Page 46 of No Summer Hotter than You

“It’s blowing out hot air,” I deadpanned. “Go inside. You can finish this later.”

He pouted, looking more like his usual self. “No! We’re going out later, remember?”

“Then finish it tomorrow morning.”

“While I’m hungover? No way. I would rather do it now. Besides, this is easy!”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “No, you’re not doing this now. Just finish it whenever you’re able to. It’s triple digits today.”

“It’s always triple digits, Shoua! We live in Sunset Valley! Summers are never not triple digits here. I’ll be fine.” Anthony rolled his eyes at me.

I sighed. Frustration was flooding my veins as he drank the water I brought him. I wasn’t sure why he was behaving like this. He had been pretty good all summer about putting his projects off until it was cooler in the day. Why was he giving me an attitude right now over something as serious as his health?

He finished all the water I had in my water bottle and got back to work. I watched the bright sunlight reflecting off his sweat-soaked skin. I had always known Anthony to be dedicated. Although this was endearing, it also contributed to him being incredibly stubborn at times.

I stood there as he continued to put on the primer over the vanity. Typically, he’d have the utmost concentration, using practiced and controlled strokes. But today, he was distracted. The way he brushed the primer all over the table was messy and chaotic.

“Anthony,” I called out, but he was off in his own world. His music wasn’t playing anymore, but he still couldn’t hear me. “Anthony.”

His head immediately whipped in my direction, surprised I was still there. “Hm?”

I was about to ask him what was wrong when Jonathan pulled into the driveway in his Mercedes Benz coupe. “Good afternoon, you scamming lovebirds!” he announced as soon as he swung open the car door.

“What are you doing here?” I asked. If Jonathan was coming over, Anthony would’ve told me about it already.

“Jesus Christ, Shoua. Couldn’t you at least say hi before interrogating me?” he answered as he brought out a bag of takeout. “I come here in peace and with lunch.”

Anthony and I arched our brows at him. He didn’t usually come over unannounced unless something came up. He blew out a long, exasperated sigh. “I’m hiding from my mom. She’s been driving me up the wall since nine this morning and I’ve had enough. I had to come here.”

“Maybe it’s about time you move out,” I commented.

“True, I could and then she’d just call me nonstop and ask me to come home all the time. Like your mom,” he countered.

I scoffed. “My mom hasn’t called me in a while.”

“Yeah, I heard from Sai what happened.”

I rolled my eyes. “I was simply telling her the truth. Not my fault she couldn’t accept the fact her son doesn’t want to better himself by getting a goddamn job.”

Jonathan grunted, agreeing. We had discussed multiple times how to get Sai out of his room to start living life. He and Jonathan were not as close as they used to be. But Jonathan had always been closer to Sai than Lee or me since they were closer in age. They spent so much time together growing up going to the same schools, having the same classes, and even being in some of the same social circles.

“I bet this is about dating,” Anthony piped up with a teasing grin.

“Bingo,” Jonathan said tersely. “My mom is insistent on setting me up on a blind date with one of her friends’ daughters because of you two.” He glared at us.

“What the hell did we do?” Anthony asked, confused.

“Your Oscar-winning performances Thursday night convinced my mom that I need to start dating again. She’s convinced that since Julie and Andy are together and now you two are also together, I need be serious about my relationships as well. I’m only twenty-six! Does it look like I want to get married yet?” Jonathan grumbled. “I’ve been telling her that you two are faking it, but she refuses to believe me.”

“I thought your mom knew that this”—I pointed between Anthony and me—“was all fake.”

“I thought so too, but no. She thinks you two are in it for the long haul,” Jonathan said. “I think it must’ve been something Auntie Gao said because my mom thought that I was joking.”

I could see the way Anthony’s forehead creased with frustration and his lips pursed into a fine line, which was a seldom sight to see. He was clearly angry at his mom. Jonathan shot me a shocked look.

“You two can head inside and start eating first. I’m going to take a few minutes to finish out here. I’ll come in once I’m done,” Anthony said. His tone was gruff and rather harsh.

He didn’t wait for either Jonathan or me to respond to him as he started his music again. We could hear it blaring through his earbuds as a low hum, and he immediately returned to his vanity table.

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