16. Shoua
CHAPTER 16
shoua
Anthony hardly ever swung by my workplace, which was why I was thoroughly surprised when he texted me about coming over with lunch today. The last time this happened was almost two years ago when his ex-girlfriend dumped him over text messages. It had been an upsetting break up for him.
“Hey, baby,” he said to me so casually that my co-workers did a double take.
A hot, searing blush crept up my face as I stuttered out the following words, “H-hey, Anthony.”
“Come on! What are ya waiting for? Let’s eat,” he said, nodding toward the front door. “The food’s in the car.”
Outside, the heat was intense. Anthony was lucky to nab a parking spot under a big tree. It was cooler than being stuck right under the sun with a nice breeze.
“So, what do I owe you for this lovely Friday lunch with you? Life advice? Or did something happen?” I asked as I waved the fresh stack of papers I just printed out. “By the way, here are some properties I think it’d be good to invest in.”
He had mentioned yesterday that he wanted to start looking into a second property we could buy. Ideally, he wanted us to start looking around now and into the fall, buy it, and hopefully have it ready for sale or rent in the spring. It was a great plan, and I was looking forward to hunting down a new place.
We walked quickly over to his hybrid company truck as he took hold of the papers I handed him. He usually dropped his truck off at the business office in the morning and would take one of the large company trucks to his work sites. It was easier to account for the mileage and the materials he and his crew needed for the day that way.
Anthony raised his brows at me and then pulled that big, wide grin of his across his lips. The butterflies in my stomach fluttered uncontrollably. He tilted his head to the side a little bit with his bright and glittering eyes, looking boyish and coy.
“I can’t drop by to see my fake girlfriend?” he asked, fanning himself with my papers. “I missed you this morning.”
My breath got caught in my throat as my heart began to pound at the sound of that. I croaked out, “But you already saw me this morning.”
Anthony let out a snicker as he motioned to the front of the car. “Yeah, but it was only for a split second. I wanted to eat a meal with you, but you woke up late.”
I set the wrong alarm last night before bed and woke up later than usual. Anthony stopped by to drop off my coffee and thankfully woke me up so I wouldn’t be late to work. We saw each other for just a few moments and then he was gone. Of course, he didn’t forget to kiss me on the temple. Exactly like the other day, except I had just woken up with morning breath, crusty eyes, and a bed head that was nothing short of a messy and wild plume.
I let out a stiff laugh as we climbed into the truck and he turned it on for the air conditioning. On the seat were two bánh mìs , Vietnamese sandwiches, and two Vietnamese iced coffees. I smiled. It was no surprise since Anthony loved Vietnamese cuisine.
“Thanks for waking me up this morning,” I said.
“Of course! I couldn’t let you go to work late. You’re such a stickler for being punctual,” Anthony said.
“What about it?” I asked. “There’s nothing wrong with that.”
He let out a booming laugh this time. “Remember the time when you left a date before the guy arrived because he was more than ten minutes late without texting you?”
I rolled my eyes, grabbing my food from him. “If he couldn’t even make it on time for a measly first date, then who’s to say he wouldn’t be late for something more important? Don’t waste my time if you don’t care about being there on time.”
“I don’t blame you, Shoua. You did what you should. Your time is too precious for the likes of men like that anyways.”
Anthony gave me a nod as I shrugged. I took the first bite of my sandwich. It was a grilled pork bánh mì with extra jalape?os and paté—my usual order. I didn’t realize he was watching me until I glanced back at him. He was wearing this small smile as he let out a hum and looked so content . I wasn’t sure why.
“What?”
He quickly shook his head and looked away as his hyena laugh bubbled out. “Nothing. I just love watching you eat. Now I know why my parents and Auntie Yee always liked to watch Andy, Julie, Jonathan, and me take the first bite.”
I blinked. Anthony was never one to be this way. “Who are you?” I deadpanned, worried.
His hyena laugh resurfaced as a light, airy, and happy chime. It even sounded cute for once instead of the usual annoying ring it had. He glanced at me and smirked. “I’m your fake boyfriend, baby.”
“Sure you are,” I responded with a small scoff and smile. I washed down my food with the iced Vietnamese coffee. “For a fake boyfriend, you’re not helping me be in shape by bringing me bread and sweet iced coffee for lunch. I want to look good when we go up to the lake house.”
It wouldn’t be summer without a road trip to a body of water somewhere. Anthony and Tyson wanted to do a trip for old time’s sake to one of SoCal’s beaches. We were also planning to meet up with Julie and Andy at one of those sandy, picturesque SoCal beaches. But since it cut too close to Tyson’s family trip to Hawaii and our lake house trip, they decided not to plan the road trip.
Anthony and Uncle Gary felt it would be nice to show Aunt Sue, Evelyn, and Kelvin more greenery and great hikes, so they felt going up to Millerton Lake was the best. It’d be much cooler than Sunset Valley and less crowded than the beaches.
I was excited to look a little slimmer for the two-piece swimsuits I finally got the confidence this year to wear. But now I wasn’t so sure. The only thing I wanted was just to look good. My plan for June was to eat a little less carbs and take thirty-minute walks around the neighborhood. However, none of it panned out the way I wanted. It was always too hot or I was too tired even when I encouraged myself to take my walks. Now we were already heading to the lake next week.
Anthony rolled his eyes. “You look perfectly fine the way you are, Shoua. Women are subjected to so much more pressure than us men anyways.”
“But I want to look good.”
“You do look good! Now just enjoy your food.” He jutted his jaw in my direction as if I wasn’t already scarfing down my sandwich. He finally took a bite of his own, which I was certain was a grilled beef bánh mì since that’s his go to order. “You ready for tomorrow tonight?”
I shrugged. “Not really. But it should be fun for the most part.”
“What about Evelyn and Kelvin?” My face contorted while Anthony laughed. “Someone’s clearly not excited.”
“It’s not that. They just make me nervous. I never know what to expect from them and it makes it hard to be your fake girlfriend,” I admitted.
A grimace pulled on Anthony’s mouth as his brows knitted together. He swallowed thickly before saying, “I’m sorry, Shoua.”
“For?” I took a bite of my lunch, waiting for him to continue.
“For getting you into this shitstorm.” He looked me in the eyes with an unwavering, soft gaze. “It’s my fault.”
I shrugged. “We would still have to deal with Evelyn and Kelvin’s advances either way. To be honest, I’d rather we go through this together than have to deal with them separately.”
A small smile was now dancing on his lips. “You’re the only person I’d want to go through this with.”
I let out a laugh. “It’s fun, but it’d probably be easier if you had a real girlfriend.”
“Nah, I’d rather be doing this with you.” He shook his head with wide grin. “Why did you check in with Evelyn before we left my parents’ place last night?”
“I wanted to make sure she was all right even though I’m certain she doesn’t like me much. It’s difficult being the only daughter of moms like ours.” I paused for a moment as my heart began to pump harder. “I’m lucky I have you be there for me when my mom behaves like that. I just hope she has someone like that for her too.”
Anthony became so still I had to glance over to see what he was doing. He was never one not to make his presence known to the world. He blinked slowly at me as he reached for my hand. My heart began to thump so hard in my chest I was certain he heard it. His thumbs gently brushed over my knuckles, making my belly flop.
“I’m lucky to have you in my life as well,” he said. His voice was husky and sincere, causing a small shiver to travel down my spine straight down to my toes. “You’re the sweetest and most caring person I’ve ever known to have done what you did for Evelyn. She hasn’t been kind to you at all, but I hope she appreciates what you’ve done at least.”
“Hopefully, but she doesn’t owe me anything. I spoke up because I felt it was the right thing to do. Not because I want her to feel indebted to me,” I said.
Anthony let out a long sigh with a small nod. “You’re right. She doesn’t. But you know I’ll always be here for you, right? I’ll always be by your side whenever your mom or life tries to bring you down.”
“I have to stand on my own feet too, Anthony,” I mentioned. “You can’t always be here for me.”
A gentle, imploring look touched his face as his expression softened. “But I want to be. I always want to be there for you.”
Anthony grinned and I smiled back. “Thank you, Anthony.”
“No need to thank me. That’s what we always do for each other, right?” he said with a slight laugh.
We finished our food soon enough. Just as I was about to jump out of his truck and head back in, he spoke up. “Wait,” he called out.
“Yes?” I asked, looking over my shoulder.
“Is it all right if I give you a kiss on the temple before I leave? For practice again. I’m worried about tomorrow night. Bar hopping and everything.” His voice was softer and tender, surprising me.
His cheeks flushed lightly, and I knew it wasn’t from the heat. He looked cute all flustered, after having to ask for my permission like an inexperienced teenage boy. I nodded, unable to say anything out loud.
Anthony leaned across the center console as my breath got caught in a tight ball in my throat.
His lips brushed against my temple lightly for a beating moment before he pulled away. My hammering heart became the only song I could hear as he said something. I couldn’t hear him, but dumbly nodded along. I muttered a quick and weak, “Bye,” closed the door, and marched my way back to work on shaky legs.
I never wanted to admit it, but the hold I had on myself was slowly slipping. It was so clear with the way I was behaving around him.
Look at me, Shoua Lo, who sat in a parking lot on a sizzling 112-degree summer day all because Anthony Hughes asked me to. He was the only man I would ever suffer this much for.
I was at the edge of being all his and he didn’t even know.