As we finish off our shift for the day, Devin taps me on the shoulder and says, “Do you want to get tea or something, and we can talk?”

It’s such a simple request, but it feels almost loaded. Is it bad to go out with a friend when I’m fighting with my boyfriend? It shouldn’t be, right? So why do I feel guilty about saying yes?

“I just have to let Brian know I won’t be going home with him,” I say.

Devin smiles. “No worries. I’ll drop you off at home afterward.”

I raise an eyebrow. “You drive?”

“Why is that so suspicious to you?”

And really, it shouldn’t be, but I guess somewhere in my mind I’ve sectioned Devin off as this innocent kid in need of protecting even though e’s a year older than me.

I text Brian, and once I get the okay, we head out to Devin’s car. E drives a little Honda that I’m pretty sure would be swallowed up by the snow in an instant.

I climb into the passenger seat and find myself surrounded by a soft layer of . . . lavender?

“What’s that smell?” I ask, half expecting em to say e has a full garden growing in eir trunk.

“Essential oils,” Devin says, plugging in eir phone to play music. “I’ve been really into them lately.”

I’m not really sure what to say to that, so I just sit back as we pull out onto the street. Devin drives a lot more confidently than I’d expect from someone with eir level of anxiety. E doesn’t tailgate or anything, but e does drive a little over the speed limit, quickly cutting a turn before the light changes.

“How are you more confident driving than you are with human interaction?” I ask.

E smirks. “I guess that just tells you how terrifying humans can be.”

We pull into the parking lot of a little café. I’m not really sure what attracted Devin to this place, but I catch the words “boba” and “tea” on their sign, and wonder if this is some sort of trap to lure me in and keep me stuck here forever, like in the Percy Jackson books.

“I hope this is okay,” Devin says. “We can go somewhere else if you don’t like it.”

I flash em a smile and say, “Be confident in your choice, Devin.”

E blushes and turns off the car.

The café’s mostly empty, which is great. It’s just after three thirty on a weekday, so I guess it’s not too surprising. There’s a short Asian woman behind the counter, and I start bouncing on my heels because this might be my first authentic boba tea since getting to Colorado. Amazing.