“Thanks, Rob, these look great,” I said and took a bite. I wasn’t sure why James still wanted to go shopping. I had just told him that I wanted to move.
“Actually, if it’s alright, I was hoping to do something with just Penny. We’ll only be gone for a few hours.”
“Fine. I have some stuff I need to do too anyway.”
“You do? What are you going to do? Nothing illegal I hope?” I asked.
“Very funny, Penny. No, I ordered an Xbox from this place down the street. I need to go get it and set it up.”
“I can’t even remember the last time I played videogames,” James said.
“I know. It’s going to be so much fun crushing you. I call dibs on James after your lunch date.” He pointed his fork at me.
“I’m good at videogames,” I said. “Maybe I can crush both of you.”
Rob laughed. “I seriously doubt that.”
“I played tons of N64 growing up. I can beat anyone at Mario Kart.”
Rob laughed again. “Yeah, this isn’t N64. Xbox is for grownups.”
“I’m sure it’s not that different.”
“Well, I guess we’ll see later. Game on, Penny. Oh, and Professor Hunter, could you please pick me up some condoms? Like a huge box? Like all the condoms they have in the store.”
“Please don’t call me that. And there’s some in my nightstand. You can have them.”
“I think the two of you are going to need those.”
“Yeah, we don’t use them.”
Geez. Is nothing personal between these two?
“Fuck, I hate you. I hate both of you so much.”
James laughed and grabbed my hand, pulling me toward the elevator.
Saturday
“What about something like this?” James stopped next to a huge painting of the beach. There was a boardwalk that overlooked the sand and water.
“It reminds me of Rehoboth.” I leaned my head against his shoulder.
“Me too. It’s kind of perfect, right?” He wrapped his arm around my back.
“That’s the day I fell in love with you, you know.”
He kissed my temple. “You barely knew me.”
“I knew enough.”
He turned back to the painting. “Let’s get it.”
“I thought you liked the idea of moving? Why are we buying stuff for a place we might leave?”
“We can bring it with us. Where do you think you want to go?”
“I don’t know. Aren’t you happiest in New York?”
“I’m happiest when I’m with you.” He kissed my temple again.
I smiled up at him. “Maybe I should apply to some places and see if I can get in anywhere before we choose. I’m not sure how easy it’s going to be. You said people might not think my grades are valid.”
“You can get in wherever you want.”
“What do you mean by that?’
“I’m more than willing to make a hefty donation to any university that you choose.”
I laughed. “I don’t want you to do that.”
“How do you think I got Joe to change your incomplete to a withdrawal?”
“James. You’re exasperating. I didn’t ask you to do that. And now I’m going to drop out. That was a terrible investment.”
“Eh. Maybe they’ll name a lecture hall after me or something. You know, when things die down.”
“I kind of doubt that.”
“Then choose your next university wisely so I don’t have to keep wasting money. Besides, I’ve always wanted a building named after me.”
I laughed and looked back up at the painting. “I want you to decide where we go. I’m indecisive. You’re better at making decisions than me.”
“I’d rather make that decision together.” He squeezed my shoulder. “Until then, I definitely want this painting. You like it, right?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Okay. I’ll be right back.” He walked over to the art gallery manager.
I turned back to the painting. It was really fun picking out stuff together for our place. James and the manager walked back over.
The manager pulled the canvas off the wall. “Let me package it up for you. I’ll be right back.”
“James, could we maybe get the picture you sent me the other day printed out?”
“Of Rob giving you the middle finger? I’m sure we can get a better picture than that.”
“It’s the first picture you ever sent me of yourself. I like it. You look really happy. I even made it my background image.” I handed him my phone. I had cropped Rob out of it so that it was zoomed up on James’ face.
“You’re incredibly cute.” He handed me my phone back. “Can it at least be smaller than the painting we just got?”
I laughed. “Yeah, that’s fine. Just like a normal sized picture would be great.”
“Okay.” He wrapped his arm around me again. “So what else do cozy places have?”
“James, I need to confess something.”
His arm seemed to stiffen.
“It’s not bad. I just…” my voice trailed off. “When I told you I went to my dorm room after I was upset because it was cozy, that wasn’t the whole truth. I was embarrassed. When you described what your brother was like, you said he wasn’t independent. You made it seem like that was a bad thing. And I don’t want you to think of me that way. I wanted to prove to you that I could be strong and take care of myself. And I couldn’t. I…”
“Penny, I want to take care of you.” He kissed my forehead. “I want you to let me take care of you.”
“I need you.” I wanted him to know that. When he was drunk he had said that I didn’t need him. I did. I needed him in every way.
He lowered his eyebrows slightly. I wasn’t sure if he remembered confessing that he thought I didn’t need him. But it seemed to effect him either way.
“Penny, I need you too. You shouldn’t be embarrassed about that.”
“I know. But I told you I could handle it. I just wanted you to think I was strong. And I was embarrassed about how wrong I was about everything. Everyone was so horrible. I just felt…”