Temptation - Chapter 28
Saturday
I ran my fingers through my hair. "Do I look okay?" I asked as I stepped out of the golf cart.
"Penny, you look stunning."
"I mean, does it look like we just had sex?" I whispered, even though no one was around. My dress was wrinkled and a little damp from the dew on the grass. I tried to smooth the fabric with my hands, to no avail.
He tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "Penny, it looks like I just fucked your brains out."
"Professor Hunter!" I lightly pushed on his chest.
"That's how I prefer you to look." He tightened his tie.
"Now, I believe I owe you a piece of cake.
" He lifted me into his arms and carried me back to the terrace.
I loved how strong he was. One couple was seated next to the fire and the man smiled and nodded at Professor Hunter.
Professor Hunter put me back on my feet and draped his arm across my shoulder as he escorted me back into the restaurant.
I kept my eyes on the ground. I couldn't bear to see anyone looking at us, especially if what Professor Hunter said was true.
If anyone knew what we had just done, we'd be kicked out.
Or I guess we wouldn't. I was having a hard time getting used to the situation.
It seemed like if you owned a country club you could basically do whatever you wanted without consequences.
Just because he owned this place, though, didn't make what we had just done appropriate.
"Let's eat dessert out here," Professor Hunter said and slid into a booth.
Was he trying to torment me? I sat down across from him. I could feel the eyes on me, but at least there weren't that many diners left in the restaurant. It only took a minute for Jerrod to find us.
"Ah, I thought I'd lost you two." Jerrod was smiling. Did he know? I ran my fingers through my hair again.
"I just wanted to give the Mrs. a tour," Professor Hunter said and winked at me.
"Of course. Did you two still want the chocolate lava cake?"
"Yes, Jerrod, thank you."
"We kept it warm for you. I'll be right back."
A moment later Jerrod came back carrying the cake and two glasses of water.
"Anything else I can get for you?"
"That will be all for us this evening."
"It was a pleasure meeting you both. I hope to see you again soon."
"Have a good night, Jerrod," Professor Hunter said.
I watched as Professor Hunter took a bite of the cake. How was it possible that he could even make eating look sexy? I grabbed my fork and took a bite. Delicious.
"There is one more thing we need to discuss," I said.
"And what is that?"
I leaned forward slightly. "My grade," I whispered.
"What about it?" He had a devilish grin on his face.
"You gave me a C- when I deserved an A."
"Penny, it would be very unprofessional of me to give you favoritism."
"As unprofessional as what you just did to me on the golf course?"
He put his fork down on the plate. "Touché."
"So you'll change it back?"
"Penny, I've always had it recorded as an A."
What? "But. My paper. It said C-."
"And you think if I wanted to whiteout every single word on a sheet of paper I wouldn't just get another one?"
"You were just trying to upset me?" I could feel my temper rising.
"No, I was trying to seduce you."
A shiver went down my spine. The danger that I felt when I was with him was real. Had he been planning this whole thing ever since we had met in the coffee shop?
"So everything played out just like you wanted?" I felt a little hurt. This had been a game to him this whole time.
"No. Not at all. Like I told you before, I can't stop thinking about you. I thought if I let myself give in to the temptation then I could move on. But I'm more addicted to you than ever."
He pulled out a hundred dollar bill from his wallet and placed it on the table. "I guess I should get you home. Your roommate is probably wondering where you are." He grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet.
I almost asked him if we were supposed to wait for the check. But he owned the place. Certainly he got free meals. The money he left on the table was probably just Jerrod's tip. Professor Hunter was very generous.
Professor Hunter escorted me out of the restaurant and back toward the entrance of the country club. The woman with the large breasts was still standing at the reception desk. "Have a good evening, Mr. Hunter."
"You too," he said to the woman and nodded at her.
It was annoying how she didn't even acknowledge my existence. As if sensing this, Professor Hunter squeezed my hand.
As soon as the valet saw us come out of the country club, he hurried off. I began to shiver as we waited for him to get the car. Professor Hunter took off his suit jacket, draped it over my shoulders, and pulled me in close.
"Maybe your roommate will find your story more believable if you wear this back to your dorm."
I leaned into him and took a deep breath of his cologne. Is this really happening? "I barely believe that I'm dating you, so it'll be hard to convince someone else that it's true."
He rested his chin on the top of my head and only moved away when the valet handed him the keys to his car. He opened up the door for me and walked over to the valet.
"Thank you," he said and slipped some money into the valet's hand. Professor Hunter climbed into the driver's seat. The car started before I even buckled my seatbelt.
After he turned out of the country club, he put his right hand on the center console. Without hesitation I let my hand slide into his, and his fingers intertwined with mine.
"What will happen if someone finds out that we're dating?" I asked.
"It's frowned upon, but the university's policy isn't explicitly stated in their handbook. It's more a question of ethics than anything else."
"You've looked it up?"
He looked at me. "Yes."
"So you won't actually get in trouble?"
"That depends on a lot of things."
"Like what?"
"Well, if there was even a whisper of sexual harassment, I would get fired. Or if someone in your class found out about us and thought you were getting favoritism, they could file a complaint. Or..."
"I'm not going to tell anyone, Professor Hunter."
"Then I don't think we have anything to worry about."
"Would you still have pursued me if the university's policy was explicitly against it?"
He paused for a moment. "Yes," he finally said. He squeezed my hand.
"Even though you could get fired?" I realized the question was ridiculous as soon as I let it slip. Professor Hunter clearly didn't need this job. If he could randomly buy a country club, he probably didn't need to work at all.
"I know that you want this just as much as I do. I believe that my ethics are sound, so no one can make me question them."
We drove in silence for a few minutes.
"What did your startup company do?"
"Tech."
He was being so vague. "What happened to it?"
"I sold it. But I still have a seat on the board."
"Then why are you teaching?"
"For the same reason I left New York. I needed a change."
"And if it wasn't because of how loud and busy the city was, then what was it? A midlife crisis?"
"How old do you think I am, Penny?" he laughed.
"Actually, I thought you were probably a grad student when I met you in the coffee shop. You can't even believe how shocked I was when I found out you were my Comm professor."
He laughed again. I wasn't sure there was a sound in the world that I liked better than his laugh.
"So take a guess," he pressed.
"Well, Professors have to go to grad school and then get their masters to teach right?"
"Yes, but I didn't do that. I was busy running a company in my early twenties. They granted me an honorary degree at the last university I worked at if I agreed to teach a few entrepreneurship classes in their master’s program. I have the same arrangement here."
"So, maybe you're 29?" Please don't be over 30.
"Close. I'm only 27."
Only 27. If I was 22 like he thought I was, there would only be five years difference between us. An eight year difference seemed worse. But my birthday was soon. I'd be twenty in a few weeks. I needed to tell him. This was the perfect opportunity.
He pulled up outside of my dorm and cut the ignition. "What, you're sad that I'm not older?"
I laughed. "No. No, that's not it. I just..." I took a deep breath. I needed to tell him.
He leaned in and kissed me. "Like I said, you have nothing to worry about."