“What? How did you…”
“I told you I set up cameras in the building. I already knew you were letting me move in. Apartment 3B right?” He put the key onto his keychain. “I’ll check in with you later. Unless you’re planning on bringing Penny back here tonight and that’s the reason you’re kicking me out. And if you are…you should consider finally decorating the place. It’s a little…cold.”
I looked past my kitchen into the living room. Everything was white and pristine. The modern furniture was sleek with hard lines. It really was cold. The only room I’d bothered to decorate was my office because it was where I spent all my time. And I couldn’t actually picture Penny in any of the other rooms. She was so full of life, and my apartment was just…empty. It looked the same as it had the first day I moved in.
I could still remember Isabella barging in last semester. She’d looked around and laughed. She’d made some snide comment about how I was nothing without her. But maybe I just liked simple décor. It wasn’t like she’d ever taken the time to get to know me. Either way, the thought of Isabella here made the idea of bringing Penny here less enticing. Isabella and Penny were nothing alike. A stark contrast that just made me appreciate Penny more. Maybe I would do some decorating before I invited her over.
I looked back down at the papers I needed to grade. “I don’t think I’ll be bringing Penny back tonight. So take your time getting settled into your new place.” Ian being here would be a good excuse for me not to bring her back. Because as soon as Penny stepped foot in here? The smell of her would be everywhere. I wouldn’t be able to get rid of the smell of cherry blossoms. It would be all consuming. And that was a dangerous thing if I wanted to stay in control of this situation.
“Does that mean I can eat dinner here? Ellen made lasagna with my name all over it.”
I didn’t bother to tell him he could just take the casserole dish to his place. “Yeah, that’s fine.”
He smiled. “One last thing before I check out my new digs. I emailed you the section of the university’s handbook about professional conduct in case you want to read through it yourself. But there was nothing explicitly stated about professor-student relationships. There were things about sexual harassment, favoritism, that kind of thing. But nothing about actually dating an undergrad.”
“It’s more just a question of ethics then,” I said without looking up. “And I’m not concerned about that. I wouldn’t be pursuing her if my feelings weren’t real.” I frowned at my own words. I barely knew Penny. And I knew how problematic it was that I was already saying shit like that. It was easy to second guess everything when she wasn’t right in front of me.
“You don’t have to justify it to me. Just yourself. And maybe the dean if you get caught. And the press. The press will eat you alive.”
“I’m not concerned about that either.”
“Why?”
I lifted up the paper I’d been trying to focus on so that Ian would get the hint and leave. “Because she’s worth the risk.” The feeling she gave me when I was around her was worth losing everything. All the therapy in the world couldn’t make me breathe as easily as she could. Tonight was just a test to make sure there was potential for more. Because I desperately wanted more. I wanted all of her.
Chapter 22
Saturday
I pulled up outside Sussex Hall. Eight o’clock was early on campus on the weekends and there wasn’t a student in sight. Parties wouldn’t start until later. And the dining halls were already closed. It would be a ghost town until later when Main Street would be flooded with drunk students without a care in the world.
That was why I’d chosen this time. For just a few moments, Penny and I could be a normal couple dating on campus. No one would look at us like a professor and his student. Especially at the back entrance of her dorm building. I looked around once more to make sure the coast was clear and put my car into park.
The camera Ian had placed outside the dorm’s door was impossible to see. Even though I had designed it and had already seen the angle of the video footage. I smiled to myself. An undetectable high-quality surveillance system. That was the whole point.
Even though this use hadn’t been my intention, I was still pleased with the results. There were always consequences to new tech. The list was a mile long with this camera. The world was full of disgusting people. And there wasn’t a way to keep it out of their hands if I went through with production. Except for the exorbitant price tag.
I straightened my tie. I wasn’t going to think about business tonight. Penny was my sole focus. I needed to figure out whatever was going on between us. Whether it was all in my head. Whether it was real. Whether it could and should be more than a one-time thing.
My body tensed when I heard her dorm door open. But then she appeared with a smile on her face and I breathed a little easier. It didn’t matter how the date went. I already knew we would be more than a one-time thing. That number would go up tonight if everything went according to plan.
For just a moment, I watched her walking down the steps, knowing she couldn’t see me through the tinted glass of my windows. She was wearing a strapless, summery dress and a brown belt that cinched around her waist. Not that she needed the belt to have a sexy hourglass frame. You could tell she was perfect even when she was wearing one of my sweaters. She took the stairs slowly and I smiled. She probably wasn’t used to wearing heels. There was something comforting about the fact that she was just a normal girl. Not one that spent the weekends at red carpet events and elite charity functions, more concerned with climbing social ranks than having fun. She was real. Down to earth. And despite what Ian thought, she wasn’t after me because of my money. She liked me for God knows what reason. And I couldn’t wait to know more about her.
Before she could reach the car, I looked around to make sure we were still alone and stepped out. She just stared at me as I walked around the car and opened the door for her. I got a whiff of her cherry perfume and remembered the feeling of my lips pressed against her skin. I swallowed hard. It had been too long. I wasn’t used to waiting for things that I wanted. And my patience was wearing thin.
"Hi, Professor Hunter."
I grabbed her face in my hands, leaned in, and kissed her. We were supposed to discuss us tonight, but instead all I wanted to do was rip off all her clothes again. Breathe. But even telling myself to focus on my breathing didn’t help. Not when all I smelled when I breathed in was her.
I forced myself to break the kiss. "Good evening, Penny." I tilted my head, motioning for her to get in my car. "We should get going. We have a reservation."
She slowly stepped back, like she’d rather be ripping off my clothes too, and got into the car. I closed the door behind her and took another slow breath. I needed to focus on her, not just all the ways I wanted to have her.
I climbed into the car and sped off without opening the conversation back up. I was worried that I didn’t have enough willpower to resist her. That we’d end up on the side of the road fucking instead of getting to our destination. And I’d spent a lot of money to make tonight perfect. She deserved that. Besides, I already knew we were compatible in bed. I wanted to know if we were compatible in other ways.