Temptation (The Hunted, #1)(27)

"Just tell me the theme."

"It's going to be a luau!"

"You mean like tiki torches and everyone running around in bathing suits?"

"Yep." She clapped her hands together in excitement.

"Yeah, I'm not going to that."

"I swear, Penny, you're going to end up being a lonely cat lady if you keep acting like that. Take a risk every now and then." Melissa sighed and sat back on her bed.

I couldn't help but smile. If she had any idea what I had done with Professor Hunter she'd be high-fiving me instead of scolding me. I had to resist the urge to tell her.

"I'll ask Tyler about it on Wednesday like I said. Goodnight, Melissa." I switched off the light on my desk and pulled the covers up under my neck. Pretending to be asleep, I closed my eyes and listened to Melissa turn off her light and get in bed. When I heard her light snoring, I lifted my covers over my head and pulled out my phone.

There was a message from Professor Hunter. "It would be most convenient after you graduate in the spring."

I held my breath. The lie of me being a senior was looming over my head. He had assumed I was a senior like everyone else in his Comm class seemed to be. And he had escorted me home one night because I was drunk. I couldn't tell him the truth. But what would he do when he found out I was only a sophomore? Maybe he wouldn't care. He liked me. He didn't want it to be just a one-time thing either. He wanted to date me after I was no longer a student.

"What happened to just this once?" I replied.

A minute later I got his response. "We can discuss it over dinner. I will pick you up on Saturday at 8."

I pulled my phone to my chest and smiled. I had a date with Professor Hunter. A date! I liked how affirmative he was. I gulped, remembering his lips on my neck.

"I'll be waiting," I typed back and pressed send. He was as addicted as me. I fell asleep dreaming about our tryst.





Chapter 22


Wednesday

On Wednesday morning I was twenty minutes early for class. I drummed my fingers across my desk as I impatiently waited for Professor Hunter to come through the door. As the clock slowly ticked forward, students eventually started to arrive.

Tyler sat down next to me. "So how did you do on your first speech?" he asked.

I felt my face blushing. "Really well, actually." It didn't feel like a lie. Hopefully Professor Hunter would change my grade to the A it originally was.

"I knew it," he said and nudged my shoulder playfully. "What are you feeling for lunch today?"

I had been so consumed by Professor Hunter that I had nearly forgotten about lunch. And Melissa. Oh no, the luau. "Do you want to just get pizza somewhere?"

"Pizza sounds perfect. How about Grottos?"

"I was hoping you'd say that. It's my favorite." I smiled.

The class drew quiet when Professor Hunter entered the room and I stopped breathing momentarily. He pulled his satchel off over his head and placed it on his desk. He was more dressed up than usual in dress pants and a button down shirt. A tie was tucked behind a vest that matched his pants.

"I only had a few people complain to me about their grades, so I'm glad that we're all on the same page. I think we'll all be seeing even better speeches for the next assignment. Speaking of which, have any of you read ahead in the syllabus to find out what the next speech is about?"

A girl in the front center of the classroom raised her hand.

"Yes, Miss Snyder?"

"We're supposed to tell you about why we chose our majors."

"Precisely. There's usually a pretty personal reason why we choose the majors that we do. Whether it's about who you want to become, impressing your parents, or maybe just not knowing what the heck you want to do after you graduate. I find this topic to be quite beneficial for seniors, because maybe a look inside that true reason will help you decide which jobs you should be starting to apply to. So today let's go around and state what your majors are and one thing you love about them. Raymond, you're up." Professor Hunter sat down in his chair.

When Tyler stood up, I realized that I had been daydreaming. I had been staring at Professor Hunter and had completely tuned out everyone. When he called my name I slowly stood. I loved the feeling of his eyes on me.

"I'm majoring in marketing."

Professor Hunter seemed to sit up straighter as he listened to me.

"And mostly I love the creativity behind it." I sat down. I couldn't think of anything super exciting and interesting to enchant him with today. Hopefully I'd be able to think of something better for the actual speech.

When class was dismissed I dillydallied as usual. Before Tyler left he asked, "Meet at Grottos at 12:30?"

"Sounds good."

He smiled and walked out of the room. I went straight for Professor Hunter's desk once the class had emptied out.

"I'm surprised to hear that you're majoring in marketing, Miss Taylor."

I didn't want to be formal. I wanted him to kiss me, but I knew that he couldn't. Not here. But I could barely control myself when I looked at his lips. "Why does that surprise you?"

He stood up and pulled his satchel over his shoulder. "I'm just surprised that it's taken us this long to run into each other, since I'm a marketing professor."