The Love Hack

Chapter 16

"Quick! Take your pants off!"

"Hannah-" Tom started but then made a face as he shifted, likely causing the fabric of his pants to graze his leg.

"I've treated these types of scalds on my parents before. You need to take your pants off now so you don't irritate your skin anymore!" Lexi ran a wad of paper towels underneath the faucet. She had locked them into the single-use bathroom in the coffee shop and was determined to wipe off the look of pain sealed into Tom's features.

Tom took in a deep breath and began unbuckling his belt. He slowly lowered his pants, revealing black boxer briefs with Star Wars Stormtrooper heads printed across the fabric. Lexi tried hard to hold in her smile, but it didn't prove successful. "Don't say a word," Tom said through gritted teeth, clearly still in a lot of pain.

Lexi giggled. "I wouldn't dare. Now come on, pull them all the way down!" As soon as his pants lowered even more, Lexi gasped taking in the large red splotches coating each of his thighs. She quickly kneeled in front of him and began lightly grazing the wet paper towel against his skin, trying desperately to ignore the pounding in her chest.

His breathing hitched and he grabbed onto Lexi's shoulder for support, which seemed to force her heart to beat even faster. She cleared her throat before speaking. "I'm so sorry, Tom. I don't think it's a second-degree burn, which is a good sign!"

"It's not your fault. I probably shouldn't get my coffee so hot anyway. I usually ask for it extra hot to last longer throughout the day," he said in between ragged breaths. Lexi tried to hide her smirk as she continued to gently press down on the red areas. Tom looked down and gently pressed her shoulder with amusement cracking through his downturned expression. "I'm glad you find my pain so entertaining."

"Sorry! I know I shouldn't laugh. I couldn't help but think that maybe it was my fault when I accidentally mooned you." Lexi laughed nervously and gently grabbed onto the back of Tom's thigh to gain more balance. The touch caused Tom to shift slightly and heat to explode at her fingertips. "Also, never in my life would I've thought I'd be crouched down near my professor's crotch. Stroking his legs with a wet towel in a coffee shop bathroom."

They both laughed and Lexi was trying to keep focused on his legs and not on anything between them. Tom cleared his throat. "Oh God, this really is bad. Never in my life would I've thought a student would be ordering me to take my pants off in a coffee shop bathroom. And the fact that I would oblige to being in this precarious situation." Tom let out a sigh before continuing. "This feels really good by the way. Thank you for your help. I would've tried to just suck it up and go to class."

Lexi frowned while continuing to dab the soaked paper towels against Tom's legs. "You may need to cancel class. You'll need to take ibuprofen and try to steer clear of wearing pants today."

"Yeah, the thought of putting my pants back on is making me nauseous."

Lexi furrowed her brows. "I'm so sorry. You really shouldn't be getting coffee that hot. It's clearly a hazard. You must be in so much pain." She unknowingly slid her hand down the back of his thigh and looked up to meet his gaze. A moment of silence hung in the air as the pair locked eyes with each other.

Tom clenched his jaw. Lexi could've sworn she saw movement coming from his underwear before he jumped back and hastily brought his pants back up, wincing in the process. "Alright. I think that's good enough. Thanks, Hannah. I really should be going and sending out the email to the class letting them know it's been canceled."

"Wait, are you sure? You don't want to air it out anymore?" Lexi said while getting up off of her knees.

"No!" he practically growled, and Lexi stepped back wide-eyed. "Sorry, I mean, no thank you. We should, um, we should really go."