Page 11 of No Summer Hotter than You

“I—I—” I stammered, and then caught my mom subtly nodding her head at me.

Her lips silently formed the word, “Yes.” Was she telling me to lie to her friend? I hesitated to answer as my mom flashed me an irritated look. I was taking too long to answer the darn question.

“Actually, Sue, both my sons are happily in relationships,” my mom answered, glancing at her friend. She turned to me with the biggest smile plastered on her face and even dared to wink. “Right, Anthony?”

My jaw dropped at her sudden and blatant lie, yet I knew full well I should play along. I didn’t trust my mom completely, but there was a certain glint in her eyes. She was a sweet and caring woman, but she was never someone to be tested.

I forced out a laugh, putting on an excited, fake grin. “Oh, yeah. Happily, in a relationship,” I replied, my voice lacking conviction.

My dad raised a graying eyebrow at me. His hazel green eyes filled with amusement, looking awfully like Andy’s when he wanted to tease me. “Yep, our boys are just drowning in love,” he chimed in, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

My parents started laughing wholeheartedly as if they masterminded this together. Aunt Sue joined them with her own chuckling. Meanwhile, I was trying not to look like a deer caught in headlights. My mind started racing. Now that my mother was lying to her friend and pulling me into this mess, I had to find a fake girlfriend because there was no way in hell that I could lie and then get out of this unscathed.

“That’s wonderful, Anthony! Why don’t you tell me more about her? Do you have any pictures of her? I would love to see how pretty she is.” Aunt Sue smiled at me with eyes full of curiosity.

Panicking, I said the first thing that came to my mind. “Sure, my girlfriend’s Shoua!”

Wait—

What the hell was I even doing? Shoua Lo was my best friend and I just lied that we’re together.

There was a moment of silence before my dad started snickering at my squeaky, nervous voice. Aunt Sue turned to my mom. “Shoua? Isn’t that Julie’s cousin?”

My mom was ecstatic with what she heard as she sipped her red wine. I could tell she was radiating in whatever happiness she found in my answer. “Yes, she is.”

“Congrats, Anthony. Those Lo girls are gorgeous. Not surprised you and your brother are head over heels for them.” Aunt Sue turned to me with a big grin, but her voice sounded a little forced.

My mom laughed, all giddy. “Oh, Sue! You have no idea how hard Gary and I had to work to get them with these girls. They’re smart, successful, and amazing, and our stupid boys keep holding things off with them. Enough with being friends! I’m glad you’re finally dating Shoua, Anthony. Cheers to the couple!”

We all raised our glasses. As we sipped our wine, my mom downed the rest of hers in a single gulp. Someone sure was happy tonight.

“It’s a shame Shoua is in a relationship with Anthony. I was really hoping I could pair her up with Kelvin this summer. He has the biggest crush on her after he talked to her last year and was so excited to see her in person. I think they talked a little bit last year, but it seemed like she didn’t like him very much. I know girls like the good looking, tall, confident, talkative type and he’s a shy young man, but he’s a great catch. He’s smart, successful, and handsome?—”

What a way for Aunt Sue to flatter me and punch me in the face all at once. I laughed awkwardly. I knew exactly why Shoua wasn’t talking with her supposedly sweet nephew.

Apparently, Kelvin wasn’t as shy as his aunt thought he was. Because once he got a hold of Shoua’s number through Aunt Sue, he insistently started texting and calling her. She blocked him after he sent her an unsolicited picture of his dick. All this ensued within a few days, and Shoua claimed she was going to call off men forever after that traumatic incident.

“Don’t worry, Sue. I’m sure Kelvin will find a perfectly nice girl,” my mom interrupted, nonchalantly. She was clearly tired of hearing all of this. She blinked at me, acting rather innocent and surprised. “Anthony, why didn’t you bring Shoua over tonight, sweetie?”

“Well, Mom, she’s busy tonight,” I answered with a tight smile.

“Busy?” she asked as she poured herself another glass of wine. “Tell her to drop by for dessert. We’re having pistachio gelato—her favorite.”

“I would love to see her and give you two lovebirds my congrats. Tell her to quickly drop by,” Aunt Sue said. Her voice was imploring.

“She’s having dinner with her girlfriends and could be out all night talking for all we know,” I explained.

My mom’s giddy smile grew a little wider. She nodded as if she was already expecting my answer. “Well then, you must bring her with you next time. She’s no stranger to us so she shouldn’t be shy with your dad and I just because you two are together now.”

“Mom—” I started but was interrupted by Aunt Sue.

“Oh my. How long have you two been dating, Anthony?”

“Barely two months,” I lied to get her off my back. “Mom, w-we’ve only barely started dating. I don’t want her to . . . feel pressured by having dinner with you two and Aunt Sue.”

My dad chuckled at my response. “Son, it’s only going to be a simple dinner. We’ve known Shoua most of her life and we just want to see you two happily together. Tell her not to stress about it.”

I gave my dad a look of disbelief. I couldn’t believe he was saying this to me, folding to my mom’s urging. Not only was I stuck in the middle of this, but so was Shoua. I tried my best to smile back, agreeing to it.

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