Addiction

32

"Are these from you?" I wasn't sure why I asked the question. I could tell by the expression on his face that they were definitely not from him.

"No, Penny. I don't know who they're from." There was a small envelope attached to one of the stems.

"Probably my parents." I walked over and grabbed the envelope.

"Probably." His tone was cool.

Please be from my parents. I slid the card out of the envelope. The front said "Get well soon." I could feel Professor Hunter's eyes on me. I opened it up and read the note.

Penny,

I went to the hospital last night to check on you and you were gone. When I didn't hear from you, I figured I'd find you in the place where you always seem to go back to. FYI, you're incredibly bad at taking advice. Horrible really. I'll have to adjust my tactics. Flowers are probably a good start, wouldn't you agree?

Feel better,

-Brendan

I looked up at Professor Hunter. He wasn't trying to read the card, just my reaction. I put it back in the envelope and set it on the counter. "They're from Brendan."

"A friendship rose kind of thing?" Professor Hunter raised his eyebrow.

I sighed. I wasn't going to lie to him again. Even though a lie was a lot more tempting than the truth right now. "No. He likes me. I'll talk to him..."

"Get dressed."

"What?" That was not the reaction I was expecting at all.

"We're going out."

"Okay." I watched him as he cleared our dishes. He looked mad. I wasn't sure what to say. "James?"

He didn't answer me. It was possible he didn't hear me over the sound of the water running, but it seemed like he was ignoring me. I sighed and headed into the bedroom and then the closet full of clothes Professor Hunter had bought for me. I pulled on a pair of skinny jeans and looked in the mirror. They were probably the nicest jeans I had ever worn. I also grabbed a sweater and some brown leather riding boots. The outfit made me look more sophisticated than I usually did. I wondered where we were going.

When I walked back out, Professor Hunter slid his phone into the pocket of his jeans. He leaned against the kitchen counter. His hands were pressed against the granite countertop.

I walked up to him. "I'm sorry."

He ran his hand through his hair. "Let's go."

"James."

He gave me a sly smile. "I feel like when you call me by my first name I'm in trouble. I don't want to fight."

"I don't want to fight either."

"Good." He grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the elevator. "I need to pick up some things."

"What kind of things?" We stepped onto the elevator.

"Well, my girlfriend needs her own toothbrush."

I laughed. "Sorry, I didn't know what to do."

He pushed the button to close the door and then pulled me against him.

"I don't want to go back to reality tomorrow."

He smiled down at me. "Me either."

"Let's just run away together."

"Just name the place."

I sighed and leaned against his chest. He ran his hands down my back and stopped when they were on the small of my back.

"Let's do something fun today. I don't want to go shopping."

"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."

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.