Mindy gasped before asking, "And then what happened?"

"And then he just walked away," Lexi replied before puffing her cheeks and blowing out the air.

"Oh, my goodness! This just keeps getting juicier and juicier! How do you feel about everything?"

The girls were sitting back in their dorm room on each of their respective beds. Lexi had managed to catch Mindy near the cafeteria building and share the news that class was cancelled before they made their way back.

"I don't know, Mind. It really sucks that the first time I'm genuinely interested in a guy and find him so unbelievably attractive, he ends up being completely off limits."

"Well, hopefully we solve this case soon so you can tell him the truth and you guys can get to know each other more."

Lexi shook her head. "I just don't know if he'd even like me once he got to know me more. Like, I'm the awkward Christian girl who would rather spend time reading Harry Potter fan fiction than go to a party."

"I don't know, Lex. He seems be into that though."

Lexi nodded, but then looked down while picking at the fuzzy pieces of her blanket. "I guess it doesn't matter anyway. My parents would never approve of me dating a past target. Or I guess the brother of a past target. There's too much messiness with it."

"I'm sure they'd understand if you guys were right for each other!"

Lexi shrugged and a droplet somehow managed to escape her tear duct. Mindy jumped up and ran over to Lexi's bed. "Oh my gosh, Lex. You really like him, don't you?" She threw her arms around Lexi and gave her a tight hug.

Lexi laughed and quickly wiped her cheek with the back of her hand. "I just feel like I messed it all up. And he doesn't want anything to do with me now."

"I highly doubt that!" Mindy raised her hand in a way that it looked like she was telling a car to stop. "Like seriously, highly doubt it!" she repeated while bobbing her hand. "Didn't you say he asked you about him being your first make out before? Guys in general are obsessed with being a girl's first anything. And they never forget it. Like you could've literally said that he was the first guy you went into a hot tub with, and he'd still be completely smitten by you."

Lexi laughed and leaned into Mindy who had put her arm around her. "Or you could have said he was the first guy you got into an elevator with, and he'd ask you to have his babies." Lexi busted out laughing and wrapped her other hand around Mindy for a hug.

"You'll be okay, Lex. Trust me. It'll all work out. Let's just keep doing our jobs well and not let anything shake us!"

"You're right, Mind. Thanks." She took a deep breath in. She knew she needed to stay to task and needed to clear her head to continue prepping for the girls' night. Yet before she could say anything else, a buzz alerted her to an incoming call from her brother. "Hey Cole, what's up? I'm putting you on speaker."

"Aren't you supposed to be in class with Mindy?" Cole said through the receiver.

"It got canceled." Lexi furrowed her brows before continuing, "Wait, why are you calling me if you thought I was going to be in class?"

"I was going to leave a voice message. But this is better. Is Mindy there?"

"Yeah, she's right next to me."

Cole paused before clearing his throat. "Uh, hey, Mind."

"Hey, Cole," Mindy responded before giving a smile toward the phone.

A moment of silence hung in the air and Lexi raised a brow. "Cole? What is it?"

"Oh, um, sorry, so it's about Charlotte. We can't find anything on her. It's actually pretty crazy how off the grid she is."

"What? Like not even credit history? Or even school history?"

"Nothing. I've never seen someone so private before. I talked to Mom and Dad, and we'll need to have you guys plant the listening bug in her bag or somewhere on her. This is a big red flag, and we can't miss out on it."

"Thanks for letting us know. We're on it."

***

"Craziest place you've had sex, go!" Charlotte's friend Lisi exclaimed after taking a sip of her mint mojito.

Lexi, Mindy, Charlotte, and her two friends, Fiona and Lisi, were all sprawled out around the room in their pajamas, drinking fruity cocktails that Mindy insisted on making. Lexi knew she had put a little extra alcohol in Charlotte's drink, as the rosy-cheeked girl was getting rosier by the hour and giggling constantly. "Lisi! I'm not drunk enough to answer that question," Charlotte said right before taking another long sip.

Lisi's white teeth contrasted against her dark skin as she smiled. Her long, braided hair tossed to the side as she looked toward her other friend, Fiona. "Fi, you start us off. Craziest spot you got that D."

"Ew gross. I don't like D very much. I mostly like V," Fiona said as she lay down on her stomach near the foot of Lexi's bed. She swept away her light brown hair off of her cream-colored face.

"Oh yeah! I forgot you're into girls now."

"Wait, what's D and V?" Mindy asked as she settled down on the ground with her second drink.

Charlotte, Lisi, and Fiona all began laughing and Mindy and Lexi looked at each other quizzically. Lexi had no clue either. "Dicks and vaginas. I forgot you guys were homeschooled. We have much to teach you," Lisi said and continued. "Okay, I'll kick us off then! Craziest place I got fucked was during my sophomore year of high school. I went jet skiing with my boyfriend, and he boned me on the Jet Ski in the middle of Lake Michigan."

"Impressive! I definitely can't top that. Mine would have to be on the floor of my bedroom," Charlotte said before covering her mouth with her hand and giggling again.

"Charlotte, you wild woman!" Fiona teased before turning to Lexi. "Hannah, what about you? Craziest place you've done it?"

"Pass." Lexi shook her head. She had meant to steer the conversation back to an easier topic and was regretting not doing it sooner.

"Oh, come on! No passes allowed! Give us all the dirty details!" Lisi said.

Lexi glanced towards Mindy who gave her an apologetic look. She took a deep breath in and decided to just rip the band-aid off. "I haven't had sex yet."

Charlotte and her friends sat wide-eyed and seemed as if they were trying to process Lexi's words. "But a penis has touched your vagina though, right?" Lisi asked, breaking the silence.

Lexi shook her head. "I decided at a young age that I would save all of that for my future husband. And since I'm not married, here we are."

Silence continued to permeate the room and Lexi fidgeted with her straw.

"That's very admirable. I could never wait," Fiona said while flicking her hair back.

"Uh, same! I could never do that! I see a cute guy and I'm fucking ready to drop my pants." Lisi leaned back in her seat and kicked a foot up in the air.

"It's not like I haven't thought about it before," Lexi blurted out, feeling the need to downplay her decision.

"Oh, who's the guy? Does he live in this dorm? Do we know him?" Fiona asked and rested her chin on her hands.

Lexi blushed and the girls hooted and hollered seeing Lexi's nonverbal response. "Oh, now you have to tell us!" Lisi prodded.

"He's seriously so cute," Mindy said, and Lexi glanced at her with a mock gasp.

"Windy!"

"Sorry! I just couldn't help it! You guys are so cute," she said before wrapping her lips around her straw and sucking up air bubbles.

"Oh, now you have to say it!" Fiona said.

Lexi laughed and warmth invaded her as she thought about Tom. "Well, I won't say who it is, but he is one of the sexiest men I've ever seen. Not like an in your face sexy, but a charming and sophisticated sexy."

"Ugh, you lucky bitch. I bet he's respectful too. When a guy says, 'I respect you too much to mess around with you like that,' it's so hot. I want to be like, okay but just fucking disrespect me!'" Lisi said as she threw her hands in the air.

The girls laughed and continued to chat. After a couple of minutes a light flickered on Lexi's phone, alerting her to an incoming notification. She peered at the alert and her stomach fluttered seeing the sender of the received email. She quickly swiped to read it.

Hannah,

I apologize for the event that forced class to be canceled earlier and just wanted to say thank you for your help. I'd like to make it up to you. Shoot me a text when you can. My cell is below.

Tom

Lexi re-read the ten digits and quickly saved the number in her phone as Prof. She was about to respond when Lisi's voice forced her to look up. "Is that lover boy texting you?"

Lexi laughed nervously and nodded. "Yeah, he's just apologizing for something that happened earlier today." She glanced over at Mindy who gave her a warm, knowing smile.

"Well, let the boy sweat! Don't respond right away," Lisi said as if she was performing her God-given duty.

"But then he'll think I'm upset, which I'm not," Lexi responded.

"Trust me. Boys love the chase. And this is girls' night anyways! No texting boys!"

Just then another alert popped up on Lexi's phone, which forced her eyes to grow wide.

Dash has invited you to a secure chat.

She glanced over at Charlotte who was busy laughing at something Fiona had said, and not anywhere near a phone. Lexi's pulse increased as she accepted the invite.

Dash: Are you sweating yet? I'm getting closer.

Bex: Stop threatening me!! I'm not scared of you!

Dash: How about a deal? I'll give you anything you want if you just stop what you're doing and reveal yourself. I don't mean to brag, but I have good connections and I'm very wealthy.

Lexi scoffed. The nerve of whoever this was.

Bex: It sounds like you're the one that's sweating! And like I would reveal myself to you! I'm here to put you behind bars for a long time, not strike a deal.

"Hannah!" Fiona's voice called out forcing Lexi to jump. "No more texting, come sit."

Lexi glanced back at her phone and frowned.

Dash has left the chat.

She quickly tucked her phone into her pocket and returned her attention to the girls who were still busy chatting. And Charlotte was still very much throwing back drinks and completely unaware of the conversation Lexi had just had.

***

Thanks for reading, voting, and commenting! I hope you're having as much fun with this story as I am! 🥰♥️