8. Shoua
CHAPTER 8
shoua
I smiled tightly as Anthony and I stood next to each other in the middle of our small, international airport at the baggage claim. The big words “Welcome to Sunset Valley” were painted on a wall behind us as a few people stood around waiting for their loved ones. I went onto my phone and texted Anthony because there was no way I could ever whisper without Aunt Sue overhearing our conversation.
Me
Why are we here again?
Anthony
AUNT SUE INSISTED YOU AND I COME WITH HER TO THE AIRPORT TO PICK UP EVELYN.
I COULDN’T SAY NO !!!
Me
Maybe you should consider growing a backbone
He shot me a death glare as he typed away.
Anthony
My parents are busy getting groceries. I had no choice but to help out
I smiled at him as he pouted cutely.
“Oh! There she is!” Aunt Sue exclaimed.
Just as Anthony and I turned to look, a young woman who was almost a carbon copy of Aunt Sue walked out. She wore a big grin and waved excitedly to her mom. Evelyn was in a simple white shirt and ripped shorts with light makeup.
Her rosy cheeks made her look elated instead of exhausted despite just being on a seven-hour flight. To be honest, I thought she was beautiful. I was certain that if her mom wasn’t so pushy and her personality wasn’t an issue, Anthony may have started dating her a long time ago.
Aunt Sue rushed forward to embrace her daughter while Anthony and I hung back exchanging nervous glances. This situation went from awkward straight to uncomfortable as Evelyn’s eyes landed on us. It was undeniable she was observing us or, more specifically, me . I could see the way she was analyzing me as the gears in her head turned and her eyes narrowed on me.
I wasn’t surprised, to say the least.
I knew she was going to do this, so I came fully prepared. With my favorite off-the-shoulder dress, cute heels, a face full of makeup, and freshly manicured nails and pedicured toes, I knew I looked the part. Anthony promised he’d be the best fake boyfriend I’d ever have, but I knew I had to be his hottest fake girlfriend.
I flashed Evelyn a huge insincere but warm smile—tapping into the sales rep in me. With Anthony’s hand in mine, we took a step forward as her mom pulled away from their hug. My heart was racing but I kept up with the pretense. Before I could say anything, I was woefully interrupted.
“Hi, I’m Kelvin.” I turned to a man I didn’t recognize.
My brows rudely raised to the sky as my mouth parted in surprise. The Kelvin standing in front of me wasn’t the Kelvin I had seen pictures of nor was it the same guy I was forced to video chat with last summer.
I blinked. “Hi, yeah, I’m—” I started.
“I know who you are, Shoua,” he said, chuckling. His gaze drifted from the top of my head down to the very tip of my toes with his bottom lip caught in between his teeth. “I only introduced myself since I figured you wouldn’t recognize me. I look different, right?”
Different? Kelvin, who looked very dorky and pasty last year in all the photos his aunt threw in my face, was a whole different man. His patchy, horrible buzz haircut had grown out into stylishly pushed back hair. His skin and cracked lips finally looked moisturized. It also seemed like he opted out of the dirty, wrinkled T-shirts he often wore in his photos for crisp, clean shirts. He wasn’t as socially awkward as he was over the phone and seemed much more confident in person.
Kelvin Vang was cute and, if anything at all, I was completely blindsided by this. But even then, I treaded with caution. Despite how nicely he cleaned up, he still sent me an unsolicited picture of his dick after all. Which also meant I knew exactly how his dick looked, making the air between us immediately awkward.
I cleared my throat. “Um, yeah, a little different,” I managed to say.
“You look great, by the way.” His smile beamed a little wider and drew my eyes to the dimple on one of his cheeks. He had dimples? I couldn’t remember.
“Hi, I’m Anthony,” said my best friend and fake boyfriend. He let go of my hand, stepped in between Kelvin and me, and reached out to shake Kelvin’s hand. “I’m Shoua’s boyfriend.”
“Oh,” Kelvin said with a laugh as he shook Anthony’s hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Kelvin.”
“I’ve heard so many things about you from Shoua, Kelvin.” Anthony nodded as the two continued to shake their hands furiously for an extra ten seconds before they pulled away from one another. Anthony flashed Kelvin a plastered, tight smile. “Like the picture you sent?—”
“Did either of you check bags?” I asked loudly. I tried to steer the conversation elsewhere as politely as I could.
Evelyn arched a brow and tilted her head in my direction as if I just asked a stupid question. “Of course.” She smiled, running her hand through her shoulder-length hair. “I brought four bags. All Kelvin has is that carry-on.”
“That’s . . . great,” I said, laughing as naturally as I could. I turned to Anthony. “Baby, your Jeep should fit all four of Evelyn’s suitcases, right?”
“Four?” He coughed. “Oh, yeah, it should fit perfectly fine.”
“How was the flight?” I asked, pretending to make some small talk to keep Evelyn from catching anything off between Anthony and me.
“Long, but well worth it,” she answered, glancing at Anthony as if he was the one asking. Her face softened and her eyes lit up for a moment before her gaze flicked to his hand now hot on my hip. A tiny, forced smile pulled back onto her lips.
“It’s nice to see you!” Anthony beamed, lying through his teeth. “It’s been, what? A year?”
If he thought his mom had a knack for lying, then he should listen to himself. But I knew he was just being polite. The Hughes twins were always good with being overly polite and kind.
Evelyn nodded, still eyeing where Anthony’s hand was suspiciously. “Yup, it’s been a whole year,” she chirped.
I tried to smile naturally at her answer as the uncomfortableness wafting in the air settled into an awkward silence between Evelyn, Kelvin, Anthony, and me for a second. Aunt Sue was the one who kept the awkward silence at bay as we waited for Evelyn’s luggage, which was why I was grateful she was there.
I honestly didn’t know much about Evelyn since she hardly ever talked much to me all the previous times she visited California. All I knew about her was that she was an English literature PhD student. Meanwhile, I remembered absolutely nothing about Kelvin. I could hardly recall what we chatted about before I blocked his number.
“How was Wisconsin?” Aunt Sue asked.
“Horrible and boring, just like Dad. I hated it,” Evelyn mumbled.
“Well, Evelyn, he wanted to see you.” Aunt Sue snorted, clearly satisfied by her daughter’s answer. “So . . . How’s his bitch?”
My eyes widened. I’d never heard Aunt Sue talk like that before. I knew she and her ex-husband divorced because of an affair. But I didn’t know she had the capacity to be so blunt about it.
“She’s after his money, as far as I’m aware. When that dries up, she’ll leave. It’s all fake ,” Evelyn said with a sigh.
Her eyes trailed back to Anthony and me as his grip on my hip tightened. She probably scared him. It was easy to fool Aunt Sue because of her unassuming nature, but Evelyn was another. I may not know much about her, but I’m aware she was smart, analytical, and speculative, which was the biggest threat of all to this scheme.
“Congrats on you two getting together, by the way,” she said. A forced smile now was on her lips. “How unfortunate for you, Kelvin. I know you really liked her.”
I flashed her a small smile as I glanced over at her cousin, who was now scarlet red.
“Thanks, Evelyn,” I said as I put my hand on Anthony’s hard chest. Under my palm, I could feel his body tense for a split second with the sudden physical contact before relaxing. “It just sort of happened.”
My voice wavered slightly, but Anthony’s breath tickled the top of my head as he let out a light laugh. Whether Evelyn was trying to be inconspicuous about it or not, I immediately noticed the way she stared slightly at how at my chest was flushed against Anthony’s.
“The best moments in life are always the unexpected ones,” he said huskily as he stiffly leaned into me. His hold on me tightened as I tried my best not to let my back become rigid. Yet it did from how awkward this all was. My heart hammered against my ribcage so hard I was sure he felt it. “There’s nothing like falling in love with your best friend.”
Aunt Sue beamed at us while Kelvin shifted on his feet with a soft grin and nod. Evelyn was smiling as well, but her smile didn’t reach her eyes. “How sudden, but how lovely all at once,” she mused, feigning sweetness. “You two are the cutest, to be honest.”
Her eyes flicked to Anthony’s hand on my hip again then at my tense back. She looked up directly at me and her lips upturned just slightly, and my stomach flopped uneasily. As I suspected, none of this scheming and lying was going to be smooth sailing. Not with Evelyn around.