Remember This Part

29. Turkeys, Monkeys, Cats, the Usual Thanksgiving Shenanigans

Thea.

"After this next song, I vote that we shift to the Swift," I say with a provocative grin, queuing up my Spotify playlist on Alex's phone. "And before you argue, I want to remind you that we've been listening to your music for the past hour, and we only have a few minutes left on the road. I've been more than generous."

"Go for it," Alex says, his eyes still intensely fixed in front of him. The grin drops from my face. He's grown increasingly quiet throughout the drive. Now he sounds almost absent.

Plus, he hates Swifting in the car.

"Hey," I begin soberly. "Are you okay?"

"Are you asking me that just because I didn't fight you on Taylor Swift?" he wonders, the ghost of a smile on his face. But it's lacking those dimples that I love so much, and I know he's only wearing it to appease me.

"Is that not reason enough to be concerned?"

"Fair enough," he murmurs.

I wait for him to say something else. When he doesn't, I ask, "Alex, what's wrong? Are you upset about tonight?"

"Upset?" he repeats quizzically.

I look at the dashboard as a nervous exhale escapes.

"I mean...are you upset that I pressured you to go?" I can't help but dread the answer to that. I've been told that I have an annoying habit of forcing people to do things they don't wanna do. "I wasn't trying to twist your arm. I just thought now would be a good time. I mean, I had to go home to see my mom anyway. And she's been dying to meet you after how much I've told her. I know you weren't exactly excited about it, so if you really, really don't wanna go...I can meet you after dinner, and we can grab dessert or something. I'll be as quick as possible."

This time, Alex tears his gaze from the road for a moment to glance in my direction, his brow furrowed.

"Thea, you didn't twist my arm," he assures me, but it's followed by a hesitant sigh. "I guess I might be a little..."

"Nervous?" I finish for him.

"I was going to say 'tentative.'"

"What's the difference?"

"One sounds less wimpy." He looks at me again, giving me another smile. To my relief, I see a dimple.

"She'll like you," I tell him. "She already does, actually. She sees how happy you make me."

"If you haven't noticed, I don't exactly come off as friendly," he says with a shrug. "I'm not good with the small-talk."

"I don't think that's true," I counter. "I thought you were plenty good when I first met you."

"Yeah, well, you made it easy."

I reach over the console and rest my palm on his thigh. He seems surprised by the gesture at first, but then he easily covers my hand with his much larger one.

"You know, I had lunch with her a couple weeks ago," I begin, "and I was talking about you. I don't remember what I was saying, exactly, but I guess I was smiling the whole time. I didn't even notice until she pointed it out to me."

I watch as another soft smile appears on Alex's face, just as I'd intended. He proceeds to draw my hand to his lips so he can kiss my knuckles. It's amazing how quickly his tension begins to dissipate. His shoulders relax, his jaw softens.

"You've got me wrapped around your little finger, you know that?" he says suddenly, his voice dancing between seriousness and amusement.

"Are you telling me you'll commit grand larceny for me?"