Page 11 of Something Cheeky

“Stop it.” Zoe laughed and lightly kicked him in return. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you—us. It’s been too long. How about a hug?” Derek opened his arms.

Zoe had to take only a short step to fall into his hug. He wrapped his arm around her torso and lifted her off the ground with barely any effort.

“You’re lucky we’re not outside where I could spin you around,” he whispered.

His low voice tickled her ear and a flutter ran through her abdomen. Zoe froze for a second but relaxed when he squeezed her harder. She only imagined that flutter.

“Put me down!” Zoe laughed. “You’re nuts.”

He gently set her back on the ground. His entire body tingled from their embrace.

Suddenly the corner felt too constricting, too small, for the two of them.

“Do you miss it?” he blurted out. “Theater.”

Zoe opened her mouth and closed it. She pressed her lips together and shrugged. He didn’t push her to answer. Instead he took a long swallow of his boba and chewed on his popping bubbles.His glasses slid down his nose. She wrapped both hands around her drink to keep herself from pushing them back up.

“My team and I constructed the costumes for a production ofLysistratalast month,” Zoe confessed. “I’d forgotten how much fun it was.”

“That’s perfect, because I’m working on a new production. From scratch.” Derek’s face brightened. “I’ll finally have something I can call my own.”

“That sounds really cool, Derek. It’s here in the DMV?” She’d never seen him this excited about a production.

He opened his mouth but stopped when his phone buzzed. He held out a finger for her to wait before pulling out his phone.

“Crap. I’m sorry to cut this short, but I’m going to be late for an important meeting downtown.” He slid his phone back into his pocket.

“Next time don’t get lost,” she teased.

“So there will be a next time.” He flashed a grin. “How about dinner tomorrow so I can properly tell you about the show?”

“I’d love that. But don’t leave me hanging until tomorrow. How about a hint?”

“Remember what we used to dream about out on the roof of our college apartment?”

“T?m Cám?” Zoe whispered, as if speaking it too loudly would jinx it.

Whenever their theater classes felt too western or too white-centric, she and Derek would fantasize about their imaginary production of the Vietnamese fairy tale. But it’d been all talk. A fantasy that grounded them in who they were and where they came from.

“I’m doing it.” He waved his hands excitedly. “We’re doing a Vietnamese Cinderella rock musical.”

“We?” Zoe’s mouth hung open. “But it was a silly game we played.”

“It’s real, Z.”

“Real,” she whispered, wondering if she should pinch herself to make sure she’d heard him correctly.

“Yes.” He grabbed her hand. “You didn’t think I’d do it without you? I want you to design costumes forourmusical.”

“Me? Shouldn’t you hire someone with actual experience?” Zoe shook her head quickly. “I’ve never designed anything outside of college. And you know how that went.”

“Our professor was an ass,” Derek replied a little too loudly. “He’s a has-been actor who got off on his power.”

Zoe nodded in agreement.

“Zoe, this is our time to shine.” Derek grabbed both her shoulders and looked directly into her eyes.

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