Page 296 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 1
"Things got a little out of hand last night." He tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "I'm sorry that I worried you, Penny."
I didn't want to fight with him. I was just glad that he was home safe. Maybe we could talk more about it later. I wasn't sure if him going out with Rob every night was a good idea. I wanted for him to be happy. But not if he was putting himself in danger. "What time is it?"
"7:30."
I was still tired. But I wanted to hang out with him. Now that his brother was living with us, we didn't seem to have nearly as much time together. "Can I come with you?"
"If you want."
I yawned and got up off the couch. "Just give me a minute." I quickly got ready and met him in the kitchen.
He wrapped his arms around me. "I missed you last night."
"I missed you too. What did you guys end up doing?" I already knew the answer. He got completely wasted.
"We went all over the place. Thanks for convincing me to go out. It's a lot of fun hanging out with Rob. And Brendan's actually alright."
"Why do you never seem like you're hungover?"
"I have a high tolerance to alcohol."
I bit my lip. I had convinced him to go out. So I couldn't be upset with him for having a good time. It wasn't fair that I had been worried when I was the one who kept telling him it was okay. I had thought he was going on another weird secret mission. But he wasn't acting mysterious at all this morning. He just seemed like his normal, perfect self. Whatever it was that he had done last night must have been normal after all. Just a bar and too much alcohol. I had a tendency to read too much into things. "When did you get home last night? I never heard you come in."
He grabbed my hand and led me over to the elevator. "I only just got in. Which is why I so badly need some coffee."
"Or some sleep?"
"We got a hotel in New York. I'm not that tired. I just need some caffeine." He smiled at me.
"Wait, you went to New York? Why?"
"I had some secret stuff to do."
I laughed. "Yeah, I got that." I looked up at him. "I like you when you're like this."
"Like what?"
"Playful. I think that maybe Rob is a good influence on you."
"I've always thought he was a bad influence on me."
"Well, in a lot of ways he is. He drinks too much and he says awful stuff. Really, you do drink too much when you're with him."
"It won't happen again." He rubbed his thumb against my palm. The way he was looking at me made it easy to believe him.
"But you're happy when he's here. So in that way, he's the best possible influence." I looked down at the floor for a second and then back up at him. "Are you sure you want to move? Rob just got here and I don't want to make you leave if..."
"Penny. I was just thinking that I can't wait to move." He smiled at me. He held my hand as we stepped off the elevator and led me toward the side exit of the parking garage. "And actually, I wanted to talk to you about that. The reason I went to New York was to talk to the dean at NYCU."
"About what?"
He rubbed his thumb against my palm again. "About you, of course."
"But I didn't even apply yet."
"I know. But I told her all about what happened. She seemed sympathetic. And impressed with your transcript. If you still want to go, you're in."
"Really?"
