A Whirlwind of Color - Chapter 31
Monday
Oh my God, tell him. I read the words as fast as I could.
It was a scene I could picture clearly. I wasn’t sure if it was because I was a great writer or if it was because it was helping me remember.
James had said the book was super detailed.
But those probably weren’t the reasons I could visualize what was happening so easily.
I had walked the green hundreds of times.
I knew the campus like the back of my hand. No! Tell him!
I blamed the booze. Vodka was a seductive mistress. I was also horrified that my shirt was see-through in the rain. And that I had just kneed Tyler in the nuts. And that I was drunk and underage in front of my dreamy professor. A girl could lose her senses when all that had just happened.
Regardless, it was pretty clear that I had been smitten with James immediately.
Tyler had never stood a chance. Maybe if I had run into him first. But that’s not how the story went.
I'd met James. And I had fallen head over heels for him despite knowing that it was wrong.
Somehow it being wrong just made it even more appealing.
To me now and to me then. Something must be wrong with me.
I put the pages of the manuscript on the coffee table and stood up to stretch.
I hadn’t read very much, but my mind was racing.
I could feel the chemistry through the pages.
It was undeniable. But it was still hard to believe I’d sleep with my professor.
That I’d fall in love with someone so utterly unattainable.
And what did James mean by details? I leaned over and flipped the manuscript to a random page and scanned. Nothing unusual. I flipped to another page and my eyes bulged.
He pushed my back against the tile. "Is there something that you wanted?" His voice was so seductive.
I gulped. "Yes." His torso glistened from the water flowing down it. And the steam from the shower surrounded him. God he was sexy. He looked almost ethereal.
He leaned over and took one of my nipples in his mouth and bit it lightly. He pinched my other nipple between two of his fingers. I writhed under his touch.
"And what is it that you want?" He left a trail of kisses down my stomach and stopped right where I wanted it the most. I could feel his warm breath.
"You."
"Do you mean like this?" He stroked my pussy with his tongue.
"Professor Hunter," I moaned.
He put his knees on the tile floor and lifted my thighs over his shoulders. While I was admiring his strength, he slid two fingers inside of me.
I gasped.
"Or maybe you'd prefer that I fuck you with my fingers?" His dirty words made me want him even more.
"Yes!"
He moved his lips to my clit and sucked on it hard. I was pinned against the shower wall, completely immobile. He pumped his hand faster, moving his fingers in and out of me. His tongue continued to stroke my clit, driving me crazy.
"Yes!" I screamed again.
He pushed my thighs even farther apart. The position allowed his fingers to go even deeper. He was licking and swirling his tongue over my clit. I could feel my body begin to shudder in his arms. He placed his lips around my clit again and sucked hard.
"Professor Hunter!"
I threw the pages back down, scattering them across the coffee table.
Holy shit. My whole body felt hot. James was right about the details.
Vivid, mind-blowing details. I swallowed hard.
I almost felt like I was drunk like I had been in that scene where James had walked me home.
I pushed the pages back together so no one would be able to see the heated scene I had just been reading.
I needed fresh air. A walk would help clear my head and cool me off.
I walked over to Melissa and Josh’s room and knocked on the door.
“Hey, Melissa?”
She opened the door and blew a strand of hair out of her flushed face.
I stifled a laugh. I was almost 100 percent sure she had just been banging Josh.
“What’s up?” she asked.
“I was wondering if you could watch Scarlett? She’s upstairs sleeping, so she won’t be much trouble. But I wanted to go for a walk…”
“Oh, I can come with you. Just give me a sec.”
“It’s okay. I wanted to clear my head.”
“If I’m being completely honest, I promised James I wouldn’t let you go anywhere alone.”
That made sense after I'd tried to run away. It was funny that she was in charge of watching me instead of Scarlett, though. I wasn’t sure James trusted me with my daughter after today either. I had learned my lesson about fiber. “I’ll ask one of James' security guards to come with me.”
“Alright. You sure?”
I lowered my voice. “You’re clearly busy.”
“I am not…” her voice trailed off. “Fine. You caught me. In my defense, I thought you and James were busy too.”
I laughed. No, not quite. In my manuscript though? Yes. Yes. Yes! I could feel my own cheeks blushing just thinking about that shower scene. “I’ll be back in a bit.”
“Awesome. Maybe we can watch a movie or something like we always used to? Just us. I feel like we need a girls’ night.”
“I heard that,” Josh said with a laugh from behind the door.
I smiled. “I’d like that. No offense, Josh,” I added.
“None taken,” he said.
“Have fun.” I smiled at her and left them alone. A girls’ night sounded perfect. Just like old times. Even though they still partially felt like current times to me. But I was getting used to this reality. I was getting used to James and the kids. I could picture myself here now.
I opened up the front door. Ian was standing outside talking on his cell phone.
“Oh, Jen, I have to go, Penny just walked out. Mhm, I will. Take a deep breath, it’s going to be fine. I love you too.” He hung up the phone. “Jen says hi.”
“James’ sister, right? And your fiancée?”
He smiled as he slid his cell phone back into his pocket. “You’re remembering things now. So, um…what are you doing out here?”
“Actually I was hoping to go for a walk and I was told I needed someone to accompany me. But you’re busy. Maybe Briggs or Porter could come? Or…” my voice trailed off trying to remember all the names. “Or William?”
“I’d be happy to go with you, Penny.”
“But your phone call…”
“Everything with Jen is an emergency. Our wedding isn’t very soon. A flower arrangement disaster isn’t even a thing this far out. She’ll be fine.” He walked over toward the elevator.
I laughed. “What exactly is a flower arrangement disaster?”
“I don’t know. I may have been holding the phone away from my ear.” He smiled, even though we both knew it wasn’t true. He had been listening to every word, crazy or not. I could tell he loved her.
“What made you realize you wanted to get married?” I asked as we stepped onto the elevator.
“Well, a number of things really. I liked Jen for far longer than I’d like to admit. Really since the first time I met her.” He smiled. “I hadn’t been working for James long and he asked if I’d pick her up at the airport. She’s just so full of life. And beautiful. And smart.”
We walked through the lobby and out the front doors as I thought about what he had said. He made it seem like it was love at first sight. Was that what James and I'd had? The first few chapters of my manuscript sure made it seem like we had.
“Are we friends?” I asked.
“You and me? Or you and Jen?”
“I was asking about you and me. But now I’m curious about both.”
He smiled. “Well, yes to both.”
“Can I ask you something then?” There was still something nagging me about the note in my pocket.
What James said made sense. But what if he was wrong?
What if I was unstable? And depressed. And lonely.
If I could get out ahead of it, maybe I could fix it.
I was growing attached to this life. I didn’t want for it to end.
“Of course.”
“Do you think I was unhappy before I lost my memory?”
“I believe you were happy.”
“There isn’t anything that seemed off about me? Anything at all to indicate that I wasn’t?”
It looked like he was deep in thought as we entered Central Park. “Do you want my honest opinion? As a friend?”
“Yes.”
“I think you’ve always struggled a little with self-confidence. You felt lucky that James fell for you and you have a hard time understanding why he’s lucky too.”
I sighed. “That sounds like me. It’s kind of how I feel right now. I mean…what is he doing with someone like me? He could have anyone…”
“He loves you, Penny. And you have no reason to doubt your self-worth. You’re smart and funny and kind. He’s lucky to have you. And he knows it. You just have to accept that.”
The note hadn’t felt like I didn’t understand James’ love. Maybe I did feel worthy of him. Maybe I had finally realized that we were both lucky, instead of just me. James could have been right about everything. The letter was just an unfortunate coincidence.
Ian’s phone started buzzing. “Hey, Jen,” he said. “I’m working right now. I’ll have to call you back…” He paused. “We can find a new florist…” Another pause. “Babe, it’s late. We can look tomorrow.”
“You can go if you need to,” I said.
He pulled his phone away from his ear. “Yeah, I’m not leaving you out here alone. James would kill me.”
“It sounds like Jen will kill you if you don’t.
I talked to James about it earlier. He thinks that crazy doctor is long gone.
You’ve seen no sign that he’s around. Trust me, I can take care of myself.
” I thought about when I'd kneed Tyler in the balls in the chapter I had read. I was kick ass. “And I’ll head back now if it makes you feel better.”
He glanced at his phone and then back at me.
“Really. Go.”
“Are you sure?”
I looked around. It was late, but there were a few people still walking through Central Park. I was safe here. “I’m sure.”
He put his cell back up to his ear. “I’ll be there in a few minutes, baby. Love you too.” He hung up. “Let me just walk you back real quick.”