The doors opened and closed and she was gone. The apartment seemed eerily quiet. He looked down at the paper in his hands again. He set it down on the table and turned to me.
I wasn’t sure what the protocol was here. Should I go to him? Should I wait for him to come to me? It looked like he was scared. I wasn’t sure of what. He looked so young, standing there, completely uncertain.
“What am I not the answer to?” I asked.
“What did she say to you while I was in bed?”
“James.”
His Adam’s apple rose and fell.
“You’re hiding something from me. Tell me.”
“You need to get to class.”
“James.” I could feel the prickle of tears in my eyes. “Why won’t you tell me?”
“We can discuss it tonight.”
I could tell he was hurting. He was upset. Isabella had broken into his home. He was rattled. He needed time to calm down. I wanted to comfort him. I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around him. He seemed surprised. His body was tense and uninviting until he folded his arms around me.
“Are you okay?” His voice was wound tight.
“I’m okay.” I kissed the scruff beneath his chin. This should have been a happy moment. He was divorced. We could be together without feeling bad.
“I need you.”
“I need you too.”
“No. I mean, I need you. Right now.” He grabbed the back of my neck and kissed me hard. He moved his hands to my ass and lifted my legs around him. He carried me easily back toward his bedroom.
He needed to know that I was okay; that we were okay. I’d give him whatever validation he needed.
Tuesday
“He’s divorced.” I was sitting cross-legged next to Melissa on her bed.
“That’s great news. So why do you look… not great?”
“I talked to Isabella. His ex-wife.”
“What, why?”
“She broke into his apartment.”
“Oh my God. Psycho much?”
I laughed. “Yeah.” I looked down at my lap. “But she said I didn’t know him at all. He’s hiding something from me. He said we could talk about it tonight. But what if… what if it’s something that I can’t handle?”
“Penny.” She put her hand on my knee. “He’s your first boyfriend. If it’s something you can’t handle, then so what?”
“It’s not what I expected. We’ve gotten so serious so fast.”
“I know.” She sighed. “I still don’t get it. What happened that night? I thought you two were done.”
The fight. “I thought he had broken up with me. Apparently he hadn’t.”
“Which involves Tyler because you two can’t keep your hands off each other?” She gave me a mischievous smile.
“Yeah. Actually we had sex.”
“What?! When? During the party?”
“Right before James showed up.”
“So…”
“So?”
“So… what the hell, Penny? How did you go from having sex with Tyler to getting back together with James?”
“He explained everything to me. He said he was trying to protect me. He never stopped wanting to be with me.”
“He ignored you for weeks. He acted like you didn’t exist. He… hurt you. Penny, I’ve never seen you like that before.”
“I know.” I closed my eyes and leaned against the wall. “I didn’t mean to fall in love with my professor.”
Melissa laughed.
I opened one eye, glanced at her smiling at me, and closed it again.
“Penny.” She grabbed my hand and squeezed it. “You can’t help who you fall in love with.”
“Which is why I’m worried about tonight.”
“How bad could it be? You’ve hung out with him so much. If it was bad you would have seen it.”
“You’re right.” I looked at her for a minute. “Have you talked to Tyler?”
“I haven’t really seen him since the hospital. He’s a big boy though. He’ll be fine.”
I looked down at my lap.
“Hey,” she said. “You have to make the choice that’s right for you. So if dating your recently divorced, brooding professor is what you want, then own it.”
“You’re always right about everything. Except your advice about getting under someone else.”
“It worked out in the end, didn’t it?”
“Yeah, it did.” I smiled to myself.
***
After having dinner with Melissa and catching up some more I finally got a text from Professor Hunter: “I’m outside.”
“I’ve gotta go,” I said to Melissa and slid off my bed.
“Penny. It won’t be that bad. Whatever it is, you probably already know it.”
I smiled at her. “See you later.” I closed the door behind me. It felt like my heart was beating out of my chest. He was divorced. I should be happy right now, not nervous. I opened up the door to my dorm and saw his black Audi.
He stepped out of it and walked around to the passenger side door. Instead of opening it, he pulled me in close.
“Someone will see…”
He placed his lips on mine, silencing me. He kissed me hard and I kissed him back. It was like he hadn’t kissed me in weeks, not hours. When he pulled away I was breathless. I knew my face was flushed.
“You look so beautiful.”
“You look so handsome,” I said. He was wearing jeans and a dress shirt. The top few buttons on his shirt were undone.
He opened up my door for me. When I got in he immediately closed it and walked around to his side. He got in and buckled his seatbelt. But he didn’t put the car into drive.
“Are we going to your place?” I asked.
“It’s too stifling.”
“Maybe we can go for a walk?”
“We can’t. Not here.”
“You just kissed me outside of my dorm. It’s dark. It’s fine.”
“Okay.” He pulled the car into a parking spot and got out. I got out before he had a chance to open up my door for me. He eyed me curiously.
“I’m not used to dating a gentleman.”