A myriad of emotions flickered across his face ranging from confusion to anger, to disgust, and then back to confusion. Tom's piercing blue eyes bore into Lexi's brown ones, before abruptly turning around again and shuffling through some papers on his desk. Lexi prayed that this was all just a dream, and she would wake up any moment in her real first college class.

"Wow, he is a grade A hottie. You were right Charlotte," Mindy said, whispering over Lexi, who was seated in between them. She glanced at Lexi and her brows furrowed. "Girl, are you okay?"

Before Lexi could respond, Tom's deep voice echoed through the space filled with about thirty students. "Good morning, class." Lexi's stomach fluttered when the sound reached her ears. Tom clenched his jaw tightly before continuing. "Welcome to Advanced Cyber Security. I'm your professor, Tom Miller."

Lexi looked down at her book bag and tried to slow down her breathing. This can't be happening. This can't be happening. God, why is this happening? Mindy grasped Lexi's forearm, prompting Lexi to glance at her, and lifted a brow. Lexi responded with a withered expression and whispered, "I'll tell you after."

Mindy simply nodded before Tom continued to speak. "I look forward to teaching you all about the wonders of Advanced Cyber Security. By now you should all have received a copy of the syllabus and gotten your textbooks. We're going to be diving right in, so be sure you're ready."

Tom took a deep breath in before heading to his laptop. "Alright, let's take attendance before we get into it. I won't be doing this every time, but I'd like to get to know you all individually." Again, Tom seemed to look at everyone but Lexi. She placed her palm on her forehead and then quickly wiped it along her jeans after realizing she had gathered sweat.

Tom went through the list of names and the closer he got to the H's, the more her stomach twisted. Lexi sent a silent praise of thanks to Cole who had set her up with the same fake name she used on her last field mission. Yet, her well wishes towards her brother instantly dropped as soon as she heard it. "Hannah, um-" Tom paused before continuing, "Hannah Likesfun?"

Giggles were heard across the room and heat flooded Lexi's cheeks. Tom's eyes finally met hers and his nostrils flared. He cleared his throat and seemed to force his gaze to shift elsewhere. "Is there a Hannah Likesfun here?"

Okay, God. I think I'm ready to move on to the afterlife now. Lexi raised her hand gently and cleared her throat. "I, um-" her voice cracked, and she tried clearing her throat again. "I'm Hannah, but that's not my last name. It's Foster." I'm going to murder Cole.

Tom glanced down at his list and then surfaced his gaze back up. "Well, Hannah. It seems like you've already started to put your hacking skills to use. How about you stay after class? I'd like to know how a student was able to change the attendance sheet."

"It wasn't me, I sw-"

"Henry Baxter," Tom continued without giving Lexi a chance to speak or another glance.

Lexi wrinkled her forehead and tilted her chin down. Wow. Okay, asshole. Give me a second to explain something. The more Tom continued to read off names on his list, the more Lexi's frown deepened.

At one point Mindy leaned over and whispered, "Cole is such an idiot! Are you okay?" Lexi knew she was trying to find ways to comfort her, likely thinking she was solely fixated on her brother getting her in trouble. Yet, it was something else entirely that her best friend had no way of knowing.

Lexi took in a breath and nodded. As Tom finished taking the roll and moved on to covering the syllabus, she shifted her attention back to him. She reasoned this was the best way to analyze him – safely at a distance while he was doing his job of capturing the attention of everyone in the room. He looked the same as when she first saw him the month prior, just a little more put together in his professional attire. He waved his hands in the air as he spoke, shifting the blue fabric of his fitted button down, which somehow made the color in his eyes more prominent. Her mind began to wander to the broad, defined chest she knew was underneath.

Girl. Stop. You knew he was off limits before and now he's five hundred percent off limits. Don't even go there. Yet, each time his eyes met hers, he would briefly stumble over his words and her stomach would drop and then flutter. At one point he made a joke about cybercrime that Lexi wished she'd heard to assess whether it warranted laughs from her fellow classmates. Yet, her thoughts continued to travel in circles, from admiring the man who held the respect and attention of everyone in front of him to wondering what this would mean for the mission. Oh God, I can't ruin this mission.

As the minutes ticked by, Lexi wondered what Tom would even say to her at the end of class. Would he force her to drop out? Or perhaps fail her on the spot and kick her out? She knew she couldn't afford both of those options given this was a key class to be part of for the case. I need more time.

"Alright, so that's what you can expect from this class. As they say in Star Wars, may the force be with you," he said before giving himself a little chuckle.

Okay, that was kind of cute. Lexi scrunched her nose. Ugh. No, not cute. Not anything, Lex!

"So, that's all I got for today. We can end class a bit early," Tom said right before Lexi's stomach clenched for what seemed like the hundredth time in a span of thirty minutes.

Oh shit. I am definitely not ready.

"For next class, read the chapter on advanced phishing and come prepared to talk through examples you've seen in real life or ones you've heard about through other people. And the more creative you make it, the better. I'll be grading you on the uniqueness of the example and if it actually meets the standard that the chapter describes." He paused for a moment and glanced at Lexi, forcing moisture to skim across her palms. "Okay class, you're free to go."

As soon as students stirred to gather their things, Lexi knew she needed more time to think through what to say. Without putting any more thought to it, she grabbed her bag and dashed out of her seat. "Ms. Likesfun, a moment of your time," Tom said over the sounds of students moving to leave his class. She simply pretended she didn't hear him and swiftly made her way into the hallway and out of the building.

Oh, my God! What is happening? This can't be happening! Lexi bordered a light jog back to her dorm room. She passed by the cafeteria and a stench she couldn't quite place filled her nostrils.

"Hannah!" Mindy's voice rang out over the crowds of students walking. Lexi stopped and turned around to see her best friend running towards her. An out-of-breath Mindy caught up to her and quickly set her hands on her knees. "Girl! What the heck is up with you?" she asked between breaths.

"We can't talk here. Let's go to the room," Lexi said before placing a hand on Mindy's arm and leading her back to their dorm.

"Girl, you're scaring me! What is up?" Mindy said as soon as they got into their room and Lexi slammed the door shut.

"Mind, our professor, Tom Miller, was the guy I kissed on my first field mission last month!"

Mindy gasped. "What? There's no way! How?"

Lexi reached for her laptop and swiftly entered her password. "Seriously though! What the hell are the chances of this?"

"What are you doing? Are you looking him up? I need to see this!" Mindy made her way beside Lexi and watched the screen as Lexi began typing Tom's name into the search bar. They scoured the results. Information seemed to be limited and with no social media accounts, Lexi deemed him to either be someone with an actual life or someone who liked to keep private. Yet the girls did manage to find some information like his age (twenty nine) and his work history (teaching at community colleges until he got this new job at LMU this year).

"I wonder if he has a girlfriend?" Mindy asked as Lexi was looking up his credit history.

"Yeah, he does have one. I think."

"Wait, how do you know? I didn't see it here." Mindy lifted a brow.

Lexi sighed. "I saw him a week ago and he was with some woman, holding her hand."

"What! You saw him? When?"

"After my parents told us the news last week, I went to the grocery store and saw him there. I didn't speak to him or anything. I just saw him and ran out of there."

"Oh my gosh, this is nuts! Do you think he remembers you from the incident last month? I mean, it was nighttime, and you wore extra makeup, and who knows? Maybe he doesn't remember?" Mindy curled her lips in and exposed her teeth, seeming as if even she didn't believe her own words.

"He remembers." Lexi slammed her laptop shut and began pacing the length of their small dorm.

"What are you going to do? Also, you totally just ran out of there after he specifically asked you to hang back. I mean I would've done the same, but still!"

"I know, I know! I just needed some space to think... Oh God, Mindy, you can't tell my family!" Lexi ran both hands through her wavy dark brown hair.

"No, I would never! After what happened last time, it's best we keep this quiet."

"Exactly! Last time I could just tell they were disappointed even though they tried to hide it. I just started getting the hang of all this. And now that I'm actually starting to enjoy fieldwork, I can't be pulled off of it. Not because of some dumb, hot professor!"

"Ooo someone has a crush! I'm calling it now; you're somehow going to make out with him again."

"Mindy! I-uh I mean, Windy! Don't say that!" Lexi laughed and threw a pillow at her best friend.

"Okay, but seriously, he is so hot. Also did you notice he has a little nerdy side, which we all know you love." Mindy smiled and raised her brows like she was a grandma at teatime gossiping with the other ladies.

"Please stop." Lexi laughed and placed her hands on her face for a moment. She gasped when the thought came to her. "Oh no, Mindy, tonight is the Dean's faculty and family dinner that I told my parents I'd go to with them. If all faculty is going, then that means Tom is going to be there!"

"Well then, tonight's the night Hannah Likesfun actually gets to have some fun."

***

Thanks for reading, voting, and commenting! We've barely even gotten started with Tom and I'm so excited to reveal more of his character soon! ♥️🥰