13. Anthony
CHAPTER 13
anthony
I let out a laugh as I watched Shoua and Jonathan battle it out in a carnival basketball game for one of the ginormous stuffed animals hanging high above us. Kelvin also played along with them as he and Shoua struggled. Jonathan, on the other hand, easily made his shots as he wore a cocky smirk.
Shoua yelled as the basketball she threw hit the rim of the basketball hoop instead of shooting through the net. Jonathan whooped since he was several points ahead of her and Kelvin. I laughed again as Shoua continued to groan out of frustration when another ball she threw missed the basketball hoop entirely.
“Shoua, you’re horrible!” I said.
After dinner, we decided to play some carnival games and maybe even jump on a few rides later. Shoua wanted to go on the Ferris wheel while Jonathan insisted we go on the goddamn Fire Ball.
“I’m glad I’m here again with my mom this summer,” Evelyn said from my side. “I always love visiting your mom. She’s the sweetest and is practically like my own mother.”
“Sure, I mean, I see you like a little sister too,” I said.
Evelyn became silent for a second. “A sister, huh?” she asked. Her voice rasped slightly in simmering irritation.
“Yeah. Just like how Julie and Jonathan are younger siblings to me.” I nodded slowly. “They’re both my mom’s friend’s children and so are you.”
She raised a brow at me. “What about Shoua?”
I smiled as I glanced back to her, watching her playful struggle with the basketball game. The chimes of her laugh ringing through the air. “My girlfriend.”
Evelyn’s brow continued to stay arched. “But didn’t you two grow up together?”
“No, we were classmates most of the time. But I wouldn’t say we actually grew up together the way I did with her cousins. It’s always been different with Shoua.”
“Different how?”
I glanced back at Shoua, catching her gaze over to Evelyn and me for a quick second and then back to the game. My smile mirrored the wide one she wore. “She’s always been special to me,” I said.
“Is she truly special? Or is she just convenient enough to be your girlfriend this summer?” she asked. I turned to her as she tipped her head coyly at me with a smirk. She took a step toward me while I stood in place. “I find it ironic how you two started your relationship so suddenly. Why now? You and Shoua have been friends all these years and yet nothing ever happened until now. What about this year makes it different from all the other years? Why not last year or the other years before?”
I snickered, feeling amused. “Why are you so curious about other people’s relationships when it doesn’t concern you?”
“Because my mom wants you and me together, and she always gets what she wants.”
Although her voice was hushed, the clarity of it still cut through Jonathan’s and Shoua’s laughing. I blinked, surprised by her honesty. We had been beating around this bush for years.
I gave her a gentle smile. “Is that what you want too? Or are you simply doing all of this just to please her?”
Evelyn immediately tore her eyes away from mine and her smirk wobbled for a second. She cleared her throat, stood taller, and looked up at me with newfound determination. A confident smirk stretched across her lips. “You’ll be mine one day, Anthony Hughes.”
I blinked slowly as I also straightened my back. I caught Shoua’s gaze and held it for a moment, causing her to miss another shot. I pointed directly at my girlfriend and smiled. “Nope, I’m hers.”
The loud buzzer signaling the end of the basketball game interrupted Evelyn before she could respond back. Shoua must’ve heard me because her face flamed bright red as Jonathan relished his win. Her eyes never left mine as I nodded at her.
“W-well—” Evelyn started, but a familiar voice cut her off.
“Yo! Anthony Hughes, is that you?”
I quickly glanced up to see a face I knew well smiling broadly back at me. It was Tyson Wright, a good friend of mine and Andy’s from high school. Andy and he were on the basketball team together. He’d come over to our place often and they’d practice together. The two of them would play against our dad since he played for the University of Minnesota when he was a student there. I’d join in on the fun some of the time. Other times it would be Jonathan.
While Andy got a scholarship to play down in Southern California at University of California Santa Mariana. Tyson got a basketball scholarship to play for a small liberal arts college in Boston. He had been living on the East Coast ever since. Whenever he returned to California to see his family, Andy and me would make sure to see him. We had gone to Boston several times before to visit him over the years.
I flashed him a small smile as he told his cousins he’d catch up to them. We quickly hugged each other. “What the hell, man? I thought you weren’t going to be here for another week!” I said as Jonathan whooped loudly at the large stuffed gorilla he won.
Shoua was huffing for a split moment before turning to me, her eyes brightening at the sight of Tyson. “Tyson Wright!” she said, coming up to us. “Anthony said that you weren’t going to be here for another week! What are you doing here?”
“Well, well. If it isn’t Shoua and Jonathan Lo!” He quickly hugged her and then Jonathan. “Come on, you guys! I wanted to surprise my parents and I didn’t want Anthony blabbering with his big mouth.” He laughed again, showing me his pearly white teeth.
“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.”
I assumed I’d clam up if anyone asked this, but here I was just lying so easily even I thought they were truths for a split second.
“Damn. I didn’t know you were spitting out poetry these days like your brother. Sounds like you’re in it deep for sure.” Tyson glanced at Shoua with a huge grin. “Do you hear the words coming out of this man’s mouth just because of you?”
She laughed. “What can I say? Julie and I just have that kind of effect on the Hughes twins.”
Her hand reached up for my face. Although I knew it was coming, the tiniest touch of her soft lips against my jaw caused me to stand there stupidly. I probably looked like a dumbass in headlights. I hadn’t expected her to give me a peck like that and, instead of her being the one who was stiff and awkward, it was me.
Underneath my fingertips, I could feel her heart race just as mine started drumming with the same intensity. Thankfully, Tyson didn’t seem to catch on to the look on my face. But Jonathan did, and he was beaming with the widest, most irritating smirk ever.
I was completely lost in our performance until I felt two pairs of eyes on me and remembered exactly why we were doing this. When I glanced up, Evelyn and Kelvin looked at me square in the eyes. Evelyn looked like she was ready to fight. Her cousin, on the other hand, showed no emotion. Except for whatever that was brewing underneath those dark irises. His beady eyes were glued on Shoua as a creepy, unnerving smile stretched across his face.
I immediately wrapped my arms tighter around her as my heart thudded a tad harder than before. But Kelvin? He wanted Shoua, and the way he watched her in stillness and silence, like a predator watching their prey, left me unsettled.