Page 27 of Ink & Ambition

“Do you want a drink? I’m going to get a refill,” Ryan asks. I shake my head as Ryan gets up. A few seconds after Ryan leaves, I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. When I pull it out, a text from Alex greets me.

good chat?

My breath draws in and I look up toward the house, seeing the silhouette of Alex standing in the doorway, his phone clutched in his hand. Looking up at him, I tap the side of my nose twice with my index finger, indicating I did my part of thesecretjob. I can’t see his face but the outline of his shoulders shake briefly in laugher before he disappears down the hallway.

Pulling myself up from the deep chair, I grab my bag and head back inside to find Danika and Sydney, hoping they’ll be ready to head home soon.

“Mars!” Danika hits me with the nickname that’s typically used by Arden only so I know she’s really feeling the alcohol tonight. Dani drapes her arms around my shoulders in what I can only assume is meant to be a hug but really seems more like I’m carrying her. Sydney saddles up beside her, seeming out of breath.

“I tried to rein her in, but–” Sydney starts but doesn’t need to finish as I nod in understanding.

“Ready to go, Danimal?” I say with fake enthusiasm, using our own special nickname for when she gets a little too out of control.

Danika kisses my cheek with a fat smack before turning toward Sydney and doing the same. “I love you guys,” she sighs, resting her head on my shoulder. I’ve got one arm wrapped around her waist and the other pulling up my phone to call anUber because there’s no way I’m dragging her ass all the way home.

As I’m typing my destination, I feel the heavy weight of Danika pulled from my grasp. At first, I think she’s fallen, but instead, I see her ass in the air and her body being fireman carried by Alex Prescott.

“Let’s go. I’ll drive you guys home.”

“You’ve been drinking,” I protest.

“No, I haven’t.” He calls behind him as he walks toward the door without a glance back to see if we’re following. Sydney and I exchange a look before running after them.

Alex’s jeep is parked directly in front of the house. Sydney runs ahead to open the back door, slide into the seat and help him maneuver Danika into a laying position since she’s now completely passed out. I climb into the passenger seat and Alex walks around to the driver’s side.

He starts the engine and for a moment, it’s the only noise that fills the vehicle. I’m not sure what he’s been up to the whole night, but for some reason, I trust him when he says he hasn’t been drinking. Maybe that could be the reason why his jaw is so clenched right now. He didn’t get to have fun at his own party.

“Nice car,” I say to break the ice.

Alex lets out a chuckle, his jaw loosening a bit. “Thanks.”

I can feel Sydney’s sly smile from behind me as she watches Alex’s and my every move. It’s a small blessing that Dani is asleep, there’s nothing that would stop her from saying whatever she wants and embarrassing the hell out of me. That’s why Sweet Sydney balances us out. She’s the perfect middle ground between Dani’s crazy and my uptightness.

We arrive at the house in mere minutes by my directions and Danika stirs as Sydney shuffles her awake. I move to open my door, but a large, firm hand on my knee stops me.

“Margot, can you wait for a minute?” Alex asks, and he seems…nervous?

“Thanks, Uber man,” Danika sputters and Alex just laughs, shaking his head.

“I’ll be right in,” I say to Sydney, who looks between us for a second before nodding and heading inside to put Dani into bed.

As soon as the back doors close, Alex sighs, running his hand through his hair.

“Is everything okay?” I’m not sure what’s got him so worked up.

“I was out of line last week.”

It takes me a minute to remember what he’s talking about but when the lightbulb goes off, I open my mouth to protest. Alex doesn’t let me get another word in.

“Ryan is a DE guy and for some reason seeing you with him…” Alex trails off, and I’m having difficulty putting together the pieces that are missing from his comment. Is he saying he’s jealous that I was talking to Ryan?

“Alex, I—”

Alex draws in a breath before cutting me off. “It’s just not a good look for you to be seen with a Delta when we’re about to pull this prank. It could risk everything.” His eyes suddenly shudder and it seems like he wants to say something else, something more, but he doesn’t. He straightens his back, pulling his hand from my leg as if he just realized it was still there. I hadn’t forgotten it was.

I blink. “You don’t want me to talk to Ryan…because of the prank.” It’s not a question. It’s a realization. Of course that’s what he’s thinking about. How naive could I possibly be to think it had anything more to it than that? We’re in a mutually beneficial work arrangement. We should be focused on making sure both our plans go off without a hitch.

Alex doesn’t respond but his dark eyes bore into mine. Even in the blackness around us, I can still see a slight twinkle in his gaze.

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