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?”
Brent made a face and then shrugged to indicate that it was more like a grudging acceptance rather than an outright blessing, but I would take it. The more pressing problem at the moment was where Megan was. It would be ironic for Brent to be okay with Megan and I dating, only for Megan to decide that she never wanted to see me again.
“Thanks,” I said. “So, you have no idea where Megan is, then?”
“You were the one at the movies with her,” Brent pointed out.
“We had a little…misunderstanding,” I said evasively. “And she ran out on me.”
“What did you do?” Brent asked, raising one eyebrow at me.
“Nothing. I just ran into an old girlfriend and Megan… I guess she got upset.”