Page 107 of Loved

I pulled to a stop outside my apartment building and leaned over and kissed her. I knew she was doing this for me. I’d tried to play it cool, but I was sure it was all over my face. She knew I wanted to move back to the city. And I needed to do something for her first. "So how about we tell the reporters what really happened?"

They were already rushing over to my car.

"You don't care about making Joe mad?" she asked.

"Nope. I care about making you happy." I kissed her again before stepping out of the car.

She opened up the door to follow me.

"James! Are the allegations true? Have you seduced several students at the University of New Castle?" A woman's microphone was already waving in front of my face.

God I hated these people. "No." I looked over at Penny and held out my hand.

She grabbed it and I pulled her beside me.

"Just Penny." I smiled down at her.

"How did your affair start?"

"It isn't an affair. I filed for divorce last year. My ex-wife and I have been separated since then." I tucked a loose strand of hair behind Penny’s ear. We were in front of dozens of cameras, but it somehow seemed like we were alone. Penny had once told me that she was used to being invisible. But she really was the only person I ever saw in a crowd.

"How long has this been going on?"

"We met right before classes started."

"You met outside of class?" The woman looked surprised.

Penny turned toward the reporter. "Yes, we met in a coffee shop. Actually, we didn't really meet so much as he bumped into me and spilled coffee all over my shirt. He was really sweet; he let me borrow his sweater so I wouldn't have to walk around campus with a big coffee stain down the front of me. I thought he was just another student. I was shocked when I went to class the next day and found out he was a professor."

The woman smiled at us.

Another reporter stepped up with a microphone. "How many students did you have relationships with before Penny?" He was gruff and didn't seem touched at all by the story of how we met.

"None. Just Penny."

"And what about Blive Tech International? Did you make a habit of sleeping with your employees? Maybe your young interns?"

What the fuck?"No. All of my relationships at Blive Tech International were purely professional. I don't even think I ever met any of the interns."

"So what made you be unprofessional in your current position? What made you break the code of conduct at the University of New Castle?"

Do your research, asshole."We didn't break any rules. Student-professor relationships aren't mentioned in the handbook. Given the fact that we didn't do anything wrong, I think we've both suffered enough backlash. I'm appalled by how the university has handled this situation. And I'm greatly disturbed by how the entire campus has reacted. By harassing Penny and me instead of trying to find the truth."

"Of course there's been backlash. Because the university has found the truth. There's evidence that you've had sexual relationships with several students in addition to her."

"Which isn't true. I get it, okay? It's their word against mine. But every girl that came forward was failing or almost failing one of my classes. With their testimony, their classes were canceled and they got As. They must have known what would happen. I don't think their motive could be any more obvious. The university should be punishing them, not us. Or at least trying to get to the bottom of what happened instead of pretending lies are the truth."

"Three young, innocent women with no priors are definitely trusted over a rich bachelor who didn't even need this job. Why did you even start teaching here? Was it just so you could sleep with your students?"

It was good that Penny was holding my hand, because I really wanted to punch this guy. "I was trying to give back to the community. And it's just one student. Just Penny. I had no idea when I accepted this job that I was going to fall in love."

"She's eight years younger than you."

"She's only seven years younger than me. You should really get your facts straight."

The reporter frowned.

"What made you pursue this relationship?" the first reporter asked, pushing herself back in front of the surly one. "Even when you knew what might happen if people found out?"

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