"So you're the elusive Professor Hunter?" Melissa asked.
I closed the door behind us, hoping that no one on our floor had heard her.
Professor Hunter gave Melissa a charming smile. "Please, call me James. And you must be Melissa." Professor Hunter put out his hand for Melissa to shake.
Melissa hesitated a moment too long and then shook his hand. She was being awful on purpose. Letting them meet was looking like a terrible idea already.
"I brought brownies." Professor Hunter lifted the pan in the air.
"Yum! Did you bake them yourself?" Melissa asked.
Professor Hunter paused. "No. I doubt they'd be edible if I had."
"You don't cook?"
"Not very often." Professor Hunter scratched the back of his neck. He looked so uncomfortable. I wound my arm around his.
"He has a personal chef," I offered.Could this be any more awkward?Melissa was going to spend the whole night rapid firing questions at him.
"Very fancy," Melissa said. She crossed her arms in front of her chest. "It's strange, I never pictured a professor in our dorm room."
"I never pictured myself in a student's room either. It just happened."
Melissa smiled. "So, tell me about yourself."
"Well, I grew up in New York. I lived there my whole life until I moved here last year. I'm sorry, what is it that you want to know exactly? Something specific?"
"Where did you go to school?"
"Can I sit down?" He gave me a smile. He was handling himself well, despite Melissa's onslaught.
"Yes," I said. But I was curious to know where he went to school too. I had never asked him about that before. I pulled out my desk chair for him. Professor Hunter took off his jacket, put it on the back of the chair, and sat down. I jumped onto my bed and sat Indian style.
"I went to Harvard."Harvard, wow.
"Your parents are wealthy then?" Melissa asked.
"My parents are wealthy, but I had a scholarship to Harvard."
"Impressive."
"Thank you."
"But even so, you're very handsome and your parents are wealthy. Most things in your life must have been handed to you."
A flash of anger crossed Professor Hunter's face. He took a deep breath. "In some regards, yes. Many things that were handed to me I didn't want though. I owe my success to myself, not my family. Do you have another question for me?"
"Well there's one main one. Why is it that you want to date students?" Melissa wasn't backing down.
"I don't want to date students." He emphasized the plural. "You seem to have gotten the wrong idea about me. I just want to date Penny."
"So you have never dated any students besides Penny?"
"No, I have not."
"Can you really even date someone if you're married?"
Professor Hunter looked at me. He was surprised that Melissa knew that. Was he mad at me for telling her? I couldn't tell from his expression. Maybe he looked a little hurt. I didn't realize telling Melissa would betray his confidence. My stomach churned uneasily. He turned back to Melissa. "I'm getting divorced."
