me. “Good morning, Melissa.”
He rubbed his hand on my back. “Penny?”
“Yeah. I do feel better. Thanks, Tyler.” I still didn’t look at him. What had I done? This was the opposite of what was supposed to happen last night. And why had I just touched his abs? He had really nice abs. What the hell is wrong with me?
“Did you want to get something to eat?” Tyler asked.
“Yes, we’d love to,” Melissa answered for me. Her coming to the dining hall with us was going to be a disaster. Everything was a disaster!
Tyler hopped off the bed. “Do you mind if I borrow this?” He lifted up the mouthwash from my dresser.
“No, go ahead.” He took a swig and walked out of the room.
“Oh my God, Penny! Spill it.”
“Nothing happened.” I slid off the bed and quickly changed into jean shorts and a t-shirt. I tried hard not to make eye contact with her.
“I don’t believe that for a second. You both slept so long. Like you just had sex long.”
“I was sick.”
“Yeah sure. Why aren’t you giving me the details? Was he small or something?”
“No!”
“So he’s big?”
“Melissa!” I smoothed my hair and pulled it back into a ponytail. “We’re just friends.”
“He doesn’t look at you like you’re his friend.”
I grabbed my shower caddy and went to the bathroom without hearing what else she had to say. I brushed my teeth and washed my face without looking in the mirror. This was getting out of hand. I needed to find Tyler a girlfriend so that I could stop lying to both him and Melissa. My addiction to Professor Hunter wasn’t going anywhere. I was already breaking rules if I was going to date him. I didn’t want to have to feel bad about anything else on top of that.
***
“Okay, Tyler,” Melissa said as she sat down across from us in the dining hall. “I can’t get the truth out of Penny, so I’m going to ask you instead. You guys had wild sex last night, right?”
“Not wild sex, no.” Tyler laughed.
“But you did have sex?” Melissa asked. My face was turning scarlet.
“No. We’re just friends.” He shrugged and smiled at me.
“Ugh, you’re both ridiculous.”
Tyler laughed again.
“I hate to break it to you, Tyler, but friends don’t usually sleep together.”
“We didn’t sleep together sleep together. We just fell asleep together.”