It was late afternoon when Fallon and I slipped into his Mustang after class. After he’d suggested I ride with him, I had teased him that it would be best, mainly to give him shit like he’d done when asking me to be his study partner. However, from a logistical standpoint, it made the most sense because anyone who worked for the Secret Service had heard endless stories about First Children trying to ditch their security detail. Not that I expected Fallon to pull a stunt like that, but anything was possible.

“So, Agent Davis, how was your first day of school?” Fallon smirked as he pulled out of his parking space. Day and Leigh followed close behind.

“As dull as I thought it would be.” I tried to hide my smirk.

“Are you saying Constitutional Law wasn’t riveting?” His eyes gleamed with amusement.

“Pretty sure I zoned out when Professor Lunden started lecturing about fundamental liberties.”

He gasped and clutched his chest. “You zoned out? What if someone used that moment as an opportunity to take me out?”

“I wasn’t listening to your teacher drone on; that doesn’t mean I wasn’t watching you.”

“Can’t keep your eyes off me, can you, Agent Davis?” He pulled onto the main road.

I sighed and shook my head. “Gotta stay alert for those scary law students lurking the halls.”

“You never know. There could be a couple of admirers out there who might want to get close to me. You need to be prepared to protect my honor,” he teased.

I chuckled. “Noted. I’ll be on the lookout for those who can’t resist your charm and ready to fend them off if need be.”

“Ah, you admit you find me charming. Good to know.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Sure you didn’t.”

We both laughed.

I knew our lighthearted moment was highly inappropriate. Jokes that bordered on flirting with someone I was sworn to protect could quickly blur the lines of professionalism. It didn’t matter how easy the conversation flowed between us, or how much I enjoyed our banter, I needed to focus on my job.

As our laughter died down, I took the opportunity to change the subject. “What do you usually do after class?”

“You don’t already know? I assumed you guys had a file full of information about my life.”

“I can neither confirm nor deny the existence of any such intel.” I winked. What the hell was wrong with me? Why couldn’t I control myself? I cleared my throat. “But we haven’t had you under surveillance, if that’s what you mean.”

“If there’s a file, I doubt it would be very exciting.”

“Not sure I believe that.”

He shrugged and glanced at me. “Despite what you might think, my life is quite boring.” I arched an eyebrow. “What?  I’m serious. Most days, I go to school, study, and maybe work out for a bit.”

My ears perked up when he mentioned working out. That sounded a hell of a lot better than listening to lectures all day. “Do you use the gym in your building?”

“How’d you know there was a gym? You haven’t even been there a day yet.” He stopped at a red light.

I’d studied the building’s blueprints while Tanner had driven us to Fallon’s condo, but I couldn’t resist messing with him. “That’s classified.”

He grinned and stepped on the gas when the light turned green. “Okay, I see how it’s going to be. But yeah, during the winter I work out at the gym on days I’m not doing indoor training and circuits for rowing. Think you’ll be able to keep up with all the exercising I do?”

“Is that a challenge?”

“Absolutely. Need to make sure you’re in good shape if you’re responsible for my safety.”

I threw my head back and roared with laughter. “My stamina is quite high, thank you very much. You should be the one worried about keeping up with me.”