"I would hope not," Professor Hunter said.
"That's a little hypocritical."
"Then I guess I'm a hypocrite." He smiled at me.
My body relaxed. It always did when his gaze was on me. I finished cutting the brownies and handed them out.
"These are really good," Melissa said sweetly. I relaxed even more. Maybe her onslaught was finally done.
"I'll pass on your compliments." Professor Hunter put his half eaten brownie down on the plate. "So, if Penny isn't the type of girl who dates a professor, what type of girl is she exactly?"
Melissa laughed. "The type of girl who likes to stay in on a Saturday night. She doesn't break the rules. I mean, I thought she was joking when she told me she was dating you."
"I break the rules sometimes." It was weird just sitting there watching them talk about me.
"No you don't. You're ridiculously straight laced. I basically have to drag you out of the dorm on weekends."
Professor Hunter laughed. He put down his plate, stood up, and sat down on the bed next to me. The tension in the room seemed to completely evaporate once he put his arm around me. He wasn't a professor in our room anymore; he was my boyfriend. I was the luckiest girl in the world.
Melissa smiled at us. "Going from taking no risks to dating a professor is a huge leap. I didn't really understand it. But seeing you two together..." Melissa shrugged. "I get it."
"Well I'm glad we have your approval. Your opinion seems to be very important to Penny, and therefore important to me."
"And I promise not to tell anyone. Your secret is safe with me."
"Thank you, Melissa."
"And let me officially invite you to our birthday party. I'm sure Penny has already told you about it."
"Actually, she hasn't invited me yet." Professor Hunter smiled at me. "Or mentioned it at all."
Melissa laughed. "Well, normally I guess you couldn't come. But since it's going to be close to Halloween we're having a costume party. So as long as you wear a good costume, I think it'll be okay."
Professor Hunter flashed me a smile. "I wouldn't miss it."
My stomach was in knots. I needed to tell him that I was only 19. Now I was afraid that I had waited too long. The lie seemed worse and worse the longer I waited.
"Can I come over to your place for a bit?" I asked Professor Hunter. I would tell him tonight, no matter what.
He rubbed my back. "Of course."
"I'm sorry, I just have one more thing to say before you go."
"Melissa," I pleaded.
"No, it's okay," Professor Hunter interjected. "What is it?"
"You better not hurt her."
"I won't."
"Well, you already have. So your word is hard to believe. I've never seen Penny act the way she did this past week. And you two may have forgotten about that, but I haven't."
"That was just a misunderstanding."
"Maybe if you're more upfront about your baggage, things like that won't happen."
"I won't hurt her," Professor Hunter repeated. For the first time he looked truly angry. I held my breath.
