“Anyway,” Brian says, kicking his feet up on the little coffee table. It’s got a bunch of table books, including an old-ass Jell-O recipe book that I’m pretty sure he’s never even opened. “How was the date? Good?”

I push the thought of Maggie slithering her way into our lives out of my head and think about Drew instead, a smile creeping over my face. “Yeah, it was pretty great.” Brian doesn’t need to know that it was a fake date, and considering we’re on track to be the perfect end-game couple, it only makes sense that Brian thinks we’re already together.

“Good, I’m glad. When do I get to meet him?”

I cringe, though I probably shouldn’t feel so strongly about it. Drew’s great, and Brian will probably love him, but our relationship is too new. The last thing I need is for Brian to chase Drew away with his weird sports talk and occasionally edible cooking.

Just for good measure, I say, “Probably never.”

Brian laughs, but his eyes narrow slightly like he’s trying to figure out what I’m hiding. He pauses for a second and says, “Uh, I’ve actually been meaning to ask you, are you, like, into girls or guys?”

I chuckle and shrug. “I mean, I definitely prefer men and masc-aligned people, but I can’t say I’ve never been attracted to any femmes before. I guess I wouldn’t want to rule anything out too quickly either.”

He gives me this look like he’s not quite following but says, “Okay, cool. I was just wondering because I realized I didn’t actually know.”

“Yeah, I guess my dating preferences got totally eclipsed by the trans thing, right?”

And he looks like I just poured ice water down his shirt. It’s weird because I feel more open in being myself around him now, knowing that he accepts me for who I am and isn’t expecting me to be the perfect sister or whatever, but it also kinda feels like we speak different languages. Like anything I say runs the risk of confusing him so badly he can’t tell up from down anymore.

“I mean, it’s not that big of a deal,” he says. “The trans thing. I don’t think it really changes much. I mean, obviously it’s good that you feel like you’re being your true self now. I just meant that it doesn’t change the way we see you, you know?”

“Wait, you mean I still look like a girl?” I say, hands coming up to my mouth for dramatic effect.

And Brian jerks back, absolute terror washing over his face. “What? No! I didn’t mean it like that at all! I just meant—”