Wanted: A Bad Boy Auction Romance

“Apparently not,” Hailey shrugged.

I watched while she got out her notebook and popped the top off a pen. She wrote the date in the top right-hand corner of the paper and titled the page “Bio 101 Notes – Day 1.”

I smiled to myself while I watched her meticulous writing. She was careful to keep her handwriting neat. Her “y” was curled slightly in a girly way and I couldn’t help but think it was adorable.

“You really are a nerd, huh?” I teased. She looked at me with wide eyes and I gestured toward her notebook.

“I guess,” she said. “I just want to do well.”

I felt slightly chagrined at my teasing when her earnest and completely innocent gaze met mine. My attempt at flirting had obviously fallen flat. Hailey had only just sat down and already, she was throwing me off my game. She seemed completely oblivious to my efforts. A rarity for me.

I wasn’t usually so awkward with the opposite sex. I was that guy who always knew what to say to get them eating out of my hand. And to get them in my bed.

Hailey looked back down and her hair fell over her face again.

I wondered at the strange urge to push it behind her ear. Her hand, tipped with delicate looking fingers, smoothed the wayward strands back into place. It was an absentminded action, I could tell.

She began drawing in the corner of one page of her notebook. She seemed to forget I was in the room with her.

Another rarity for me. I never had to work this hard to keep a girl’s attention on me before.

I didn’t think too hard on why I wanted her attention on me.

“So,” I said, trying something different. I leaned a little closer to her and let the teasing tone fall out of my voice in favor of a more straightforward one. “Why Biology?”

“Huh?” Hailey asked, looking up at me, confirming my suspicion that my presence wasn’t affecting her in the least.

Her grey eyes shone from behind her glasses and I couldn’t believe I had never noticed her before.

“Why did you choose Biology for your major?” I tried again.

Hailey shrugged and looked back down at her notebook.

She clearly wasn’t interested in having a conversation with me. I watched her for a few seconds, waiting for her to speak, but she didn’t. She doodled in her notebook, completely unaware that I was still sitting beside her.

“I’m glad we got here early,” I said as more students starting filing in. I waved and high-fived a few of the guys I knew from high school. “We wouldn’t have this lab table if we were late.”

“True,” Hailey nodded. “I would hate to sit in the back.”

“Didn’t you say you always sat in the back in high school?” I asked

“I did,” Hailey said. “But this is college. It’s different, so I have to be different.”

That was all the explanation she gave. She put down her pen when the professor walked in, her full attention focused on him instantly.

I admired her focus, but I was daunted by her lack of interest in me. Hailey sat down beside me immediately, but after fifteen minutes of flirting – if my fumbling attempt could be called that - she barely glanced in my direction. I guess I wasn’t her type. Damn.

The professor launched into the syllabus quickly. His teaching assistant handed them around while he explained each section briefly.

“I’m a stickler for punctuality,” he warned. “So, if you’re late to class, don’t bother showing up at all. I won’t let you in. And remember, all assignments are due on the date the syllabus states. If you’re worried, then have them completed a few days ahead of time. That way, if an emergency arises, you already have the work done.”

I listened with raised eyebrows. Was he serious? He wouldn’t allow late assignments?

I exhaled slowly and glanced at Hailey to see what she thought. She stared at the professor with wide eyes and scribbled down notes while he spoke. She meant what she said, she was going to take this class seriously.

I knew if I was going to be successful in my pre-med classes I had to get my act together. Shameless flirting and letting myself get distracted during class wouldn’t get me into med school. This professor meant business, but so did I. I wasn’t going to let my perfect academic record slip through my fingers just when it was finally beginning to mean something.

Being a doctor was my dream. There was no other option for me. I would ace my premed classes and get into a great medical school.