19. Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Nineteen
Margot
Much to the entirety of the passengers’ chagrin, I had Devon drop me off at my apartment instead of going back to the frat house with them. Even though all I had done was interview a few guys, take a picture, then sit and have a free meal, I feel completely exhausted. Waving goodbye to the boys, I head inside and upstairs to the apartment.
“Spill,” Danika is on me within a second of the door closing. “Spill. Spill. Spill.” She pulls me into the living room and pushes me down on the couch where Sydney is sitting with a book in hand.
“Hey, Syd,” I say looking backwards at her. She laughs, “Hey Margot.” Sydney closes her book as I adjust myself upright. Danika sits on the coffee table, placing her hands on my knees.
“I don’t think you understand how deeply I need this gossip. Please, Margot.” Danika is begging and the sight is almost unbearable.
“You’re going to be pretty disappointed at the turn of events, Dani. After a slight hiccup, I didn’t exactly pull off the prank, but it ended up being fine. I went to the gala, I ate, I drank, and then I left. The end.”
Danika’s hands grip my legs a little bit tighter. “The…end? That’s it? No big upset? No dramatic fight? No romantic kiss?”
I squint my eyes at her. “What were you expecting, a netflix rom com?”
She releases her grip slightly but not entirely. “I was expecting at least something !” Danika looks to Sydney for backup but she just shrugs.
“Wait, you didn’t complete the prank? What happened?”
“Ryan is too gentlemanly for his own good. He walked me out the door, so the Kappa guys couldn’t seal it shut with him on the outside. But it’s okay, Alex said they’ll finish it tonight. Oh, and then Ryan took me to the gala.” I lean back into the couch, closing my eyes for the first time in what felt like decades. I feel my phone vibrate in my bag but don’t have a chance to check it before Dani’s hands become a vice grip. “Oh my god, Danika. If you don’t let me go—”
She immediately releases my legs and jumps up from the table. “Margot Elaine Davis. I’m grasping at straws here and you’re burying the fucking lead!”
“You’re mixing your metaphors,” Sydney says and I choke back my chuckle.
Danika, of course, ignores her. “How did you end up with Ryan? And what did Alex think about that?”
“Ryan walked me toward the Kappa house, but when he saw it was empty, I had to tell him that Alex stood me up. He told me he was on his way to the gala too and offered to drive me.”
“Hmm,” Danika hums, finally relaxing into the arm chair across from the couch. Her eyes narrow and she holds her fist over her mouth but doesn’t say anything else.
After a few too many moments of silence, I break. “What are you hmm ing about?”
“Nothing,” Danika purses her lips. “Just very interesting, that’s all.”
“What are you getting at?” I ask, getting up from the couch to grab a water bottle from the fridge, suddenly very parched.
“Nothing, nothing,” she says too casually. “Just…why do you think Ryan was so insistent on walking you out the door?”
After taking a large sip, I cap the bottle as I head back to my spot on the couch. “Because he’s a gentleman?”
“I guess but…”
“I don’t know, Danika, but I’m sure it’s not what you’re thinking. Ryan is a nice guy. He doesn’t get caught up in all this prank nonsense.”
“You sure about that?”
No. I’m not.
“Well, speaking of prank nonsense, what did Alex say about you coming in with Ryan?” Sydney asks.
“I mean, he wasn’t exactly thrilled but he got over it,” I respond, picking at the paper wrapper of the water bottle. I can tell they’re both itching to ask me more about it but there’s really nothing more to say. Alex has no reason to be upset with me talking to Ryan. I stayed away from him for prank purposes, but now that my part is done, I’m free to do what I want. And Alex and I are free to just keep working on the podcast together and cultivating the weird friendship we have growing.
My phone vibrates again and I remember the feeling from earlier. I take out my phone to reveal two texts, sent about ten minutes apart.
Ryan
Thanks for keeping me company tonight
Frat boy
Almost lock in time! The deltas have no idea what's coming. Thanks again, sunshine. Couldn't have done it without you
The texts make me smile but the trouble is that I’m not sure which one truly causes the grin. Without answering either boy, I grab my laptop and write up the article for the paper while everything is fresh in my mind. As confusing as this night was, at least I got a front page article out of it.
When I wake up, I’m surprised to have had a restful dreamless sleep. Relieved, more like it. Pulling my socks on, I venture out into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. Sydney should be walking in any minute, her Monday schedule similar to mine with our first class starting at nine am.
I open the cabinet to find the empty coffee tin and sigh deeply. Sydney comes out of her room as I close the cabinet.
“Morning, Margot,” she says, always the peppiest, even first thing in the morning.
“No coffee,” I reply, like the caffeine-addicted robot that I am.
“Shoot,” Sydney looks down at her watch. “If we leave in five minutes, we can hit Cafe Royale on our way to campus.”
I don’t need her to tell me twice as I bolt back into my bedroom to change into the first outfit I pull out of my closet and then zoom to the bathroom to brush my teeth and run a comb through my tangled locks. I’m back in the living room and ready to leave before that five minute alarm in Sydney’s brain could go off. All she does is laugh as we head out the door.
In another ten minutes we’re leaving the cafe, coffees in hand and smiles on our faces. At least there’s definitely a smile on my face as I take another sip and let the warm, rich goodness flow through me. I really am addicted.
“You think she looks that happy while thinking about other things or only coffee?” The familiar voice breaks me from my coffee euphoria.
Alex and Keith stand in front of me, both smirking incessantly like they just made the most clever joke the world has ever heard.
“Too bad you’ll never find out,” I reply, pushing myself through them, creating a Margot-shaped hole that Sydney walks through after me, truly just for fun.
“You wound me, sunshine!” Alex calls from behind me. I refuse to look back at him. “See you later!”
I wave at him from over my head, still not looking back as Sydney and I get into the car to head to campus.
Once again, Alex is late to class, and I start to think I might have the wrong idea about his punctuality habits. He’s not nearly as stealthy this time as he slides into his seat and drops his bag loud enough that people in the nearby seats look at the commotion. Professor Walker stands in the front of the room, discussing the importance of outlining our speeches. I’m taking copious notes, of course.
“Don’t even think about it,” I say without looking up from my notes.
“Think about what?” Alex feigns innocence.
“You aren't copying my notes. Come to class on time.”
Alex gasps. “Sun–”
“Shush,” I huff, straining to hear what the teacher said about speech times.
Alex shuts up for approximately ten seconds before he says, “What’s got your panties in a twist?”
I roll my eyes but continue to ignore him. Well, as best I can ignore a massive frat boy who’s trying to peek over my shoulder and copy what I’m writing.
“Oh I got it. You’re freaking out about the podcast, aren’t you?”
In all the craziness of Sunday, I was almost able to forget that Alex and I are going live with the first episode of our podcast today after class. I couldn’t forget entirely though, especially when Alex wrote: T-minus two hours! on the top of my note page. When I looked at him with trepidation, I am met only with a brilliant smile.
“I’m not freaking out. I’m just nervous,” I say, my voice small.
Alex puts his hand on my leg for a second before removing it quickly. “There’s nothing to be nervous about, sunshine. We did a great recording this weekend and I think it’s gonna be a huge hit!”
I scoff but not in a mean way. “Of course you do, campus hottie número uno.”
“I’m sorry, can you repeat that? In fact, give me your phone, I’m changing my contact name.” He holds his hand out to me, but I just slap it away with a small giggle.
After class, Alex and I walk in tandem toward the library where we’ve basically got a standing appointment in Study Room G6. I’m in there almost every day but on Mondays, Alex joins me. Edith seems used to this by now and has stopped giving me those knowing glances.
“You ready, sunshine?” Alex chooses the chair directly next to mine today so we can look at the computer together. Nathan helped us queue up the video on our website so all we have to do is hit upload and we are good to go. I suggested that we complete our planning session first and then hit the “publish” button right before leaving the library but Alex was having none of that.
Hovering the mouse over the “publish” button, I rest my fingertip, ready to hit it. All the confidence in the world. Ready to show everyone the funny, clever thirty minute episode of Alex and I talking and answering questions. Of Alex and I bantering and laughing. Of us being open and honest. Ready to show…
“Wait,” I say, moving my hand away from the computer and gripping both palms under the table. “Once we do this, we can’t take it back.”
“And that scares you?” Alex asks, in a curious way. I only nod but he edges me on. “Because…”
“Because…” I start but close my mouth again. How do I explain to Alex that this is the most I’ve put myself out there, ever, and I feel the fear of rejection down into my bones. How do I tell him that I’m terrified that he’ll feel differently about me if this fails?
“Because I can’t fail.” Myself. My family. Him.
Alex reaches under the table and pulls my hands apart with his larger one. He grips my hand in his palm and holds firm. “I told you once that I’d never let you fall and now it’s time for you to take my word for it. Do you trust me?”
When I meet his eyes, I can’t help but hesitate slightly, thinking about how he left me in the lurch last night. But I surprise myself by answering with a nod.
Alex smiles and it hits his eyes in a way that almost makes me draw an extra breath. “Hit that button, sunshine.” He nods toward the computer. I keep my left hand in his as I move my right to hover over the “publish” button once more.
One deep breath.
One press of the keyboard.
Published.
Alex squeezes my hand, and I actually feel a sigh of relief. And then I immediately change the tab to my question document. I hear him chuckle beside me but he doesn’t fight me on the move. I just know I can’t sit there and watch the views rack up, or worse, not rack up.
Alex and I spend the next hour scrolling through questions and outlining our podcast for Saturday. Just as I’m typing up the last bit of banter for our script, I hear the faint sound of scraping on wood. Next to me, Alex is using the pen I gave him in speech class to etch something into the table.
“What are you doing? That’s school property!”
Beside me, Alex laughs as he finishes the last of his vandalism. Blowing the wooden shavings out of the way, he brushes his hand over the marking. A & M.
“See? Now it really is our study room.”
I want to roll my eyes at the cringiness but I can’t take them off the letters he’s permanently marked on to the table. I need to blink a few times before I can face him again and when I do, his smile is contagious. I couldn’t stop my own grin from forming even if I tried.
“You’re such a dork.”
Alex laughs and any tightness I had in my chest loosens. Leaning over the table, he closes my laptop screen, signaling the end of our meeting.
“The script looks good but you know, there’s a chance we have to reevaluate this during the week if the show picks up speed. I bet there will be hundreds more questions rolling in before Saturday,” Alex comments as I shove my computer back into my backpack and we start to head out the door.
“Hm, good point. I’ll keep an eye on it and let you know if we need to rearrange some stuff.” After reaching the ground level, Alex hands Edith the study room key with a wink and then pulls the door for me to exit before him.
Just as I’m about to thank him and then rib him for his chivalry, my phone rings loudly in my pocket. As I pull it out, the name RYAN flashes on the screen.
“Oh look, your boyfriend is calling,” Alex says with feigned enthusiasm. I give him a shove before picking up the call.
“Hello?” I answer after the second ring. I continue walking toward the campus exit since Sydney is already home and I need to catch the bus. I expect Alex to head toward the parking lot but instead, he grabs my elbow and pulls me with him. I don’t have the time to question him as Ryan replies, “Margot, hey. It’s Ryan.”
I chuckle. “I know, caller ID and all.” Ryan laughs nervously on the other side of the phone.
“Right, duh.”
“What’s up? Everything okay?” I ask, still being manhandled by Alex. With an annoyed look at him, I pull my elbow away but the look on his face makes it clear that he wants me to continue walking with him.
“Oh yeah, everything’s fine. I actually was calling because I wanted to ask if you wanted to get dinner with me on Wednesday night? I know it’s kind of random in the middle of the week but truthfully, I don’t want to wait until the weekend to hang out with you. If you’re interested, that is.”
“Dinner?” I squeak out. I don’t miss the way Alex’s jaw ticks as we keep walking, but he doesn’t look my way.
I don’t know how to respond. I’ve never been on a date before. On the one hand, I’m absolutely terrified to put myself out there like that but on the other…Ryan is a nice guy. He’s been a perfect gentleman to me at every turn. I have no real reason to say no. I glance at Alex again and he’s staring straight ahead. No…no reason to say no.
His car is in sight and I’ve caught on by now that he isn’t going to allow me to take the bus home so I slide into the passenger seat as he gets into the driver’s side.
“That would be–”
My words are drowned out by the increasingly loud volume of Alex’s car radio, blasting Rambling Man by The Allman Brothers Band. I almost drop the phone from the shock of the noise, but Alex doesn’t seem to even notice it. With a huff, I turn the volume down to an appropriate level.
“I would love that.”
Ryan sighs in apparent relief through the phone, having not even heard the radio interruption. “Awesome. I’ll pick you up at seven. Sound good?”
Alex pulls out of the parking lot and makes a sharp left turn.
“Sounds great, see you then.” I smile into the receiver as I end the call.
I look over at Alex incredulously, but he remains silent, his eyes firmly on the road ahead. With my signature eye roll, I turn my body toward the window and watch the familiar scenery fly by. Danika is going to have an absolute fit when I tell her about Ryan asking me out. She’ll probably want to do a whole makeover for the event. Hair, nails, clothes. I bet she’ll even demand I–
“You know I was kidding about him being your boyfriend, sun.”
Finally he speaks and it’s to tease me. I want to give him a piece of my mind but when I look over to do just that, his gaze doesn’t look mocking. It looks…somber.
“He’s not my boyfriend. It’s just one date.”
Alex sighs but doesn’t say anything else. Within a few seconds, we pull up to the apartment and Alex reaches across me to open the passenger side door.
“I know. I’m just yanking your chain,” He grins but it doesn’t reach his eyes. Not like it did before. “I hope you guys have a good time,” he says, his hands back on the steering wheel and his eyes on the road.
I can recognize a dismissal when I see one. After thanking him for the ride, I slide out of the car and shut the door behind me. Alex pulls away the minute I’m safely away from the vehicle and the motion makes me pause. Normally he’ll at least wait until I’m inside the building…
I don’t dwell on that fact, there’s no reason to. Instead, I head inside and tell my roommates about my date in two days. Of course, Danika reacts exactly as I expected, just with more excited arm punches than I really needed.