“And he accepted that?”
I stared at her. “What doyouthink?”
She sighed. “Go on.”
“He went quiet,” I continued. “Which should have been my first warning.” I paused. “Then he said—and I quote—‘So let me get this straight.’”
Diana covered her face. “Oh no.”
“Oh yes.” I sat up, unable to stop the faint edge of disbelief creeping into my voice. “Apparently, in the space of about thirty seconds, he decided that I’m gay?—”
Diana choked on her coffee.
“—that I’ve been seeing men behind your back?—”
“Oh my God.”
“—that you found out and threw me out?—”
“That’s impressive,” she muttered.
“—and that the college suspended me because of it.”
Diana stared at me. “Wow.”
“Yes. All without taking a breath.”
She shook her head slowly. “That’s… actually quite a leap.”
“A leap?” I gaped at her. “He cleared several continents.”
“And what did you say?”
“I tried to interrupt,” I said. “Several times. But once he gets going…” I spread my hands. “You know what he’s like.”
Diana nodded. “Relentless.”
“That’s one word for it.”
“Did you correct him?” she asked.
I hesitated. “I told him he was wrong.”
“That’s it?”
“For now.”
Diana studied me. “You didn’t exactly sound convincing just then.”
I looked down at my coffee. “No,” I admitted. “I probably didn’t.”
She leaned back, folding her arms. “Well, for what it’s worth, I’m impressed.”
I looked up. “Impressed?”
“Yes,” she said. “Your father’s managed to construct an entire scandal without a single piece of evidence. That takes talent.”
I snorted despite myself. “Doesn’t it just.” The humour faded, though not completely. “When he said, ‘So… you’re gay,’ I… I told him I wasn’t, that I didn’t want to put a label on it, not yet.”