Temptation (The Hunted, #1)(57)

"Of course he did. He's crazy about you."

"Well it's over now. I'm completely mortified."

"But you ran out on him before he could talk to you about it. He just asked a girl to the Sigma Pi formal. They aren't serious yet. Or exclusive."

"But still, I don't want to be the other woman. And I never meant to put Tyler in an awkward situation."

"You're completely overreacting, Penny. It's not like he's married or something. It's not a big deal at all."

I felt like I was going to throw up. Professor Hunter was married. And that was a big deal. It was a huge deal. Everything was so messed up.

Melissa hugged me. "Really, Penny, don't even worry about it. It will all blow over. Unless you don't want it to. If you really like Tyler, I don't think it's too late to tell him. Besides, dating someone closer to your own age would be a lot easier."

"I'm just so confused." I put my head back in my hands.

Melissa rubbed my back. "Have you still not talked to James yet?

"I tried. It's hard. I'm just so mad at him."

"Well no matter what you decide, you need to figure out where you stand with James if you want to start dating Tyler."

"I know." I took a deep breath. "I'll try talking to him again."





Chapter 40


Friday

"Hey, Penny," Tyler said as he sat down next to me.

My face was already crimson. I didn't want to have this conversation. "Hey," I said, but continued to look down at my desk.

"What, was the kiss that bad?" Tyler asked.

"Tyler." I put my face in my hands. My stomach was in knots.

"Penny, look at me."

I moved my hands and looked up at him. He was wearing jeans and a blue t-shirt. The blue from his shirt made his eyes pop. Why was I so attracted to guys that were unavailable? "Tyler, I'm so sorry. I didn't know that you had a girlfriend. I'm so, so sorry."

Tyler laughed. "I don't have a girlfriend. I only just started seeing her."

"Are you going to ask her to be your girlfriend?"

"I don't know. That depends on a lot of things. I do like her. And I thought that it was what you wanted. You're very confusing, Penny."

So Melissa was right. They weren't serious yet. "Is it Claire?"

"Claire?"

"The girl who you talked to in the dining hall on steak sandwich day. You know...the well-endowed blonde girl."

Tyler laughed again. "No, not Claire. Her name is Natalie."

I was so confused about everything, but I knew that I was jealous. "You kissed me back."

Tyler smiled. "I can't seem to resist you. Even though you've turned me down about a million times."

"So you aren't mad that I kissed you?"

"Mad?" Tyler laughed. "I'd only been waiting a whole month for a second kiss."

I started laughing, but quickly stopped when Professor Hunter walked in. He was his usual sexy self, but he had dark circles under his eyes. He looked exhausted. There was stubble on his face. The tie around his neck was a little loose, which gave him a slightly disheveled look. He was in pain. The same pain that I was. But how could I feel sorry for him when he had caused our problems? For some reason all I wanted was to go up to the front of the classroom and hug him, though. I wanted to comfort him. What is wrong with me?

I grabbed my paper and pen and shoved them into my backpack. I couldn't stand to see Professor Hunter this way. And I didn't want to do something that I was going to regret.

"Tyler, I'm actually not feeling very well. Can you take notes for me?"

"Penny?" he hissed, but I was already pushing through the door.

***

I was furious at myself for missing Professor Hunter. I drummed my fingers on my desk. Maybe Melissa was right and I should try talking to him again. It was possible that there was something I didn't understand. Hearing his side of the story, if anything, might give me closure. No. He was the one that should be apologizing. But he didn't even know what he needed to apologize for. He had too many secrets.

My phone buzzed. It was probably Professor Hunter. Was he finally ready to tell me he was married? I picked up my phone and slid my finger across the screen. It was a text from Tyler.

"Hey, I have the notes from class. Come let me in."

I smiled to myself. Here was a guy who had stopped kissing me in order to fully disclose the fact that he was seeing someone else, even though they weren't exclusive. And Professor Hunter didn't even have the balls to tell me he was married. Fuck him. I jumped off my bed and went to go let Tyler in.

Tyler was standing there with a smile on his face. He was so cute. "Hey, Penny."

"Hi, Tyler." I pushed the door open farther so he could walk in. We went up the stairs to my floor.

"Are you feeling better?" Tyler asked as we walked down the hallway.

"Yeah, I'm fine. You always seem to come to my rescue."

Tyler shrugged. "That's what friends do. Just for the record, it's also what people who are more than friends do."

"More than friends, huh? Is that where you think we are?"

Tyler opened up my door and closed it behind us. As soon as the door shut, he put his hand on the small of my back and pulled me into him. His face was only a few inches from mine. "You tell me."