Page 70 of Just Another Meet Cute
Bápulled out several different spoons from the drawer by the stove. “About thirty-five pounds.”
Ah, my guess was pretty close.
Across the table, Ryan groaned under his breath while Ian groaned out loud and flopped onto the chair next to his brother. “This is going to take hours. Why do we have to do this again?”
“Bác Noah’s parents are visiting this weekend, and I can’t let them leave empty-handed.” Báshook her head and pulled out a gigantic tub from the pantry in the corner like a magician. “Plus, we need some more giò for banh mì this weekend anyway. Unless you don’t want any.”
“I do want some banh mì,” Ryan admitted. Ian shot him a look of betrayal, and he held both hands up in surrender. “What? You know you want some, too. It’s one of your favorites.”
“Yeah, but it doesn’t mean we have to admit it.”
To be honest, I was starting to feel overwhelmed, too, as Bápiled the meat into the tub. It was like a never-ending pink gooey glob.
Linh, on the other hand, was so excited that she started rocking back and forth on her heels. Her fingers wiggled like she was itching to get started. “How many giò would this make?”
“About twenty-five large ones. And then a few smaller ones. Oh, and we have to save some uncooked aside to make bún m?c.”
“Oh, that’s it?” I couldn’t keep the thread of sarcasm out of my voice.
Luckily, Bájust laughed. “It takes a lot of work to feed this family, but I love them. Ian, why won’t you set up the two food processors with your girlfriend?” She gestured toward the other table with a wave of her hand.
At first, I thought she meant Linh, but she was looking right at me.
Ian started coughing like he was choking on something. “Bá, Nina’s not—she’s not my girlfriend.”
Her startled glance bounced between the both of us. “Oh, sorry, I thought she was your girlfriend because I saw her name pop up on your phone a few times last week.”
Now it was my turn to choke. I don’t even know what I was choking on. Air, spit, embarrassment. Either way, my cheeks burst with heat as everyone turned to stare at both of us. Me in particular, since I sounded like I was almost dying.
Ryan looked confused as he got up. “Do you need some water?”
“No, I’m—actually, yes. Water would be nice.” At least drinking water would give me something to do.
Chewing on her lower lip, Linh studied the three of us with a suspicious glint in her eyes. I could practically imagine all the thought bubbles around her head like in an anime. And none of them were good.
Avoiding her gaze, I gave Ryan a grateful smile when he handed me a glass of water. Thank God, he didn’t seem too bothered by Bá’s comment. Ian, on the other hand, was studying the wall next to his elbow like the tiny cracks had the answer to all life’s questions. The tips of his ears were pink though, so I know he was paying attention to us.
I had just taken a big gulp when Báspoke up again.
“If you’re not Ian’s girlfriend, are you Ryan’s girlfriend?”
Jeez, she was really on a roll today.
I spat the water out on the table, and both Ian and Ryan had to jump out of the way to avoid getting splattered. Horrified, I wanted to apologize, but this time I was actually dying for real as water went down the wrong pipe. My throat and cheeks were all on fire as I gasped for air. Both Ian and Ryan moved over to my side. Ian lightly patted my back, while Ryan grasped my shoulder. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Dying of embarrassment, but fine.”
Not deterred by my near-death experience, Bástill wasn’t going to let her question go. “So, whose girlfriend, are you?”
“I’m not—” I glanced back and forth between the two brothers. Both were standing so close to me that I could feel their heat from either side. Ryan’s handwas still grasping my shoulder, while Ian’s hand was just rubbing my upper back now. It was still hard to catch my breath, but now it was for an entirely different reason.
Being in this cute-boy sandwich wasn’t turning out to be as much fun as I imagined.
From across the room, Linh’s eyes met mine and she smirked at me.
So annoying.
Finally, Ryan seemed to notice something was wrong as he glanced back and forth between his brother and me. Or maybe the tension in the room was suffocating him like it was doing to me. I doubt that he could even imagine that there was actually something going on between Ian and me though. That there was so much more to the story then anyone could ever know.
