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“Oh, do tell,” Zach said. I imagined him rubbing his hands together, getting ready to dump all of his worldly love advice onto me. “What’s her name?”
“Lil—” I stopped myself. “Brooke.”
“Lil Brooke?” Zach questioned. “What kind of a name is that?”
“No, no, just Brooke,” I said.
“Okay.”
“Well, you see, I met her at a coffee shop. She was running into the place, while I was leaving, and we literally collided.”
“Was she all right?”
Okay, so I got two points, I thought to myself. I’d asked her if she was all right. “Yes, she was fine.”
“Okay, and what happened next? You helped her up I hope.”
“I did.” Another two points, I thought to myself. “However, that is when it turned bad.”
“Uh-huh.”
“It’s just she was so beautiful, and well, me and my big mouth chided her for not being more careful.”
“Oh no.” I heard Zach blow out a breath and imagined he was pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers, just as he always did when I brought him girl issues.
“Yep, but it gets better.”
“Oh I bet.”
“Two weeks later, I ran into her again at the coffee shop. We shared a coffee, just casual talk, and then we had to part ways. I got her to give me her number, and I tried calling, but she was never there. I’d given up, but then I ran into her again because she’s in the same pastry course and is now my partner for the semester.”
Zach chuckled. “I see. How did that happen?”
“Well, I was late for class, and when I arrived, she had the only open seat next to her, so I took it. Then she proceeded to tell the class all about why she was there.”
“Let me guess, you brought fourth your usual cockiness and put her down, and then proceeded to show her what a truly arrogant ass you can be and went on about the Michelin chef thing, am I right.”
My brother knew me well. Way too well at times. We’d both been raised by affluent parents. We’d wanted for nothing. Yet it was as if Zach and I had each grown up in different homes. He’d worked hard for everything he had, never taking the handouts our parents could offer. In many ways, I knew that had made him a much better person than me. I had done the opposite, and many times had been told by my brother that I was nothing but a spoiled, stuck-up brat.
“Yep.”
“Why do you do that?” Zach questioned. “Why do you put people down, or have to show them up?”
“I don’t know. I just can’t stand when someone doesn’t want to better themselves and then go after all they could get.”
Zach laughed. “Wait a minute. Who is this and where the hell did Tristan go?” He chuckled. “You don’t like it if someone doesn’t want to better themselves?” He laughed. “Who the hell are you? If you have your way, you’ll complete this course, and then Dad will work his magic and make sure you get the status you want by paying someone off. That isn’t working hard and going after all you could get. It’s bribery, plain and simple. How about you try something new and put some effort into it and work for something, just for once, and make it happen entirely all on your own.”
“I am working on making it happen. Dad says he won’t do anything unless I pass these courses. Do you have any idea how hard this is going to be?”
“Why, because he isn’t going to pay off the teacher to get you a passing mark? Besides, that’s not what I mean, and you know it. Now what is it that this girl said that made you get all wound up?”
“Well, instead of going off to New York or some other huge city and putting her education to use, all she is planning on using it for is to work in some crappy small-town diner that her parents own.”
The line was silent for a moment. Then I heard Zach sigh. “Perhaps that is what makes her happy? Did you think of that? Perhaps that is success to her?”
“Ummm...” I paused, trying to wrap my head around what he was saying. I had never thought of that, but I also couldn’t see how that could be defined as success either.
“You didn’t, did you? Tristan, you say you like this girl?” Zach asked.
