“Guo!” I throw my bags over my shoulder and walk toward her, arms open. “Hello, beautiful.” I bend and pull her into a hug. She pats my back and when we pull apart, she reaches up and jabs her pointer finger in my face
“Why didn’t you stop Ugly Chao from bothering Mei Li?”
I squint. “Ugly Chao?”
“Guo!” I throw my bags over my shoulder and walk toward her, arms open. “Hello, beautiful.” I bend and pull her into a hug. She pats my back and when we pull apart, she reaches up and jabs her pointer finger in my face
“Why didn’t you stop Ugly Chao from bothering Mei Li?”
I squint. “Ugly Chao?”
“Why didn’t you punch him?” She points toward the door down the alley and motions for me to lean closer. “He’s a bad man.” She shakes her head. “Mei Li needs a nice boy. Like you. No matter what Mr. Ray says about girls or Baba Zhang wants.” She flutters her eyes at me and I laugh, putting my arm around her and steering her toward her shop.
“Ah, Guo, you flatter me.”
“I’m serious.” She ducks from under my arm and steps in front of me. “She needs a nice boy. Like you. And so handsome. Also like you.” She reaches up and pats my face then pushes her palms against my chest. “I see you stare at her like this.” Her mouth falls open and she clasps her hands, swooning. But really, mocking. She grabs my arm and points. “Go back now. Give Mei Li a happy face.”
“Sorry. Dad wants me home for safety reasons.” I jerk my head toward the growing collection of cop cars. “You know—young, innocent boy, neighbor ladies bothering me in dark alleys.”
She slaps my arm and shakes a finger at me. “You have big muscles. You’ll be fine.”
I lay my hand on her shoulder. “I got a friend coming over. And Mei Li has a boyfriend.”
“No. No. No.” Guo shakes her head and stomps her foot, folding her arms across her droopy chest. “Not her boyfriend. And we want to keep it that way. Is your friend more beautiful than Mei Li?” She throws her head back and laughs. “Not possible, Marcus Miller.”
I smile and shake my head. “Uh…definitely not. It’s Johnny.”
“Oh! Johnny will understand, then! He loves all the girls. You need girl and I’m a Love Hunter. Mei Li is the one for you, Marcus Miller.” She nods, confident in her theory. “She’s the one.” She pokes my chest and I smile down at her.
“Pretty sure after watching that whole scene she’s into Chinese guys, not white guys twice her size. And he’s pretty into her. Don’t think I can compete with his possessiveness, but you keep hunting for love for me and let me know what you find after I graduate college.”