Hot Frist Love Chapter 5

I wanted the earth to swallow me whole. 

Josh tightened his grip on my waist and smiled 

at the neighbor. “We were high school 

sweethearts. Just got back together. I don’t really have a ‘job‘. I own a gaming company in 

San Francisco.” 

The neighbor’s eyes widened. “A CEO! My, my, 

very impressive.” 

I shook my head at her. “No, we didn’t get back 

together.” 

Josh patted my head. “She’s just playing hard 

My mom was shaking with rage. She grabbed 

both of us and dragged us inside, then poked 

her head out and hissed at the neighbor, “If you 

breathe a word of this to anyone, I’ll tell 

everyone about your husband and his salsa 

dancing partner.‘ 

وو 

The neighbor scoffed. “The nerve!” 

My mom slammed the door shut and glared at 

1. us. 

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Josh finally seemed to realize something was 

wrong. He whispered, “The mood is…tense. 

Your mom seems really angry.” 

I rolled my eyes. “What are you doing. here?” 

“I couldn’t explain everything in a text,” he said, 

gently gripping my shoulders. “Melanie and I are 

nothing. Believe me.” He looked at me 

pleadingly. “I messed up, Amy. I shouldn’t have 

used her to make you jealous. Forgive me?” His 

eyes softened. “I’ve realized something. Even if 

you don’t know how to love…it doesn’t matter. I 

love you enough for both of us. I’ll be good, I 

promise. I won’t do anything to upset you ever 

again. I won’t let anyone hurt you.” 

I stared into his sincere, earnest eyes. 

My mom stepped between us, blocking my 

view. “You have the nerve to show your face 

here?” 

I sighed. This was ridiculous. 

I took my mom’s hand and pulled her aside. “Josh, after we broke up, my mom kept asking 

about you. I got tired of it, and since I thought 

I’d never see you again, I told her you dumped 

me because I wasn’t good enough for you after you got into UCLA. That’s why she hates you.” I turned to my mom. “I lied. I broke up with him, 

not the other way around. And we haven’t 

gotten back together. We just saw each other 

at the reunion. That’s it.” I added, “And about 

Dr. Evans…I’m going to see where things go 

with him.” 

After explaining everything, I ignored their 

stunned expressions, opened the door, and 

shoved Josh outside. He stumbled, his eyes 

welling up. “Why?” 

My throat tightened. I looked down. “Your 

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mother hates me. You saw those messages. 

What if she does something crazy again? I can’t 

handle that, and I don’t want you to hate me 

too.” 

Josh shook his head tearfully. “She won’t. I’ll fix 

1. it. I’m flying back to San Francisco tonight to 

talk to her. Just…wait for me, okay?” He looked 

at me, tears streaming down his face. “At 

least…don’t see that doctor again. Please?” 

10 

I closed the door and slid to the floor, burying 

my face in my hands. My mom knelt beside me, 

stroking my hair. “Honey, I won’t ask about the 

past anymore. I just want you to be happy.” 

I wiped my tears. “It’s not going to happen, 

Mom. It’s over. He’s just here for a few days. 

When he leaves, things will go back to normal.” 

That night, I tossed and turned, unable to sleep. 

They say you should never meet the people you 

idolize in your memories because it ruins the 

memory. But Josh was different. Seeing him 

again…it reawakened something in me. It was 

like that day in high school, when he walked 

nast my classroom blocking the sunlight He 

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past my classroom, blocking the sunlight. He was tall and lean, his back straight, like he’d never bowed to anyone. He turned slightly, and our eyes met. My heart pounded. The sun 

backlit him, almost blinding me. In that moment, I knew. I was in love. 

11 

After Josh left, things did return to calm, except for the group chat, which remained a whirlwind of gossip. Strangely, my classmates seemed to have become paparazzi, constantly tracking my every move. If I had dinner with Sam, pictures 

would appear in the chat, tagged with, “Your 

first love is having dinner with another man!” 

Josh would immediately send a red envelope (a 

digital cash gift) to whoever took the pictures. If 

Sam and I went to the movies, more pictures, 

along with captions like: “Your first love is at 

the movies with another man! He tried to hold 

her hand but chickened out.” Or: “Report: Your 

first love just got in the other man’s car. 

Unknown if hand–holding occurred.” 

One day, as Sam and I were walking down the 

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street, he suddenly turned around. Seeing no 

one there, he asked, “Do you feel like we’re 

being followed?” 

I shook my head, embarrassed to admit my 

classmates had turned into stalkerazzi. 

A few days later, I visited Sam at the hospital to 

thank him for performing my dad’s 

appendectomy. My dad had insisted I invite 

Sam over for dinner as a thank–you. Sam 

arrived with a trunk full of gifts. Pictures of us 

carrying the gifts into my apartment building 

immediately appeared in the chat: “Your first 

love just took the other man home to meet her 

parents. Wedding bells are definitely ringing.” 

Someone cheekily added, “If you can’t make 

the wedding, just send the cash gift. I’ll pass it 

along. How much are you thinking of giving?” 

This time, Josh didn’t react. Maybe he was 

finally moving on. 

12 

Sam and my dad chatted for a while, then Sam 

came and sat next to me. He looked at my 

phone, a hint of amusement in his eyes. “You 

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seem to spend a lot of time on that group chat.” 

“Do I?” I said defensively. “It’s just… 

entertaining.”