Temptation (The Hunted, #1)(39)

Chapter 29


Sunday

As soon as I locked the door, Melissa switched the lights on.

"Where the hell have you been?! I texted you like ten times, Penny!"

I pulled Professor Hunter's suit jacket tighter around myself. I just wanted to be back in his arms. "I..."

"Oh my God. Oh my God! Were you on a date?"

"No." Crap, why did I just lie? I'm so bad at this!

"Penny, you're wearing a men's suit jacket."

"Yeah, sorry. I meant yes. Yes, I was on a date."

"I knew it! You and Tyler were being so ridiculous earlier, but you just needed a little persuading. He ditched that party on Friday night just to hang out with you. There were tons of girls there. He chose you. He's like the complete opposite of Austin. I'm so happy for you."

"No, not with Tyler."

"What?"

"I wasn't on a date with Tyler."

I could tell she was getting annoyed with me.

"Yeah, I heard you. I meant who were you with?"

"It was someone new."

"Penny, who?"

"His name is James." I could feel myself start to blush, remembering when I had challenged him and called him James on the golf course. I walked over to my dresser and pulled out a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt and began to change.

"Well, where did you meet?"

I should have known I couldn't get off that easily. "My Intro to Marketing class," I lied.

"No wonder you like him," she said and picked up his suit jacket from the back of my chair. "He wears the same cologne as that professor you had a crush on. Yummy."

Oh shit! "Oh, really? I hadn't noticed."

Melissa laughed. "Don't pretend you didn't snuggle up to your professor's sweater at night."

I didn't know she had seen me do that. "Okay, fine, I did notice. That's actually what first attracted me to him." That seemed reasonable enough.

Melissa no longer looked mad at me, just super curious. I'd rather her be mad and not speak to me. I was going to have a hard time keeping track of all these lies.

"So tell me about him," she said and sat back down on her bed.

"I'm pretty tired. Can I tell you about him tomorrow?"

"Yeah, not happening. You made me worry about you till...what time is it? It's 2 a.m., Penny! I think I deserve at least a few details."

"Okay." I sat cross-legged on my bed and looked at her. If I stuck to true things, it wouldn't really be lying. "Well he's unbelievably handsome, apparently wealthy, and he's a little older than me." I thought about Professor Hunter's suggestion of telling her how it was the best sex of my life, and blushed.

"Wait, how much older? I thought you said you met in class? Is he like a foreign exchange student or something?"

Why am I so bad at this? "I meant I met him after my marketing class. I ran into him on Main Street. Literally."

She knew how clumsy I was, so she seemed to accept that answer. "Why didn't you tell me you had a date with him?"

"I don't know. I didn't want to jinx it I guess. He's way out of my league, Melissa."

"Don't be ridiculous. You know that you're a catch. You probably made him drool in the dress you were wearing."

"Thanks, Melissa."

"So, where did he take you on your first date?"

"To this country club. It was at least half an hour from here."

"Well that's super fancy. I can see why you think he's wealthy. I don't know any other students who are members of a country club."

I didn't want her to assume he was a student. I wanted her to think that he was always busy so that she wouldn't be hurt if she didn't get to meet him. "He's actually not a student."

"So what does he do?"

"He founded some tech company."

"Impressive." She thought about that for a moment before adding, "How old did you say he was?"

"27," I said quietly. I shrugged like it was no big deal. My stomach was still in a knot from not confessing my age to Professor Hunter in the car.

"I thought you said he was only a little older than you. Penny, that's like...eight years."

It was time to take Professor Hunter's advice. "Melissa, you don't even understand how sexy he is. I can't even think straight when I'm around him."

She laughed. "Okay, I need some sleep. Next time text me back so I don't have to worry all night."

"Sorry about that, Melissa. I was distracted."

"I bet," she said and turned off the light.

I was too tired to go get ready for bed, so instead I lay down and pulled the covers on top of me.

"Poor Tyler," Melissa mumbled. I heard her turn in her bed.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.





Chapter 30


Monday

It was going to be so awkward to see Tyler. I hadn't spoken to him since he had walked out on me at the dining hall. I had encouraged him to see other people because I cared about him. He had become a really good friend. But he was probably never going to talk to me again. And I had basically molested his abs, which definitely gave him the wrong message. The cold shoulder would make me feel horrible, but at the same time I would be kind of relieved. I was sick of lying to him. Maybe it was better for both of us if he pretended I didn't exist.