Page 108 of Loved

"Something happened to me when I met Penny.” When she fell into my arms, it felt like I could breathe for the first time in years. “Everything just...nothing was..." My voice trailed off. "What no one seems to understand is that we're just two normal people who fell in love. Yes, thecircumstances weren't ideal. But what we have is. I don't really care what people say about me. Spread all the rumors that you want. All I care about is Penny. All I care about is what we have."

"If you aren't guilty then why did you resign?" the rude reporter asked.

"I resigned because the dean told me that I couldn't keep working here if I continued my relationship with Penny. That was never an option. Like you said, I don't need this job. But I do need her."

"Did he sexually harass you, Penny? Did he force..."

"No.” Penny stared at him like he was insane. “Haven't you been listening at all? Absolutely not. He resigned so he could be with me. Because he loves me. James is sweet and thoughtful. He's smart and kind and charming. He's always been such a gentleman. He never forced me to do anything. I'm so in love with him. I don't understand why you're choosing to vilify him. And I agree with James completely. Make up whatever you want about us. We're not going to let you affect our relationship. We're not going to let all this toxicity hurt us. That's why I'm done here. I'm not going to finish school at a university that clearly doesn't want me."

"Are you moving? Are you transferring to a different school?" the nicer reporter asked.

"Look, you're all going to need to find a new hobby," James said. "Because we're not going to be here for much longer. We don't want to be associated with a community that is filled with hate. I expected more from the students around campus. And I definitely expected more from the other professors at this institution. Maybe that's a story you should be chasing. Penny and I are going to try our luck somewhere else."

"Where are you moving?"

I did not want them following us to our new place. "We don't have any more comments at this time." I pulled Penny back to the car and opened the door for her. I walked around the back of the car to avoid the reporters and climbed into the driver's side. I took a deep breath. "You were right. That was a good idea. It was nice to finally say something bad about this ridiculous university."

"Yeah. Fuck them."

I laughed. "You're right. Fuck them."

Chapter 28

Saturday

Hey, guys!" Rob said as we stepped off the elevator. "Why won't you die?"

I looked over at him. He was sitting on the couch with a videogame controller in his hand. Sitting right next to him was…Brendan. I knew what he looked like because I’d lightly stalked him after Penny told me they’d kissed. And by I, I mean I’d had Ian do it and he sent me a whole background check on the guy. Fuck, I still needed to tell Penny about Ian. I blinked, hoping I was imagining Brendan sitting there.What the fuck is Brendan doing in our apartment?

"Boom, suck it!" Brendan stood up and made a rude gesture toward Rob.

Rob threw his game controller at him. "Suck that."

Brendan caught it in one hand and looked over at us. "Hey, Penny." He was smirking at her.

This pompous ass…

"Hi, Brendan,” she said.

I tightened my grip around her waist.Breathe.

"Oh yeah, Penny, I ran into your friend in the elevator," Rob said. "If I had known he was so good at this game I never would have asked him to play, though."

"You're such a sore loser." Brendan tossed both controllers down on the couch and walked over to us. "Hey, man. We haven't officially met, but I've certainly heard a lot about you." He put his hand out for me. "I'm Brendan."

I took another deep breath. He was being nice. I could play nice too. I let go of Penny’s waist and shook his hand. "I think I owe you a thank you for taking Penny to the hospital the other day."

"No problem."

"I'm glad to see you're still alive," Brendan said to her. "I've been waiting for your call all week." He leaned down and hugged her.

"Sorry," she said and awkwardly patted his back.

"Yeah, I'm thankful for what you did." I put my hand on Brendan's shoulder. "But I don't appreciate the fact that you made out with my girlfriend."

Brendan released Penny from his hug and laughed. "Oh. You know about that? Well, she wasn't exactly your girlfriend when that happened. Either time."

"Either time?" I said as calmly as I could.Breathe.What was this asshole talking about?

---