"Where are we going?" she asked, breaking the silence.
"Someplace where we can be alone." I merged onto I-95. The farther I drove away from campus the less wrong this felt. We were just two adults on a date. And there was nothing wrong with that.
"But I haven't had anything to eat."
I lowered my eyebrows. Did she seriously think I wasn’t going to feed her? What kind of dates had she been going on? "Yes, I'm taking you to dinner."
She settled into the passenger’s seat, looking more relaxed by the minute. "So you wanted to discuss what you meant by just this once?"
I was surprised that she jumped right into the heart of the matter. She kept surprising me. "I meant what I said." That’s all we were supposed to be.
"Oh." She turned away from me and stared out the window. "I don't understand why you asked me to dinner then." Her voice sounded small.
I wasn’t trying to upset her. I was just being honest. But I’d left off an important detail. "Because I've changed my mind."
"Why?" She turned back to me.
I took my attention away from the road for a second. "Because I can't stop thinking about you, Penny."
"I can't stop thinking about you either."
We drove in silence for a few moments. I tried to focus on the road instead of on her. She was wearing red lipstick which made her look a little older. It was like she was trying to be more sophisticated for me. I wanted to tell her it wasn’t necessary. That I liked her exactly how she was. She didn’t need to be someone she wasn’t for me. That wasn’t what tonight was for at all. I just wanted her to be herself.
I tried to concentrate on the road, but it was almost impossible when she was beside me. My gaze kept gravitating back to her, like I couldn’t resist. I watched her bite her lip as she looked out the windshield.
She turned back to me. "Did you grow up around here?" she asked.
"No. I'm from New York."
"What made you come here to teach then?"
I gripped the wheel a little tighter. I wanted to know more about her, but I had forgotten that she’d be asking me questions about myself. Personal things weren’t something I talked about freely. I was barely honest with my shrink. Let alone a beautiful woman. I thought about the suggestion Dr. Clark had given me – that I’d need to be honest. But I wasn’t ready to lose Penny yet. "I needed a change." It was a vague answer, but at least it was true.
"Did you live in the city?"
"Yes."
"I understand why you needed a change then."
I laughed. "Not a fan of New York City?"
"Everything is so loud and busy all the time. And everyone seems so depressed on the subway."
"I wouldn't know, I rarely rode the subway." But I agreed with the first thing she’d said. NYC was loud. And busy. It was easy to get lost in all that.
"I'm sure the taxis aren't much better. And there's not enough grass."
I laughed again. This was a topic she had a strong opinion about. But she hadn’t seen my New York. I had a feeling a subway and taxi-free experience with a view of Central Park could easily change her mind. Not that I wanted to go back. I’d left for a good reason. "Well it is very different from here. Is this where you grew up?"
"I live about an hour away,” she said. “Well, an hour from school. I don't really know where we are now."
I pulled into the country club’s entrance without answering her. She’d see for herself soon enough.
A valet quickly came to her door and opened it for her.
"Welcome, madam," he said and put out his hand for her to grab.
I climbed out of the car while he assisted her.
"Hello, Mr. Hunter," the valet said with a huge smile. "I've heard so much about you."
I was sure he had. The whole staff had been briefed about the new ownership transition. And about the importance of this evening. I handed the valet the key. "Thank you."
I put my hand on the small of Penny’s back and escorted her inside.
The marble floors had been polished since the last time I’d been here. And the chandelier glistened even brighter. Small cosmetic changes and the place already seemed livelier.
The same hostess that had greeted me the other day walked up to us. "Mr. Hunter. Your table is ready." She seemed nervous to be talking to me this time. I wasn’t sure why. I hadn’t let any of the previous staff go. I wanted things running as seamlessly as possible. Especially for tonight.
We followed her down the hallway and entered the restaurant. I felt like everyone turned to look at us. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get patrons to sign confidentiality agreements, or else I would have. There were no country club members that also went to the University of New Castle. Ian had confirmed it after I bought the place. But the restaurant was open to the public. Hopefully no one I knew or that knew me was here.
The hostess showed us into the private room in the back that I’d requested. There was a roaring fire and an elegant loveseat to one side. In the middle of the room was a table with a flower arrangement in the center. A bottle of wine and two glasses were already on the table. It was perfect.
"Your waiter will be right with you," she said and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.
Penny looked up at me. "Where are we?"
"My country club."
She nodded, but I couldn’t tell if she understood what I meant or not. Which made me smile. If she knew who I was, she would have known I meant my country club. That I owned it and wasn’t just a member here. Ian was wrong about her. I’d already known it, but it was nice to confirm it for myself.
I pulled her chair out for her.
She smiled. "No one's ever pulled out a chair for me before.” She sat down and stared at me.
Seriously, what kind of people had she been dating? I sat down across from her and tried to push away the thought. "Then you haven't been dating the right people."
"And I've never been to a country club before. Do you come here often?"
"This is actually only the second time that I've been here."
"Oh, so you just joined?"
I found it incredibly comforting that she thought I was just a member here. She liked me for me. Not my money. And I was pretty sure that was a first. "Yes. Earlier this week actually."
The door to the private room opened and our waiter came in with a big smile on his face. "Good evening. My name is Jerrod. It is my pleasure to be serving you tonight, Mr. and Mrs. Hunter."
Well, that was an unfortunate mistake. But all I could do was run with it to avoid an awkward situation. I just gave Penny a small smile, hoping she’d play along instead of correcting him.
She didn’t smile back, but her eyes locked with mine. It was like she couldn’t look away.
Jerrod started talking about the daily specials, but I was completely focused on Penny. I heard the uncorking of a bottle of wine but didn’t look toward it. I was transfixed by her.
I let him know we’d need a minute to look at the menu. But really I just wanted to be alone with Penny. Moments like this with her were few and far between. I wanted to soak up every minute of her without any interruption.