“Holy shit,” Andrew uttered. It was the first thing he’d said, having been silent the entirety of my recollection except for a few reactionary noises here and there.

“You can say that again.”

“Holy shit.” He paused. “First, I’m so sorry. That is just, well, fucking appalling. I can’t think of a word that summarizes it well enough, and I can’t even fathom what it must’ve been like for you. I’m sorry.”

We sat quietly for a moment as the horror sank into his face, then morphed into confusion. Probably because there were things that didn’t add up.

“Why is Hongbo so supportive of this?” he asked.

“I’ve thought about this. A lot. Too much.” It keeps me up at night, in fact. “Hongbo doesn’t want me, but I suspect he wants the life and inheritance that comes with following his parents’ commands.”

“Fuck.”

I nodded. “Fuck me for being the apple of his parents’ goddamn eyes.”

“And for the grossest of reasons.”

“Well…” A light bulb slowly brightened in my head. “Maybe we can use that. Take my reputation down a notch.”

“You shouldn’t have to do that.”

“I’m not talking about anything disastrous. We’ll have fun with it. Like, ‘Hey, Kuo Ǎyí, did you know I’ve smoked a cigarette before?’ ”

“A marijuana cigarette,” Andrew added, and we both laughed. “Not the easiest to bring up in conversation, though.”

I shrugged. “If it’s awkward, it’s awkward.”

“It still bothers me that you’re the one suffering for the sake of others. And you’re the only one who hasn’t done anything wrong.”

“I lied to my parents.”

He sighed. “For a good reason, unlike everyone else.”

“You don’t have to protect me,” I said, when in reality I craved it. I was tired of standing my ground on my own.

“I know,” he said, and I could tell he was thinking, But I want to, which only made it hurt more.

“Well, maybe the best plan is to just show everyone how in love we are,” I said. “Convince the community we’re a solid item so the Kuos back off.” Maybe my original plan was the best strategy after all.

Andrew nodded. “That’s what I’m trained for. Get ready for some impromptu slow dancing, lots of hand grazes, maybe even some finger-food feeding if we’re feeling really cheesy.” A mischievous glint appeared in the corner of his eye. “We’ll take it into the desert.”

“Huh?”

The right side of his mouth quirked up. “You know, your joke. We’ll take it so far off the deep end we’ll be out of the pool, into the car, and miles inland where there’s no water in sight.”

I burst out laughing.