My only concern was finding Megan. I replayed the last ten minutes over in my head again. I didn’t think I had been different, had I? I realized that I’d forgotten to introduce Megan immediately. Then I realized I had dropped her hand. I had been holding her hand when I saw Anna, and the fact that she had managed to walk away without me even realizing it meant that I had unconsciously let go at some point.
All of that combined with seeing me meet an old girlfriend might have sent Megan straight towards the exit, but I still couldn’t quite believe she would leave like that. I checked the entire theater for good measure, and I hung around the bathrooms, too, just in case she had needed to use a restroom. But Megan was nowhere in sight.
Finally, I picked up my phone and tried calling. It was ringing, but she didn’t pick up. I tried again immediately, and this time, the line went dead. She had seen I was calling and had cut me off. I was starting to see that Anna was spot on with her observation. Cursing, I headed out towards Brent’s apartment, hoping that she had gone back ther
e.
On my way over, I called Megan’s number again and left a message. “Megan,” I said. “I’m sorry about that… She’s an old girlfriend, but there’s nothing going on between us. There hasn’t been for years. I knew her before becoming a firefighter.”
My explanation sounded flat and flimsy as I was saying it and instead of continuing on with it, I just hung up and headed to the apartment. I realized that Megan might not even have made it back yet. She had either decided to walk, in which she would probably take another fifteen minutes, or she had taken a cab, which I thought was unlikely. Either way, I headed up to Brent’s apartment and knocked hard, hoping to find Megan there.
The door opened, but it wasn’t Megan.
“It’s you,” I said.
“Well, hello to you, too,” Brent said. He was chomping on a bag of chips. “Want one?”
“No thanks,” I said, breezing past him. “Where’s Megan?”
“No idea,” he replied with his mouth full. “Why?”
“We were at the movies and she just…disappeared on me,” I said, not wanting to get into the whole thing with Brent.
“You went to the movies together?” he asked, frowning at me.
“Uh…yeah.”
He tilted his head to the side. “On a date?”
“Um… yeah.”
“I thought you told me that there was nothing going on between you two?” he asked. “You said it was strictly plutonic and all that shit.”
“First of all, it’s platonic,” I corrected him. “Not plutonic. And secondly, it was for about ten minutes, and then it changed.”
“Hold the fuck up,” Brent said, setting down his bag of chips. “Are you telling me that you’re dating my sister?”
I turned to face him. “Yes.”
Brent’s eyes narrowed. “You didn’t ask for my permission.”
I raised my eyebrows. “I didn’t realize I was supposed to.”
“Dude, we’re supposed to be friends,” he said.
“I’m sorry, man,” I said. “Really. I should have spoken to you first. But you knew Megan and I were talking…”
“As friends,” he pointed out. “I didn’t know you wanted to get in her pants.”
“It’s not like that, okay?” I said, choosing to omit the fact that we had already slept together on this very couch about an hour ago. “I really like Megan. I care about her a lot, and I don’t intend to hurt her.”
Brent listened carefully. “What are your intentions with my sister?”
I frowned. “Are you being serious right now?”
Brent’s face relaxed. “I just always wanted to say that,” he said. “But I am serious about one thing… If you hurt my sister, I’ll beat the living crap out of you—got it?”
“Got it,” I nodded. “Does that mean I have your blessing?”