"Why are you so dressed up?" she asked.
"I have a work function after I'm done classes today." Kind of. Not really. But I couldn’t tell her the truth. It was part of the surprise for Saturday.
"Oh?"
Her lips made the perfect “o” at the expression. And for a second all I could think about was them wrapped around my cock again. For fuck’s sake. This was where I should warn her away. Try again to push her away. Toward someone more suitable. But I didn’t want those lips on anyone but me. I’d already tried to keep her away. And I didn’t have the self-control to deny myself any longer. Well, at least until Saturday.
I glanced down at my watch. "You don't want to be late, Miss Taylor. And neither do I." If I didn’t leave soon, I’d end up spoiling the surprise of what we were doing on Saturday. Or kissing her. Or fucking her again. I smiled at her, shoved my hands in my pockets so I wouldn’t reach out and pull her close, and strolled out the door.
Saturday couldn’t come soon enough.
Chapter 20
Wednesday
I walked out of Lerner Hall and looked around for Ian’s old Jeep with terrible gas mileage. I’d been pestering him to trade it in for ages, but he always refused. Something about nostalgia. To me, that wasn’t a good enough excuse for the carbon footprint.
So when I spotted him leaning against a Tesla, I was more than a little surprised. “You finally upgraded?”
Ian lifted his gaze from the phone in his hand and smiled. “You like the haircut?”
I laughed and gestured to the car.
“Well, now I’m just insulted,” he said. “But the car is pretty sweet.”
“I thought for sure you’d just get another Jeep.”
He shrugged. “I’m bored and have lots of money to spend. Both your fault.”
Instead of giving me a handshake or a hug, he opened the passenger door for me. Other than Rob and Ellen, he was the closest thing I had to a friend. But Rob was my brother. Ellen was my housekeeper. And Ian was the head of my security detail. I didn’t have any friends left. The only reason Ian was here was because I was still paying his salary despite the fact that I didn’t need security in Delaware. Eventually I’d go back to New York and I’d still be employing the best head of security in the state. He was here out of obligation. Not because he missed me.
“You didn’t have to come all the way down here,” I said as I climbed into the car. He really didn’t. All of this could have been done over the phone.
“You’re still paying me. And I was bored, remember?” He smiled and closed the door.
“Does that mean you’re enjoying your time off?” I asked as he slid into the driver’s seat.
“If I was enjoying my time off do you think I’d jump at the chance to drive two and a half hours to see the likes of you?”
I laughed. “Fair point.”
“And since I was coming down anyway, I brought that background check you wanted.” He reached around to the back seat, grabbed a folder, and plopped it on my lap.
For a few minutes we were quiet as he put the car into drive and made his way through Main Street traffic.
“She’s young,” he finally said.
I looked down at the folder in my hands. I wasn’t even sure if I wanted it anymore. Knowing everything about Penny, even if there were some skeletons in her closet, wouldn’t change my mind about pursuing her. “Not that young.” I put the file into my satchel without opening it.
“Is she one of your students?” he asked.
Maybe he’d judge me. But probably less than my psychologist would. I wasn’t going to give up Penny. I wasn’t even sure I could if I wanted to. And at least with Ian I had his signature on a confidentiality agreement. “Yes.”
Ian whistled.
At least he didn’t shake his head. “Speaking of which, maybe you could dig around to see what the rules are regarding professor-student relationships at the University of New Castle?”
“Like…a relationship relationship?”
“What else would I mean?”
“I don’t know…a rebound short-term thing?”
“I’m not sure the dean will care about how serious we are either way.” And I didn’t have the answer for him. All I knew was that I hadn’t had enough of her. Yet.
Ian hit his turn signal. “You probably won’t like what I’ll find. I think most schools frown on that kind of thing.”
I didn’t respond. What was there to say?
“Does that mean you’re coming back to New York soon?”
“I have no idea.”
“I could move down here, you know. I know you don’t need as much security outside the city, but I could rent an apartment in your building and keep a low profile. I’d even be able to take care of stalkers.”
I laughed. He’d done a similar background check on Kristen Dwyer for me last year. But it wasn’t because I liked her. It was because I wanted to make sure her mental state was sound. I didn’t want her showing up naked in my apartment with a knife like a crazy person. But she was clean. Certainly cleaner than me. If someone did my background check they’d be a lot more concerned. I eyed my satchel. Maybe there were some reasons to check out Penny’s file…
“How’s Jen?” I asked. It was better to change the topic than give him any false hope of moving here. I didn’t need any security on campus. And it was a breath of fresh air to have time to myself, even if it was a little lonely. Besides, Penny made it significantly less lonely.
“How would I know?”
“I know you give her rides sometimes…”
“Oh. Well. Yeah.” He looked a little flustered. “She’s fine, I guess. Why?”
Weird answer. “I haven’t spoken to her in a few months. She’s relentless with trying to get me to patch things up with my parents.”
“She may have mentioned that.”
Of course she had.
“Are you going to talk to them soon? Pretty sure it’s driving Jen crazy that you’re fighting with them.”
“You’re a lot nosier than I remember,” I said.
“You’re a lot happier than I remember.”
I laughed.
“It’s because of the girl, right? Penny?”
Dr. Clark had said something similar to me. That I smiled more now. “Yeah, I guess it is.”
“You don’t think the age difference will matter?”
Penny was 21. That wasn’t that young. She was an adult. She could make her own decisions. “It doesn’t matter to me.”
“Her parents are going to hate you.”
“It’s a little soon for that. I haven’t even taken her on a date yet.” And I strongly doubted that her parents would hate me. It’s not like I was a deadbeat. I had plenty to offer their daughter. Although that background check of mine might be an issue. It would be good to at least see if either of her parents were cops. I was itching to open the folder, but I didn’t want to do it with Ian watching me. At least he was only concerned about her age. That was probably a good thing.
“So this is going to be your first date?” he asked.