“Penny, what do you want to do?”
“I don’t know.”
“You’re the one that needs to make a decision. I still want you. I don’t care about what happened between you and Tyler. All I care about is what we have.”
“I’ve never felt the way I feel about you with anyone before. You make me feel like I’m living for the first time. But I’m sick of secrets. I don’t want to hide that I’m dating you anymore. All the secrets make everything so much harder.”
“Who do you feel like you’re keeping secrets from?”
“Melissa.”
“So tell Melissa that I’m your boyfriend.”
I gulped. Boyfriend? My heart was beating fast. I had never heard anything more glorious in my life. “Is that really what you want?”
“Yes, I want you to be my girlfriend, Penny. I told you before that I didn’t relish the idea of sharing you. I don’t want you to be with anyone else ever again. Just me.” He leaned down and kissed me hard. When he pulled away, he looked around my room.
“So this is where you live?” Professor Hunter pulled off his suit jacket and draped it over the back of my desk chair. He had a mystified look on his face.
“It’s a dorm room. What did you expect?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “I haven’t been in one for a while. It’s a lot smaller than mine was.” He turned to the montage of pictures on my bulletin board. “You’re quite popular.” He smiled at me.
I laughed. “No, not really.”
“Why do you always put yourself down like that?” He reached for my hand. “Don’t you see how wonderful you are?”
“No one else sees me the way that you do.”
“All I see is you.”
I gulped.
He looked over my shoulder. “Do you always make a habit of sleeping with clothing that you’ve stolen from people?” He pulled his sweater out from underneath my comforter.
My face flushed. “Just you.”
“Just me.” He traced his finger along my jaw line.
I wanted him to kiss me.
“This past week has been exhausting,” he said.
“Then maybe we should take a nap.”
Professor Hunter’s lips curled into a smile. “As you wish.” He slowly pulled his tie loose and unbuttoned his dress shirt. He laid both on top of his suit jacket. I would never stop admiring his sculpted torso. He unhinged his belt and pulled it free. He sat down in my chair and leaned over, unlacing his dress shoes.
I bit my lip as I watched him. Unlacing shoelaces shouldn’t have been sexy, but everything he did somehow seemed sexual. He kicked off his shoes and socks and stepped out of his dress pants. Professor Hunter was standing in my dorm room in just his boxers. He folded his pants and draped them on the back of my chair.
“Are you going to join me?” he asked with a smile.
I had been staring. I unzipped and unbuttoned my pants, slid them down my legs, and pulled off my black t-shirt. I was left in just my panties and bra.
He picked up the pint of ice cream from my desk and took a spoonful as his eyes gazed over my body. “Delicious,” he said seductively.
I wasn’t sure if he was talking about the ice cream or me.
“Get in bed.” He put the lid on the ice cream and put it back into the fridge.
I pulled the sheets back, hopped into my bed, and slid all the way over so that he could join me. He climbed in beside me. The twin bed was barely long enough for him and definitely too small for both of us together. He put his head down on the pillow beside me and looked into my eyes.
We stared at each other in silence for a few minutes. Him lying beside me felt so normal and so comforting. The pain in my chest had completely subsided.
“What are you thinking?” he whispered.
“That I’m not that tired.” I moved closer and wrapped my legs around him.
“I thought you wanted to nap.” He put his hand through my hair, pushing it away from my face. His hands on me made my whole body alert.
“Not anymore.”
“Thank God.” He pulled me to him and placed a kiss on my lips.
Monday
I groggily opened my eyes. Professor Hunter and I were still intertwined on my bed. I took a deep breath, ensconced by his heavenly scent, then slowly unwound myself from him until his face was a few inches from mine. He looked so peaceful as he slept. I hadn’t realized how much pain I was causing him. I ran my fingers down the side of his beautiful face, but he didn’t even stir. He had made love to me slowly and gently, but so passionately. His feelings for me hadn’t changed at all. And neither had mine. The way he had stared into my eyes as he had made love to me made me feel closer to him than ever.
His words from earlier made me smile. He didn’t want me to be with anyone else ever again. I was his. He hadn’t said it, but I knew that he loved me. And I loved him. This was real, more real than anything I had ever experienced. I ran my fingers down his neck and traced his clavicle.
He blinked and slowly opened his eyes. “Hey,” he said and smiled at me.
“Hey, yourself.”
“Were you watching me sleep?”
“Mhm. Not in a creepy way, though.”
He laughed. “I didn’t think it was creepy until you said that it wasn’t. Now I’m not so sure.” He reached over and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Your bed is extremely uncomfortable.”
“You get used to it.”
He raised his left eyebrow skeptically. “But I do find it easy to fall asleep next to you. You’re the only person that seems to be able to make me relax.” His hand slipped down my back and he grabbed my ass.
I laughed. “Melissa is going to be back soon.”
“Did you want me to stay and introduce myself?”
“I don’t really want you to leave, but I think it’s better if I tell Melissa alone.”
“Are you kicking me out?” He had a playful grin on his face.
“It’s nothing personal.”