Something New

Chapter 2

That night, Beam's other best friend Pha and his boyfriend Wayo were hosting a Valentine's day dinner party at a swanky new restaurant and Beam was so not looking forward to that because, he knew that he was going to be the only single guy in that group. He also knew that his love life would be brought up and he was absolutely not ready for all the advice. But he also knew that he would never here the end of it from Pha if he flaked on this dinner. So, beam resigned himself to a night of torture.

He got home, showered, and slipped into a casual light tan suit, fixed his hair, and set off to the restaurant. Once he entered the place, finding their table was easy because they were the loudest. Beam's face broke into a wide smile when he saw his friends because he did love them all even if they could be huge pains in his ass. He met Kit and Pha almost everyday because they worked together but it had been way too long since he had met the others.

As Beam made his way to the table, he was spotted by Kao who jumped up and waved at him enthusiastically, "Oh my God Beam, it's been way too long, I missed your cute, dimpled face" he crowed and gave Beam a big hug. Beam grinned back at him and said, "I missed you too bud." Pete, Kao's boyfriend then gave a hard pat to Beam's back in greeting and Beam flinched, "Ow, Pete, way too hard man, your man hugged me first you know" he said teasingly. Pete chucked and said, "Hello to you to Beam." Beam flicked him on his forehead and got away, patting Ming, Kit and Pha on their backs on the way to take his seat in between Wayo and Arthit.

He gave Wayo a hug and said "Hey Yo, looking good!" Wayo grinned at Beam and replied, "P'Beam, I love your outfit, dashing as ever." Beam laughed and said, "See, this is why I love this kid." "You are only a year older P." said Wayo, shaking his head. Arthit piped up and said, "N'Yo, that will never change, just like Kong and I think of these idiots as kids still." Beam laughed at that and greeted the oldest and the only married couple of the group, "P'Arthit, P'Kong, how is married life treating you?" They both smiled blissfully and looked at each other before Kong said, "It is wonderful!" with a dreamy sigh. Arthit smacked his arm gently but was still smiling. It made Beam long for something like that, but he quickly squashed those unwanted thoughts and said, "that's great P, you guys deserve it." Then the conversation flowed as freely as the champagne and they all caught each other up with their life and the dinner itself was very delicious. Beam was having a great time up until Kit brought up the blind date again and suddenly everyone's attention was on Beam and he just wanted the ground to open up and swallow him whole.

Pha piped up and said, "Oh yeah, Kit told me about that, Beam, why won't you just go on one date with the guy, he's Ming's friend and both Ming and Kit trust him and from what I heard he seems like a decent guy." Beam was annoyed, so he said, "I don't do blind dates and you both know it. I don't want any of you setting me up." He snapped "Being in the medical profession doesn't leave much time for dating, both of you already know this", he grumbled.

Pha replied, "nuh-uhn, no Baramee it is so not about time, you're too damn picky and you have too many restrictions. That is your problem. That ticked Beam off and he said, "I just want nice, handsome man who is taller than me with a good job that they love and without any baggage, is that too much to ask for?" Everyone at the table just let out a sigh and Kao shook his head and said, "Well then you should have just stayed with P'Sam then, he was all of those things, a doctor, smart, handsome, hot even," "Well, that's enough Kao, we're not talking about my ex." Beam snapped. Kao huffed but knew that he had to let it go. Only Pha and Kit and their boyfriends knew the truth that Sam had cheated on Beam and that's why he had to leave him. The whole messy situation really did a number on him and he was still sensitive about that topic. So, Ming, sensing the tension at the table, tried to lighten the mood and change the topic by saying, "who want's dessert?" no one expected that, so everyone started laughing and the night ended on a cheery note.

Beam got back home mentally and physically exhausted and tipsy. He slumped on his couch and considered just passing out there. He reached for his phone and saw that he had missed a call from his ex and for the briefest moment he felt a slight twinge in his heart and played the voicemail. It was Sam's deep voice, "Hi Beam, it's been way too long since we spoke, too bad I didn't get you on the phone, anyway, I'm just calling to tell you that Inn and I are getting married and we would love to have you..." Beam did not finish listening to the whole message and immediately deleted it. Groaning, he looked at the ceiling and whined "Oh c'mon! Is my life just a big fat cosmic joke?"

He was startled out of his misery when his phone started ringing, he almost chucked it across the room thinking it was Sam calling again, but fortunately, it was his mom. He picked up and heard his mom's cheery voice saying, "Hello sweetie, how's my little Beamie doing?" Beam sighed and said dejectedly, "hanging in there, mom." His mom cooed and said, "Aww no, bad day?" "the worst" said Beam. "You sound so tired sweetie; I just wanted to call you and wish you for Valentine's day and to thank you for the beautiful bouquet." Beam smiled feeling happy that his mom enjoyed the flowers and said, "Of course mom, you're my only valentine after all" he chuckled but it came out rather depressed.

His mom tried to cheer him up by saying, "Sweetheart, don't be so hard on yourself and cheer up because, if my cute, handsome and smart son can't find someone, I don't know who can. So, don't give up and keep chasing your dreams and always follow your heart." Beam smiled sadly at his mom's encouraging words and bid her a good night with a promise to meet soon and got ready for bed. That night he fell asleep sad and wishing he too had someone to cuddle with.

A/N - Votes and comments fuel my soul because I'm a Validation Whore! No, on a more serious note, I'd appreciate the feedback. Please and thank you!