Page 35 of Ink & Ambition

“Ah, naked on the quad. A classic.”

“My epitaph, at this point,” I sigh, pouring myself some of the fresh brew. “Keep reading, there’s a new addition this time.”

Dani is silent for a moment before she lets out a gasp. “A knight in shining armor!” She cheers in surprise.

“Who? Who?” Sydney asks, mid pancake flip. She cranes her neck to read over Dani’s shoulder.

“Who do you think? Margot’s new frat boy hottie boyfriend,” Dani teases, holding the book open and pointing to the part about Alex for Sydney to see.

“One, he is not my boyfriend,” I say, pouring almond milk in my coffee and taking my first sip. “And two, I know what the wholenaked in publicthing means, but what does it mean that Alex is there?”

Danika looks down at the book again. “I think it means you trust him. You’re clearly nervous about putting yourself out there, but with the podcast it seems like even your subconscious knows that Alex won’t let you crash and burn.” She closes the book and places it on the counter. “That’s actually kind of sweet.”

Regardless of Alex’s reputation on campus, my instincts about him haven’t been wrong yet. He hasn’t steered me wrong yet, about anything. Is it true that I really trust him to keep me afloat while my anxiety skyrockets during this podcast?

Sydney slaps a pancake onto a plate and hands it to me. “Are you gonna tell him about the dream?”

“Hell no,” I scoff, taking the plate and moving to sit in my usual spot across the kitchen island. Within seconds, both of my roommates have joined me with full plates of their own. “Thanks for cooking, ladies.”

Sydney nods with a smile and Danika mutters something likeyou’re welcomewith her mouth full of pancake.

“So, when are you meeting him?” Dani asks.

“At three,” I sigh. It seems like a million hours away because of the early hour, but I know I’m going to be dreading when the time truly does come.

“What are you gonna do until then?”

“Something to distract me. Any ideas?” Danika takes a huge bite of pancake and then opens her mouth to speak. “Ah, ah,” I hold my hand up to her face. “Chew, swallow, then speak.”

Danika rolls her eyes at me but does what I asked. After a few seconds, she opens her mouth and sticks out her tongue to proveto me she’s finished. I grimace but allow her to proceed with her thought.

“I have just the thing,” Danika says, looking back and forth between Sydney and I with that expression that makes us regret ever saying yes to anything she says.

Half an hour later, Sydney and I share that look again as we strap the black vests to our chests and holster our loaded paintball guns to our backs.

“Leave it to Danika to take us to the last place I ever thought I’d be on a Saturday morning.”

“How are we even gonna do this, though?” Sydney asks, placing the helmet on the crown of her head. “There’s three of us, one will have to be on the opposite team all by herself,” she pouts.

“Actually, we were thinking guys versus girls,” a voice I had no idea I’d be hearing speaks from behind me. I whip around to see three smirking boys with their arms crossed across their chests. They encapsulated the very essence of 2000’s boy band aesthetic and I bite my lip to keep from laughing. Alex’s gaze drops to my mouth for just a second before jutting up back to my eyes.

“Right on time, gentleman,” Danika says, pride in her voice. It’s my impetuous roommate I whip around on next.

“You invited them?”

It’s Keith who speaks up next. “Actually, we invited you.” I look over to Danika and Sydney who nod with a feigned innocence.

Alex saunters up, grabbing his helmet from the table and holding it in the crook of his elbow. “Yeah, sunshine. You’re actually crashing my Saturday morning activity. We don’t do this every week, but when we can, we get our frustrations out on eachother’s asses with paintballs.” In demonstration, Devon walks by Alex, whacking him in the butt with his paint gun. Alex gives me a wink before passing by me to grab his own rifle.

Dani comes up next to me. “Keith and I were talking last night at the party. He told me about their paintball game and it sounded fun.” She shrugs. “If it makes you feel better, Alex had no idea he invited us, either.”

I can’t admit to Danika the feelings I had when I saw Alex in the doorway. Shock, first, obviously. Then anger at her for not telling me he’d be here. Not that I would’ve done anything different. I’m wearing a casual outfit with light makeup on. Not that I care what he thinks of what I look like.

The next feeling was indifference, so Alex was here? So what? He’s my friend. Friends do fun things like this all the time. My last and most resounding feeling is determination. My roommates and I can be fiercely competitive if we need to. These boys don’t stand a chance.

Sydney rattled up next to us, all the gear sounding off like an orchestra as she walks. “You okay with this, Margot?”

Grabbing my helmet from the table, I stare out at the three boys, the tallest of which eyes me with amusement. I place the helmet on the crown on my head and use my palm to push it all the way down so the plastic visor is over my eyes.

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