Page 9 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 1

"I didn't realize I had made an appearance in your dreams, Miss Taylor."

"That's not what I...I mean you didn't. Well I meant..."

Professor Hunter laughed his enticing laugh. "Have a good weekend, Miss Taylor. Maybe on Monday I'll ask everyone to share a memorable dream they had over the weekend."

I felt my jaw drop slightly. The door creaked open and students for the next class started walking in. "Professor Hunter," I said, and quickly turned and walked out of the classroom.

Temptation - Chapter 6

Sunday

Despite Melissa's protests, I had spent the weekend in sweatpants, holed up in our dorm room with occasional trips to the dining hall. On Sunday night Melissa had practice with her a cappella group. I had just finished putting large curlers in my hair for volume. I could pretend it was for Tyler, or at least someone my own age, but that would be a lie. I was trying to look good for Professor Hunter. He made me feel unbelievably self-conscious. If he really did ask the class to share a memorable dream from this weekend I would die. The only dreams I seemed capable of having were of kissing him under that umbrella in the pouring rain. And him pressing my body against his with his strong hands.What is wrong with me?

I sighed, lay down in my bed, and turned on the T.V. Instead of looking at the screen, I grabbed my phone. I scrolled to the "T's" in my contact list. Tyler wasn't listed. I went down to the "Y's" in case he accidentally forgot the "T," but he wasn't listed there either. I slowly scrolled up through the list until I found him: "Apologetic Tyler."

I laughed out loud. He was near the top of my contacts list. That had to be on purpose. I clicked on his name and then on the message option. "Apologetic Tyler?" I typed. "That's a start." I added a smiley face emoji and pressed the send button.

It would be a while before he texted me back. That was just how texting seemed to work. He'd see it right away, but he'd want to pretend he was busy doing something else and text me back in a bit. Or if he was like Austin, I'd never hear from him again. I put my phone down on my bed. I hated these games.

My eyes wandered to the T.V. screen, but I couldn't seem to absorb the funny scenes from America's Funniest Home Videos tonight. I picked up my phone right when I heard it buzz.

Tyler: "I'm hoping you'll eventually drop the 'apologetic' and I can be normal Tyler again. What is the lovely Penny up to tonight?"

I had just complained about games and I found myself putting the phone down.This is ridiculous!I picked it back up and wrote: "I'm trying to decide on a topic for my speech. Have you chosen yet?" My finger hovered over the send button for a second, but I pressed it.

He would most likely think I was pathetic for answering right away. When my phone didn't buzz after a minute, I knew it would be a while. I put my phone down, hopped off my bed, and found the Comm syllabus on my desk. I looked down at my desk chair. I usually used my computer and did most of my homework in bed, so Professor Hunter's sweater was still folded on the chair. He said his syllabus had his office hours, so I'd go as soon as I could to return it. My heartbeat quickened with just the thought of being alone with him.

I sat back down on my bed and looked down at the first sheet of the syllabus. Professor James Hunter.James. Even his name was sexy. I found myself wondering if he went by Jim or Jimmy. I decided against it though. Professor Hunter seemed sophisticated, and James Hunter was a very sophisticated sounding name.

I read through the first page of the syllabus. It was the same as every other professor's, outlining expectations and grading policies. I flipped to the assignments and read about the first speech.Who am I going to talk about?I didn't want my speechto be boring. I wanted Professor Hunter to notice me. So far my answers to his questions seemed to make him want to talk to me. And our awkward conversations made me feel alive. My gut told me to talk about something safe. For some reason though, I found myself brainstorming about how I could twist the assignment into talking about the stranger in the coffee shop. It was bold, probably way too bold. But I began to wonder if he would like it. He seemed to enjoy my answers so far. I wanted him to stare at me intently again.

My phone buzzed and I picked it up.

Tyler: "Thought I'd do it about my grandfather just to piss off Hunter. I'll make it real funny though. After all, there's this girl in class that I really want to impress."

I smiled as I reread his text. He was bold. And if he was willing to push the limits, maybe I should too. I texted him back: "I'm looking forward to hearing what you come up with. See you tomorrow, Apologetic Tyler."

I skimmed through the rest of the syllabus to find Professor Hunter's office hours. When I found the page, it felt like my heart stopped.

"Penny, are you okay?"

I hadn't even noticed that Melissa had come back. She dropped her keys on her bureau, walked over to her bed, and sat down on it cross-legged.

"Yeah," I said quickly and closed the syllabus. I tossed it onto my desk. "Just looking through some notes."

"Well you'll never believe who I ran into," she said.

"Who?"

"You're supposed to guess, Penny!"

"I have no idea."

"Austin."

"Please tell me you just ignored him."

"No, I went over and talked to him."