We walked up to a small stand outside of the Five and Dime. He ordered two hotdogs with the works and handed one to me. We walked to a nearby bench and sat down.
“This is delicious,” I said after taking a bite. The only thing I really had an appetite for recently was cupcakes. It was a nice surprise to want something savory.
“It’s good to know that you like meat in your mouth.”
I choked on my bite. Had I imagined him saying that? I looked up at him and cleared my throat. “What did you say?”
He was smiling down at me. “You’ve never had one of these?” he asked, ignoring my question. “You’ve lived on campus for awhile, how could you pass by here and not try a hotdog? What is wrong with you?”
I laughed. “I never knew hotdogs could be this good. Thanks for this.”
“No problem. See, eating with me isn’t so bad. I’m not sure why you turned down my dinner invitation so vehemently.”
“I’m sorry. I’m kind of going through some stuff right now. I’m really not in any place to start dating someone.”
“Dating? That’s rather forward of you. I asked you on one date. No strings attached.”
“What, do you only do one night stands or something?” Melissa’s advice came back to me. The best way to get over someone is by getting under someone else. I shook my head. Ridiculous.
“No, not always.”
“So you’re kind of a slut.” I quickly took another bite of the hotdog. Why had I just said that?
Brendan laughed. “I like to live in the moment is all. Sometimes it’s best to move on to better things.” He raised his eyebrow. He was referring to him being better than Professor Hunter. He was rather full of himself.
“So you’ve never been heartbroken?”
“Is that what you are?”
I looked at the traffic passing through Main Street. “Yes.”
“You’re young. You’ll get over him.”
I wasn’t sure how those two things necessarily went together. But maybe he was right. I just needed time. “If you’re not a student or a therapist, what do you do?”
“You mean, how can I afford to live in that apartment building?”
“No, that’s not…”
“It’s fine.” He smiled. “Actually, I wouldn’t be able to. But I designed it. They comped me a small apartment.”
“Oh. So you should have been flattered when I said I was admiring the architecture.”
“I would have been if you weren’t lying.”
“I wasn’t really. It is a nice building.” My phone buzzed. I grabbed it and looked at the alarm. “I have to get to class.”
Brendan stood up and put his hand out for me. I grabbed it and he pulled me into him. I gulped. His hands slid down my cheeks to my neck. His palms were rough. He pulled my face toward his and kissed me. I immediately kissed him back. His experienced tongue made me completely forget that we were making out in the middle of Main Street. He placed one last hard kiss against my lips before moving his face away from mine.
“Thank you for the kiss,” I said weakly. “I mean lunch. Thank you for lunch. Well, and the kiss.”
Brendan was smiling at me. It looked like he was holding back from laughing. “I look forward to your call, Penny.” He let go of my face and walked back toward his apartment building.
Friday
“God that’s hot,” Melissa said.
“It was.” I had relayed the story of running into the handsome stranger outside Professor Hunter’s apartment building. My skin still tingled where he had touched my cheek.
“Now he completely understands how to get over someone. You should have just followed him right into his apartment.”
“Melissa!”
“Penny!” she said sarcastically.
I actually had wanted to. But I liked the idea of it more than actually doing it. It was comforting to know just because Professor Hunter had rejected me, it didn’t mean that I wasn’t still desirable. I was starting to think that Melissa’s advice had some merit. I didn’t want to go sleep around with a bunch of strangers, but maybe kissing a few wouldn’t hurt. Besides, I had already slept with my professor. Anything I did from here on out couldn’t possibly be worse than that. So what did it matter.
And now I was actually looking forward to the party. Normally I’d be horrified to be wearing a costume like this, but tonight I felt sexy and confident. I had let Melissa talk me into buying it when I was still with Professor Hunter. I stood back from the mirror and examined my outfit. The dress was so short that it was basically a green bathing suit. Ivy encircled my arms and legs. I had applied green eye shadow and matching lipstick. And to make my hair crazier than usual, I had diffused it.
“I can’t believe you’ve never dressed up as Poison Ivy before,” Melissa said and turned to me. “It’s the perfect Halloween costume for you. You look amazing.”
“Thanks, Catwoman.”
Melissa laughed. She was wearing a tight leather onesie and matching black cat ears. “Pretty sexy, huh?”
“Mhm.” I looked back in the mirror. The old Penny would never wear something like this. But she was gone. I wasn’t innocent anymore. This was the new me. I was going to let go and have fun tonight if it was the last thing I did. I was going to take Brendan’s advice and live in the moment. I was done being upset about Professor Hunter. Fuck him. Yes I was young. And it was time to start acting like it. I strapped on the green, platform stilettos that matched my costume.
Melissa poured us each a shot. I downed it. We each had a second one too.
“Can I have one more?” I asked. I was ready to let loose. Alcohol helped.
“Absolutely.” She poured us each another and I downed that one too.
I took a deep breath and glanced in the mirror one last time. “Let’s go,” I said. I grabbed her arm and we made our way out of our dorm. “It’s so cold.”