I kissed the tip of her nose and got up. As much as I didn’t want to leave, telling her friend in private was the better move. This situation was complicated. Penny wrapped the covers around her as I started to get dressed. When I put on my shirt, she got up and slowly buttoned it for me. God she was sexy. After buttoning one of the last buttons, she pulled my collar and brought my mouth to hers.
"You're making it hard for me to leave," I whispered against her lips.
She laughed and let go of my collar. I finished getting dressed as she pulled on her clothes too. As I knotted my tie, I looked around her room again. I spotted the roses I’d sent her in the trash. "Not a fan of roses?"
"Oh I am. It was just that a domineering professor gave them to me. Or else I would have loved them."
I laughed. She loved that I was domineering. "Before I leave, let me see your phone."
She grabbed it off her desk and handed it to me. I changed my contact information to James in her phone and handed it back to her. Professor Hunter in her phone? It had been a ridiculous thing for her to do. But it was also kinky as hell, and I couldn’t be mad about that.
"I thought I wasn't supposed to call you James in private?"
No, you’re not, baby. "Apparently your phone isn't private."
She bit her lip. If she kept doing that, I’d be on top of her again in a few minutes. I rubbed my thumb along her lower lip to stop her from biting it and gave her a small smile.
"My girlfriends usually call me James."
"That makes it sound like you have more than one girlfriend right now. Am I one of several?"
"Dozens."
She lightly nudged my shoulder.
"No, just you, Penny." Only you. I grabbed my suit jacket and draped it over my shoulder. "Let me know how your conversation with Melissa goes."
"I will." She wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me again. "I'll text you later, James."
My name sounded almost as good as Professor Hunter on her lips. Almost.
Chapter 37
Monday
Penny Taylor was my girlfriend. That term made me feel young. The last time I’d officially had a girlfriend was high school. It felt like a lifetime ago. I smiled to myself as I made my way out of her dorm to my car. Hell, she made me feel young. I lowered my head to try to prevent anyone from recognizing me. Although, it would probably be hard to recognize me with a smile on my face.
I climbed into my car, closed the door, and pulled out my phone. I had a million things I needed to do. For a few days there, I’d experienced what life was like without Penny in my life. I didn’t want to feel that distance ever again. And now that Penny and I were official, there were some things I needed to take care of. I shot off texts to Ellen and Ian.
Everything was good. I slid my phone back into my pocket. The whole campus didn’t know I was dating a student. Just one kid I didn’t care about in the slightest. Freaking Tyler. And I doubted he’d tell anyone. He clearly hated me, sure. But he liked Penny, and the truth would hurt her more than it would hurt me. Hopefully he was smart enough to realize that.
I took a deep breath. Everything wasn’t just good. It was great. I put my car into drive and drove back to my place. I was suddenly full of energy. Sleeping for the first time in days had definitely helped with that. I needed to go for a run and clear my head. Maybe I could even get some work done tonight.
***
I stepped back from my whiteboard with a smile. Fuck, this was good. There was a knock on my door. “Come in.”
Ian walked in. “We’re all set.”
Dr. Clark would not be pleased, because I’d just done the opposite of what he’d recommended. Instead of taking the cameras down, I’d installed more. Talking about how crazy Isabella used to be in therapy the other day had me taking a few extra precautions. Just in case. I didn’t think Isabella would show up here. Or act insane. But…I needed to keep Penny safe. I’d just have peace of mind knowing that she was safe at all times. I’d tell her about it soon enough. I wouldn’t have done it if I thought it would make her mad. But I had a few other things to bring up next time we talked. Adding “I’ve been watching you” probably wasn’t the best thing to slide in just yet.
“Thanks, Ian. And the tickets?” Penny’s birthday was coming up, and based on our conversations…I knew what she wanted.
“The tickets will arrive in about a week. Anything else you need?”
I turned away from the whiteboard. “So…Penny knows about what I used to do. But I don’t think she has any idea that I need a security detail when I’m in New York. I just wanted to remind you to…”
“Keep a low profile. I remember. Those were the rules about the apartment you rented me. Say no more, boss. I’ve got this. She’ll never even know I’m here.”
It had been really nice having him around. I just didn’t want to overwhelm Penny. “I’m not saying you have to disappear or anything. But you’re welcome to go back to New York if you want. I’m still paying you either way.”
He shrugged. “I’ll stick around. You never know when something might come up. Besides…I like my new place. Delaware is growing on me.”
“Me too.” Well, not really Delaware. But Penny. I was pretty sure I could be anywhere with her and be happy.
“Important question though. Am I still allowed to steal food and watch some of the games with you?”
I laughed. “Of course. Speaking of which…I’m starving.”
“I was waiting for you to say something. Ellen made tacos.”
My stomach growled. “That sounds perfect.” I followed Ian out of my office and down the hall to the kitchen.
Ellen was just putting a plate at the kitchen counter for me.
“This looks great, Ellen.” I picked up the plate filled with the most delicious smelling tacos. “But how about you both grab plates and we can all eat together in the dining room.”
Ellen raised her eyebrows. “Are you letting us go?”
“What? No!”
“Phew.” She put her hand on her chest. “You scared me for a moment, dear. Why do you want us to eat with you? Has someone died?” She grabbed Ian’s arm. “Is Robert okay?”
“No, I…” I shook my head. “I mean, yes, Rob’s fine, it’s not that. He’s safely out of prison.” Wow, I was a terrible boss. Whenever I was nice my staff thought they were being fired or that someone had died. Geez.
“He was in prison?! What happened?”
“He’s fine. It was nothing. We’re getting way off track here. I just thought eating together would be…nice. And we can all catch up. It’ll be fun.”
Ellen looked at Ian.
Ian shrugged. “Don’t look at me. He’s clearly lost his mind because he’s in love.”
Ellen put her hand to her chest again. I was getting concerned that she might faint. “Oh. This has to do with why I was buying women’s clothing all afternoon? I assumed it was for Jen’s birthday.”
“Why would I have you unpack a bunch of clothing for Jen in my closet?”