Page 42 of Romeo

Me: Whose heart are we talking about?

Jasper: Hypothetical heart.

Of course.

Me: Convenient

Jasper: You could say your brothers are violent.

Me: They’re not.

Jasper: Frank is.

He wasn’t wrong. Frank was a big teddy bear right up until someone hurt a person he loved.

My thumb hovered over the keypad.

There was something I wondered about. More than wondered if I was being honest. I’d just never quite worked up the nerve to ask.

Until now.

Me: What would you say if someone asked whether you had a girlfriend?

The three dots appeared.

Disappeared.

Appeared again.

My stomach tightened.

Jasper: Depends who’s asking.

Me: Me.

Jasper: I’d ask why you wanted to know.

I smiled despite the fear churning in my gut.

Me: For research

Jasper: Ah. Important research.

Me: Exactly

Jasper: Then no.

I went still.

No.

No joke attached to it.

No clever evasion.

No depends or maybe or why do you care?

Just no.