Bastien just laughs, his mouth full of banana.
“How’s school?” I ask, changing the subject. “Have you taken a single class for your engineering major yet?”
“Technically, yes,” he says, lifting his coffee cup to his lips. “I’ve fulfilled most of the general education requirements.”
“And zero of the engineering ones,” I finish.
Then I rub my knuckles against my forehead, brutally aware of what an obnoxious older sister I sound like.
“Something like that,” he says.
“Just tell them,” I say. “They’re going to figure it out when you graduate with a B.A. In Comparative Literature instead of the B.S. In Engineering they were expecting, just tell them now.”
“I know,” he says. “I just… I haven’t yet.”
I look across the table at my little brother, though little is the wrong word because he’s been taller than me since the moment he hit puberty. Objectively, I’m pretty sure he’s handsome, though subjectively, he’s my brother so ew.
“New topic,” he says, leaning back in the booth. “Tell me about Caleb.”
I clear my throat and look down at my tray.
“What about Caleb?”
Bastien looks at me like I’m an idiot.
“What do you think I want to know about him, Ollie?” he says. “You show up at two in the morning with an honest-to-God hunk on your arm and you think there’s not going to be questions?”
“He’s a friend,” I say.
“You have hot friends, then,” he goes on. “Who apparently play full-contact rugby in suits, judging by the grass stains he had on him. He straight?”
“Yes,” I say, a little too quickly. “I mean, I think so.”
Bastien grins.
“He questioning? I’d be happy to provide some answers.”
It is very, very weird to realize that you and your little brother have the same taste in men.
“I haven’t asked whether he’s settled in his sexuality,” I say, primly taking a sip of coffee.
“And he hasn’t given you any clues?”
I’m blushing, my face bright red, and I know it. I also can’t look directly at Bastien right now or I might accidentally tell him everything.
“We’re just friends and we’re going to stay that way,” I say. “It wouldn’t work out, so we’re just friends. For reasons.”
Bastien gives me a long, thoughtful look.
“He’s really into Insane Clown Posse,” he guesses.
I roll my eyes.
“He legitimately thought that Suicide Squad was a good movie,” he says.
“You think I’m that much of a snob? They’re good reasons, okay?”
“He’s married.”
I nearly spit out my coffee, because that escalated quickly.
“No!” I say, coughing. “God, Bossy, no he’s not married. Are you insane? Of course he’s not married. I would never —”
I pause as words fail me for a moment. Bastien is just looking at me, uncertainty written all over his face.
“ — Take up with a married man,” I hiss, leaning across the table.
“Is he married?” he says, leaning forward, his voice hushed, horrified.
“No!” I whisper-shout.
He doesn’t say anything for a long moment. Then he swallows, frowning at me, giving me a look I’ve never really seen from him before.
“Ollie,” he starts. “If —"
“He’s my math professor,” I hiss, leaning across the table. “There. You happy? Is that better?”
“Holy shit,” he says, and now he looks surprised, but no longer horrified. “I didn’t really think he was married but that’s the problem? He’s a professor?”
“Assistant professor,” I say. “It’s his first year, he just got his Ph.D. in May.”
In the four hours we just spent together in the car, we did manage to talk about more than my stupid, tragic family. For example, Caleb now knows the entire plot of the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion and I know all the ways in which the Lord of the Rings movies differ from the books.
“I would be amazing at math if he were my professor,” Bastien says, his face dead serious. “I’d declare a major.”
“No, you wouldn’t,” I sigh.
“I might if he were driving me across the state and kissing me goodbye,” he says, stealing a chunk of my donut and popping it into his mouth.
Then he looks up at me, and my thoughts must be written all over my face because he immediately looks horrified.
“I won’t say anything,” Bastien says quickly, a few donut crumbs flying from his mouth. “Sorry. I would never, Ollie, I can hardly go and tell everyone your secret.”
He chews, swallows.
“Besides, you’ve got leverage on me,” he points out.
“That’s not leverage,” I protest. “I’m not a monster.”
“Sorry, bad joke,” he says, and rubs his eyes with the heels of his hands.
Speaking without thinking first is probably genetic. I know better than to take it personally.
“You’re at least getting an A in his class, right?” he asks, leaning back in the booth and crossing his arms.
“I think so, but not —”
“Wait, no,” he says, pointing one finger at me and grinning. “You’re not getting an A.”
I shut my eyes and wait for the stupid joke.
“I bet you’re getting a D,” he says, still grinning like it’s the funniest thing anyone has ever said.