Baby Steps

Community Dick

Jo's POV:

The rest of the night was pretty uneventful. Nikki got hammered and was puking on Emma's shoes by the end, which we took as our queue to leave.

I didn't see Colton around after our encounter by the bar, not that I was looking or anything. Just for the record.

Sunday was over far too quickly, probably because the four of us spent the entire day in Nikki's bed, recapping the night. We were right back in the swing of classes before we knew it.

"I'm so tired," Emma whined, laying her head on my shoulder as we walked up the steps of the English building. "I barely slept last night."

I chuckled. "Yeah, I know," I responded, giving her a supportive side hug. "We all know what you were up to last night."

Emma had Ethan over last night, and let's just say I'm thankful Nikki has the room next to hers.

"Heyyy," she whined, lifting her head and giving me a playful slap on the shoulder. "A girl's gotta eat!"

It's Tuesday afternoon, which meant I had Advanced Writing in about 10 minutes. Emma had a class in medical publications at the same time, which was conveniently right down the hall from mine. We walked in and headed to our respective classes.

The classroom was relatively empty, as not many students like to show up to class 10 minutes in advance. I was a bit of a stickler for time, and much preferred being too early to even a minute late.

I found a seat in the middle of the class, sat down and pulled out my laptop. I figured I could add some edits to a paper I was working on while I waited for class to start.

I became so focused on my work that I didn't notice the class starting to fill. I didn't even notice a certain golden-haired someone sit next to me, until I heard a deep voice clear their voice, startling me.

Colton sat to my right, leaned back in his chair, grinning at me. "We meet again, Jo," he beamed.

He looked absolutely devilish in a tight black t-shirt, clinging to his toned arms, which were crossed and flexed for my admiration. He wore dark gray sweatpants, and I noticed a gold keychain dangling from his pants pocket. I felt my stomach flutter with nerves.

"Hi," I muttered, lifting my head from my laptop to meet his gaze.

"What, that's all you have to say to me?" he joked. "What ever happened to 'How are you, Colton?' 'I'm so glad to see you, Colton.'"

I scoffed. "You have quite the ego, you know."

"I think I've earned it," he said, leaning in and winking. I almost folded right then and there.

The professor started speaking, and I couldn't be more grateful. I turned to face the professor, hoping the lecture would serve as a distraction from the man beside me.

It was not. Colton kept kicking my foot under the table throughout the lecture, earning him glares from me, but remained completely unfazed. He would steal my pencil to write down notes, leaving me without a writing utensil. When I took a new one out of my bag, he would steal that too. He was making it his mission to annoy me, but I'd be lying if I said a small part of me didn't enjoy it.

At the end of class, I quickly threw my things in my bag haphazardly, eager to leave.

Colton laughed. "What's the rush, gorgeous? Don't wanna spend more time with me?"

"It's like you read my mind," I snorted. He grinned.

"You're funny, you know"

I smirked. "So I've been told."