"Seriously. You sleeping?"
"Not much."
"Work?"
"Something like that."
The waitress appears. I order coffee and eggs. Luke gets pancakes and bacon. When she leaves, he leans back and studies me.
"What's going on with you?"
"Nothing."
"That's the second time you've said that this week."
"Because it's true."
He doesn't look convinced. "You've been off since National Donut Day, did something happen?"
Yes, everything happened. I met your sister's eyes across a donut shop and felt something I shouldn't feel. I touched her hand and wanted more. I texted her in the middle of the night and told her nothing when I meant everything.
"No," I say. "Nothing happened."
Luke watches me for a long moment, then he nods like he's decided to let it go.
"Alright, but you know you can talk to me, right? About anything."
The guilt twists deeper. "I know."
Our food arrives, and we eat in silence for a few minutes. There’s conversations and laughter and the clatter of dishes fills the space between us.
"I'm worried about Callie," Luke says suddenly.
My fork stops halfway to my mouth. "Why?"
"She's working too hard, not taking care of herself." He shakes his head. "I tried to get her to hire help, but she's too stubborn."
"Sounds familiar."
"Yeah, well, she gets it from Dad." He takes a bite of pancake. "I'm glad you were there yesterday. To help with the rush."
"It was nothing."
"It wasn't nothing. You didn't have to do that."
I shrug. "You would've done the same."
"Maybe. But I'm her brother. You're just..." He trails off.
"Just what?"
"My best friend, who doesn't owe her anything, but helped anyway." He meets my eyes. "That means something, man. To me and to her."
The food in my stomach turns to lead. "Luke."
"I mean it. You're good people, Ethan. The kind of guy I'd want around my sister. The kind I'd trust with her."
The irony is suffocating. He trusts me, he's sitting here telling me he trusts me with Callie while I'm fighting the urge to text her, call her, show up at her shop and say fuck the consequences.
