Laura continued to study constantly over the next two weeks. Sometimes she went to the library with the whole group, sometimes she stayed home and studied alone or with Steve, and sometimes she had Alex over and they locked themselves in the office and giggled as they were supposedly studying. Steve always monitored them carefully, poking his head in to offer drinks or snacks from time to time or to grab something he didn't really need. Laura knew very well what he was doing, and though she found it a little insulting, ultimately, if it made him feel better, she was fine with it.

Finally, the day of the big test rolled around. Laura woke up bright and early that Saturday, expecting to see Steve at her side, but he was already up. She climbed out of bed and got dressed, not wanting to waste any extra time that could be spent studying with a shower. She headed toward the kitchen, expecting to eat a quick banana and hard boiled egg, only to find that Steve had already made breakfast.

"Happy Test Day, my bodacious, little bookworm!" He cheered as he saw her approach.

"Steve, this is so sweet, but I don't have time, Baby. I have to drive to IOU, find parking, and cram before the test!" she exclaimed nervously, grabbing a banana he had set on the table.

"You have to drive ten minutes to IOU, find parking on a Saturday, and relax before your test. You have plenty of time, Sweetheart. You are well prepared. You need to eat," he said firmly, leading her to her chair.

"Fine," she agreed, "but don't watch, because I'm gonna scarf it down, and it's not gonna be pretty."

Steve sat across from her and smiled adoringly. "You're always pretty."

Laura froze after shoveling two forkfuls of eggs into her mouth. She looked down at her old, ratty, most comfortable jeans and her worn, lucky testing tee. Her hair was held off of her face by her favorite headband, and there was a hole in one of her socks because she didn't feel she had time to find another one. Of course, she hadn't bothered to put on makeup. "Thank you, Steve," she said softly after she swallowed. She reached out and took his hand. "Thank you for being so supportive. I couldn't do any of this without you."

"Sure, you could. It just wouldn't be as much fun!" he teased.

When Laura arrived at the testing area, she said a quick hello to her friends, and then refocused her attention on her books. Alex was seated beside her when the proctor told them it was time to begin. She put away her books and focused on the clock, waiting nervously for her answer sheet to be passed out.

"Hey," Alex whispered, "you're going to kill it."

Laura smiled at him, grateful for the last second encouragement.

"Thanks. Good luck," she replied.

Alex caught up to Laura in the parking garage after the test. "Laura!" he called.

Laura stopped in front of her door and turned to face him. "Hey! How do you think you did?"

"Ok?" he said unassuredly. "I think I'll be retaking it," he shrugged. "You?"

"I don't wanna jinx myself," she said nervously.

"You know you rocked it," he pressed.

She tried her best to hold back her smile. "Maybe," she squeaked.

He chuckled at her modesty. "Congrats! Listen, I was talking to the gang, and we're all gonna go out for a drink to celebrate tonight. You in?"

"Sure!" she agreed immediately. "I have to run home and change, but after that, I'd love to." They had certainly all earned a drink.

"Cool. You've got time. Everyone's meeting at that little pub around the block at eight."

"All right. See you then!" she replied.

When Laura got to the bar, she looked around for her rowdy group of classmates. She didn't see any of them, so she began to circulate. Finally, she found Alex in a corner booth at the back of the restaurant. "Hey!" she said, the surprise evident in her voice. "We're the first ones here?" She asked as she slid in to sit beside him.

"Uh, yeah. I guess so," he shrugged. He paused nervously for a long moment before adding. "It's actually gonna be a small group tonight. Georgia, Deja, Dan, and Wayne all canceled. So we're just waiting on Terrence and Rachel."

"Oh," Laura frowned. "That's a little unlike them, huh?"

Alex shrugged. "They're wiped from the test."

"Oh, God," Laura complained. "Me too, but I just can't stop second guessing every answer I wrote."

"I know how to help you with that," he said. "Lemme go to the bar and buy you a drink."

"Oh, no. You don't have to buy. I'll just-"

"No, I insist," he said, standing from the booth.

"All right," Laura agreed eventually.

"How about a Sex on the Beach?" he suggested with a sly smirk.

"Oh, I-"

"I'll be right back," he said as he quickly fled the scene.

Laura's brow furrowed as she tried to process exactly what was happening. A lot of their friends had spontaneously canceled, and Alex was acting weird, but he was always a little weird. When he eventually returned with her drink, which didn't take long because this place was dead, she put her concerns out of mind. He was her friend. That's all he'd ever tried to be. She had nothing to worry about.

"There you go," he said, handing her the glass.

"Thanks," she replied, taking a quick sip. When the alcohol hit her tongue, especially disguised so sweetly, she couldn't resist a few more swallows. Today had been rough, and she desperately needed a little release. "Mm…"

"Uh… So," he continued, "Tell me about yourself."

Laura furrowed her brow at him. "What is this? A bad first date?" she laughed, teasing her friend for being so awkward.

"Yeah, I wish," he chuckled.

Laura cocked her head at him.

"Rachel left a message with the bartender. She should be here soon," he said quickly, sensing Laura's slight discomfort.

Laura shook her head. She was reading too far into this. "Cool," she nodded.

"So, where's the dream school?" he asked a moment later.

Laura relaxed slightly as their conversation retreated back into safe, familiar territory. "Oh, I think I'll just go to IOU or UIC, whichever one accepts me and is more affordable," she shrugged, stirring her drink with the thin straw.

"That's not what I asked," he corrected. "I asked for your dream school."

Laura looked up and smiled slightly. "Harvard," she answered softly. "I've always wanted to go to Harvard."

He smiled back, relaxing as she did. "You'll get in," he said firmly.

Laura shook her head. "No, I won't."

"Yes, you will! How could you think that?"

"Because I'm not applying," she answered eventually.

"What?" Alex gasped.

Laura shook her head. "Steve has a great job here, and he's applying to Master's programs. My family's here. I don't wanna uproot us for something as silly as getting a better name on my diploma. There are great law schools in Chicago."

"Laura, you can't let him hold you back."

Laura shook her head again. "No, Alex. Steve isn't holding me back. He'd make it happen if I asked him to, but I like our life how it is. I don't wanna move across the country right now."

"If only you'd married another lawyer," he mused. "You could both head to Massachusetts for school."

Laura shrugged. "Yeah, but it's not that. Steve has always dreamed of going to MIT. It's not like there's nothing for him out there, but we're settled. We're happy where we are. I don't really wanna start over somewhere new. I don't know. You'll probably get it when you're married."

He took a long sip of his beer, finishing it remarkably quickly. He stood and said, "I'll go get us another round."

"Oh, I haven't finished my first," Laura called as he walked away. Laura shrugged and began to drink faster, hoping to keep up with him and make their wait time a little less awkward.

By the time he returned, which took a little longer this time, Laura had downed her first.

"You'll never believe this," he complained as he sat next to her again.

"What?" Laura asked.

"Rachel and Terrence were on their way, and they got into a car accident!"

"Oh, my God! Are they ok?"

"Yeah, they're fine. They're just stuck dealing with the other driver and the cops."

"Oh, no! So they're not gonna make it?"

"Guess not," he shrugged.

"That's too bad," she pouted. "Our party sure fizzled, huh?"

"No! C'mon. It's still early! We could still have some fun!" he pressed urgently.

After finishing her first drink, Laura's head was a little fuzzy. A lot fuzzy, actually. She wasn't thinking clearly enough to realize what an unsavory position she was in. "I guess one more drink couldn't hurt," she shrugged, taking another sip. "I can't believe I've never had one of these before." She took another sip. "What's the plural of Sex on the Beach? Sex on the Beaches? Sexes on the Beach?"

He smirked slightly. "I don't know."

As Laura got closer to halfway through her second drink, she had completely relaxed. Completely. She was with a good friend. She had rocked her test. She had had a delicious drink, danced a little bit, and laughed a lot. Then Alex's hand landed on her thigh. He leaned close to her ear. "You are so sexy," he whispered, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

Her eyebrows furrowed, and she turned to look at him. "What?" she asked, honestly thinking she'd misheard him.

Before she knew what was happening, he had firmly grabbed her face and pulled her lips to his. Her eyes widened, and she pushed hard on his chest immediately. "Hey!" she yelled when he pulled away. "What do you think you're doing?!"

He looked shocked that she had reacted that way. "I-Uh… I…"

Laura glared at him, but she felt too foggy to tell him off. She just needed to get home. She began to walk toward the door, only to stumble on her way.

"Whoa! Laura," Alex said, wrapping his arms around her. "You can't drive like this."

"Get off of me!" she complained weakly. Luckily, because the bar was so quiet, the bartender heard.

"Is everything all right, Ma'am?" she asked, sliding out from the bar and walking over to them.

"No. I… I need to call my husband," she said.

The bartender looked Laura up and down. Then she looked at Alex. "Which isn't you, so you should probably let go of her before I call the cops."

"I'm a friend," he said quickly.

"Fine, but she's not leaving my sight until she's with someone wearing a wedding ring that she looks happy to go home with. Get out of my bar." The bartender took Laura into her arms and stared at Alex until he left. She led her over to a barstool and handed her a phone. "How much did you drink tonight?" she asked gently as Laura tried several times to dial the number correctly.

"I-I'm not sure," she replied.

"What's your husband's name?"

"Steve,"'she replied groggily.

"Do you have a cellphone?"

Oh, yeah. Laura nodded and handed it to her. The bartender found Steve on Laura's recent call list and held the phone to her ear.

"Hey, Sweetums!" Steve chirped. "Great timing! I'm just getting home! How's the gang? Can I come up and say hello?"

"Steve?"

"Laura?" Steve asked, knowing that wasn't her voice.

"Your wife's at O'Malley's on the South side, and she needs a ride home. She looks like she's had a few too many."

"Really? She hasn't been there very long," Steve replied.

"I don't really know. My shift just started, so I haven't been serving her, but a guy tried to lead her out of here, and she didn't seem comfortable, so I stopped him. I won't let her out of my sight 'til you get here."

"Thank you for that," Steve said as he grabbed his keys and headed out of the apartment again. "What did the guy look like?"

"White, Blonde," she answered.

"That was probably her friend, Alex."

"So I shouldn't have stopped him? I might still be able to catch him."

"No! I'll come get her. Please, don't let anybody else take her before me. Our code word will be Octopus."

"Ok," the bartender said, furrowing her brow.

"I'll be there in a jiffy," he said as he sprinted down the stairs. He was too impatient to take the elevator.