Page 19 of Outside the Lines
I shrugged. I had no idea. "I knew Trin when they were Socks. When Socks was fourteen and clutching a Chinese takeout box to their chest. I can't help feeling like I shouldn't be doing this when I think about how I met them. I don't know what happened in their life, but I don't want to be someone older who takes advantage of them in case that's already happened to them before."
Kim snorted then laughed a little. "I may not have met Trin, but I do remember Socks, and they would not have let you run over them at all. It would have been the other way around. I was worried about you there for a while when Socks first came here. You've seen how some of them can manipulate. I was worried that Socks was doing that with you sometimes when I would see you two having fun together or laughing together. But now I know that's not the case. Socks genuinely loved you. It wasn't romantic, I don't think, but Socks absolutely cared about you. I think you were the only person they really cared about in here."
I hung my head. "Sometimes I thought of them as being my best friend. They were so much younger than me, and no one would have understood, but hanging out with Socks was like being with a best friend. They got everything I was saying. Sometimes, when I wasn't feeling well and I was considering calling out, I used to come in just to see them because I knew it would make my night better to be around them."
Kim reached across the table to pat my hand. "You sound like a man in love."
Maybe she was right. And that terrified me. "Then I was in love with a child." I couldn't be that person. I absolutely could not be. I would hate myself if that were true.
Kim tsked at me. "No, you're not listening. When you talk about Trin now, that's when you sound like you're in love. With Trin. I saw you with Socks. I knew you two were close friends. But I never once questioned how things were between you. Not until you refused to let them stay with you when they were old enough to leave here. I admire you for that decision. You both had to grow before you could begin a real relationship together. Don't you dare let the fact that you knew Socks when they were fourteen keep you from whatever you can have with Trin now. It wasn't the right time for you two back then, but now I think it is. Don't mess this up."
I laughed and laid my head down over my arms. "Thank you. I needed to hear that. Maybe I even needed to be given permission to see them again."
Kim rolled her eyes at me. "Well, then, you have it. You both deserve to be happy, and I hope you can find that happiness together. Fall in love with Trin. Don't be afraid to love them. I know your last relationship went horribly, but he never deserved you anyway. Trin does. Be your best self with them and I think everything will work out just fine."
"You sound like a dating column advice person. Maybe you should take up a job at the paper," I teased her.
She flicked the back of my head with her nail as she walked around me. "Maybe I will," she said as I rubbed the back of my head.
*~*~*
When I knocked on Trin's door that night, the person who I figured had to be Andy opened it. He was in a bra and shorts. After he looked me up and down, he grinned at me. "Trin did say you were cute. I'm Andy, their roommate." He turned sideways. "Trin! Date's here!"
"It's not eight yet!" Trin called down.
I checked my phone to make sure I wasn't ridiculously early. I was actually a few minutes late, which was rare for me recently.
Andy shrugged and turned back to me. "Want to come in?"
"Sure. If that's okay."
"I don't mind." He walked away, leaving the door open.
I came in and closed the door behind me. There was a bookshelf in the living room, which I went to, while Andy sat down on the couch and watched a show about early American medical practices. A white cat lay on the couch beside him.
"Do you know that they probably would have lobotomized people like us?" Andy asked me.
I looked back at him. "I do. It's horrible."
"What sex do you think Trin is?"
Since Andy apparently wanted to talk, I came over and sat down next to him. The cat gave me a baleful glare. "I actually don't care one way or the other."
"Because you're bi and whatever you find down there is okay?"
I smiled as I heard Trin start to come downstairs. "No. Because I care about Trin, not whatever genitals they have. If we ever get to that point, I'll be happy with what they have because it's attached to them. It has nothing to do with what I am."
Trin came into the living room and smiled at us both. They were wearing a long maxi skirt and a cardigan over a tank top. It was a great combination that made them look especially pretty with their hair down around their shoulders. "What are you two talking about?"
"Alex having sex with you."
I wanted to punch him, especially when I saw how embarrassed Trin was as they blushed and looked away from us, but then Andy just laughed and I realized he was trying to get a reaction out of us, or maybe just me. Maybe this was how they were. I decided to play along, a bit. "It's true. He was asking me if I would care about what you have one way or the other."
"And would you?" Trin asked me.
I got off the couch to go to them. "Not at all." I kissed Trin on their cheek and waved to Andy. He gave me a thumbs up. "Are you ready?"
Trin nodded. "I just need to grab my purse." They went to the hall closet and I saw a small collection of purses there. They chose a light blue one. It went with the blue flowers in their cardigan. "Now I'm ready. Andy, don't burn the house down."
