Only b̶o̶y̶friends

Chapter 16

"Don't worry about next semester, I already paid it." Khao spoke as he zipped up a luggage and placed it at the door. "I'll be back by Friday. I want you gone by then." He quickly turned around, not wanting to give First the satisfaction of seeing him upset, before grabbing his keys without looking back at his ex who continued haphazardly packing his things that Khao thrown all over the apartment in anger earlier that day.

~~

(Chat from Khaotung's POV)

~~

"P'Tung, you're here." Khaotung flinched slightly when Pond loomed over him with no sense of personal space, hair falling to his face.

"I know." Khao chuckled. "Stop standing so close, I told you. I'm just here for a drink. Or is that not allowed?"

Pond shrugged. "I suppose it is."

Khao could smell the scent of weed coming from his younger colleague, but he didn't comment on it, and instead raised an eyebrow with a question. "How did your...issue go?"

Pond's mouth turned into a satisfied grin and he gave Khao a goofy thumbs up. "I got his number."

"That's great!" Khao chuckled, then pointed behind the bar. "Now stop hovering and give me some Cuba Libre."

"Oh, P'Khao!" Another voice joined. Leng, the newbie with dimples for days, popped up his head from below the bar and smiled widely. "Wow, you're really handsome in person. Do you want it iced?"

"What?" Khao awkwardly chuckled. "Oh, yeah. And make it tall."

"Khaotuuung!"

Khao let out an exasperated groan when an arm wrapped around his shoulders and someone very familiar pressed his cheek against his. He could recognise that sweet perfume and the voice anywhere, and he turned to his side to face the person who jumped on nearby stool. "Mix. Hey..."

"I missed you, you know?" Mix nudged him again. "How come you're not working tonight?"

"Damn it, what's up with everyone?" Khao jabbed the straw into his drink and frowned. "Can't come here for a drink? Only for work?"

"Woah, touchy." Mix pulled away. "I'm sorry, I was just curious. You look upset. What's going on?"

Khao opened his mouth, but stopped himself from talking when he noticed Pond still hovering around, staring at him with those stoned eyes. He frowned at him, prompting Pond to scurry. "I just broke up with my boyfriend."

"Oh." Mix gently touched his hand. "I'm sorry. What happened? What did he do?"

"He's a dirty little cheater who can't keep it in his pants?" Khao raised an eyebrow. "Not that you would mind such a thing."

"Hey, I have feelings, you know?" Mix nudged him with a frown. "So, what are you going to do now?"

"I don't know." Khao played with his now nearly empty glass. "I went to see my family, my mom was fucking delighted, she never liked First." He then finished his drink and gestured at Leng to give him another. "How do you do it? How do you deal with all the cheating and still stay with him? I turned blind eye to it for a while, hell even when he met me was already with someone, cheating on them. I didn't even know back then for a long time. You know, my friends warned me, but did I listen? No. I feel like such an idiot." Khao propped his head with his hand, upset, but without tears.

Mix sighed. "Ya know, in my case, to everyone I'm just a unique blend of henpecked husband and trophy wife." Mix hiccuped. "I know some of my boyfriend's behaviour can come off as controlling but it's not like that 99% of the time. He just worries. His boyfriend before me killed himself, you know? At times, I think I'm putting him through the same hell he experienced last time. Drinking, coming home late... I'm trying to do better, but sometimes I just...I hate when he goes with someone else. I sometimes think..." Mix rubbed his eyes. "That maybe, he's doing it to spite me. So I would clean up my act. I pretend I'm okay with him being with others because he's so good to me, and I don't want him to leave me, but recently it's getting harder to bear. So what if I have a pricy car and diamonds and designer clothing, when I can't have the man I love for myself?"

"Shouldn't we do something?" Leng nudged Pond when he looked at the situation from afar. Two beautiful men, crying on each other's shoulder and drunkenly blubbering.

"No." Pond shook his head. "P'Tung can handle himself. Look."

Khao has already wiped his face and continued patting Mix's shoulder. He expected to get sloshed and forget about everything. He wanted to stop caring about the world, but he couldn't stop himself from caring to his friend.

"Woah, speak of the devil." Mix groaned when his phone beeped with a notification and the two men huddled over the phone.

(Chat from Mix's POV)