The Wi-Fi’s been spotty since we got to the new house, so trying to host an actual Skype call is a nightmare. All I’ve got are two black boxes and some patchy audio.

Finally, the images come through—Becca, sitting on her bed with Noodles in her lap, and Devin sitting on the floor of eir room, boxes piled high behind em.

“Hello, beautiful people,” I say.

Becca rolls her eyes. “Stop flirting with me, Ramirez. Your lover’s gonna get jealous.”

Devin laughs. “It’s all right. You’re across the country. I’m not too worried about that competition.”

“Okay, enough,” I say. “This is the first official Meet Cute Diary staff meeting. Let’s be serious.”

But I knew this wasn’t going to be serious.

After I opened submissions on the Diary, it only made sense to recruit Devin and Becca to help me curate them. I mean, they’re both already pretty invested in the Diary and, more importantly, me, so it’s not like they could say no.

And though Becca makes a fuss about the whole thing, I know they’re both honored to be part of the team. It’s different than when I dragged Drew into the fold. This is a three-way, equal partnership, and not only has it made the blog feel more real and alive, but it finally gives me a chance to focus on other things in my life, like preparing my wardrobe for a whole new school year in a new city.

“Okay, you’re both going to have to take notes,” I say.

Devin rolls eir eyes. “Great. Let me go look for a pen.”

E gets up to start digging through boxes, so I feel kind of bad about that. E’s moving to San Francisco next week, and e promised to come down and see me before the school year starts, but for now, e’s stuck in Denver, living out of boxes.

“Just use your phone,” Becca says.

“Nothing like a good ol’ pen and paper!”

“Is this meeting really necessary?” Becca asks. “I thought the whole point was to step back from the Diary and let people explore their own stories.”

“It is,” I say, “but we still have to keep it organized. Also, I’m wondering if maybe we should let people tell their romances even if they aren’t meet cutes. As you both know, some of the best relationships bloom without meet cutes involved.”

Devin nods as e sits back down on eir mattress. “Yeah, I get that impression too.”

Becca groans. “If you two don’t stop being cute, I’m ending the call.”

Devin grins. “Sorry. Honestly, Noah, it’s your blog. You should do what you think is best.”