Temptation - Chapter 31
Monday
"A delivery came for you," Melissa said as she stood up from her chair. She was all smiles.
There were a dozen red roses in a vase on my desk. I put my backpack down and walked over to my desk. A bow was tied around the vase, and a card was attached to it.
Penny,
I know that you think roses symbolize friendship, but believe me when I say that these ones do not. I hope you're excited for our date. Thank you for skipping class.
-James
The roses were beautiful. No one had ever bought me flowers before today.
Except for my parents when I graduated from high school.
I read the note again. It was sweet, even if he was a little cocky.
And even though he was just trying to show up Tyler.
But Professor Hunter was right, I was going to skip class.
"When did these come?" I didn't even realize that flowers could be delivered that fast.
"Just a few minutes ago. So, who are they from?"
I laughed. "You expect me to believe that you didn't read the card?"
"I didn't!" she protested. "But I confess that I did read who they were from. James. So what did you do to earn those?" Melissa asked.
"Nothing." I made him angry.
"You are one lucky girl then."
I leaned in and smelled the roses. I'm so lucky.
I thought about the date he was planning.
I like pina coladas and getting caught in the rain?
And the feel of the ocean and the taste of champagne?
What the hell was I thinking? I was basically asking Professor Hunter to get me tons of illegal drinks.
"So what are you doing here anyway? Don't you usually just grab lunch and go to class?"
"Pro..." I coughed. Shit. I almost said Professor Hunter! I took a deep breath and tried to think of a quick recovery. "Probably gonna skip it." Who the hell talks like that?
Melissa stared at me. "Skip what? Lunch? We can go to the dining hall together real quick if you want."
"No, I'm going to skip my class."
"I can't even imagine you skipping a class. You never break the rules." She paused. "Are you feeling alright? Does your stomach hurt again?"
"No, I'm fine." I was tempted to tell her that I was about to go on a date with a professor. I knew how to break the rules too! But of course I couldn't. I could mention James though. "James had some free time this afternoon and I didn't want to miss getting to see him."
"He's turning you into quite the bad ass."
If only she knew.
"So where are you going?"
It was a beautiful, warm September day. And if we were going early, it was probably because the destination was far away. I eyed the new bikini in my closet.
"He didn't really say. But he dropped some hints. I think he's taking me to the beach."
"It's good that we went shopping last week then."
"I know. Thanks for helping me pick out a new bathing suit. I always appreciate your fashion advice."
"Mhm. So tell me more about him. I want all the juicy details."
"Well. He's spontaneous."
"Obviously. Last minute beach trip. But I mean like...what's he like?"
"He's funny, but serious. There's just something about him that's so intriguing.
" I stopped talking. The more vague I was, the better.
"I honestly don't know him all that well.
Hopefully I'll find out more about him today.
" I did have a lot of questions for Professor Hunter.
It was true that I barely knew anything about him.
"So I guess that means you didn't do much talking on your last date then?" Melissa gave me one of her challenging looks.
I felt myself blushing. I knew what she was hinting at. And she was right.
"I've never seen you this flustered before, Penny! So when exactly do I get to meet this mystery man?"
I laughed awkwardly. "I'm sure you'll get to meet him soon." I changed into my new bikini and pulled on a pair of jean shorts and a tank top. I rummaged around in my closet until I found a canvas bag. After mentally checking off a beach towel, sunscreen, sunglasses, and a hoodie, I was ready to go.
"Well, have fun. I can't wait to hear all about it. Being whisked away to the beach sounds so romantic."
"It really does." So romantic.
"Oh! And you better take a picture with him today. Because I need to see what he looks like. He sounds so dreamy."
"Yeah, definitely," I lied. I grabbed my bag and headed out of my dorm. "See you later!"
I only had to wait a few seconds before Professor Hunter pulled up in a red convertible with the top down.
His hair was mussed up and he was wearing aviators.
He smiled as he leaned over and opened the door for me from the inside.
He was wearing khaki shorts and a polo. His legs and arms were tan and muscular.
I took a deep breath as I got in. "New car?" I asked. It still had that new car smell.
"No. But I haven't driven it much."
I grabbed my sunglasses from my bag as he sped off.
The wind rushed through my hair. I had never been in a convertible before.
I pictured people in the movies standing up in their seats, spreading their arms wide, and screaming at the top of their lungs.
I felt like I was already experiencing that feeling just by being next to Professor Hunter.
"So, where are we going?"
"I think you can probably guess."
"Well, it's not raining, so I'm not sure where we could get caught in the rain. But we've been caught in the rain before, so maybe you're skipping that portion. Which means you're probably going the feel of the ocean route. So I'm guessing that we're heading to the beach!"
Professor Hunter smiled at me.
"You should have warned me though. What if I hadn't worn a bathing suit?"
"I was actually hoping you would forget it."
I lightly pushed his shoulder as I laughed. He pulled onto I-95 and the noise of traffic filled my ears. Professor Hunter was now speeding past all the other cars on the road.
"You're going to get a ticket!" I yelled over the roar of traffic.
He slowed down a little, but was still going faster than most of the other cars. "You don't break the rules very often, do you?"
"Not really. But I do sometimes."
"Give me an example."
"You."
He laughed. "Besides for me."
"Well. One time...no, that was okay. Well there was another time...hmmm..."
"Maybe you're right about me then. I am a terrible influence on you."
"Yeah, you're the worst."
"Then I'll have to learn to behave myself better."
"I guess so." I hoped he knew I was kidding. He was so hard to read sometimes. I liked that he was a bad influence on me. I felt alive when I was with him. He was the best thing that had ever happened to me.
"I don't actually want you to behave around me, Professor Hunter. I like that you're a bad influence on me. I think you're just what I need."
"Penny, I couldn't behave myself around you even if you begged me to." The convertible sped up again and he turned on the radio.
***
We arrived at the beach in record time. He drove to the end of the boardwalk and parked on a side street.
"Have you ever been here before?" he asked.
"I used to come here every summer when I was growing up." I grabbed my stuff and stepped out of the car.
"All the more special then." He got out of the car, reached into the back seat, and pulled out a towel and a cooler. He put the towel over his shoulder and grabbed my hand.
"What about you?"
"I've come down here a few times."
"So this is where you take all the ladies to impress them?"
He laughed. "No, I've only ever been here by myself."
"You're kind of a loner, aren't you?"
"I guess you could say that I have a hard time trusting people."
One of the first times I had texted him I had told him that I didn't trust him and he had gotten mad. Everything was different now though. I did trust him. And I wanted to know more about him. No, I wanted to know everything about him.
"Why?" I asked.
He squeezed my hand. When we stepped onto the boards, I heard a buzzing noise.
Professor Hunter dropped my hand and reached in his pocket.
It looked like all the color drained from his face.
"I'm sorry, I have to take this." He walked a few paces away from me.
I could just barely make out his conversation.
"This isn't a good time." He sounded angry.
"I don't even know why we're still talking about this.
" He paused and listened to the person on the other end of the line.
"I told you I didn't care about any of the specifics.
Just sign the damn papers." He ended the call and put the phone back in his pocket.
He put a smile on his face as he came back over to me, but I could tell that it was forced. "Sorry about that."
"Is everything okay?"
"Just a business call." He grabbed my hand again and we took the few steps down to the beach.
"Something with your tech company?"
"Well, it's not mine anymore. But yes."
I looked out at the ocean. I had always imagined how cool it would be to come to the beach when there was no one around.
Today was that day. There wasn't anyone on the beach down here except for the occasional passerby.
I slid off my flip flops and picked them up in my free hand.
The feeling of sand underneath my bare feet was exhilarating. We began walking toward the water.
"Professor Hunter? You didn't answer my other question."
He ran his hand through his hair. "I'm sorry, what was your question again?"
"Why do you have a hard time trusting people?"
He took a deep breath. He seemed unsettled. "People have a tendency to wear many different masks. I've been bad at seeing people for who they really are until it's too late."
Shit. And he shouldn't trust me either. I was lying to him about my age.
He put his towel on top of the sand and sat down, pulling me on top of him.
"I barely know anything about you," I said breathlessly.
"You know that I like you and that you like me. What else does anything matter?"