"I know." She jumped onto my bed and put her arm around me.
"How do you even know about it? Was he making fun of me?" I could feel myself blushing. A whole frat was probably laughing right now at my expense.
"No, Penny, not at all. He came back to the frat house all upset and Josh went to talk to him. I just happened to eavesdrop on the conversation."
I laughed. "So what did you find out?"
"That you assaulted him at Grottos."
"That's not true!"
Melissa laughed. "I know. I'm just kidding. He said that he had invited you to lunch to tell you he had taken your advice and had started dating some girl. But then you had a meltdown and when he went to comfort you, you started making out with him.
"He kissed me back. This isn't all on me." I had to defend myself. Tyler wanted that kiss as much as I did.
"Of course he did. He's crazy about you."
"Well it's over now. I'm completely mortified."
"But you ran out on him before he could talk to you about it. He just asked a girl to the Sigma Pi formal. They aren't serious yet. Or exclusive."
"But still, I don't want to be the other woman. And I never meant to put Tyler in an awkward situation."
"You're completely overreacting, Penny. It's not like he's married or something. It's not a big deal at all."
I felt like I was going to throw up. Professor Hunter was married. And that was a big deal. It was a huge deal. Everything was so messed up.
Melissa hugged me. "Really, Penny, don't even worry about it. It will all blow over. Unless you don't want it to. If you really like Tyler, I don't think it's too late to tell him. Besides, dating someone closer to your own age would be a lot easier."
"I'm just so confused." I put my head back in my hands.
Melissa rubbed my back. "Have you still not talked to James yet?
"I tried. It's hard. I'm just so mad at him."
"Well no matter what you decide, you need to figure out where you stand with James if you want to start dating Tyler."
"I know." I took a deep breath. "I'll try talking to him again."
Temptation - Chapter 40
Friday
"Hey, Penny," Tyler said as he sat down next to me.
My face was already crimson. I didn't want to have this conversation. "Hey," I said, but continued to look down at my desk.
"What, was the kiss that bad?" Tyler asked.
"Tyler." I put my face in my hands. My stomach was in knots.
"Penny, look at me."
I moved my hands and looked up at him. He was wearing jeans and a blue t-shirt. The blue from his shirt made his eyes pop. Why was I so attracted to guys that were unavailable? "Tyler, I'm so sorry. I didn't know that you had a girlfriend. I'm so, so sorry."
Tyler laughed. "I don't have a girlfriend. I only just started seeing her."
"Are you going to ask her to be your girlfriend?"