Chapter 56: 56 | My Social Skills Are Still Buffering, But At Least She Laughed

Jordan’s thumb hovered over the screen.

He looked at Brooke again.

She was biting her lower lip while she typed, her fingers flying across the keyboard with the kind of speed that suggested she was probably taking notes in three different formats simultaneously. Her ponytail swung slightly as she tilted her head. A strand of hair fell across her face. She blew it away without looking up.

Jordan’s chest tightened.

No.

He pressed \[NO\] and locked his phone.

Slot 1 was Chloe. Slot 2 stayed empty for now.

Jordan’s head snapped up.

Dr. Ashford stood at the front of the room with one perfectly sculpted eyebrow raised. "Since you’re so fascinated by your phone, perhaps you can tell the class what a debit entry represents in double-entry bookkeeping."

Jordan’s brain scrambled. "Uh."

"That’s what I thought." Her gray eyes were cold. "Put the phone away or leave my classroom. I don’t tolerate distractions."

"Yes ma’am."

"Doctor."

"Yes Doctor Ashford."

She held his gaze for one more second, then turned back to the board.

Jordan shoved his phone into his pocket. His face burned hot enough to melt steel.

Next to him, Brooke let out a quiet breath. Almost like a laugh but softer. When Jordan glanced over, she was staring very intently at her laptop screen, but her lips twitched at the corners.

Great. Perfect. He’d just been publicly humiliated by the hottest professor on campus in front of the second most beautiful girl in school.

This semester was going fantastic.

Dr. Ashford continued her lecture. Jordan forced himself to focus. He copied everything she wrote. Took notes in the margins. Highlighted key concepts. His hand cramped from writing so fast but he didn’t stop.

If he was going to survive this class, he needed to actually learn the material. Not just show up. Not just coast. Actually put in the work.

His phone buzzed again. He ignored it.

Dr. Ashford moved on to explaining assets versus liabilities. Jordan wrote faster.

Brooke shifted in her seat next to him. Her knee bumped his under the desk.

"Sorry," she whispered.

Her voice was quiet. Soft. Nothing like what he’d expected from someone who looked like a supermodel.

"It’s cool," Jordan whispered back.

She nodded once and went back to typing.

The rest of the lecture passed in a blur of accounting terms and examples. Jordan filled six pages in his notebook. When Dr. Ashford finally said "That’s all for today," Jordan’s hand felt like it might fall off.

Students around them started packing up. Cameron and Eliza were already gone, probably having left mid-lecture to continue their makeout session somewhere more private.

Good. Jordan didn’t want to see them anyway.

Brooke closed her laptop and carefully slid it into a black leather bag. She stood up, and Jordan realized just how tall she actually was. Maybe five-eight, five-nine. Her oversized sweater hung to mid-thigh. She grabbed her Starbucks cup, which was still mostly full.

"Thanks for not judging me for being late," she said quietly.

Jordan blinked. "What?"

"Everyone else was staring. You just. Didn’t." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "So. Thanks."

Jordan closed his notebook and shoved it into his backpack. "No problem."

Brooke stood there, shifting her weight between her feet. She adjusted the strap of her leather bag. Took a sip of her Starbucks. Set it back down on the desk. Picked it up again.

Jordan watched this performance with growing amusement. For someone who looked like she belonged on a magazine cover, she moved like a baby giraffe trying to figure out how legs worked.

"I’m Jordan," he said. "What’s your name?"

Brooke blinked. Her crimson eyes went wide behind her black-framed glasses.

"You don’t know who I am?"

Jordan tilted his head. "Should I?"

"I mean." Her face flushed pink. The color spread down her neck and disappeared under the collar of her cream sweater. "No. I guess not."

She bit her lower lip. That beauty mark under her mouth drew Jordan’s attention like a magnet.

Stop staring at her mouth, you creep.

"Well I’m Jordan," he repeated. "Nice to meet you."

"Brooke!" The word came out too loud. She winced. "My name is Brooke."

"Nice to meet you, Brooke."

Her shoulders relaxed slightly. She tucked another strand of hair behind her ear. "Nice to meet you too." 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

An awkward silence settled between them.

Dr. Ashford was erasing the whiteboard at the front of the room. The last few students filed out through the back doors. Jordan and Brooke stood next to their desks like two NPCs waiting for someone to give them their next quest objective.

Say something, dumbass. Don’t just stand here like a statue.

"So that professor was something, huh?"

Brooke’s face lit up. "Right? She’s terrifying."

"I thought she was going to throw my phone out the window."

"She probably would have if you’d kept using it." Brooke’s lips twitched into an almost-smile. "I’ve heard stories about her. Last semester she apparently made a guy cry during office hours because he asked if there would be extra credit."

Jordan laughed. "What did she say?"

"She told him that extra credit was for students who were already excelling and needed a challenge. Not for students who couldn’t be bothered to do the regular assignments." Brooke adjusted her glasses. "Then she asked him if he understood the difference between excellence and mediocrity."

"Brutal."

"I know." Brooke’s almost-smile turned into an actual smile. "I think I like her though."

"You like getting verbally destroyed?"

"I like professors who don’t waste time." Brooke’s fingers drummed against her Starbucks cup. "Most of them spend half the class telling stories about their personal lives. Dr. Ashford actually teaches."

Jordan zipped up his backpack. "Fair point."

Brooke glanced toward the door. Then back at Jordan. Then at the door again.

Is she waiting for me to leave first? Or does she want to walk out together?

Jordan had no idea what the protocol was here. Eliza had always just told him what to do. Meet me here. Buy me this. Wait in the car. The decision-making process had been entirely outsourced.

But Eliza wasn’t here. Eliza was probably getting railed by Cameron in his BMW right now.

Jordan’s stomach twisted.

Don’t think about that. Focus on the girl in front of you.

The girl in front of him was easily one of the most attractive women he’d ever seen in person next to Chloe. Big doe eyes behind trendy glasses. Soft features that belonged in a painting. A body that the oversized sweater and jeans combo couldn’t hide no matter how hard she tried.

And she was talking to him. Smiling at him. Not running away screaming.

Character development.