A month of sneaking around with Eddie Munson, and I was still just as fluttery as I was when I decided I had wanted to kiss him by the pool at my party.
I had struck the balance between sneaking around and spending time with my friends, leaving Wednesday nights open for Dynasty and leaving lunch early to "study" to avoid suspicion. Parties had become my favorite thing on the weekend – I would go to a party one of my friends were hosting, and Eddie and I would pick a time for him to come pick me up early. I would say goodbye to my friends and then run out to Shelob, meeting my favorite metalhead for late night escapades.
Tonight was one of these nights, but I was extra antsy to leave since Eddie had told me he had something special planned for us. I sat off to the side of my group of friends that were talking, pretending to listen as I watched the clock. Jason came over to me with shots in his hands.
"For you, Mar-got!" he said, handing me one and grinning at me. I nodded and took it, throwing it back quickly. I handed the small glass back to him and smiled at him. He placed an arm around my shoulder. "You're not leaving early tonight, are you?"
I flushed and felt my stomach drop. Eddie and I had made sure to pick different times each time to avoid suspicion, and I thought I had been successful. I shrugged and played it cool.
"I don't know – maybe!" I replied. He frowned at me.
"I feel like we never see you anymore, Margot. Did we do something wrong?" he asked, worried. I felt guilty and shook my head.
"Oh, my gosh, Jace – no! Why would you think that?" I replied, pulling him in for a hug.
"I don't know – I just feel like you're always on your way out the door with us lately," he said. He shrugged. "I guess part of it is me and Chrissy getting used to being in a relationship."
I nodded, wanting him to lean into that explanation.
"You have to prioritize her, Jace – and I want you to!" I insisted. The start of Jason and Chrissy's relationship had been fortuitous. Chrissy was so excited about filling me in on every detail of what was going on that she was too distracted to notice when I stopped talking to her about crushes or when I was not always available. Jason was more shrewd and harder to throw off.
Jason smiled at me and nodded, pulling me in for another hug. I glanced at the clock and felt a secret thrill when I saw the time – 9:45. Time for me to go. I pulled back and smiled at him.
"I know you were just complaining about this, but I have to go – I'm getting up early with my parents tomorrow. Give Chrissy my love?" I asked. He smiled and nodded, seemingly understanding. I skipped out of the party, trying to play it cool.
I started down the sidewalk, glancing around and looking for a van. I grinned when I saw one heading towards me, slowing to a stop. Eddie rolled the window down and leaned out of it.
"Hey, pretty lady – I hope you're not walking home by yourself," he said, starting our bit. I sauntered up to him and set my hands on the window.
"I'm a big girl – I can handle it," I quipped. He sucked air in between his teeth and shook his head.
"I'm not arguing that, I just think that a girl as lovely as you should be treated like a princess and never have to walk anywhere," he said, setting a hand on top of mine. I laughed and shook my head.
"Don't worry – my boyfriend is plenty good enough to me," I replied. I suddenly felt the color drain from my face and my throat start to close up. What did I just say? Holy shit. What did I just say?
Eddie's cool demeanor broke and his face split into a goofy grin. I felt my stomach drop.
"Your boyfriend?" he asked, his voice cracking. I shook my head.
"I'm sorry, I've been drinking, I'm so sorry that was—"
Before I could finish my sentence, Eddie reached through the window to wrap his hands around the back of my neck and pull me into one of the kisses that always made me breathless. He was practically falling out of the window as he kissed me. He pulled back and kissed my nose softly, making me melt further.
"Don't be sorry," he whispered. I felt my face flush. I still felt stupid, but I nodded. He grinned and kissed me again. "Get in the van, princess."
I scampered over to my side of Shelob and climbed in. He was still grinning, goofy as he watched me. He took my hand.
"We can hang late tonight, right?" he asked. I nodded and smiled shyly.
"I told my parents I was spending the night at Chrissy's," I replied. His eyes flashed.
"So sneaky, princess!" he teased, squeezing my hand. I flushed but hoped he would understand I wanted to stay the night with him. Nothing scandalous, I just wanted an excuse to fall asleep next to him. I had even packed a couple of things for a sleepover in my bag. He pressed my knuckles to his lips. "That's actually perfect for tonight."
He started driving away, asking me questions about the party. I answered them, feeling less and less shame about my slip-up from earlier. He was playing with my fingers, something he had started doing when we would drive together. He would trace them and lace them between his, kissing them occasionally. I furrowed my brows as we continued down a road I didn't recognize.
"Where are we going?" I asked. He grinned.
"You'll see," he replied.
We continued to drive, and he finally pulled into a trailer park. I felt my heart skip – was Eddie finally taking me to his place? He parked in front of a well-loved trailer – it had a small garden planted in front of it and had obviously been painted a couple times over the years. I turned to him and softened when I saw how nervous he was.
"It's not nearly as nice as the Patterson house, but it's ours, and—"
I cut him off by kissing him hard. I pulled back and shook my head as I ran my hand through his hair.
"Eddie, it's lovely. I'm so glad you finally brought me," I insisted. He grinned and nodded.
We got out of the van, and I started towards the front door. I turned to him, furrowing my brows when he didn't follow me. He held his hand out.
"We're going somewhere a little different," he said. I walked back to him and took it, following him as we walked around back. There was a pile of boxes that he walked up to. "Okay, follow me."
I watched him as he scaled the boxes to the roof of the trailer, smiling as he turned to me. He held his hand out again.
"Come on, princess," he said, shaking his hand at me. I nodded and started climbing, surprised by how easy it was. I took his hand and he helped me up onto the roof. He held onto me, his grip tight around my waist. I felt my face split into a grin as I saw what he had taken me to.
On the roof, he had set up comforters and cushions, similar to our date at the drive-in. He guided me over to the pallet and helped me onto it. He smiled down at me as he settled next to me, positioning himself on the cushions as he held his arms open for me. I tucked myself into his embrace, grinning as he pulled a blanket over us.
"So, tonight," he started, pulling me closer to him. "I thought I could show off my astronomy knowledge."
I smiled and settled farther into his chest. He kissed the top of my head and pointed up.
"So, that's the constellation Cassiopeia," he explained, pointing to three bright stars. "She was a queen whose beauty was unparalleled. However, she knew this, and made the mistake of bragging about her beauty to Zeus and Poseidon. As punishment, Hera exiled her to the stars, forever upside down."
I nodded, remembering the story.
"However!" he exclaimed, almost making me jump. "King Cepheus, her husband, was so bereft and loved her so much that he insisted to be placed into exile with her in the night sky."
He moved his pointer finger across the sky and pointed to another constellation. He grinned down at me as I looked up at him.
"Forever clinging to each other in the stars, always meant to be," he said before kissing me. I raised an eyebrow.
"Wasn't Cassiopeia the one who was crazy vain and even offered her daughter, Andromeda, up as a sacrifice to Poseidon?" I asked. He flushed.
"Okay, well, sue me for trying to be romantic!" he sputtered, making me laugh. He smiled in spite of his blush and leaned close to me to kiss me. He brushed the hair out of my face. "So, do you want to talk about what you said earlier?"
I felt my face heat and buried my face into the crook of his neck.
"I'm so sorry, Eddie, I was drinking, and I was just talking—"
"Go, Go, Go – take a breath," he said. I looked up. He suspiciously sounded like me when we first started sneaking around. He was smiling at me as he traced my cheek with his thumb. "I liked it, if you liked it."
I felt my heart skip and I grinned.
"Wait, so, like, you want to be my boyfriend?" I asked. His eyes crinkled and he pulled me to his lips to kiss me. He kept his lips close to mine.
"So badly, princess," he answered. I smiled and threw my arms around his neck, kissing him hard and deep. He pulled back and laughed at my excitement. He suddenly stood, confusing me. He walked to the edge of the roof and threw his arms out.
"Hawkins, Indiana!" he shouted, making me gasp. "Margot Patterson, the coolest girl in America, is my GIRLFRIEND!"
I started laughing as some of his neighbors shouted at him to keep it down and he turned back to me, his smile the biggest and brightest I had ever seen on him. He clambered back to me and pulled me back into his arms. He started peppering me with kisses, making me smile into his touch. He pulled back and wrapped his hand around the base of my neck, pressing his forehead to mine.
"Margot Patterson is Eddie Munson's girlfriend," he said, making me giggle again. I kissed him quickly. He softened. "I know, that, uh, we still, uh, need to keep this quiet for now, though."
I felt my heart break a little and buried my face into the crook of his neck. He wrapped his arms around me.
"It's okay, Go," he said quietly. I sighed.
"I'm going to figure this out, Eddie," I replied. He scratched my back and nodded.
"I know you will. I don't mind this, though," he said. I looked back up at him and smiled. He grinned back down at me.
---
I was lying. I really minded this.
I wanted to parade her around and have everyone watch me with the envy that I knew they would have. I wanted to go to parties with her and get drunk and make out on couches in front of people. I wanted to walk around and hold her hand and kiss her in public and take her to my shows.
Getting to know her better had only made my affection for her worse. I liked all of the different versions of Margot – New, Old, and In Between. I liked the Margot that would practically fall over laughing from a stupid joke I would make. I liked the Margot that would befriend any waitstaff and learn their entire life story. I liked the Margot that was cool under pressure, never letting anything get to her. And I adored the Margot that could make my heart stop with one smile.
She looked up at me, smiling that smile, and I decided I would need to be okay with this. Just for a little longer. Especially when I got to kiss her like I normally did.
I kissed her hard and pulled her back into my chest, burying my face into the top of her head. She wrapped her arms around my waist and sighed, making my heart skip.
"So, what time do I need to get you to Chrissy's?" I asked, scratching her back. She lifted her head, raising an eyebrow. I felt my face heat. "What?"
"Eddie, I lied about the sleepover," she said. I felt panic.
"Wait – so you can't stay late? I need to get you home, then!" I said quickly, sitting up. She set her hands on my chest and pushed me back into the cushions. I felt my chest burn in spite of my panic.
"Eddie. I lied about the sleepover to my parents," she explained slowly. I still didn't understand. She groaned and set her face into my chest. "Are you seriously going to make me say it?"
"Princess, I am lost," I answered, wrapping my arms around her. She looked up, glaring at me.
"Eddie Munson, I was hoping that I could have a sleepover with you," she snapped. I felt my face turn crimson and grinned at her.
"Wait, really?" I croaked. She groaned again and buried her face into my chest again. I laughed and pulled her up, kissing her repeatedly until she started laughing. I pulled back and grinned at her. "I would love a sleepover with you, princess."
She grinned and crinkled her eyes, making my heart skip. I shot up and started to pull her up. She laughed again.
"Eddie, we don't have to go now, we have all night!"
"Oh, right," I said, settling back in. She pointed back up at the sky.
"Tell me about that one," she said. I grinned and pulled her closer, kissing her temple and then walking through all of the different constellations I knew. She kept asking questions, genuinely interested in what I knew. I looked down at her, smiling at the miracle in my arms. Margot Patterson was my girlfriend.
Well, secret girlfriend.