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“You good though?”

“Yeah. I’m on my way home from the community center. Abey wants to work on the garden today, so I took the afternoon off.”

Devo had reminded me that I needed to call Abey’s brother, Bax. He’d left me a voicemail last week, but my head had been in the clouds, and I kept forgetting to call back.

“Nice. How’s the house comin’?”

“Oh, it’s so cool! They just poured the foundation. We may be jumpin’ the gun, but we’ve already started pickin’ out furniture and paint colors. I seriously can’t wait for all that domestic stuff, you know?”

“Yeah,” I said, thinking I agreed and trying to imagine it for myself.

Devo cut into my daydream. “I heard a rumor about you today.”

“You did? What’d you hear?”

“Roxi told Abey and Abey told me that Roxi talked you into goin’ to see Aubrey, and that you were plannin’ to ask her out.”

“Truth,” I said.

“So did you?”

“Did I what?”

“Did you ask her out? What’d she say?”

“In a roundabout way, I did. And she said yes. That’s why I’m callin’. We’re havin’ dinner tonight. What should I wear? And where should I take her?”

“Pause,” Devo said. “Back up. What does ‘in a roundabout way’ mean?”

Oh yeah. I’d forgotten that part.

“Have you heard about Aubrey’s financial troubles?”

“Kinda. Abey tells me everything, but not specifics. Why?”

“Aubrey owed some back taxes, so I paid ’em.”

“Rye! You did not.”

“Yeah, I did. What’s wrong with that?”

“I mean, nothin’ if she’s your friend and you wanna help her, but if you’re lookin’ for sex in return, it’s kinda… prostitution.”

“Shut up. It is not. Besides, no one said shit about sex.” Well no onesaidanything, not out loud, but… “And anyway, I’m gettin’ somethin’ out of this deal, too, so it’s a fair trade. I have the money. She needs it. What’s the big deal?”

“Okay, I’ll bite. What can Aubrey do for you that’s worth thousands of dollars?”

“Devo Mescal, I hereby swear you to secrecy. You may not share this information with anyone, not even Abey.”

“Okay…?”

“Do you swear?”

“Yes,” she said, and I knew I could trust her.

“Aubrey and I are gonna pretend to date.”

There. I’d said it, and honestly, the satisfaction of saying Aubrey’s name and the word “date” in the same sentence made me feel like a king. How long had I waited for this?