As fond as Edwin was of his sister, he had always felt a barrier between them--not either of their fault, but simply the barriers between males and females. He knew there were some things in his life he would never talk to Dawn about because they were "guy things," and assumed that the same rule would apply to Dawn and "girl things."
But as Dawn was chattering about which of the Marvel Chrises was the cutest--a conversation that she would never have had with Edwin--Ebony felt no barrier to joining in. Like most straight-presenting American men, Edwin was extremely reluctant to publicly describe any male as "cute," but Ebony felt no such hesitation. Why not call a cute guy cute?
On the other hand, a new and more subtle barrier had emerged between Ebony and Dawn. As Ebony grew more fully into her new identity, she knew that there would always be some separation between her and her white friend.
Because really, wasn't Chadwick Boseman cuter than any white boy named "Chris"?