Page 33 of No Summer Hotter than You

“Shuddaup. That only happened once!” I retorted before introducing him to Evelyn and Kelvin.

Tyson laughed throughout all the introductions, like his usual self. “Knowing you,” he said, glancing my way, “you’d probably tell your parents and then your parents would tell mine when they bump into each other at the grocery store.”

His bright eyes sparkled against his deep brown skin as he threw a glance between Shoua and me when I took her hand. A wide, sly, and mischievous smirk appeared on his dark and full lips.

“You two dating now?” Tyson asked.

I scoffed, weakly. “What do you mean ‘now’?”

“It’s about damn time, right, Tyson?” Jonathan jabbed.

Those two shared a chuckle and I shook my head. “I didn’t know you were in love with Shoua, Anthony,” he said, teasingly. “You Hughes twins are quite something, huh? Falling in love with two cousins.”

“It’s not what you—” I half slipped until Shoua gave me a glance. I immediately shut up.

Although Evelyn and Kelvin weren’t in on the conversation, they were still here with us. I’d expose us if I told Tyson the truth. Besides, he was the last person I should be telling the truth to. He’s my friend, but he could easily slip and expose our fake relationship to anyone else.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m not going to believe whatever the hell you have to say. Especially not after your fucking brother lied to me all throughout high school, claiming he wasn’t in love with Julie,” Tyson said. “He only told me the truth after my ass was all the way in Boston for college. That damn motherfucker. I hope his ears are burning right now from all the shit I’m saying about him.”

It’s a Hmong belief that if your ears suddenly start burning, someone is bad-mouthing or gossiping about you. I can’t remember why, but Andy and me told Tyson once about this, so now anytime he shit talks about people he dislikes, he also says he hopes their ears are burning.

“What? But it was so obvious!” Jonathan said with a laugh.

“What can I say? He was good at lying and acting like he only saw her as a friend,” Tyson said defensively.

“Nah, he was obvious with his crush on her. You were just too stupid to notice, like Julie,” I said as I grinned.

Shoua smirked at Tyson as well. “You believed Andy because he’s kind, friendly, and easy-going, right?” He couldn’t answer her. “That’s manipulation, sweetie.”

I laughed. “She’s right.”

He scoffed loudly as Jonathan laughed. “Shut the fuck up.”

I grinned and shrugged. “Just speaking the truth.”

He rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Man, I can’t believe you two are actually together now. It’s wild.”

Shoua laughed. “Yeah, it’s been a crazy journey,” she replied.

She flashed Tyson her iconically believable, superficial smile. I call it her work smile. I’m not sure how, but she’s always able to pull it on so seamlessly well that if I hadn’t known her all these years, I never would have known it was fake. Out of everyone I knew, she was probably the best at keeping her true emotions and thoughts under wraps.

Shoua was good at blending into any and every situation life threw at her, which is what I admired the most about her. She was always quick on her feet and adapted easily to any situation.

She leaned into my side to rest her head on my chest, letting me smell her delicious perfume it lingered on her skin. We practiced being a couple again this morning, so I wasn’t as stiff as I usually was when I threw my arm over her shoulders. I tried to be as natural as I could, acting as if it was something we had always done. I considered kissing her temple, but thought it’d be best if we went slowly since Shoua was so opposed to it when I suggested it days ago.

“Yup, I’m Shoua’s man now,” I said.

Tyson’s curious brow pulled together at us as he continued to grin. “How did you two fall in love then? You’ve never mentioned squat about how you two were dating.”

“I’m curious too,” Evelyn spoke up with an obviously forced laugh. “I’ve been meaning to ask these two the same thing.”

I pulled Shoua in front of me and wrapped my arms around her waist. She leaned back into my chest as I rested my chin on the top of her head. Her back relaxed into my body, making me do the same with an exhale.

“Want to know how we fell in love, Tyson?” I asked.

“You fucking bet I do,” he answered.

“I’ll be honest. I can’t pinpoint exactly when I fell in love with her.” I grinned as Shoua shifted anxiously in my arms. “But I’ve always known my world would forever tip out off its axis if something happened to her. I would gladly rip through Heaven just to find Shoua and bring her back because I wouldn’t be able to live without her. If by losing her, I am forever destroyed, then by being able to share this life with her, I am forever whole and hers.”

---