Study Sessions With The Bad Boy

Chapter 19

Brooklyn's POV

It's already been twenty minutes into my dad's business event, and Hannah still hasn't arrived when she promised me she would be here early. In the past twenty minutes, my dad has managed to introduce me to over fifty different guests, wanting me to explain my whole high school background to them as if they're soon going to be deciding my fate and success. I only managed to escape when one of his co-workers asked to have a private conversation with him, but his last words were prepare for your speech.

It's a tradition that I give a speech at every one of my dad's formal events, and I've been doing it since age twelve. I wasn't trembling or nervous the very first time, so I shouldn't be this nervous now. My palms shouldn't be sweating, my head shouldn't be spinning, and my mouth shouldn't be going dry. I don't understand why I can't calm down. It's probably because I can't clear my mind of what happened earlier.

"Brooklyn!"

I look around at all the people walking pass and around me until my eyes land on Jason's. He's wearing a very clean and pressed black tuxedo and black tie with his hair gelled towards the back like Leonardo DiCaprio. His grin lights up the room as he glides up to me, and I can't be more impressed and attracted to him. "Hey, Jason," I say, opening my arms out for him.

He pulls me into his embrace and then kisses my cheek when he lets go. "You look stunning," he says, eyeing me from my hair down to my heels. "Absolutely stunning."

I can feel the heat rising to my cheeks, most likely bringing out a blush, and my lips curving into a smile. Jason, the guy I've had the biggest crush on since freshman year thinks I look absolutelystunning. "Thank you. You look really handsome yourself."

"Come on. I would like to introduce you to some people." He intertwines his fingers with mine and places his other hand on the small of my back as he guides me through the crowds of people. This moment feels great. We look like we both jumped out of an extravagant magazine, and he's holding me like he adores me so much. From the outside looking in, someone might think that we're a loving couple, and that's fine with me. We stop once we approach a man and woman sipping from glasses of champagne. "Brooklyn, these are my parents, Mr. and Mrs. Hughes. Mom and dad, this is Brooklyn Waters."

If my nerves were rising before, they have definitely increased. I'm glad that I'm not sipping on anything because I might have choked on it after hearing their names. When Jason told me that my dad's business is the one his dad's is going to sign with tonight, I wasn't aware that he was talking about Mr. Hughes, which is the man that owns the law firm. This man is very wealthy and powerful in the Corporate Law Industry, according to my dad. How could he be Jason's father?

We've always only been school friends. The date that we went on the other night is the first time we had been together outside of school and alone. Before and during the date, we never got too much into our family except to joke about how they can both be drill sergeants when it comes to grades and extracurricular activities, but other than that, neither one of us discussed their class statuses, their careers, or anything else of that nature. I kind of guessed that Jason was very well off from his fancy car, but other than that, you wouldn't know that he was from a multimillionaire family. He's nowhere near as cocky and egotistical as Mitchell is, and they're on the same wealth level.

"The famous overachieving and intelligent, Ms. Brooklyn Waters. It's great to finally meet you," Mr. Hughes says, reaching his hand out for me to shake.

I shake it and smile. "The pleasure is all mine, as well as it is to meet you too, Mrs. Hughes. I wasn't aware that Jason thought of me so highly," I say with a hint of laughter.