Page 143 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 1
"I find that hard to believe." He was so easy to talk to. And he seemed to like offering me free advice. "But no, I don't mind."
Together we walked out of the parking garage. The sun was bright and the autumn leaves crunched under my feet. My head pounded. I was glad Professor Hunter had made me take thosepills. We walked in silence for a few minutes. "Do you mind if we sit down for a second?" I suddenly felt dizzy.
Brendan grabbed my arm and escorted me to a bench. He sat down next to me and put his arm behind me on the bench, but he didn't touch me. I rubbed my forehead.
"Do you need to see a doctor about that?"
"I already have."
"And?"
"I have a concussion. I needed stitches. Because I'm an idiot."
"Should you be walking around like that?"
"Probably not," I laughed.
"I'm curious to know how you ended up with a concussion. I'm even more curious to know how you ended up dating a married man. Girls like you don't need to date married men."
"Girls like me?" I laughed.
"Yes, girls like you." He put his hand on my knee. "Tell me your story."
I crossed my legs on the bench and turned to him. "It's a long story."
"Luckily I'm free all afternoon."
"It kind of started last semester. I was dating this asshole. He made me feel small. But when things didn't work out it still hurt. He was my first boyfriend. My first kiss. My first...well, you know."
"The first person you'd ever had sex with?"
"Yes." I looked down at my lap. I launched into the story about running into Professor Hunter before I knew he was a professor. I told him about meeting Tyler. I told him about my obsession with wanting Professor Hunter to want me. And how my feelings for Tyler had always skirted away from the friend zone. How I led him on. How I lied to both of them. I told him about when I found out that Professor Hunter was married. About my awkward speeches in class and my almost hookup with Tyler. I told him about lying about my age and my fight with Professor Hunter. I told him about not hearing from him for weeks, which led me to being a stalker and running into Brendan in the first place. I told him about taking his advice and having sex with Tyler.
"Let me stop you right there." He hadn't said anything the whole time. He was just listening. "I never told you to have sex with anyone. I just wanted you to let me take you on a date. If I had known there was a Tyler in the equation, my advice probably would have been different."
I laughed. "It was good advice. Until the professor showed up." I had referred to Professor Hunter as the professor since the beginning. I didn't want to run his name through the mud. "We got in a huge fight. And then he and Tyler got in a fist fight. Tyler accidentally hit me and knocked the wind out of me. I slipped on some spilled beer and hit my head."
"End of story?"
"Almost. The professor carried me back to his apartment and took care of me. It was sweet. We got in another fight. We made up. A couple of times." I could feel my face blushing. "And then he told me that while he wasn't talking to me he had sex with his wife."
"You're kind of adorable."
"What?" That's not the reaction I had expected from my horrific story. If anything, I expected a 'See you later, you idiot.' "
"I don't know. You look at the world in this really naive way. And no matter how many times something goes wrong, you always see the best in people. Like I said before, I find you endearing."
"I think I'm a mess."
"And that's why you keep doing messy things."
I laughed. "I guess so."
"So, who's better in bed?"
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me, Penny."
