Felix laughed. “Define ‘boyfriend.’”
I took a sip of beer. “Speaking of significant others, where’s Cynthia?”
“She had to work tonight.”
My stomach rumbled. “Let’s go visit her!”
Felix rolled his eyes. “She can’t give us free food.”
“Where does she work?” Rose asked.
I interrupted Felix before he could answer. “Why not?!” Cynthia worked as a server at a burger place whose theme was literally “island stuff.” And getting us the occasional free meal was one of her finer qualities.
“Her new boss is a total dick.” He glanced at Rose. “She works at Island’s.”
“Well, I’m starving and this party sucks. You guys want to go find some food?”
Felix shrugged. “Sure.”
I looked over at Rose, who downed the rest of her drink. “Okay,” she said as she wiped off her mouth. I liked Game Rose.
A few minutes later, we left Patrick at the party with the dudes and headed out toward Sunset, where I could practically smell the tacos. My favorite truck, Cielo Tacos, was only a few blocks away. On the way over, Felix spent the entire time talking about Cynthia and the fight they’d just had. I tried my best to be attentive, but honestly it took every ounce of willpower not to just say, “Dump her already.” They had the same fight every week: Felix wasn’t spending enough time with her. When in reality, his life pretty much revolved around her every move. It was tedious. If this was what being in a serious relationship was like, count me the eff out. Rose was being nice and making the occasional sympathetic comment so that I didn’t have to.
A line had already formed at the truck. As I pulled out my wallet to see if I had enough cash, a guy approached me with a flyer in hand. “Food truck competition this summer!” he said cheerfully.
“No thanks, man,” Felix said with a wave.
But I grabbed it. “Thanks.”
The glossy card readAUGUST 11—ANNUAL LA FOOD TRUCK COMPETITIONin hot-pink scrawl, the text laid over a photo of swaying palm trees. Under it:
The biggest competition in town! Winner takes home $100K. ALL trucks eligible, sign up on our website. Or just show up and enjoy some choice foods and local music.
Whoa. 100K?! Pai thought opening a restaurant was far off—like after I was married with children far off. Maybe it could be much sooner.
“What’s that?” Rose asked, poking her head over my shoulder to read the flyer.
I handed it to her. “There’s a food truck competition in August and—”
“ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS?” she screamed.
People were staring at us, so I stepped in closer to her and snatched the flyer out of her hand. “Dude, have somechill.”
“Your dadneedsto enter this!” she said, her voice back to normal decibel levels.
I started to nod but was struck by an idea. “What if we entered the KoBra but didn’t tell him? It would be thebestsurprise if we won!”
Skepticism wrinkled her forehead. “Don’t tell him? At all?”
“Yeah!” I was getting excited at the idea of hitting my dad with this kind of killer surprise. “Can you even imagine getting a check for that kind of money?”
Rose nodded slowly. “I mean, that would be so cool. And honestly, we’re good at this now.”
“I have complete faith in us,” I said firmly.
That’s when I noticed Felix staring at me. Arms folded, eyebrows raised. “What?” I asked, my arms also crossed over my chest, the tanned limbs protecting me against his judgment.
“It’s just… wow. I’ve never seen you care about your dad’s truck before.”
