by Ivy Smoak
"Good, because we're not just going shopping."
I looked back up at him. "But you just said we were going to go buy toothbrushes."
"Yeah." He tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "I lied."
The elevator doors dinged and opened. He grabbed my hand and led me toward his car.
"Wait, then what are we doing?"
"It's a surprise." His eyes twinkled. He opened up the car door for me.
I smiled and got in. He closed the door behind me. I loved how spontaneous he was. Or maybe he had intended to do whatever we were about to do this whole time.
"Am I at least dressed okay?" I asked as he put the key in the ignition.
"Not at all."
"What? Let me go change then. What should I be wearing?"
"That would kind of take away from the surprise." We drove in silence for a few minutes. Once we turned onto the highway I couldn't resist it anymore.
"Can I at least have a hint?" Where is he taking me?
He turned toward me. "I'm hoping to change your mind about something."
"About what?"
"I already gave you your hint."
Chapter 16
Monday
"Hey," Professor Hunter said softly. He rubbed his hand on my cheek.
I opened my eyes. I must have fallen asleep. He was looking at me intently with his dark brown eyes. He looked excited.
I looked out the window. "Where are we? Philly?"
Professor Hunter laughed. "No, not Philly."
I looked out the window again. "Are we in New York?"
"I don't think you've experienced it the same way that I have."
"Because I'm not rich?"
He shrugged. "I want to show you my New York."
I looked at the clock on the dashboard. It was only 10:30. "You like speeding."
"I tend to do everything efficiently."
"You mean fast." I regretted the words as soon as they came out of my mouth.
He bit his lip. "Penny," he said and grabbed my hand. "I know what I want. I want you. All of you. I know that I'm older than you. And I may be ready for something more serious than..."
"I didn't mean anything by it."
"Still."
"I'm running just as fast beside you." I squeezed his hand.
He leaned toward me until his lips were an inch from mine. "Okay," he whispered and opened up my door from the inside. He leaned back in his seat and quickly got out.
I swallowed hard and stepped out of the car. The city was loud. There wasn't anything appealing about it to me. But when I looked over at Professor Hunter smiling at me, I realized there was one thing. Him. I'd go anywhere for him. I walked over to him and clasped my hands behind his neck as I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him. "I like New York better already."
"Well you're about to like it even more." He turned toward the building closest to us. "Because Totonno's Pizzeria is the best pizza."
"You brought me all the way to New York to prove a point?"
"One of the reasons." He opened the door to the pizzeria.
The floor looked like a checker board and the walls were covered in frames of newspaper clippings, awards, and black and white family photos. It was quaint and not at all where I had expected to end up. But it was perfect.
"This is your favorite pizza place?"
"Yes. Grab us a seat." He walked up to the counter in the back while I sat down at a table for two by the window. I wasn't sure what I expected. There was still so much I didn't know about him. But he was trying.
"This place doesn't really seem like you," I said as he sat down across from me.
"What do you mean?"
"You tend to be kind of extravagant."
"Not always. I used to come here to eat all the time."
"What was your favorite part about living here?" I put my hand in the center of the table. He immediately grabbed it.
"There's always something to do."
"So you've been pretty bored in a college town?"
"Hardly. You're very entertaining." He flashed me a smile. He was so handsome. I noticed a few women in the restaurant staring at him.
"You know that women stare at you everywhere we go, right?"
"Is that so? I haven't noticed."
"You must have noticed. Everyone drools over you. I mean, look at you."
"I'm too busy looking at you."
I felt myself blushing. "You're out of my league."
"You're out of your mind."
I bit my lip. "Why me?"
"What do you mean?"
"If you wanted to date a student..."
"I didn't want to date a student." He lifted up my hand and kissed my knuckles. "Are you asking why I'm attracted to you? Or why I love your personality?"
"Both I guess."
"You don't have much self confidence. It's rather curious."
"Why would I? No one's ever looked at me the way that you're looking at me right now."
"I know you don't see it. But you are always the most beautiful girl in the room. I enjoy that you don't see it. It's intriguing how naive you are. You're very alluring."
"Alluring?" I laughed. Alluring was how I'd describe him. It's not how I'd describe myself.
"Yes. I find you unbelievably sexy." He stared into my eyes. "Every inch of you."
I could feel my face flush.
"Did you want more intimate details? Because I could go on for days describing the blue of your eyes with the small flecks of green in the sunshine. Or the freckles on your shoulders. Or that birthmark on the inside of your ankle. Or how your ass jiggles just the right amount when you walk. Or how your breasts fit perfectly in my hands. Or how you get a cute little wrinkle in your forehead when you frown at me. Or how it makes me feel when you bite your lip when you look at me. Or the intoxicating smell of you. And the taste of you." He swallowed hard. "And the way you're looking at me right now...it's sexy as hell."
I gulped.
"So if you refuse to see how beautiful you are, you'll just have to accept the fact that I'm attracted to you. And for things that aren't physical." He paused and kissed my knuckles again. "I love that you're down to earth. I love that you're shy. It's refreshing that you don't seem to want to be the center of attention everywhere we go. I like that you just want to be beside me instead, captivating me alone. I love that you're open to second chances and quick to forgive. Yet you're extremely stubborn as well, and I love how that challenges me. I love how intelligent you are. I love that you like experiencing new things. And I love that you're a hopeless romantic, or else we wouldn't be sitting here right now."
I stared at him. I knew my face was bright red. No one had ever said things like that to me before. He did know every inch of me. He wasn't lying. "I'm a hopeless romantic because I chose you? Why is that hopeless?"
"I told you that I wasn't good for you, yet here you are. Besides, you had plenty of other options."
"I didn't."
"Tyler and Brendan?"
"I was always going to come back to you. I can't stop thinking about you. I can't and I won't."
"See...hopeless romantic."
"I don't like that phrase. It makes it sound like we're doomed."
"I think we've already been through the hardest things."
"I hope so."
His lowered his eyebrows slightly as he looked at me. "So really, the question is why did you choose me?"
"You're joking, right?"
"I'm curious."
"It seems as though you have plenty of self confidence."
"Is that one of the things you like?"
"Yes. I like that you always seem so sure of what you want. Even if what you want scares you."
He put his other hand on top of mine, so that mine was sandwiched between his. He wanted to hear why I loved him. He needed validation too.
"You know how good looking you are. You're classically tall, dark, and handsome. When I see you I get butterflies in my stomach. And when you touch me I
get chills." I suddenly felt nervous. "I've never been so attracted to someone in my life.
"That's how I feel about you."
I laughed.
"Penny. I do."
I looked into his eyes. He was being sincere. I wanted him to know how I felt too. I wasn't done telling him what I loved about him. "You're also dark and brooding and mysterious. But when you let me in, when I get to see glimpses of the real you, I fall harder and harder. Like the juice box thing."
"You like that my parents didn't let me drink apple juice out of a box?"
"No, I like that you told me that. You're cute."
His eyebrows lowered again. "I'm not cute."
"Yes you are. You're being adorable right now."
He smiled at me.
"And I love that you're..." I looked down at his hands on mine, "...domineering."
He laughed. "You mean in bed?"
I shook my head. "Yes, in bed. But in everything else too. I'm indecisive. I'm so bad at choosing things."
"You chose me."
"I did. But you saw all the stupid stuff I did along the way," I said.
"Which was my fault."
"No. It was because I'm a mess."
He smiled at me. "Do you know what I am currently enjoying most of all?"
"About me?"
"Yes about you."
I gulped. He was giving me that hungry look. The look that made me want him. I crossed my legs under the table. "What are you enjoying most?"
"How insatiable you are."
"Insatiable? How so? By wanting to spend time with you?"
"In bed, mostly."
Oh my God. "I don't think that's true."
He laughed. "If I wanted to, I could have you coming in the bathroom before our pizza arrived."
When he talked like that to me it was hard to think about anything else. I wanted him. And he knew it.
He smiled at me. "Or maybe I could do it right here. I believe I owe you an orgasm with an audience after the office blowjob incident."
I gulped. "But you liked that."
"I did. And you'd like this." His foot brushed against my leg. "Besides, I promised you I'd retaliate." He hitched his foot on a leg of my chair and he pulled it closer to the table. The chair squeaked against the floor.
"I thought you were joking." My heart rate was accelerating. Just the way he was looking at me made me wet.
"I would never joke about pleasing you." One of his hands left mine and disappeared beneath the table. A second later it was on my knee. His skilled fingers slid up my thigh. His eyes grew darker with each inch his hand moved higher.
"Professor Hunter..."
At that moment our pizza came to the table.
"James! It's so good to see you," a short woman with an Italian accent said. She placed our pizza down on the table.
Professor Hunter removed his hand from my thigh and shook her hand. "It's been ages, Marie. I was in the city for the day and this was the first place I stopped."
"We all miss you here. And who is this?" Marie turned to me.
"This is my girlfriend, Penny."
"It's a pleasure to meet you," I said. I reached out my hand to shake hers.
"No, no, the pleasure is mine." She leaned down and hugged me. "Every Monday James would come here and have lunch. Always alone. Always glum. I'm so glad he has finally met someone. You better make him happy," she said in a voice a little more serious than I expected. When Marie released me from her hug, she smiled at Professor Hunter. "It's so good to see you, James."
"You too, Marie," James said as she walked away. He put his hand back on my thigh. "Another time then. I will get you."
I smiled at him. "Why did you eat lunch alone every Monday?" I asked.
"Just a habit." He picked up a slice of pizza and put it on my plate.
"Why did she think you were single? You still wore your ring when you lived here, didn't you?"
He sighed. "No, actually."
"Why?"
"I stopped wearing my wedding ring the first time I confronted Isabella about her infidelity. I thought she'd feel threatened and stop. I thought maybe the idea of me sleeping around would bother her. It didn't."
"Did you? Sleep around?"
"No." His voice was stern.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry."
"It's okay. I want you to be able to ask me questions. But I don't want to talk about her. I just want to focus on us."
"Okay." Our lunch had taken a rather quick turn. I wanted to go back to our happy bubble. I wanted people to stop interfering. "So this is the best pizza, huh?" I held up my slice.
"Fold it before you eat it. Trust me."
I followed his instructions and took a bite. Mmm!
"What's the verdict?"
"It's freaking fantastic."
***
Professor Hunter pulled his car up to a tall building. A valet rushed over.
"What's this?"
"Trump International."
I looked up at the gold veranda. It said Trump International Hotel and Tower, also in gold. It was a big glass, modern building. "Why are we going to a hotel?"
"I have a surprise for you." He winked and climbed out of the car.
I loved how mysterious he was. I loved the surprises. I loved him.
Someone rushed out of the hotel to greet us. Professor Hunter handed him the car keys and then opened the door for me. He grabbed my hand and walked with me to the entrance. A man in a suit opened up the door for us.
"Good afternoon," he nodded at us. "Welcome to Trump International."
"Thank you," said Professor Hunter.
The inside of the hotel took my breath away. The floor was marble and the walls were wooden with mirrors and gold accents. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling. The counter, where a few men and women were standing, was also made of marble. Professor Hunter escorted me to one of the plush lounge chairs. I sat down and watched him go up to the counter and start talking to one of the women at the desk.
He handed her a card and leaned on the counter as he chatted with one of the men. It looked like he was completely in his element. I liked seeing him like this. The woman handed him his card back and gave him another card.
"Right this way, sir," one of the men said and stepped toward the elevator.
Professor Hunter turned around to me. I quickly joined him and grabbed his hand.
"James, is that you?"
I looked up at the man who had just stepped off the elevator. He was probably Professor Hunter's age. He was handsome and suave.
"Mason, good to see you." The two of them shook hands.
"I see that you finally took my advice." Mason looked at me. His gaze made my skin feel cold.
Professor Hunter lowered his eyebrows slightly. "No. I thought you would have heard. I'm getting divorced."
Weird response. What advice was Mason referring to?
"Oh, I'm sorry, man," Mason said. And then he started laughing. "Geez, that's a lie. I'm not sorry at all. I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did."
"You two never did get along."
"No, not at all. So, who is this then?" Mason was looking at me again.
Before I could respond, Professor Hunter said, "This is my girlfriend, Penny."
Mason smiled. "Girlfriend? You didn't wait around long. Nice to meet you, Penny." He put his hand out for me.
I shook it. "It's nice to meet you. How do you two know each other?"
"James and I grew up together. Oh, the stories I could tell you..."
"Maybe another day," Professor Hunter interjected and laughed.
"I'll have to hold you to that," I said.
"Well," Mason said and looked down at his watch. "I have a meeting I need to get to. If you ever change your mind, you have my number, James." Mason winked and walked away.
As soon as Mason was out of earshot, I said, "What was he talking about?"
"Yeah, you don't want to know. Let's go to our room."
&nbs
p; We stepped onto the elevator with the man from the front desk. There was instrumental music playing. I had heard of elevator music, but I had never been in an elevator that actually played it. I looked up at Professor Hunter. He was smiling at me. Whatever the surprise was, he seemed so excited. I liked when he looked happy. The playful grin on his face made him look younger.
The doors dinged and opened. The man guided us down an equally ornate hallway to our room.
"If there is anything else you need, please don't hesitate to call the front desk. Turndown service is at nine. Have a good afternoon."
"You too," Professor Hunter said. He slid the access card into the reader and opened the door.
I quickly walked past him. "Oh my God." I almost ran up to the window. We had the most amazing view of the city and of Central Park. It was beautiful. I had never seen anything like it.
"I told you that I could get you to like New York." He pushed my hair to one side and kissed the back of my neck. His hands slid to my waist.
"It's beautiful."
"You should see it at night." He kissed my neck again. His fingers traced the waistline of my jeans.
I turned around to face him. "Are we spending the night?"
"I haven't decided yet."
"But I have to go back. I have classes."
"Me too." He ran his nose down the length of mine and pressed his forehead against mine. "But I don't want to go back."
I wrapped my arms around his back and placed the side of my head against his chest. "Me either." It was comforting to hear his steady breathing.
He ran his fingers through my hair.
I looked back up at him. "I know I've made mistakes. Thank you for forgiving me. Thank you for letting me back in."
"Thank you for forgiving me."
"You're different here."
"Different?"
"More relaxed, I guess."
"Well I'm not Professor Hunter here. I'm just me."
I smiled at him. "James. I still need to get used to saying that."
"You do. Because Rob will give me hell if you go around calling me Professor Hunter." He laughed.
"So, James. What would you do on a Monday after eating lunch alone?"
"I'd go back to work."
"Was your office around here?"
"Well." He looked out the window. "There." He pointed to one of the buildings in the distance. It overlooked Central Park too.