"Why do you want to chat now if you have another class to get ready for?" Lexi plopped her bag down on the desk next to her and headed to the front row. She leaned against the first desk and mimicked Tom's stance, crossing her arms.

"I don't have a class. I just didn't want to see anyone embarrass themselves again."

Lexi scoffed. "Are you kidding me? I wasn't going to embarrass myself in front of Wes. He was really friendly and thought my presentation was cute."

"Well, I hate to break it to you. That was not cute." A crack formed in Tom's expression and it seemed as if he was trying to hold back a smile. It forced Lexi to form a smile of her own and soon their expressions mirrored each other into full-blown amusement.

Lexi laughed and shook her head. "You jerk."

Tom chuckled and uncrossed his arms. "Hey, that was all you. I simply delivered on a promise."

"Okay, are you done? Because I'd really like to have a normal college experience without being harassed unnecessarily by a professor. Also, your teaching isn't half bad, so I'd like to enjoy that too."

"And your compliments aren't half bad," he fired back playfully.

"So, is that it? Did you keep me back to just rub my lack of public speaking skills in my face?" Lexi briefly placed a hand over her forehead.

Tom furrowed his brows slightly and his expression grew serious. "Why didn't you say what you wrote?"

"What?"

"For the presentation, I saw what you submitted, and it was phenomenal. Why didn't you say it to the class?"

"Couldn't you tell why? I think I made it pretty obvious, I'm not a public speaker." Lexi bit her bottom lip and released it before taking in a breath.

"Well from what I know about you, I think you have it in you to be an amazing public speaker."

Lexi smiled and warmness flowed through her. "Do you mind repeating that? I'm not sure if I heard my mean professor correctly?"

Tom chuckled. "Alright, alright. Let's just call a truce, okay? I changed my mind. After much consideration I've decided to go easier on you."

Oh, thank God! "Why the change of heart?"

"Your assignment was incredible, and I think we could learn some things from each other in this class. Plus, you know, I'd rather not get fired."

Lexi's heart swelled. "You may be a Smart Cookie after all." Why do you always have to be so cheesy, Lex?

Tom let out a deep laugh and set his hands on the table beside him. "Well, I'm glad my status has changed from Meanie to Smart Cookie. Maybe next class I'll make it to Cool as a Cucumber?"

Lexi could tell Tom was cringing internally at his own words by the face he made. "Let's take things one step at a time." A giggle escaped Lexi's lips and Tom's smile grew wider. The pair stood there for a moment, wordlessly smiling at each other, neither seeming to want to be the first to leave. "Anyways," Lexi started.

"Um, yeah, I should get back to it then." Tom scratched the back of his neck and quickly turned to his laptop.

"Bye, Professor Miller."

He looked up and his gaze made her stomach flip. "Bye, Hannah."

***

"You kids have fun tonight!" Scarlett said as her and Jason finished helping them set up the s'mores table.

The group spent the whole Saturday rearranging furniture and setting up all available rooms with various party paraphernalia. The seven-thirty start time was fast approaching and Jason and Scarlett were pressed to make themselves scarce.

"Okay, okay. We're leaving. Jason and I have a lot of work to do ourselves." Scarlett's words made Lexi shudder. She hoped they weren't code for anything.

"Bye! We'll text you if a celebrity ends up coming!" Mindy shouted back after them.

"Why would a celebrity end up coming?" Cole raised his brows.

"I heard once that Justin Bieber went to a frat party! My flier was so good, I think we're bound to attract a celeb!"

The doorbell alerted them to their first guest. Lexi shifted her white tank top and black mini skirt that she had bought with Mindy just the day before. She glanced at her Apple Watch and saw it was seven thirty on the dot. "I thought people went to parties late?" She scanned the living room behind her. It was dimly lit with couches and tables along the side. The mountain of alcohol and cooler of ice rested at the dining table. At first, her parents tried to talk them out of buying so much alcohol, but Cole, Mindy, and Lexi managed to convince them otherwise given this was a college party after all.

A playlist that Lexi found online, titled 'College Party', was blasting Rihanna's 'Don't Stop The Music' through the speakers as Cole opened the front door. Charlotte stood there with a couple of her friends and a big bag of tortilla chips in hand. "I'm here for the party."

"Charlotte!" Mindy jumped and gave her a hug. "Girl, you made it! We're so happy to have you here."

"I'm so excited to be here! You've met my friends, Fiona and Lisi."

"Hi, welcome!" Lexi said, nodding towards the two girls behind Charlotte.

"This is an amazing house. I still can't believe how you managed to find it."

"Oh yeah, thankfully my brother Nick was kind enough to let us use it." Lexi introduced Cole with his alias to their friend.

The stream of incoming people started slowly at first and Lexi, Mindy, and Cole quickly got to work meeting as many people as they could. Soon, people started coming in masses and by nine o'clock they were throwing a full on rager. People were pushed up against each other and the cacophony of voices and music flooded the space. The front and back lawns were both carrying the house's spillover of people.

"Oh my gosh! This is turning out way bigger than I expected," Lexi shouted over the music after pulling Mindy to the side.

"I know, isn't it amazing?" Mindy shouted back. "I'm going to talk to those shady looking guys over there!" She excitedly pointed her head toward a group of guys with tattoo sleeves and trendy sunglasses on.

Who wears sunglasses at night? "Okay, but be careful! Bring Cole with you!"

"I'll be fine," Mindy said before skipping over to the group.

Lexi sighed and turned around to try and mingle with some people. Key word was try as the two people she managed to talk to gave one word answers and eventually said they needed to get some more drinks.

At that point Lexi had drunk two and a half beers and buzz began to run through her body. A tap on her shoulder prompted her to turn around and she found her classmate Wes smiling down at her. "Wes! Hey!" she said before getting up on her tiptoes to give him a hug. "I'm glad you could make it."

"Hey. This is a cool party you got here. Thanks for having me." He was in a sky-blue t-shirt and casual black jeans. The effort he put into styling his hair didn't go unnoticed by Lexi and she smiled back warmly at him. "You look beautiful, I mean pretty. You look really pretty," he blurted out.

"Thanks Wes!" Lexi pressed her hands together behind her and pleasant warmth pored through her. She looked down but was instantly met with a reel of Tom calling her beautiful. What? Stop that, Lex. She blinked rapidly before looking back up.

"Sorry. Was that too much?" Wes scrunched his face, likely seeing the concern on Lexi's.

"No, no! Not at all! Sorry, that was really sweet." Lexi shook her head and chided herself for thinking of Tom. "How's your week been?"

"It's kind of hard to hear you over the music. Want to go someplace a little more quiet?" Wes asked.

"Sure! We can sit on one of the couches in the backyard." Lexi motioned for Wes to follow her. As they were making their way outside, a vibration sound alerted Lexi to an incoming notification on her Apple Watch.

Eagle Eye: Suspicious activity detected in COMPUTER LAB.

As soon as she read the automated notification her eyes grew wide and she turned to Wes. "Uh, sorry Wes! I need to use the restroom real quick. I'll meet you out there."

"Sure, no problem."

Lexi sprinted up the stairs and unlocked the door to her room with a wobble. She quickly opened the alert and read through the log, seeing that it was, in fact, suspicious activity. Oh my God, what if it's Dash?

She sent a quick text to her parents about the alert before locking up her room again and making her way downstairs to tell Mindy and Cole. Both seemed to be in deep conversations, and she decided against derailing the work they were doing. She glanced at her phone and didn't see any response from her parents. She bit her lip and her mind raced along with her pulse. There was a limited window and she knew that if she waited even a minute longer, she would miss the opportunity to catch the hacker. In a moment of quick thinking, she called an Uber and raced out the door.

***

Lexi is going solo! Any predications as to what will happen next? And any thoughts on the story so far? Thanks for reading, voting, and commenting! ♥️