Temptation

16

He had kissed me like I had never been kissed before, and then told me to stop thinking about him. Was class cancelled because of me? I pulled out my phone and clicked on his name. "I hope that everything is alright, Professor Hunter." I knew I was being defiant, but I pressed the send button anyway. He was sending me mixed messages, and I preferred to believe that the kissing me part of last night was what he really wanted too.

I climbed onto my bed, pulled my computer to my lap, and opened up f*******:. I clicked on the search bar and slowly typed James Hunter into the box. A photography company from Maryland, some grunge band, and several guys that were certainly not Professor Hunter popped up. I pressed the backspace key until his name disappeared.

I was about to ex out of f*******: when a message came up at the bottom of the screen. I clicked on it.

Tyler: "Mixed feelings about tomorrow. Class cancelled = awesome. Not getting to see you = major suckage."

I wrote back to Tyler: "What really sucks is that we have to give our presentations on Friday."

Tyler: "That's not really what I'm worried about."

Me: "So what are you worried about then, Tyler?"

Tyler: "Well, I'm waiting for you to spill the beans about your date. Let me down easily."

Me: "Honestly, it was a complete disaster."

Tyler: "Sorry, that sucks."

Me: "I feel like you aren't sorry."

Tyler: "Yeah, not even a little. Actually I think I can make you feel better. I wanted to cordially invite you to dinner...any night of your choosing."

I looked down at my phone. Professor Hunter hadn't responded.

Tyler: "And I won't take no for an answer."

Me: "How about lunch one day?" As friends.

Tyler: "Let's do it Wednesday. And then we can make fun of all the speeches."

Me: "Haha, okay, Tyler."

Tyler: "I'm going to go before you change your mind. Night!"

I smiled to myself and shut down my computer.

Wednesday

As soon as my alarm sounded Wednesday morning, I was out of bed and getting ready. I needed to look super casual for lunch with Tyler so that he wouldn't get the wrong idea. I took off the baggy t-shirt that I had slept in and replaced it with a tank top and an off the shoulder, lightweight sweater. I pulled on a pair of old skinny jeans with holes in the knees and slipped on my favorite Keds.

I put a little frizz control lotion in my hands and scrunched my wavy hair to give it some added texture. When I looked in the mirror I felt a tiny bit of hope. Professor Hunter had never returned my message. But maybe he just didn't like the flirtatious version of myself. This was the real me. I felt uncomfortable wearing short skirts and revealing dresses. So I'd try and see if he liked this side of me better.

After eating a bowl of cereal, brushing my teeth, and applying minimal makeup, I locked the door behind me. I went into Professor Hunter's class and sat at my usual spot in the corner. Tyler walked in with a huge smile on his face.

"So where do you want to go for lunch?"

"Can I meet you at Russell Dining Hall at 12:30?"

"We don't have to go to the dining hall, Penny. I'll take you somewhere, my treat."

"But it's steak sandwich day."

Tyler laughed. "Okay, I guess I can't pass that up."

I smiled. Professor Hunter walked into the room. He was his usual handsome self, but it looked like he hadn't shaved in a few days. This morning he didn't even glance at me. He had told me to stop thinking about him, but I couldn't. Clearly he had stopped thinking about me, though. It stung.

"It's presentation day!" He pumped his fist into the air.

Most of the class groaned.

"It's not going to be that bad. Okay, first up is Raymond Asher. Let me just fix this." He grabbed a podium from the corner and placed it in the middle of the room. "And I'll get out of your way." He made his way to the back of the classroom, and I watched his every step. The only empty seat was the one right in front of Tyler. He sat down and placed his satchel on the floor, still not glancing at me at all. I hadn't realized that I had been holding my breath.

Raymond walked confidently to the podium. He placed both hands on either side of the top of it and leaned in a bit. It looked like he had done this hundreds of times. Was I unaware of a prerequisite to this class? I was getting nervous and I wasn't even presenting until Friday.

Raymond gave a funny presentation about his grandfather who was "clearly better than any of Professor Hunter's grandparents" and deserved a proper shout-out.

Tyler leaned over a little to me. "Crap, he stole my idea."

I laughed quietly. It looked like Professor Hunter's back stiffened.

Without commenting on Raymond's speech, Professor Hunter called out the next name. He never spoke after any of the speeches, just finished writing his notes and called the next name on his list. I heard a wide array of stories about friends, siblings, parents, and significant others. They started to all blur together.

At the end of the last speech, Professor Hunter said, "Great job today. Class dismissed." He was still scribbling notes.

"I'll see you at lunch, Penny," Tyler said and stood up.

Crap. Now Professor Hunter knew I had a sort of date.

Professor Hunter looked down at his paper and tilted his head a little to the left. He wanted to hear what I had to say. It was the first time all day he had acknowledged my existence.

"Don't be late, I have a class at two," I said.

"I wouldn't dare." Tyler laughed and walked out of the back door of the classroom.

I stayed seated. My heart rate was accelerating. When the class had emptied, Professor Hunter turned and put his papers into his satchel.

"I'm sorry about the other night, Miss Taylor. I was out of line." He still wasn't looking at me, just fumbling with his notes.

"I'm not sorry."

He shook his head back and forth. "You don't need to be, it was my mistake."

"I mean that I'm not sorry that it happened."

Sitting in that desk made him look just like a student. Why couldn't he have just been a student? He finally turned his head to look at me. He looked angry. For some reason I could tell he wasn't mad at me though. He was angry at himself.

"Enjoy your lunch date, Miss Taylor. I will see you in class on Friday." He abruptly stood up and walked away.

I wanted to get up and walk with him, but something kept me in my chair. I gulped. There was something about that anger in his eyes. I suddenly felt extremely cold. The realization hit me hard. This wasn't a game. Flirting with him wasn't the same as it was with guys my own age. Professor Hunter had an air of danger around him. He was intriguing because he terrified me.