His For the Summer by Ezra Dao

Author:Ezra Dao [Ezra Dao]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2023-10-02T00:00:00+00:00

twenty-four

Aiden

“Aiden!” My mother’s crisp, sharp tones were recognizable even in the crowded hotel lobby. Somehow, the woman could raise her voice without really raising her voice, capturing the attention of everyone around her. I let go of Jay’s hand and slowly turned to face her. She was striding toward us, her heels click-clacking on the stone floor of the lobby.

My happy buzz from the weekend of sex and snuggling with Jay came crashing down at the sight of her.

“Mother. What brings you here?” I asked, trying hard to hide my unease.

My mother focused on me with a piercing stare. “It’s my hotel. What do you think I’m doing here?” she said, her lips forming into a little pout. She tilted her head, looking behind me to where Jay was standing.

“And who is this?”

“Jay. A friend from camp,” I said, guiding Jay with gentle pressure to stand by my side. His body trembled with anxiety as I rested my arm around his waist. “Jay, this is my mother, Diana Yamada.”

“Nice to meet you,” Jay uttered, extending his hand in greeting. Mom’s face remained expressionless, though I couldn’t tell if she was bored, or had been to her plastic surgeon recently. She ignored his hand, leaving Jay standing there awkwardly.

“You brought someone from that place here?” she asked, frowning a little.

“You can say the name of it — Camp Eagle Ridge. It’s a great place. And yes, I brought him here. I have friends, mother.” We hadn’t discussed being out with our families, but some impulse made me want to defend Jay, and I barely bit back the urge to introduce him as my boyfriend.

My mother’s melodic tinkle of a laugh was as fake as the rest of her. “Of course.”

“Do you have a problem with him?” I asked.

“Don’t worry, darling, he’s using you to piss me off,” my mother said, and for the first time in my life, I considered doing something violent to a family member.

“That’s not why I—”

“Aiden! You’re here!” A much more pleasant voice echoed behind me, interrupting my protest, and I turned to find my paternal grandfather rushing toward us, shoving people out of the way with his walker. The doctor had given the walker to him after his hip replacement surgery three years ago, and I was pretty sure he was only pretending to still need it because it made a good weapon. The patriarch of the Yamada clan, and retired CEO of the hotel chain, had to be my favorite person in the world.

I glanced at Jay, and smiled, thinking for a moment that there was one person who might capture a bigger space in my heart than my grandfather, Kaito Yamada.

Yeah, I was losing my goddamn mind.

“This is Jay, Aiden’s friend from camp,” my mother simpered, with a smile that made me want to gag. My grandfather hadn’t been too thrilled with my parents’ marriage — he’d wanted my father to marry a Japanese girl from one of the other wealthy Japanese-American families in their social circle.

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