Baby Steps

Hot Tubs

Jo's POV:

I was sitting in the library, desperately trying to get some LSAT studying done.

What the fuck does this even mean? I was working on some argument passages, and my brain felt more like mush with every word I read.

I had been sitting here for the past four hours. It was now late afternoon, and I could see the sun starting to set out the window. The library was relatively empty for a Sunday, and I had actually managed to get one of the better tables in the corner. My books were completely sprawled out, and an empty coffee cup and pastry crumbs added to the mess. It was a good thing no one was around to see my slobbery.

With the test approaching in just over a month, I was dedicating every spare moment I had to review. I needed a decent score to get a scholarship, which I desperately needed for law school.

I balled my hair in my fist, chewing on my lower lip in stress. My leg was anxiously shaking below the table as I tried desperately to stay motivated. I wanted so badly to get another coffee, but I had already had three today, and I didn't want to risk a heart attack.

"Woah, what's got you all worked up?"

I looked up from my textbook, and lo and behold, Colton stood towering over my table, wearing his signature grin.

"Are you stalking me now?" I said sarcastically, earning a laugh from Colton.

"Someone's in a mood," he joked, pulling out the chair next to me and settling in. I looked up at him, shocked. Why on earth was he sitting here?

"What, seat taken or something?" Colton joked. "Who am I kidding, you're not making any friends with that face." He looked at me with such amusement, I almost ignored that he was poking fun of me.

"Ha ha," I bit back. "If you don't mind, I'm kinda hard at work here." I gestured to the many papers spread out in front of me.

Colton reached to pick up a textbook in front of him. He flipped to see the cover, leaning back in his chair. "LSAT, huh," he more so stated than asked. "You wanna be a lawyer or something?"

"That's the plan," I responded, making eye contact. I suddenly felt self conscious in my old sweats, my hair pulled into a low ponytail and sporting no makeup. Colton, of course, looked gorgeous as always in his sweats. I almost feel jealous of him for how effortlessly hot he is.

"Ahh, beauty and brains," Colton grinned, putting the book back down. "Well don't let me stop you." He reached into his bag, pulling out a sports medicine textbook.

I stared at him in shock and curiosity. Is he staying?

"As flattered as I am, you should probably stop staring at me and get to work," Colton said while staring straight ahead at his book, as if he had eyes on the side of his head.

I felt a blush rise to my cheeks. "Whatever," I muttered. Colton chuckled.

The next hour was spent in silence. Colton surprisingly stayed focused on his work, flipping through his textbook and taking pretty detailed notes as he read. Me on the other hand, not so focused. I couldn't keep my eyes on the pages while my stomach was doing backflips and the heat between my legs was growing by the minute. I would do one problem, and spend the next ten minutes sneaking glances at Colton and trying to tame my nerves. Every now and then, he would catch me looking at him, almost as if he was already looking at me, waiting to catch me in the act.

At around 9pm, I was ready to call it quits. I had been here just about all day, and I was clearly not being productive anymore. Plus, I was starving.

"I think I'm gonna head out," I told Colton, as if he'd care. I began slowly packing up my things.