“Who were you really with this weekend?” he asks. “And don’t you dare lie.”
It’s hard to focus. I’m still so devastated after what happened that I’m not thinking straight.
If I get this wrong, it’s game over for me.
And I have only seconds to come up with a convincing lie.
What can I do? How can I answer him?
Then it hits me. It’s perfect.
Or, at least it’s as close to perfect as I can hope for right now.
“I was with Cass; we planned a trip together,” I say. “Are you happy now? You know my big secret; I officially have no space.”
His eyebrows narrow. “Cassidy Strickland?”
“Yeah.”
“But I told you not to see her!”
I glance at Luke. It all hangs on him.
If he somehow knows that Cassidy wasn’t hanging out with me this weekend, then my plan is totally ruined.
But maybe …
“You sly dog,” says Luke, grinning. “You told me you were just friends, that the girl was someone else. You swore on it.”
“No I didn’t.”
“What’s going on?” asks Dad.
“Isn’t it obvious?” says Luke. “They’re, you know…”
He makes an obscene gesture with his hands, the exact same one Cassidy made when we went to dinner.
Dad stares at me. “You’ve got a girlfriend?”
I cross my arms. “No. But we’re seeing each other, I guess, and it’s getting serious. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t think it was any of your business.”
I hate dragging Cassidy into this. But it’s my only option. I think I’ll be able to explain things to her. It’s another lie … But I just need to get through this conversation. If she helps me, I’ll owe her forever.
Dad’s still watching me. I’m not out of the woods yet. “How could you do this? She could be trying to learn your secrets! Our secrets!”
“Jesus, Dad,” says Luke. “You can’t seriously think Cass is a secret Donovan. This is just normal teenage sneakery, not some whole big plot.”
“Don’t question me. You know better than that.”
“I’m not! But we have photos of us as kids. You really think the Donovans have been going for that deep a heist? Vince said it, we need to be wary of anyone new in our lives. Old friends are fine. I hate to say it, but you’re being paranoid.”
They stare each other down.
Dad finally relents.
Luke officially might be my hero. Even if he did kind of get me into this mess in the first place.
“Show me this photo,” says Dad. “And, Matt, if this is true, I still don’t understand why you didn’t tell us you were dating her.”
“I … um…”
“Dad,” says Luke as he searches his phone. “He already said it, he just wanted to get to know her without us breathing down his neck. Do you want me to tell you every time I hook up with a girl?”
Dad’s stare flicks between us. He’s being ganged up on, and he knows it. I can’t believe Luke is doing this. He’s spending some of the capital he’s built up by being so good at helping me out. But if he wanted to help me, why wouldn’t he just follow through with the original plan?
“We’re going to the bar,” says Dad with a huff. “Get ready. Suzanne will be able to tell me if Cassidy was with Matt this weekend. We’re leaving at nine.” He walks away. A few moments later, his office door slams.
I expected this. Suzanne is Cassidy’s mom, and Dad and her have been allies for years.
Now I need to get to part two of my plan.
Luke is still looking at me, grinning.
“What?” I say.
“I’m just proud of you, man. Cassidy. Nice work.”
He claps me on the shoulder. I wonder if he’d act like this if he knew I’d hooked up with a guy. I hope he would, Luke is pretty chill about this sort of thing. I know he knows a few LGBTQ+ people, and he’s never made a big deal about it. But I think it’s different when it’s family.
“Want to talk about it?” he asks.
“God no.”
He laughs. “Fair.”
I chew my bottom lip. “Are you mad?”
“About what?”
“That I lied? I’m sorry I did, I just…”
“Hey, no, I totally get it. But when you’re ready to talk about it, I’m here, all right? There’s so much I wish I knew about girls when I was your age. So if you want advice from someone who’s been through it, I’m around.”