Duke’s hand freezes midway to his bag of salt-and-vinegar chips. “We’ll circle back to that ambiguous statement, but first, yes, Micah, it’s true what they say. Absence makes the heart grow fonder or whatever, and it seems that our Emily is one of those girls who wants what she can’t have.”

“Not that it matters, but we were never really together. A couple of make-out sessions before she started looking elsewhere. I’m not remotely interested and haven’t been for a while.”

Duke leans forward on his elbows. “Good. Back to that ‘unofficially.’”

I shake my head with a smile. “Nothing to say, really. I like Meg. A lot. It’s easy with her. I mean”—I hold out a hand—“it’s not easy. Everything is hard with both of us, personally, but when we’re together, it’s easy. If that makes sense.”

Duke nods. “Meg is quality.”

“Extremely.”

“Have you told her about your dad?”

“A bit. She knows he’s in prison. And why. I haven’t told her about his hearing yet.”

“To be fair, you haven’t talked to me about it either. Though I can read between the lines in the uptick of adrenaline-filled adventures you seem to be planning.”

I nod at him shrewdly. “And I’ve noticed you’re more than willing to come along.”

Duke releases a long breath, crumpling his napkin and slumping back in his chair. “It’s never going to be enough for him.”

“The adventures?” I clarify even though I’m pretty sure I know. The thing is, Duke is pretty quiet about his relationship with his former air force captain father. He was a military brat for ages, passing through new towns and schools every twelve months, until his dad took on a civilian job in Marquette a few years back. His sister is in California, attending college, and ever since she left, I’ve noticed Duke is happy to do anything that takes him away from his house.

It’s not that Duke’s dad is abusive in the physical sense … he’s just not accepting of his kid. To the extreme.

“Sure. Those, too.”

I wait him out. He lets me. Finally, he leans forward. “I’m not the son he asked for.”

“Fuck that. You’re better.”

He pulls a skeptical face. “Depends who you ask.”

“Duke, I wouldn’t bullshit you. You’re the capablest person I’ve ever known. If something ever went down, you are exactly the person I’d want by my side.”

“He doesn’t see that. He sees someone who wears ‘blouses’ and dyes his hair.”

“I wasn’t aware North Face made blouses?”

He rolls his eyes.

“Listen, fine. You’re eclectic. You wear whatever the fuck you want, and while sometimes you look like my grandmother, you somehow pull it off. It’s a solid, uh, Duke vibe.”

His lips twitch. “Vibe?”