Page 33 of Grimm

“Hey.” He gave a brief wave, stepped inside the classroom, and pulled the door shut behind him.

“William.” Her chair scraped against the linoleum flooring as she rose. “What are you doing here?” She looked behind him at the door. Was she expecting someone else? Jacob maybe?

He put a hand out. “I’m not here to… I mean…” He rubbed the back of his neck. It was usually her stammering out an excuse, not him. “I found these and wanted to give them back to you.” He pulled out the panties and placed them on her desk.

Slowly, she picked up the crumbled material and unraveled it.

“My underwear?” She looked at him with curiosity. “You drove across town to bring my underwear to me at my work?”

His mouth went dry. This had all gone much differently in his head.

“Yes.” He nodded. “No.” He wouldn’t play games. It wasn’t him, and she’d never done that with him, either. She’d never tried to manipulate him or lie. He wouldn’t disrespect her now by doing those things.

“Then why are you here?” she asked as she picked up her purse from the floor and shoved the panties inside.

“Because...” He shoved his hands into his pockets and grimaced. “Because it’s been two months.”

She leaned her hip against the edge of her desk. “You made it obvious you didn’t want me, William.” She sounded tired. Like she’d gone over this in her head a million times, just like him, and it had drained her.

“I was an asshole,” he declared.

She snorted. “Yeah. You were.”

“I shouldn’t have let you go.”

“Because of the money? I heard what you did for Megan. I’m not sure if we can pay that much back, but I’ll try. I can—”

“The money? Fuck no.” He moved closer to her, taking in the soft scent of her perfume. “I don’t care about the money.”

Tears shimmered in her eyes. “You don’t want me, William. You just want someone, and you think it’s me.”

He frowned. “You’re wrong. If I wanted just anyone I could have bought or taken any woman I wanted. But I didn’t. I’ve been sitting around my damn house thinking about you. Staring at those damn panties.”

She said nothing. Her eyes locked on his, but she made no sounds or movements.

After a long stretch of silence she asked, “You were staring at my panties?”

He huffed. “Yeah.”

“You didn’t, like try them on, did you?” She looked back at her purse. “You didn’t stretch them out, I hope?”

He blinked a few times, letting her smile come into focus. “You think you’re funny.”

“You hurt me, William.” Her smile fell as quick as it had arrived.

He clenched his jaw. “I know. And if you’ll let me, I’ll show you how sorry I am every day for the rest of my life.” His voice cracked and made him clear his throat.

“That’s a long time,” she said as she flicked away a tear that had started to fall.

“I hope so. An entire lifetime.”

She pinched her lip between her fingers, studying him.

“Megan is moving back home. Her dad’s sick, and her mom needs the help.” She let go of her lip. “I haven’t found a new roommate.”

He grabbed hold of her hand and kissed the inside of her wrist. “I have a place you can stay.”

She tilted her head. “Do I get my own room?”

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