Page 18 of You Were Mine

“Much the same,” Brandon replies. “There’s not much variety in my life these days. I’m thinking I need to take up a hobby. Or maybe I could tour the world a bit. That’s always fun.”

Tour the world.Tour the world?

I can’t imagine saying it so flippantly. I don’t have the money to visit anotherstate, much less the world.

“It sounds like fun,” I say. “Is that something you do often?”

“Every now and then,” Brandon replies, grinning. “Hey, you should join me!”

I laugh and shake my head. I like Brandon, but I haven’t known him allthatlong. And I don’t think I’d feel comfortable mooching a world trip with anyone anyway. Maybe Logan. But that’s only because I’ve known him forever. And even that’s still abigmaybe under the current circumstances.

I bite my lower lip.

How long has Logan loved me? It can’t have been too long, right? I would have surely noticed if he’d had a crush on me for any amount time. It’s not like he’s subtle. He can’t keep a secret to save his life.

“I don’t know about that,” I reply ambivalently. “Besides, I don’t even know what I’m going to do next with my life. Sure,I know I want to pursue a doctorate, but I haven’t gotten any acceptance letters yet. I may wind up going freelance.”

“Ah, more school,” Brandon says, shaking his head.

“Hey, if I’m going to put myself thousands of dollars in student loan debt…”

“Thousands of dollars, huh?”

“Oh, yeah,” I reply. “My loan provider sends me letters every semester reminding me how much I owe.”

“But you aren’t—like—alotin debt, are you?” Brandon asks.

I don’t know quite what to make of that. Brandon doesn’t sound angry or upset, but there’s an odd catch in his tone.

“I think I’m at about sixty-five-thousand,” I reply. “That’s not too bad for someone who has almost finished two degrees. I know people who have that much debt and only one degree.”

“But it’s a lot for someone like you,” Brandon says.

“Sure.”

There’s an awkward pause.

“Hey, I need to tell you something. In fact, I should have told you for a while now, but I’m telling you now,” I say.

“What’s going on? You sound serious.”

There really is no way for me to say this. “Logan told me he loves me.”

There’s another awkward pause. Brandon stares at me.

“I see,” he finally says, “And how do you feel about him?”

“I don’t know. We’ve been ‘just friends’ for a long time. He’s probably used to being around me. I really like you a lot. I’ve had so much fun going out with you these past few weeks. I really would like to see where this could go,” I rationalize. “And I’m really looking forward to the Halloween gala with you.”

“Good. Me too. I really like you a lot, too.” Brandon mentions without missing a beat, “As long as you’re sure you don’t feel the same way about him. Mark, I know it’s only been a short while,but I feel a connection with you. My day brightens when I see you.” He grabs my hand, smiling. I blush.

“You brighten my day too, Brandon,” I pathetically reply, trying to come up with a way to steer us to a different topic, besides the weather. I haven’t had much experience revealing such strong emotions. “And one more thing about my student loans. At least the doctorate program will go toward art. No chemistry,” I chuckle, grasping for an opportunity to change the subject.

I really don’t like talking about my student loans. As far as I’m concerned, they’re the bane of my existence, but if I can get off the topic of Logan, I’ll take it right now.

Brandon nods while wrinkling his nose. “Right. Or any of those required literature classes. Ugh.”

I arch an eyebrow. “Did you really think it was that bad?”

---