The Love Hack

Chapter 5

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.