Page 21 of Ink & Ambition

Alex doesn’t say anything to me for the rest of the class but his arm stays pressed to mine on the shared armrest. I should be annoyed that he’s touching me, but I realize I haven’t moved mine away either.

“Excellent start, everyone,” Professor Walker says as she takes her place back in the center of the stage. “Now that we’ve all gotten the scary part over, we can get into the real work. Next week, I’ll be starting my lectures on speech content and how to prepare proper speech notes. Until then, have a good rest of your week.”

With that dismissal, the students start shuffling out of the classroom. I’m relieved, at least. It seems like the speeches are over for the time being. I’m a much better notetaker than I am a public speaker but I guess this class is supposed to help me with that.

“You know, a little southern accent comes out in you when you talk about your family,” Alex says, and his voice startles me.He had been so quiet the rest of the class that I thought he had already left when the professor dismissed us but no, there he was, standing over me with his backpack slung over one shoulder.

“I don’t have an accent,” I mutter, turning to walk down the aisle and up the stairs to the exit. Alex follows and I expect him to head in the opposite direction once we reach the door but he continues the same pace, walking next to me as I head toward the library.

“You do,” he says. “Only a little bit. But I hear it now and then. It’s cute.”

I ignore him and continue my path to the library. I certainly learned my lesson last week and had already booked Study Room G6 this morning before heading to campus with Sydney and Danika. Edith just holds the key out to me as I walk in and I take it with a grateful smile.

I still feel Alex’s presence next to me as I walk down the stairs toward the room. It’s not until we reach the door that I whirl around and face him. He takes a step back, clearly startled by my affront.

“What do you want?” I huff with more attitude than necessary.

“Don’t you want to talk about the podcast?”

“Oh,” I say, mentally checking my “to-do” list. I do need to talk him through my ideas and I need to ask him for a ticket to the gala but after that speech, I’m mentally drained and already have a list of assignments I had planned on working on this afternoon. I didn’t have the mental space blocked out for Alex until tomorrow since Tuesdays are my easiest days and I fully thought he would’ve dropped that public speaking class by now.Thought, hoped, prayed. To no avail.

“I don’t really have the time right now. How about tomorrow?”

Alex chuckles and thinks for a minute before responding. “Tomorrow it is. Same time,” he motions toward the study room behind me. “Same place.”

“I thought you couldn’t be seen with me,” I clapback, folding my arms over my chest.

“A closed, private study room in the library is hardly a public sight, sunshine,” he responds, folding his own arms in front of him in a mirrored gesture to mine. He looks much more intimidating than I do.

“Actually, now that I think about it,” I start, something unsettling clicking in my head, “how are we supposed to produce a public podcast together if we can’t even be seen with each other?”

“Don’t worry about that. Once you fulfill your part of the prank, we can be seen together as much as you want. In all types of settings,” Alex takes a step toward me, mischief twinkling in his deep brown eyes and I take a step back, the bag hanging off my shoulder hitting the door with a soft bang.

Alex notices our positions, notices the advantage he has over me and he also probably notices the way my heart rate has increased.

Not taking his gaze from mine, Alex simply says, “Until tomorrow, sunshine,” and then leaves me all but panting against the door, a position I couldn’t ever before imagine I’d be in…especially not because of Alex Prescott.

Chapter Eleven

Margot

I was thinking something like "The Muscles and the Brains" or even better "Advice from a Six Foot Four Super Hot Genius and his Little Friend"

Theboyisrelentless.Alex has been sending me podcast names all day, each one more ridiculous than the last. For all the work he’s putting into just the title, one would thinkhewas trying to win the contest, not me.

"His Little Friend" could be easily misconstrued…

What do you…

oh HAHA ok you're right. Scratch that idea

I’m not even sure why I’m entertaining these texts from him. I already know what the podcast is going to be called.

And anyway, I wouldn't exactly call it little…

Bleh. Leave me alone now

Putting my phone down, I continue working on the upcoming assignment for psychology. After that class, I’ll be meeting Alex in the study room to hash out the details about the podcast. Any more musings he has about it can certainly wait until then. My phone vibrates again and I get ready to chuck it at the wall if it’s another ridiculous text from Alex, but instead I’m greeted with my older brother’s smiling photograph.

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