Bridgeport Academy » COMPLETE

15

"So tell me about this sexy ass teacher," Alex's sister cooed. Alex had ducked behind Stansfield Hall to make a quick cell phone call to the Vogue offices before rejoining Michael for lunch. "You're going to have lunch with him?"

"It's a working lunch," Alex said. "We ran out of time this morning. It doesn't mean anything."

"Sure it does! What's his name, anyway?"

"Michael B. Jordan?"

"What? You cut out for a sec."

"Michael B. Jordan," Alex continued loudly again, and then took the phone away from her ear to look at the screen. The screen flashed CALL LOST and she shoved her iPhone back into her bag. 

Alex couldn't help but feel nervous. She hadn't been able to stop thinking about Michael since they'd met yesterday. He was a little awkward and aloof, which was a challenge. She also had a sense that he liked her but that he knew that he shouldn't; another challenge. Alex liked challenges.

This morning, in calc, as her teacher was explaining the concept of infinity, Alex had imagined them sneaking away to New York City, snagging a presidential suite, ordering champagne and breakfast from room service, and having hours and hours of sweaty sex with the curtains wide open. 

The one time she and Quincy had gone out to the city, Alex had wanted to go somewhere romantic, but he demanded they go to some lame bar because the Miami Heat game would be playing from the plasma-screen TVs. Her stomach flopped when she thought about Quincy coming over this afternoon. She wasn't in the right frame of mind to see him. 

She gritted her teeth as she climbed up the stairs toward Michael's office. All she wanted to do was sit on Robyn's bed, take some shots, and tell her about every feature on Michael's perfect face. But since they'd moved in, she and Robyn had hardly spoken. She'd tried to ask Robyn about the Kae/Chris thing when she'd stopped by the dorm after the morning meetings, but Robyn had quickly rushed to the showers without answering. So what, they weren't friends now? Or maybe Robyn was afraid that if she let her guard down, she'd confess what she'd done to Jasmine? Probably.

Alex knocked on Michael's office door and smelled tea brewing inside. He flung the door open and broke into an adorable grin. "Hey," he said, stepping back to let her pass.

Alex smiled back at him, willing herself not to throw her arms around his neck. He looked gorgeous, from his neatly knotted tie to his...socks. No shoes, just white, soft-looking socks. Her insides quivered. Because after all, right underneath those socks, were his feet. He was basically one step away from being naked.

"Thanks," she replied, regaining her composure. Then she noticed an enormous tray of cheese, caviar, olives, and crackers teetering on the edge of the desk.

"You like cheese? Manchego? Coach Triple Cream?"

As if she could actually eat. "Sure. All of it."

"Olives, too?" He pointed. "I like having little picnics."

Alex demurely took a tiny sliver of cheese and popped it between her plump lips. The salt coated her mouth and she swallowed noisily.

"I got into eating this way from my family." Michael scratched the side of his slender, clean-shaven neck. "My family, man. They're crazy about cheese."

"Yeah," Alex agreed, mesmerized by his classiness and accent. He was so mature compared to the teenage boys she was used to. She didn't have any idea where he was from, but it had to be somewhere on the West Coast. California, maybe, but he most definitely did not speak with a Northern accent. "What do your parents do?" she finally managed to say.

He paused. "Uh, well, my dad works in magazine publishing. My mom...she has her little projects, I guess. Yours?"

Talk about vague. "My dad's a doctor." Alex shrugged. She wasn't about to tell Michael a doctor of what. "And my mom...yeah. She has her little projects too." One of those projects being buying designer clothes and nearly running their family broke.

"So, my sources say you've been to Italy," Michael said, spreading cheese onto a cracker and sitting back down in his chair.

Alex looked up at him. "Yeah. How'd you know that?"

He ducked his head a little shyly. "Well, I mean, I saw it in your file."

She felt her face get hot. Duh. Of course he'd looked at her file. That was how he'd recognized her in first place. Did that mean he knew about her parents and her scholarship? 

"I'm sorry," he added quickly. "I didn't mean to—"

"No!" she said. "God. I don't care. I went to Europe through school. I spent sometime in South America, too, with family."

He looked at her seriously. "You're modest. You went to France with the advanced French students, who are mostly seniors, when you were just a sophomore. And you went to Crete with the honors program when you were a freshman."

She shrugged. It was weird having someone repeat your achievements back to you. But kind of cool, too. Quincy probably had no idea where Crete even was.

"You're smart," he smiled. "I need a smart woman around helping me get through this first year."

"Well, that's me," she said sheepishly, feeling a little funny that he'd called her a woman instead of a girl. She watched as he gracefully deposited an olive pit on the edge of the Italian-looking blue ceramic tray. Quincy would've spit it out in his hand.

"So, let's get started." He flipped his manila folder open and revealed a big stack of papers. "I want to show you this, these are some of the case files. They're like nine thousand pages long. And seriously, keep this quiet. Remember, you're not technically supposed to be doing this kind of work, since you weren't on DC last year. Everything in these files is confidential. Think you can handle that?"

"Absolutely," Alex assured him. She laughed lightly. "I'm good with secrets."

"Yeah?" He looked up at her and broke into a slow smile. 

Alex felt her insides melt. He handed her a pile of papers, his fingers brushing the back of her hand. Alex nearly choked on her cracker. He didn't pull away very fast, either. Time slowed down. She counted: One Mississippi, two Mississippi...Three seconds. Their hands were still touching. Tingles ran the whole way up her back and her hand hummed as if she were touching an electric fence.

"I was hoping you might be," he murmured, finally breaking the silence. Alex looked down, willing her lips not to break into an enormous grin.