I whirled around, finding myself facing Jake.

“I didn’t see you come in. I was afraid that you weren’t going to come.” I nodded. He waited for me to say something. I didn’t.

“Well…I, uh, I talked to Max today,” he continued, looking unsure what to say.

“Yes. He told me,” I answered.

“You guys seem pretty close. But he’s dancing with Monica, so…” He trailed off, clearly waiting for me to put any doubts he had left to rest. Silly, because Max had already told him that we weren’t dating. Maybe he thought that I liked Max anyway. Well I didn’t, and hadn’t since I realized that he was really just my brother after that first kiss.

I remained silent. I never talked much to anyone with Max, so it wasn’t that I was trying to make him uncomfortable. Words just didn’t come easily to me. I didn’t know what to say.

“Well, I asked him today if you guys were dating and he said no. That you were just friends.”

I nodded.

“Well…I thought that was good, actually.”

What was he trying to say?