Page 85 of No Summer Hotter than You

“If they’re getting along, then that’s great for them,” I said.

“Great for them, but I’m stuck fifth wheeling you two with Julie and Shoua,” Jonathan said, irritated. He rolled his eyes. “So, volleyball or not? If not, I’m going to nap because all of you have been banging on the damn fucking walls and screaming all night long. Couldn’t you be quiet at least? I don’t need to know what goes on in my sister’s or cousin’s sex lives.”

Andy and me glanced at each other, now feeling like jackasses. Julie was the closest person I had to a sister. And, yeah, I didn’t want to know what Andy and she were up to intimately either. It was just too personal for my liking.

“Sorry, Jonathan,” Andy and me said softly.

“We’ll try our best to be . . . private,” my brother continued.

“Back to volleyball,” I said, steering the topic away from our bedroom lives. “Let’s play later. It should be fun.”

Jonathan nodded slowly. “I didn’t say it earlier, but congrats on you and Shoua, Anthony,” he said in a hushed voice. “For a pair of twins who keep claiming you’re nothing alike, you two sure have similar taste in women.”

“Excuse me?” Andy asked, offended. “No, we don’t.”

“Oh, really? Suddenly, my sister and cousin aren’t similar? They come from the same set of brothers, mind you,” he said.

“First of all, they look nothing alike,” I said. “But they share the same smile.”

It was true. They had the same smile, but that was it. Shoua was taller with full curves and had a darker, golden complexion, while Julie had always been petite and only had color in her skin during the summer.

“They are similar in some ways, but they have a lot of differences, Jonathan,” Andy quickly added.

“They’re practically sisters—my sisters,” he said as he raised a teasing brow at us. “You two like similar women. Just say it like it is.”

“No, we don’t,” Andy said. “Julie and Shoua just happen to be cousins.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know you both just happen to fall head over heels in love with my sister and cousin,” said Jonathan, with a soft scoff. He flashed us a gentle look of amusement. “You both know I care about you two as if you’re my brothers, right?”

We replied as he smiled big, “Of course.”

“But, just to be clear, I care more about Julie and Shoua,” he said. “I’m happy for all of you. Truly . . . But you two take care of them, alright?”

His voice was light almost as if he didn’t want to say it out loud because he was too embarrassed to. This was a side of him we hardly see, but I’m glad he was being sentimental with us about his sister and cousin. Andy and me knew how much he loved Julie, Shoua, and his mom.

“Of course,” spoke up Andy before I could. “I promise I’ll take care of Julie for the rest of my life. I want to marry her, remember?”

Jonathan’s smile became wobbly. “Yeah,” was all he could say.

“We know how much you love them. We’ll take the best care of them, Jonathan,” I reassured, giving his shoulder a firm squeeze. “You have nothing to worry about.”

Andy and me grinned as his face turned bright red. “As I said, you two better treat them well.” He tried to grumble to sound tough.

Andy and me laughed. “We will,” we said in unison.

Once the barbeque pit was ready, I started to grill the meat our moms brought out. The mouth watering scent of the delicious slabs of meat being cooked drew in everyone who was outdoors. Shoua, Julie, Evelyn, and even Sai were practically drooling by the time I was done with it all.

We ate a big lunch, rested for a bit, and then swam for most of the afternoon. Although it was cooler in the mountains, it was still hot. We all agreed it’d be better to take a dip in the lake instead of playing volleyball under the boiling sun. No one wanted to play until the heat cooled down in the late afternoon. As expected, Andy, Jonathan, and me were the ones most pumped to play volleyball.

Andy and me were team captains to no one’s surprise. After a coin toss, Andy got the first dibs for his team members and, overall, his team was taller. Jonathan, Shoua, and Kelvin were all on his team. Sai, Evelyn, and Julie were on mine.

Luckily, we got to serve first after another coin toss. We got in three points before Kelvin stopped our momentum. I watched as he passed the ball to Shoua after she called for it. She hit the ball in Andy’s direction and my eyes immediately ogled her chest without a single thought. I was half grinning when I felt a solid smack right in my face. It was so painful my vision turned white for a moment as my head spun violently.

I shook my head to get a hold of myself and then looked up and caught Shoua’s furrowed brows and her parted lips. It was as if the world stilled as everyone’s faces morphed from shock to worry.

“Anthony, your nose is bleeding!” Shoua shrieked.

I felt something warm and wet on my upper lip. Thinking it was sweat, I brought the back of my hand up to wipe it away. But instead of perspiration, I saw a smear of bright red. My girlfriend immediately ran over to me.

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