The Love Hack

Chapter 35

'Don't rule out Charlotte completely.' Tom's words replayed in Lexi's mind as she skimmed through the code her dad had sent her the night before. She'd woken up early in her dorm room after the most amazing night with Tom. They talked about what felt like everything and ended up staying so late at the restaurant, the host had to ask them to leave. After he dropped her back home and kissed her goodnight, she made her way back to her dorm room.

Lexi tweaked some lines of code and submitted it to run, hoping that this try would get them through the firewall. The estimated run time was two and a half hours. Please, God, let this work. She'd have to wait until after her class to see if it resulted in a direct link to the hacker.

Sighing, she grabbed Mindy's notebook of suspects and looked up the entry on Charlotte towards the beginning. Random facts about Charlotte were scattered across the beige surface in Mindy's curly handwriting. Information ranged from Charlotte's computer skills, which seemed to be top-notch to her favorite movie characters. Something tugged at Lexi while reading the entry. Something familiar that she couldn't quite place. She wondered about the time Cole and her parents tried looking up information on Charlotte and there was nothing to be found.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a message from Tom and like every single time, she nearly squealed in excitement.

Ron: Good morning, beautiful.

Lexi's smile grew and she turned on her side with her phone close to her face.

Hermione: Good morning, handsome! Thanks again for last night, it was a lot of fun.

Ron: Of course, baby. I'm already planning our next date. It's for tonight.

Hermione: Oh? Who says I'm free tonight?

Lexi smirked, waiting for Tom's quip back.

Ron: Are you free tonight?

Hermione: I may have homework I need to get done. I have this one professor that likes to work his students hard.

Ron: Yeah? How hard?

Heat filled Lexi's cheeks as she read over Tom's message. She bit her bottom lip and smiled widely before typing out her response.

Hermione: You tell me. ;)

The bubbles indicating that Tom was typing appeared for a moment, then disappeared. Lexi wondered what was going through his mind and if she was being too forward. Last night had been the most forward she'd ever been. But, now in the light of day, in her ripped Hogwarts t-shirt pajamas and with under-eye makeup residue, her new vixen status was being called into question. Yet, all thoughts dropped when the bubbles came back up and his response appeared.

Ron: How about I show you? Tonight.

Flutters filled Lexi's stomach and a pleasant ache filled her lower abdomen.

Hermione: I'm sure I can squeeze something into my schedule.

Ron: Good girl.

Hermione: I can't wait to see you in class today.

Ron: I'll see you soon, my love, Lexi.

Lexi re-read Tom's message a few times before putting her phone away. Tom knew her real name, the truth, and he still loved her. It had catapulted her way past cloud nine and into the stratosphere and she couldn't contain the giddy excitement that filled her. She quickly jumped out of bed and started to get ready for his class, wanting to make sure to look extra cute for her handsome professor.