Teacher's Pet

"What is it about you?" Penn asked on a harsh breath. He hooked an arm around my waist and pulled me closer. "You're snobby and stuck up and quick to get the wrong opinion about people."

"So what are you doing?"

"I don't know, but I'm sure it's going to be bad for me."

He leaned down, and I was shocked by the soft brush of his beard. The light chafe of it against my cheek had my lips parting in surprised pleasure. Penn's wide lips were still frowning, but he was about to kiss me.

"Sorry to interrupt," Ginny called. "Remember how I posted where we were going because I was sure he never read my stuff, anyway? Well, I was wrong."

I kept one hand on Penn's hard chest as I leaned around and looked where Ginny pointed. My ex-boyfriend, in his perpetual polo shirt and dark, pristine jeans, stood in the doorway of the karaoke lounge. He blinked as his eyes adjusted and then he scanned the crowd, trying to find me.

Penn stepped back. "Your boyfriend."

"Ex," I snapped.

"He's got this sick sense of when you're doing anything fun," Ginny said. "What, is he afraid if you sing a little karaoke, then you'll run off and go wild?"

"I'd like to see that," Penn commented. He eased around me and back out towards the bar.

I crossed my arms and raised my chin. "I'm not going to go wild just to please you or stop singing just to make him feel comfortable."

"So, you're going to go over there and send him away? I bet I could help with that." Penn's dark eyes glowed with mischief, and he puckered up his lips. "How about that kiss, princess?"

I shoved his chest with both hands. "I don't have time for this, I really don't. I shouldn't have come out in the first place."

"Scared you'd meet someone like me?"

Ginny laughed. "She's not so much scared of having fun as she is overburdened with practicality."

I planted my hands on my hips. "Yeah, because it's so fun not finding a job after graduation. It's really fun having student loans hanging over my head. It's fun having everyone tell me I'm making a big mistake when all I want to do is take care of business first."

I stomped past Ginny and Penn and gave Joshua an angry wave. He saw and gestured for me to join him outside. I shook my head and pointed to the bar. My ex-boyfriend tried to argue across the room, but I found a stool and sat down.

Normally, I enjoyed Joshua's appearance. Even though we were broken up, he was still a trusted friend and colleague. We'd gone through the same hospitality program in college, and our career goals were the same: own an exclusive hotel. And, it didn't hurt that Joshua had the clean-cut look that I liked.

Joshua Barton was two years older than me at 24, and much taller at 6'4". His height made him appear thin, but he had the wiry strength of a marathon runner and the broad shoulders of an all-state swimmer. His blond hair was cut perfectly and the part in his hair as straight as a ruler. Light blue eyes expressed every thought.

Though not much emotion, I thought.

Joshua was perfect, polished, and completely without passion. Unless we were talking about hotels.

I turned in my chair as he approached and wondered if my ex-boyfriend was going to surprise me.

"There you are, Corsica. You can’t answer your phone? Didn't you see the email I forwarded you from our department head?"

"Really?" Ginny asked. "We just graduated and you couldn't let her have one night without bringing all of that up?"

Joshua ignored my friend with a polite frown. Then, he gripped my elbow and pulled me off my stool. "Sorry to interrupt, but this is actually important."

"Is he always like that?" Penn growled behind me.

"You mean bent on destroying any thoughts Corsica has of fun or freedom even for a moment?" Ginny asked. "Yeah. He's always like that."

"Who on earth is that?" Joshua asked me.

I glanced back at Penn and had no idea what to say. The differences between the two men were glaring, and I was shaken by how obvious my preference leaned towards Penn. "Never mind. I only came out to find you because it's that important," Joshua said.

I twisted my arm free of his grip. "Fine, just tell me. What's so important that you came out to a club to find me? Aren't you supposed to be having dinner with your parents?"