No Windows Into Us

Whispers

Pulling his attention from the bike in front of him, Phayu scanned the crowd, looking for Rain. Rain had become an established presence at the races and, for the most part, Phayu felt comfortable letting Rain roam around on his own, within reason. Most onlookers now knew who Rain was and they had either become friendly with him or completely avoided any interactions with him, probably afraid of Phayu.

Phayu had set some rules for Rain, who he could talk with and who he shouldn't, how far he could wander from the pit alone and how far he could go if he was with Sky, Prapai, or Saifah, and how often he should check in with Phayu. Knowing that Rain respected those rules allowed Phayu to focus on the bikes he was responsible for without spending all his time worrying about Rain.

It was about time for Rain to check in and he couldn't stop himself from looking for his sweet boy who was probably bouncing back and forth on his heels, excited by the crowd and the races. Phayu smiled, remembering the time his eyes had found Rain trying repeatedly to grab Sky's hand in excitement and Sky trying his best to shake off his best friend's attempts.

Phayu's gaze finally landed on Rain who was weaving through the crowd towards Phayu. He refocused his attention back on the bike in front of him, knowing Rain would be there shortly. After several minutes, he looked back up, surprised Rain wasn't there yet.

Rain was currently stopped in front of a girl whose hand was pushed against Rain's chest. Phayu was about to head over, ready to intervene, but Rain's face didn't indicate any distress. More like, curiosity? The girl was saying something to Rain and while Rain was not answering, he was clearly listening. Finally, Phayu started forward as the girl leaned in towards Rain's ear, whispering something into it. Phayu quickly stopped his movement when he saw Rain's eyes widen and his ears turn red. Rain's eyes found Phayu's through the crowd. His whole face and neck turned red and he was looking at Phayu with wide, surprised eyes.

Phayu wondered what could be happening. What that girl could be saying to his boy. His boy, not hers. Was she hitting on him? Was Rain turning red because Phayu had seen it happen? Was she saying something rude to him? Or rude about Phayu?

Just as Phayu began moving forward again, the girl abruptly backed up, laughed loudly and began to walk away, smirking at Phayu over her shoulder as she walked off through the crowd. Phayu knew his sweet boy only had eyes for him so he wasn't worried about any flirting being reciprocated but he was filled with a jealous curiosity about what he had just seen.

Rain seemed frozen as he watched the girl walk away before shifting his eyes back to Phayu. Realizing that Rain was not going to head towards him, Phayu closed the distance and placed his hands on Rain's shoulders.

"Hey, Rain, are you okay? What was that about?"

Rain's eyes widened again as he sucked his bottom lip beneath his teeth, clearly trying to figure out how to answer Phayu. "Um, well, I'm fine P'Phayu."

Phayu waited for Rain to elaborate but clearly he wasn't going to. "Okay, I'm glad to hear you are okay but can you tell me what that was about?" Phayu asked, watching as Rain tried to look anywhere but at him. To his left. To his right. At Phayu's chest. At their feet. He took hold of Rain's chin and lifted it so Rain had no choice but to look at him.

"I really wish you would tell me. You're worrying me. Was she flirting with you? Are you worried I'll be mad? Because I won't. It's not your fault if that's what happened."

Rain continued to look back at him and Phayu could see the effort Rain was putting into coming up with a response to Phayu's request. The fact that Rain didn't answer immediately meant that the explanation he was about to get may or may not be the full truth.