Page 41 of No Summer Hotter than You

Anthony gave me a nod as I shrugged. I took the first bite of my sandwich. It was a grilled pork bánh mì with extra jalapeños and pâté—my usual order. I didn’t realize he was watching me until I glanced back at him. He was wearing this small smile as he let out a hum and looked so content. I wasn’t sure why.

“What?”

He quickly shook his head and looked away as his hyena laugh bubbled out. “Nothing. I just love watching you eat. Now I know why my parents and Auntie Yee always liked to watch Andy, Julie, Jonathan, and me take the first bite.”

I blinked. Anthony was never one to be this way. “Who are you?” I deadpanned, worried.

His hyena laugh resurfaced as a light, airy, and happy chime. It even sounded cute for once instead of the usual annoying ring it had. He glanced at me and smirked. “I’m your fake boyfriend, baby.”

“Sure you are,” I responded with a small scoff and smile. I washed down my food with the iced Vietnamese coffee. “For a fake boyfriend, you’re not helping me be in shape by bringing me bread and sweet iced coffee for lunch. I want to look good when we go up to the lake house.”

It wouldn’t be summer without a road trip to a body of water somewhere. Anthony and Tyson wanted to do a trip for old time’s sake to one of SoCal’s beaches. We were also planning to meet up with Julie and Andy at one of those sandy, picturesque SoCal beaches. But since it cut too close to Tyson’s family trip to Hawaii and our lake house trip, they decided not to plan the road trip.

Anthony and Uncle Gary felt it would be nice to show Aunt Sue, Evelyn, and Kelvin more greenery and great hikes, so they felt going up to Millerton Lake was the best. It’d be much cooler than Sunset Valley and less crowded than the beaches.

I was excited to look a little slimmer for the two-piece swimsuits I finally got the confidence this year to wear. But now I wasn’t so sure. The only thing I wanted was just to look good. My plan for June was to eat a little less carbs and take thirty-minute walks around the neighborhood. However, none of it panned out the way I wanted. It was always too hot or I was too tired even when I encouraged myself to take my walks. Now we were already heading to the lake next week.

Anthony rolled his eyes. “You look perfectly fine the way you are, Shoua. Women are subjected to so much more pressure than us men anyways.”

“But I want to look good.”

“You do look good! Now just enjoy your food.” He jutted his jaw in my direction as if I wasn’t already scarfing down my sandwich. He finally took a bite of his own, which I was certain was a grilled beef bánh mì since that’s his go to order. “You ready for tomorrow tonight?”

I shrugged. “Not really. But it should be fun for the most part.”

“What about Evelyn and Kelvin?” My face contorted while Anthony laughed. “Someone’s clearly not excited.”

“It’s not that. They just make me nervous. I never know what to expect from them and it makes it hard to be your fake girlfriend,” I admitted.

A grimace pulled on Anthony’s mouth as his brows knitted together. He swallowed thickly before saying, “I’m sorry, Shoua.”

“For?” I took a bite of my lunch, waiting for him to continue.

“For getting you into this shitstorm.” He looked me in the eyes with an unwavering, soft gaze. “It’s my fault.”

I shrugged. “We would still have to deal with Evelyn and Kelvin’s advances either way. To be honest, I’d rather we go through this together than have to deal with them separately.”

A small smile was now dancing on his lips. “You’re the only person I’d want to go through this with.”

I let out a laugh. “It’s fun, but it’d probably be easier if you had a real girlfriend.”

“Nah, I’d rather be doing this with you.” He shook his head with wide grin. “Why did you check in with Evelyn before we left my parents’ place last night?”

“I wanted to make sure she was all right even though I’m certain she doesn’t like me much. It’s difficult being the only daughter of moms like ours.” I paused for a moment as my heart began to pump harder. “I’m lucky I have you be there for me when my mom behaves like that. I just hope she has someone like that for her too.”

Anthony became so still I had to glance over to see what he was doing. He was never one not to make his presence known to the world. He blinked slowly at me as he reached for my hand. My heart began to thump so hard in my chest I was certain he heard it. His thumbs gently brushed over my knuckles, making my belly flop.

“I’m lucky to have you in my life as well,” he said. His voice was husky and sincere, causing a small shiver to travel down my spine straight down to my toes. “You’re the sweetest and most caring person I’ve ever known to have done what you did for Evelyn. She hasn’t been kind to you at all, but I hope she appreciates what you’ve done at least.”

“Hopefully, but she doesn’t owe me anything. I spoke up because I felt it was the right thing to do. Not because I want her to feel indebted to me,” I said.

Anthony let out a long sigh with a small nod. “You’re right. She doesn’t. But you know I’ll always be here for you, right? I’ll always be by your side whenever your mom or life tries to bring you down.”

“I have to stand on my own feet too, Anthony,” I mentioned. “You can’t always be here for me.”

A gentle, imploring look touched his face as his expression softened. “But I want to be. I always want to be there for you.”

Anthony grinned and I smiled back. “Thank you, Anthony.”

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