Temptation

4

He looked down at me with his blue eyes. He lifted his hand off my thigh and slid his fingers through my hair. "I believe that I'm thinking pretty clearly." He kissed me again and I let my hips rise into him. I did want him.

But at the same time my mind was screaming "no." Austin had always made me feel insignificant. All he had ever wanted was my body, and I had given it to him. I liked the feeling of Tyler wanting me, but I didn't want to sleep with him on our first date. My flirtations had gone too far.

He moved on top of me and pushed my skirt up a little.

"Tyler, please." I began to sit up.

"No need to beg for it, babe." He unbuttoned and unzipped his pants. He pushed me back down onto the bed and lifted my hands above my head, holding them firmly in place.

"Tyler, get off of me." My mind was suddenly beating my body.

"Don't be a tease. You know you want this as much as I do. I promise to take it slow. Just the way you like." He began to kiss my neck.

I pulled up my leg and kneed him in the groin. He rolled off of me, grabbing the spot I had hit.

"What the hell, Penny?!"

"I asked you to stop." Tears had begun to stream down my face. I got up off the bed, stumbling slightly.

"You're such a b***h!"

I made my way over to the door and slammed it behind me. A few people turned to stare as I ran down the stairs.

Thursday

I stumbled out of the frat house. It was drizzling and I had no coat or umbrella. I silently cursed Melissa for making me wear this miniscule outfit. No wonder Tyler had acted the way that he did. This wasn't me. Austin had messed with my head and completely demolished my self-confidence. I was embarrassed and ashamed of what had just happened. The tears began to mix with the drizzle. I had to focus hard on not falling over because of my stilettos and the booze.

The drizzle turned into rain as I made my way onto Main Street.

"Miss Taylor, is that you?"

My whole body froze at the deep voice. I was wearing the most inappropriate outfit I had ever worn, and now my white tank top was drenched and completely see-through. "Um...no. You have the wrong person." I quickly started walking again, but my high heels prevented me from moving too fast.

"Penny, stop!"

I turned around and stared up at Professor Hunter, who was as unbelievably sexy as ever. He was wearing a pair of jeans that hugged him in all the right places, and a leather jacket with a plain white t-shirt beneath it. He looked the same as he did in class, except that he had a 5 o'clock shadow and an umbrella.

"Professor Hunter, I'm sorry..." I let my voice trail off and I folded my arms across my chest to help hide my most likely exposed breasts.

He lowered his eyebrows when I said his name, just like he had in his classroom. "You like to apologize when you've done nothing wrong."

I probably imagined it, but it felt like his eyes lingered for a moment on my legs. He moved toward me so that I'd be under his umbrella with him. "Is everything alright, Penny?"

My eyes were probably red from my angry tears. I was hoping he wouldn't be able to tell in the rain. "I'm fine."

"Then what are you doing out so late all by yourself?"

"I could ask the same of you." I rolled my eyes at myself for being so immature.

"I was just going for a walk."

"Me too," I responded quietly.

He laughed. It was an enticing sound. I drew a little closer to him and let my arm brush against his.

"Are you cold, Penny?"

Cold and mortified. I nodded up at him. I liked the way my name rolled off his tongue.

He handed me the umbrella as he slid out of his jacket. Then he held his jacket out for me and I slipped one arm in and then the other. The leather held the scent of his cologne. He took the umbrella and held it above both of us again. He was such a gentleman.

"Well you really shouldn't be out alone this late, Penny," he said. "Especially in those walking clothes."

"Neither should you."

He laughed again. "Is your dorm near here? It would make me feel much better if I escorted you home."

"I live in Sussex."

"This way then," he said, and placed his hand on the small of my back for just a second.

We walked in silence for a few minutes. Every now and then I'd stumble a little in my heels and his hand would briefly touch the small of my back again. Each time he did, I felt like my heart would beat out of my chest.

"I'm not good at giving speeches," I said, finally breaking the silence. "I feel like I should just drop your class."

"I wish you wouldn't. If you ever need extra help, I have open office hours. I really am a fairly easy grader for Comm."

"It's going to be extra painful when you fail me, though."

"Why extra painful?" He said "extra" slowly, almost seductively.

"Because you...I mean I. Well, you're..." I let my voice trail off. I wanted to say, "Because you're gorgeous and I have a huge crush on you." I can't believe I almost let him hear me say that.

"Well it does seem that you aren't great at giving speeches," he laughed again. "Like I said, you can come by any time."

We walked along the length of the green. I had dreamt of having a date escort me back to my dorm room. But I only dated immature boys, not men. Professor Hunter was a man. I found myself once again wondering how old he was.

"Have you been a professor here for long?"

"Not long at all. I do love it here, despite how much it rains. Besides, you never know what you'll find during a long walk in the rain." He smiled down at me.

Is he flirting with me? It seems like he's flirting with me!