Page 169 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 10
"Let's eat dessert out here," I said and slid into a booth.
Her eyes grew round as she stared at me.
She needed to ignore everyone else. It was just us. Screw the people staring. I wanted her to be so comfortable around me that she stopped caring about everyone else. And a part of me wanted to make sure her attention was always trained on me. Like mine was trained on her.
Finally, she sat down across from me.
Jerrod came over with a smile. "Ah, I thought I'd lost you two."
"I just wanted to give the Mrs. a tour," I said and winked at Penny. But the game didn’t seem as fun anymore. Eventually she’d discover all my demons. She’d leave. Just the thought made my throat feel tight. Maybe we weren’t a one-time thing anymore. But each time we were together like this could be the last. She’d run away from me eventually. Everything good did.
"Of course. Did you two still want the chocolate lava cake?"
"Yes, Jerrod. Thank you."
"We kept it warm for you. I'll be right back."
A moment later Jerrod came back carrying the cake and two glasses of water. "Anything else I can get for you?"
"That will be all for us this evening."
"It was a pleasure meeting you both. I hope to see you again soon."
"Have a good night, Jerrod," I said. I took a bite of cake and watched Penny as her lips wrapped around her fork. How was it possible that she could even make eating look sexy?
"There is one more thing we need to discuss," she said.
"And what is that?"
She leaned forward slightly. "My grade.”
I smiled. "What about it?"
"You gave me a C- when I deserved an A."
"Penny, it would be very unprofessional of me to give you favoritism." And according to Ian, a surefire way to get fired.
"As unprofessional as what you just did to me on the golf course?"
I set my fork down on the plate. "Touché."
"So you'll change it back?"
"Penny, I've always had it recorded as an A."
Her eyebrows pinched together, creating an adorable v in her forehead. "But. My paper. It said C-."
"And you think if I wanted to whiteout every single word on a sheet of paper I wouldn't just get another one?"
"You were just trying to upset me?" She glared at me.
"No, I was trying to seduce you."
"So everything played out just like you wanted?" There was no longer lust in her eyes. She looked genuinely pissed. And I didn’t really understand why. The ruse had worked. We were sitting here because of what I’d done. Regardless, I didn’t want to finish our date this way. Even if what I’d said was true. I pulled my wallet out of my pocket.
"No. Not at all. Like I told you before, I can't stop thinking about you. I thought if I let myself give in to the temptation then I could move on. But I'm more addicted to you than ever." The words just slipped out. Addicted to her? I clenched my jaw for a second, but immediately relaxed because she looked so relieved. She liked that thought. Me being addicted to her. My eyes fixated on her lips again for just a moment. If only she knew.
I set a hundred dollar bill on the table for Jerrod’s tip. "I guess I should get you home. Your roommate is probably wondering where you are."Hopefully.If Melissa Monroe was a good friend she’d be very worried indeed. But I’d found Penny in perilous situations before that could have been avoided if she’d had a good friend looking out for her. I needed to find out more about Melissa, that was for sure. I helped Penny to her feet.
