Once Brian releases me from my social prison, I drop down into a lawn chair and pull out my phone. In an ideal situation, this would be the part where I stumble into the love of my life, but instead I’m brainstorming new ideas for the Meet Cute Diary.

It all started as this way for me to explore my wildest fantasies as a trans boy living in a conservative city. Every time I saw the potential for a real-life meet cute, I’d write it down, clean it up, and add a Disney-worthy ending. Then I’d post the thing as an “anonymous user” on this trans-centered blog, and people would swoon and root for the imaginary me who found the love of his life at a taco bar or a library.

And yeah, it started out as this culmination of my unchecked imagination and desperate need for affection, but now? God, it’s become this hub of trans chatter, a blog with over fifty thousand Tumblr followers cheering on all these trans people in their quests to find love. And as much as I love the attention, there’s something magical about knowing so many people have gathered together behind this belief in true love for people like me, especially when I’m only half-sure I believe in it myself.

“Yeah, Noah’s staying with me for the summer.”

I look up to find Brian and Maggie looking at me, Maggie with this little smirk on her face. She may not be sitting in Brian’s lap, but if they got any closer, I’d need a crowbar to pry them apart.

“Why are you talking about me?” I ask.

Brian raises an eyebrow. “Because you’re staying with me for the summer?”

“Do you like trivia, Noah?” Maggie asks. “We go every Tuesday if you want to join us.”

I do not, in fact, like trivia. I find it to be a complete and total waste of time, and if Brian weren’t dating Maggie, I’m positive he’d agree with me. But I could meet cute guys at trivia, and there’s potential for them to be the intellectual type, which I’m totally down for.

“Sure,” I say.

Brian’s got something like relief on his face. I know he’s been eager to get Maggie and me to be friends, so I’m not gonna break it to him that she doesn’t seem like anyone I’d spend an excessive amount of time with. I’ll let him have this moment.

Brian gets up to grab them both a beer, so I get up to not be left alone with Maggie.

The food’s done, so I snatch up a paper plate and make my way to the cheeseburgers while I work out how to approach this potentially life-changing moment. The burger’s burnt, but I start shoving the whole thing into my mouth anyway. Free food is free food.