That night had been surprising and perfect in her memory, but maybe it was only because it came on the heels of a terrible moment. Perhaps it was a good thing she was forced into this class because it had built-in brakes for their relationship when Megs would’ve gone full speed ahead with Gideon. Maybe this was the universe helping her stop jumping into things without thinking.Maybe it was just the burger she wanted and not the professor who came with it.
This time there wasn’t a line at Sammy’s and only a few people were sitting in the booths inside. Strange since it was three-thirty on a Monday. Megs ordered the exact combination she’d had that night with Gideon, then took her ticket and claimed the same booth they’d sat in. The only difference was that today she was wearing more appropriate footwear for the fall weather.
Megs pulled out her phone and opened her TikTok. She had a few comments on the videos she’d made about Oscar’s competition and saw she’d been tagged in a video that one of Oscar’s media gals made at the restaurant the other night.
She’d started to tell Oscar at least three times that she wouldn’t be able to continue with the competition, but each time, Oscar had a rebuttal. When she mentioned she had classes the coming weekend, Oscar had asked if her class was on Wednesday night or Saturday morning. Apparently, those were the days for their coaching session and train ride. She should’ve said yes, but Gideon was sitting right there and would’ve known it was a lie.
Oscar had assured her the train would be back at the Sugar Creek station by three o’clock, which would give her an hour and a half before she needed to leave for Champlain. His exact words were, “Even time to take a shower.”
When she said she would likely be overwhelmed with starting a new job and finding an apartment, Oscar said they could celebrate her new job at the bonfire and corn maze Tuesday night.
That was the final event and then they’d record their final audition live with Oscar on Wednesday and he’d announce the winner in time for the Saturday paper. While all of his reasons were well thought out, Megs would’ve continued pushing had it not been for his final announcement.
The winner of this competition would receive the five grand and the opportunity to record this book, but Oscar would also sign them on for the Heartsong series. A series that was plotted out to be fourteen books over three years with a contracted rate of four hundred dollars per finished hour.
She’d sat there and done the mental calculations. Based on the research she’d done before her audition, she knew that Oscar’s books would probably be around eleven hours of finished audio. Which meant she could earn over sixty thousand dollars recording that series. After that number landed in her brain, she hadn’t said another word about pulling out.
Megs’ ticket number was called out over the speaker. She put her phone next to her waist bag on the table and stood, then froze. Gideon stood there in front of her with a ticket in his hand.
Thirteen
Gideon was dressed exactlyas he had been in class and yet looked completely different in this context. Here, Megs allowed herself to notice the slight wave in his hair, and the stubble on his chin. When she noticed he’d undone the top two buttons of his shirt, a shiver shot down her spine.
An employee called her number a second time, and she walked toward the counter which happened to be directly behind Gideon. “Hi,” she murmured as she maneuvered past him and grabbed her tray.
Gideon had moved to the side when she turned around, and she walked back to her booth, feeling his eyes on her. She slid onto the red vinyl seat, her mind racing. Megs drew a deep breath and let it out.They were just two ordinary people getting a burger after class.It wasn’t like they’d planned this. They weren’t here together. Just two people who both enjoyed the risk of diptheria while they gorged on greasy meat and garlic fries. She almost snorted.
Megs glanced up. Gideon filled a cup with soda, then returned to the counter for his order. She dropped her gaze as he turned and walked down the aisle. Her cheeks heated as he sat in the booth just ahead of hers, taking the seat that faced her. They exchanged awkward smiles.
“You actually did like the food.” Gideon lifted his voice so she could hear him.
Megs nodded. “You thought I was lying?” Gideon shrugged. “I didn’t think you’d be here so soon after class.” She shouldn’t have said that. That implied she’d been thinking about when he might go to Sammy’s, which she definitely hadn’t been.
“Have you been coming here in secret?”
Megs held out the fry in her hand. “No, I just meant I thought I was the only one weird enough to eat here in the middle of the afternoon.”
Gideon nodded at the two truckers in the back corner and lowered his voice. “Are you calling them weird?”
Megs couldn’t wipe the grin off her face as she took another fry. They ate in silence for a moment, and then Gideon asked, “Would you say this is better or worse than dinner the other night?”
Megs blinked. Which dinner was he referring to? Their dinner with the finalists or their first dinner here at Sammy’s. Megs went with the former. “Better than the Rustic Table.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m not stressed.”
Gideon’s brow furrowed. “You were stressed?”
“Of course I was stressed. I didn’t know anyone there.” She wasn’t sure if it had been better standing at the high-top with Sean, Melissa, and Layla or sitting next to Gideon across from Alli and Oscar. Probably the best part of the night was sitting alone in the bathroom stall.
“Didn’t even know me, apparently.”
Megs scoffed. “Hey, that was a defense mechanism. I didn’t want to explain to everyone how I ended up in your class.”
Gideon took a massive bite of his burger, and Megs waited while he chewed, then took a sip of his soda.Did his dimple always come out when he pursed his lips?“It’s not hard. You just say, ‘I enrolled in a class at Champlain, and Gideon’s the professor.’”
“Right. Easy to admit you’re taking a beginner class at a Community College when everyone else around you has an actual career.”
