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I repeated what I had said then added, “What’s so weird about that? Can’t deal with you choking on your beer.”
He recovered himself and then spoke. “You just don’t look much like an Accounts Professor. I guess I’m being stereotypical but I would have expected a guy in his early fifties with glasses.”
“Yep, Stereotyping much? I happen to love figures.” I told him.
“Me too,” He quipped and then winked. “But somehow I don’t think we’re talking about the same thing.”
I smiled, but I felt my cheeks pink up so I took a drink of my beer.
“If you don’t find this question too personal, how old are you anyway?” He asked me.
“Hmmm, I don’t know if it’s right to ask a woman her age,” I teased before admitting I was twenty-five. “How about you and what do you do?”
&nb
sp; “Twenty-three.” He replied, “and I am a Personal Trainer.”
“Ah, sounds good.” I told him. “Maybe I will hire you to help me keep this body, because school is the worst for making me head straight home to pizza and wine.”
He took a piece of paper and a pen from his duffle bag and wrote out a cell number. “Here you go. I am out of business cards right now, so this will have to do. If you want to tone up, call me. I’m sure we can arrange a gym-buddy discount for my new friend.”
“That would be great.” I told him honestly. “I will give it some serious thought.”
We had finished our meals, and I was just drinking up the last of my beer when Garrett raised the subject of relationships. Damn. Another five minutes and I could have been out of there unscathed.
“I have not dated for a long while.” I told him, deciding to be honest. “Without going into too many details, I had a long-term relationship which ended badly. My ex developed a drink problem. He got abusive.”
“He ever hit you?” Garrett’s jaw had tightened.
“No. I didn’t let it get that far. He grabbed me once and got in my face. It was scary enough for me. I left him and moved back in with my parents for a short while until I rented an apartment with a friend.”
“Guys like that make my blood boil.” He answered.
“Yeah, well, it was a long time ago now.” I told him.
“Not long enough if you are still wary of dating.” He replied.
I shrugged my shoulders. “I came out with you, so I’m getting there. Though this was not a date.” I gestured between us both. “Just two gym buddies having some food.”
“Well, maybe one day, I will get you out on a date.” He said. “In the meantime, let’s get the check and I will see you around the gym, yeah? Unless of course you take me up on my offer of personal training, or decide to change your times to avoid me again.” He winked. “You have my number, so if you ever want to go for a drink or to the movies, well,” he paused. “I’ll leave it to you for when you’re feeling a little braver.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
We left the restaurant and Garrett walked me to my car before bidding me goodnight.
It had boosted my mind and mood no end to have gone out with a good-looking guy for food and I drove home with a smile on my face.
Chapter 3
Garrett
I had been given the chance to move out of the standard student accommodation at King’s and into the most premier accommodation on campus: Granger Lodge. The only problem was that to get a chance at the smallest room in the house which was still four times larger than my present dorm room, I had had to undertake and complete a series of challenges. Some of these challenges were not for the faint of heart and one in particular, involved a member of the opposite sex. However, I was a full-blooded male, and it was a one-off to score an amazing room. If the other roommates had asked me to sit in a bath full of their waste products for an hour, I would have done it. The other guys who lived there, and there were seven apart from myself, had all done the dares and pledged their allegiances to the house. It was a poor man’s fraternity, well, a few of us had little money behind us, my mate, Julian, probably had enough to buy the house itself.
It was Julian whose influence had got me an invitation to move in. I had known him from high school where he had mysteriously disappeared from before the end of term. However, a scandal involving a teacher and a pupil had paved the way for Julian’s return to New York and he was studying computer science, before, he said, his father dragged him kicking and screaming into the political fold. From what I’d seen of Julian’s behavior I figured he’d make a fantastic politician. He believed half his own shit and played women like they were skittles and he was the bowling ball—they went down as soon as he touched them.
Anyhow, tonight at eleven was the final challenge, and I was to be escorted to the Dares Room for my final task, after which I would hopefully get my new room.
Even though I was usually an overconfident guy, this had me on edge. If I had to do something degrading to a member of the opposite sex I was out of there. When I had said this to Julian, he had just laughed and told me to calm myself and stop sounding like a pussy. So, after school had ended I had taken myself off to the gym to get rid of the pent-up tension in my body. I had looked for Meredith, but she hadn’t been around. I breathed a sigh of relief. We had only gone out for something to eat as friends, but it didn’t sit well with me that I had been flirting with her and tonight I might have to do something with another woman. I needed to avoid Meredith, anyway. I had been shocked when she’d told me she was twenty-five and I quickly lied about my own age. The fact was I had always looked way older than I was. The truth of it however was I had recently celebrated my nineteenth birthday. If I had told Meredith that, I would have never seen her again. I had correctly guessed she would tried to avoid me after the incident where she had almost fell off the treadmill, so lying about my age had been a no-brainer. I didn’t know what the fuck I was doing, flirting with a woman who was way older than me. She was obviously nervous after being hurt in the past and she was a professor at my own college at that! Thank goodness I wasn’t in any of her classes and our paths had yet to cross on campus. After we had been out for our meal I had worn a ball cap low over my face when around campus, just in case.
