Confessions of a Queen B*

Untitled Part 19

"By the way, can we call your dad to help me with my philosophy assignment? I have so much to read, and it's so boring."

"Why did you take the class?"

"Pre-req." She held up the worn copy of Plato's Symposium, the neon orange "USED" sticker marring the image on the cover. "I'd love the quick rundown on this, and if he was willing to throw in some topics for a paper, I'd worship your dad forever."

"Don't even go there. You know how my dad is with his graduate assistants."

"Awesome book," a male voice with a distinct Southern Californian accent said behind me. I looked up to find Gavin standing with his hands on the back of my chair. "I wore my copy out from reading it over and over again."

He sounded like a stoner, but was obviously well acquainted with Plato. Must be a philosophy major.

"And what did you think of it?" Morgan asked sweetly.

"It's about love." Gavin let go of my chair and crossed his arms, sounding slightly more intelligent than before.

Morgan scribbled that down. "Like love between men and women?"

Gavin laughed. "Some, but there's some really interesting passages there about homosexuality."

Morgan sent me a panicked look that asked if she was chasing after the wrong type of guy.

I decided it was time to step in and save her. For once, the summers spent with my dad lecturing me about the great works of philosophy would come in handy. "Like Phaedrus's argument for gays in the military?"

"Or Aristophanes's tall tale about the origin of soul mates, babe." Gavin pulled a chair up to our table, staring at the words on my T-shirt peeking through my half-zipped hoodie. At least, I hoped that was what he was doing. Based on the time he spent staring at my chest, though, I could safely say he wasn't gay.

I pulled the zipper up on my hoodie, ignoring the little warning bells going off in the back of my mind. "But then Socrates comes and basically calls them all idiots."

Gavin laughed harder this time. "Pretty much. Are you a philosophy major, too?"

Morgan was looking at us-or to be more precise, at Gavin looking at me-and frowning.

"My dad's a professor of philosophy." Time to divert his attention back to my best friend before I received a swift kick under the table for monopolizing the conversation. "Morgan is still undeclared, but she's leaning toward philosophy. Perhaps you can suggest some of your favorite works."

I immediately got the "what the hell are you doing" look from her.

"It's like asking me to pick a favorite wave on the North Shore of Oahu."

"Just a few suggestions, then, 'to fondle the interest in a potential lover of philosophy,' " I replied, quoting a line from Plato's Symposium.

He paused, and then tapped Morgan's book with a wider grin. "Ah, Socrates, nice."

And now we were back to the "shut the hell up around the guy I like" glare from Morgan. I squirmed in my seat, feeling a little bit too warm under the intensity of their heated attention. I got the distinct impression Gavin was flirting with me, and Morgan was getting pissed off. I longed to shed my hoodie, but I didn't want to flaunt my "Huge Tracts of Land" and make this situation even more awkward than it already was.

Gavin started rattling off some of the well-known classics: Aristotle. Augustine. Thomas Aquinas. Machiavelli. Descartes. Pascal. Hume. Locke. All stuff covered in a Philosophy 101 class.

When he finished, I said, "All classics. Perhaps you'd be willing to discuss some of them with Morgan as she reads them."

His gaze flickered over to her before turning back to me. "Okay."

Morgan's eyes widened. She finally saw where I was going with all this. "Yes, Gavin, I'd love to talk about philosophy with you any time."

His smile tightened. Not a good sign. "Sure, Morgan. Now, if you two ladies will excuse me, I gotta get back to work."

As soon as he was out of hearing range, my best friend gave me a small squeal. "That was brilliant, Alexis. I'd much rather have him as my philosophy tutor than your dad."

"Well, then, start reading so you have something to discuss with him."

She bent back over her book, reading Plato with far more enthusiasm now that she knew it would get her something outside of the classroom.

I tried to focus on my own homework, but I couldn't shake the uneasy feeling I got from Gavin. He seemed more interested in me than in my best friend, and that always spelled trouble.