'Seriously, this kid. Ignoring me again.'
Amari smiled at the message, then quickly wiped the expression, but it was too late and his aunt leaned in to peek at his phone.
"And who is this?" she asked, a bit curious and a bit teasing. "Do you have a new friend?"
He sighed, not sure how to explain the relationship to her since he wasn't sure himself. "He's not really a friend. An acquaintance, I guess? Someone I met recently at the club."
"Oh? So another musician then?"
"He plays guitar in a band. I guess they used to be popular, but they took a long break. He knows Ziggy, so he chose The Basement to be their comeback stage." Amari scratched his head. "They're really good."
"So you met him through Ziggy?" She leaned in closer, determined to pry out information about the man.
"He came before the show to test out the venue. Since his vocalist wasn't there, I sang a few songs with them in her place. It was kinda fun." Talking about it made him happy, but he spoke casually, trying to seem indifferent. "Now he keeps asking me to jam again. But we haven't seen each other since the show. Just sent a few messages."
"You should meet him again, if he wants to meet." His aunt squeezed his hand. "You never had any friends while you lived here, and I haven't heard that you have any now. He's your age? You can't just have that weird Ziggy in your life."
Amari ignored the last comment. "Uh, he's about five years older than me, I think?"
It was best to keep it secret that Yangyang was Chinese. The last thing he needed was his aunt trying to track the man down, poking into his personal life. The thought had crossed his mind that perhaps the families knew each other, but it wasn't worth the possible consequences of asking.
"Well, if he isn't as wild as Ziggy, then you should try to be friends. It's good to have some people around you."
"Yeah." Amari pointed to the shop door and stood. "I'll go return his call, actually. If that's okay."
"Dāngrán! Qù ba! Go talk to your friend." She let go of his hand and he went out to the sidewalk, leaning against the brick building as he dialed.
"Wéi? Hello?" asked the deep voice on the other end, the tone slightly troubled.
"Wéi? Yang ge?"
He couldn't help feeling shy, having only sent a few voice messages to the man over the past few weeks.
"Amari!" exclaimed the voice, sounding a bit lighter. "You've been ignoring me. What happened to not being strangers?"
"Yeah. Sorry..." He trailed off, not knowing what to say.
"It's alright. I knew you weren't chatty." Yangyang paused a moment, quiet on the other end, then said, "I didn't expect you to call me."
"Oh, sorry. Is it inconvenient? I can just send a message instead."
"No, I'm happy you called." The tone of his voice was genuine and Amari's cheeks warmed at the sound. "Are you free sometime soon? During a week night?"
"I've only got Monday nights off." Suddenly, his throat felt tight. "Why?"
Laughter carried through the speaker. "You sound so nervous."
Letting out a heavy sigh in frustration, he received another laugh in reply.
"There's somewhere I want to take you. A place owned by a friend of mine. I think you'll like it."
"You're not gonna tell me where or what it is? I'm not really a fan of surprises."
"Nope. Not telling. That's my one condition. You'll just have to trust me."
It was hard for Amari not to feel curious, but he was also hesitant. Based on his many past experiences, going random places with people he didn't know rarely turned out well.
"I hardly know you, but I'm s'posed to trust you?"
"Yeah," said the deep voice in his ear, not teasing like before. "Because I know you'll enjoy it, and I want your trust to be rewarded."
Choking at the words, Amari covered the phone to cough. It was such a cheesy thing to say, yet he didn't find it funny at all. He let it hang for many moments, not sure how to respond, until a little bell rang behind him and his aunt stuck her head out the shop door.
"Xiǎo Li," she called loudly, interrupting his thoughts. "Āyí ordered some hotpot from next door. I know you haven't had it in a long time. When you're finished with your call, go pick it up from Lǎo Sòng, hǎo ma?"
"Hǎo a."
The reply came out automatically, and he heard Yangyang chuckle in his ear.
"Xiǎo Li? Who's calling you that?"
Amari sighed, but true to his nature, the only two options were to say nothing or be honest. "That's āyí. I decided to visit this morning, since I haven't been in a long time."
"What? Really?" There was surprise, but Amari could also sense a little disappointment. "You're in Chinatown right now? You should have told me."
"How would I know where you are?" he asked, keeping a grumpy tone to cover his guilt. "And it was last minute anyway."
"Then tonight. I'll come pick you up and we'll go tonight. It's Monday, and you're already close by."
"Yeah, but..."
He couldn't think of any excuses. He had already spent most of the day with his aunt and uncle, and if he stayed any longer, they would start talking about things like marriage and work and school - things all traditional Chinese parents worried about, and questions he didn't like answering.
"But?" asked Yangyang after a moment of silence. "You can't think of anything, yeah? Trust me, you'll have a good time. And if you hate it, I'll send you right home."
Amari sighed in defeat. "Yeah, okay. I'll message you later."
"Yeah?" The man sounded shocked at the response, despite his seemingly confident pressuring earlier. "Then I'll see you tonight. Don't back out on me."
"Yeah, okay."
His brain was screaming at him - a general ::What the fuck're you doing, Amari?:: - but he agreed anyway without much thought. For some reason, he didn't overthink when it came to Yangyang, and he was sure it would come back to hurt him later.
The two said their goodbyes, and with an exasperated sigh, he headed next door to pick up dinner.