“Can you see a doctor about it?”
“I don’t think so.”
“What about your mom? Can you talk to her at least?”
“Maybe.” He sighed.
Sohrab was one of the happiest people I knew, but even he had his sadnesses.
To be honest, it felt like I’d been seeing them more and more lately. That, and his angers.
Sohrab had a lot of anger inside him, anger he didn’t always know how to talk about, unless I could pry it out of him.
I hated how far away my best friend was.
“You know you can talk to me, right? Ghorbanat beram.”
“I know, Darioush. Always.”
BLACK SHIRT AESTHETIC
Landon was waiting for me at the bike rack outside Rose City Teas when I pulled up.
He had this big smile. “Hey.”
“Hey.”
He pulled me into a hug. I rested my chin in his hair, which smelled like almonds and orange blossoms and boy. He looked up and kissed me, first on my cheek and then on my lips.
“I missed you. Sorry I couldn’t make it to your game.”
“It’s okay. I missed you too.”
Landon wrapped his hands around my neck and kissed me again. I put my hands on his waist and kissed him back.
It felt like a scene out of a movie, kissing each other under the awning while rain soaked the streets. Until someone cleared their throat.
Mr. Edwards was standing in the doorway.
The back of my neck prickled.
“Um.” I cleared my throat and stepped away from Landon, pulling the hem of my hoodie down as I did. “I better get changed.”
“Come to the tasting room when you’re ready.”
At my old job, at Tea Haven, we had to wear black button-up shirts and bright blue aprons. Rose City kept the Black Shirt Aesthetic, but it was a V-neck T-shirt with the Rose City Teas logo (a teacup with a rose blooming out of the top) silk-screenedon the back, and little teapots on the sleeves. We also had to wear dark-wash jeans.
I liked the way that dark-wash jeans looked on me. Especially my butt, which, like I said, had seen some benefit from all the squats I’d been doing.
Landon liked how I looked in them too. (Again, especially my butt.)
I laced up my Sambas, checked my hair in the mirror, straightened out my magnetic name tag, and went to check in.
“Come on, Darius. We’ve got something special today,” Mr. Edwards said as he poured water into a set of gaiwans. Landon was already seated at the tasting table with his notebook open. I sat down next to him and got my own notebook out.
Landon pressed his knee against mine. I grabbed his left hand and rubbed circles into it with my thumb.
I must’ve had a goofy grin, because Mr. Edwards caught my eye and winked at me.
