He walked over to me and grabbed my chin. I tilted my face toward him as he slowly took off my bandage. “There, that’s better.” His phone buzzed and he quickly answered it. “Hunter.”
Silence.
“No, I’ll come get it. Thanks.” He hung up and turned back to me. “You have a delivery.”
“What? Here?”
“Apparently so.” His expression was cloudy. He walked into his room and quickly changed into jeans and a v-neck t-shirt. He looked unbelievably sexy and brooding.
“I haven’t given anyone your address, Professor Hunter.”
“I know. It’s rather curious.” He kissed my forehead next to my stitches. “I’ll be right back.”
I watched him get on the elevator. I had a sinking feeling in my stomach. What the hell? My parents were the only ones that knew I was with him. And I didn’t give them his address. I sat down on the couch in his living room to wait for him.
I just wanted today to be fun. I was finally getting to know him better. Hopefully this delivery wouldn’t change his mood. Whatever it was, I didn’t want it.
Oh shit. Brendan. Brendan was the only one who knew Professor Hunter’s address. I got up and went into the bedroom to grab my phone. There were a few texts from Tyler and Melissa. My mom had sent one to check up on me. But there weren’t any from Brendan. And why would there be? He didn’t have my number. I had his. In the pocket of a pair of jeans probably on my dorm room floor.
Maybe the delivery wasn’t from him. It was probably spam. Dirty spammers could find you anywhere. I went back into the living room, clutching my phone. The elevator doors dinged and opened. Professor Hunter’s face was hidden by a huge bouquet. He placed the flowers down on the kitchen counter and looked over at me.
“Are these from you?” I wasn’t sure why I asked the question. I could tell by the expression on his face that they were definitely not from him.
“No, Penny. I don’t know who they’re from.” There was a small envelope attached to one of the stems.
“Probably my parents.” I walked over and grabbed the envelope.
“Probably.” His tone was cool.
Please be from my parents. I slid the card out of the envelope. The front said “Get well soon.” I could feel Professor Hunter’s eyes on me. I opened it up and read the note.
Penny,
I went to the hospital last night to check on you and you were gone. When I didn’t hear from you, I figured I’d find you in the place where you always seem to go back to. FYI, you’re incredibly bad at taking advice. Horrible really. I’ll have to adjust my tactics. Flowers are probably a good start, wouldn’t you agree?
Feel better,
-Brendan
I looked up at Professor Hunter. He wasn’t trying to read the card, just my reaction. I put it back in the envelope and set it on the counter. “They’re from Brendan.”
“A friendship rose kind of thing?” Professor Hunter raised his eyebrow.
I sighed. I wasn’t going to lie to him again. Even though a lie was a lot more tempting than the truth right now. “No. He likes me. I’ll talk to him…”
“Get dressed.”
“What?” That was not the reaction I was expecting at all.
“We’re going out.”
“Okay.” I watched him as he cleared our dishes. He looked mad. I wasn’t sure what to say. “James?”
He didn’t answer me. It was possible he didn’t hear me over the sound of the water running, but it seemed like he was ignoring me. I sighed and headed into the bedroom and then the closet full of clothes Professor Hunter had bought for me. I pulled on a pair of skinny jeans and looked in the mirror. They were probably the nicest jeans I had ever worn. I also grabbed a sweater and some brown leather riding boots. The outfit made me look more sophisticated than I usually did. I wondered where we were going.
When I walked back out, Professor Hunter slid his phone into the pocket of his jeans. He leaned against the kitchen counter. His hands were pressed against the granite countertop.
I walked up to him. “I’m sorry.”
He ran his hand through his hair. “Let’s go.”
“James.”
He gave me a sly smile. “I feel like when you call me by my first name I’m in trouble. I don’t want to fight.”
“I don’t want to fight either.”
“Good.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the elevator. “I need to pick up some things.”
“What kind of things?” We stepped onto the elevator.
“Well, my girlfriend needs her own toothbrush.”
I laughed. “Sorry, I didn’t know what to do.”
He pushed the button to close the door and then pulled me against him.
“I don’t want to go back to reality tomorrow.”
He smiled down at me. “Me either.”
“Let’s just run away together.”
“Just name the place.”
I sighed and leaned against his chest. He ran his hands down my back and stopped when they were on the small of my back.
“Let’s do something fun today. I don’t want to go shopping.”
“Good, because we’re not just going shopping.”
I looked back up at him. “But you just said we were going to go buy toothbrushes.”
“Yeah.” He tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “I lied.”
The elevator doors dinged and opened. He grabbed my hand and led me toward his car.
“Wait, then what are we doing?”
“It’s a surprise.” His eyes twinkled. He opened up the car door for me.
I smiled and got in. He closed the door behind me. I loved how spontaneous he was. Or maybe he had intended to do whatever we were about to do this whole time.
“Am I at least dressed okay?” I asked as he put the key in the ignition.
“Not at all.”
“What? Let me go change then. What should I be wearing?”
“That would kind of take away from the surprise.” We drove in silence for a few minutes. Once we turned onto the highway I couldn’t resist it anymore.
“Can I at least have a hint?” Where is he taking me?
He turned toward me. “I’m hoping to change your mind about something.”
“About what?”
“I already gave you your hint.”