Chapter 3
Derek pocketed his phone and stared at the menu without really reading it. After driving in what felt like several circles
of hell, he finally admitted that he had no idea where he was going. For the past two hours, he’d resisted the urge to toss
his phone out the window whenever the super perky British voice instructed him to make a U-turn. Hopefully someone here was
more helpful.
Or maybe not. The place looked like social media threw up in it. Every loudly decorated wall was a potential selfie background.
Did that neon sign read suck my — He sighed.
He was hungry, thirsty, and tired of being lost. As a New Yorker, he was a bit rusty behind the wheel. It didn’t help that
DC drivers were awful. This place was as good as any for a break before heading back on the road. If this place didn’t pan
out, he could still grab a sandwich from the bánh mì place next door.
“Excuse me,” he said as he approached the counter. Derek was surprised there wasn’t a line considering how packed the tables
were.
“You look like a matcha slush with brown balls kinda guy,” announced the employee. The woman working the back area snorted.
“Sorry?” Derek squinted at the employee’s name tag. “Hi, TJ, maybe you can help me with some directions. I’m a bit lost.”
“As long as you order something, I’m here to serve.” TJ winked and pointed to the menu over his head.
TJ’s coworker cleared her throat loudly.
“Is she okay?”
“Don’t worry about her,” said TJ. “She’s reminding me that we gotta keep our boss happy and sell drinks.”
“Gotcha. First, can you tell me how to get to Something Cheeky?” Derek asked.
The woman behind the counter gasped. Suddenly she dropped her drink and coughed. Her face was hidden behind a cap, but it
was obvious she was in distress. He had to do something.
“I know how to do the Heimlich,” Derek offered loudly so she could hear him over her coughing and the din of the café.
His head swiveled from TJ to the choking woman, who put her hand up. Was she telling him to stop or reaching out for help?
He turned back to TJ, who seemed only mildly concerned. The man shook his head at Derek and pointed to a laminated poster
near them with basic first-aid diagrams. Right, if someone was coughing, they didn’t need assistance.
The woman’s choking turned into harsh coughs, and then a piece of food flew out of her mouth onto the floor. Her face was
red from the exertion.
“Get her some water!” Derek barked at TJ.
“You good?” TJ asked as he grabbed a bottle from the display behind him and handed her the water.
She nodded but her eyes were still obscured by her cap.
“See, you should’ve gotten your regular,” TJ teased and handed her a dark brown drink with boba.
“That’s not”—she coughed and pulled off her cap to fan her face—“funny.”
What the hell? Derek leaned over the counter. It couldn’t be.
“Z?”
She turned around fully. Derek froze. He’d rehearsed all the different ways he’d greet her after six years of not talking.
Finding her choking on bubble tea wasn’t one of them.
“Zoe, is it really you?” he said, mostly making sure he wasn’t dreaming.
She nodded as she rubbed her chest with her hand. Zoe took a deep breath and her lips quirked into a familiar crooked smile.
“Hey! Funny seeing you here, Derek,” she said brightly as she pulled the apron over her head and rolled it into a ball.
Derek’s heart pounded. Zoe in real life was more stunning than the Zoe of his memories. Her previously long black hair had
lavender tips that hit below her shoulders. She wore a loose, stylish top in lilac, her favorite color. And her pants hugged
her hips in the most delicious way.
He blew out a breath. Don’t get distracted. He’d come here to invite her to work on his project with him. Once he got that out of the way, he’d figure out how to tell
her the truth. He gave her his best smile, the one he used to impress producers when he pitched plays to them.
“Talk about fate,” Derek said. “I swear I’ve driven across the entire state of Virginia looking for your shop.”
“Surprise...” Zoe’s voice trailed off. She bit her lip before adding, “You found me. Making an idiot of myself, but here
I am.”
“You’re too pretty and way too smart to be an idiot,” Derek said softly, then clamped his mouth shut. Way to make things even
weirder.
“Come on, choking on a piece of lychee jelly is the dumbest way to die,” Zoe joked, but her cheeks were flushed.
She bit her lip as he stared at her. He couldn’t remember the lines he’d prepared for their meeting. All those years onstage
and he’d forgotten everything he’d learned about composure in her presence.
“Her shop is about half a mile down the road that way,” TJ offered, coming to their rescue. He pointed north. Or was it south?
Derek had lost all sense of direction. He shook his head and shrugged.
“I think I took a wrong turn at Seven Corners. Why is it even called that? There are no corners. It’s the worse intersection I’ve ever driven through!” Derek tossed his hands in the air.
“I’ve lived in the DMV for almost a year and still can’t remember which side of the Beltway is the outer loop and the inner
loop.” TJ drew a circle with his finger and then reversed direction while shaking his head.
Derek nodded in solidarity, even though he had no idea what TJ was talking about.
“Stop, you don’t even drive!” Zoe stepped out from behind the counter. “Don’t get him started on the drivers here.”
TJ shrugged. “Rideshares count.”
The two of them were too familiar with each other to just be coworkers. Derek was suddenly jealous that TJ knew Zoe better
than he did. He had no clue if she still liked the same foods or movies from when they were in undergrad together.
“He claims people are nicer drivers in North Carolina, where he grew up. But there’s way fewer people there,” she continued.
Were they dating? No way.
“So, handsome, you must be parched after all that driving,” said TJ as he batted his eyes at Derek.
Derek sighed in relief. The two were only friends. So he still had a chance with Zoe.
“Yes. I’ll have a Vietnamese coffee, please, half sweet with, uh...” Derek paused as he studied the menu.
“Coffee popping bubbles,” Zoe finished for him.
“Yes, what Z said. It’s my favorite but not everyone carries it.”
TJ raised his eyebrows at Zoe before turning to make the drink.
“Go sit. I’ll bring your drink to you.” TJ pointed to a tiny table in the corner that was miraculously unoccupied.
Before they could claim it, two teen girls holding hands grabbed it.
“Young love is so cute,” Zoe said, “until they hog all the tables.”
“I don’t mind standing. I need to stretch my legs after sitting in that tiny car for hours.” Derek’s shoulders finally relaxed
after being stuck in the rental car. His favorite boba was what he needed to fuel up before the second most important conversation
of his life.
“Derek, shouldn’t you be in New York directing a show?” Zoe asked.
“Trying to get rid of me already?”
“No, it’s— Didn’t you just open a play off-Broadway? I thought you were supposed to hang out for a few days after.”
“Nah. That’s what stage managers are for. A good SM is—”
“Worth their weight in gold,” Zoe finished.
They laughed.
“You still remember that from school.”
“How could I not? They drilled that into our heads for four years.”
“Never, ever”—Derek deepened his voice to imitate one of their professors—“piss off the stage manager. They’ll make your life
hell.”
“That was perfect!” Zoe clapped her hands.
“How could I forget our technical director and his weird stories.”
“One time during a performance of Clue ,” Zoe said in a deep voice, “I had to hold up a broken door for ten minutes while—”
“Standing behind it onstage,” Derek finished.
“It’s the equivalent of those stories about walking to school in the snow uphill both ways,” Zoe said in her normal voice.
“You’re still terrible at accents,” he teased.
“Shut up!” But she chuckled. “That’s why I wasn’t an acting major.”
“You had terrible stage fright during our New Faces rehearsal.”
Derek recalled the first time they met. He didn’t know anyone at the freshman show, but his classmates were already laughing and joking with one another. He later learned that they’d arrived at school early for orientation. It hadn’t been mandatory, so he’d stayed in his hometown to work and save money. The professor had partnered him with Zoe because they were the only Asian students that year.
That microaggression gave them something to bond over. The two of them were inseparable for the next four years. Technically
three and a half because the last semester—
“Here’s your boba,” TJ said, interrupting Derek’s foray down memory lane. “I made you a fresh one, too, Zoe.”
Derek turned his attention back to Zoe, whose eyes were dark. Had she been recalling the same memories he was? He dug out
his wallet without looking away from her.
“Nope. My treat since you two are old friends.” TJ pushed Derek’s hand back.
“Thanks.” Derek grabbed a ten-dollar bill from his wallet and stuffed it in the half-empty tip jar.
TJ nodded approvingly.
“If you’re still looking for Something Cheeky, I can write down directions for you,” TJ offered. “Along with my phone number
in case you get lost again.”
“I don’t need them anymore.” Derek turned back to Zoe. “I found who I was looking for.”