"Can't you pick this up after yourself?" Gawin kicked an open backpack that blocked his path. Textbooks have spilled out of it and he took a calculated step, pressing his shoe purposely against Advanced English literature. "Just because you can use the spare room doesn't mean the hallway to it must be a mess."
"Come on Win, I'm exhausted." First groaned from the sofa, his face buried between the cushions. "Can't you be more lenient babe?"
Gawin grumpily kicked the sofa. "Don't misunderstand." He crossed his arms, staring at the man who turned around to face him. "You being here doesn't mean we are together. So stop with the babe."
"But I missed you, you know?" First tried it with a smile, but Gawin wasn't having it.
"You're not here because you've missed me, you're here because you're lonely and got nowhere to go. Stop trying to charm me, and clean up your things."
"Where are you going?" First asked as he crouched on the floor and begrudgingly collected his things.
Gawin stood infront of the mirror, fixing his hair and spraying on some cologne. "Hm? Oh, I got a gig in the pub tonight."
"Can I come with?" First hastily threw the backpack into his room, hoping it would land on the bed.
Gawin raised an eyebrow. "Sure. But I can't really pay attention to you, I'll be working."
"I'm okay with that." First shrugged. He grabbed his jacket and smoothed down his hair before following Gawin out like a little puppy.
He even listened when Gawin guided him to a table and ordered him to sit, but First didn't feel abandoned for too long. He watched Gawin play the guitar and sing when a stranger leaned against his table and clinked his drink against First's beer can. "Hey...my name is Mark. What's yours?"
First looked him up and down. He was charming, more on the cute than handsome side, and seemed quite interested. "I'm First..."
///
"So..." Khao wheezed. "Have you had enough?" His chest was still rising rapidly as he tried to get his breath under control once Luke rolled to the side with an amused chuckle.
"Me?" Luke smacked the younger man's thigh. "With you? Never." He moved closer, placing a few lazy kisses to Khao's naked shoulder. "I wish you haven't quit. Everyone's been giving me the stink eye at work now..."
"Tsk. It's been less than a week and the bar is already in shambles, huh?" Khao swivelled around; sweat of his body making his skin stick to the car seat felt uncomfortable. He lifted his butt and pulled back on his boxers and jeans, hastily zipping them up, standing awkwardly as much as the car roof allowed him. "How unfortunate."
"Not shambles, but your presence is greatly missed." Luke smiled at him fondly. He reached between the front seats to turn on the AC and handed Khaotung his slightly wrinkled shirt before zipping up his own jeans. "And not just at work."
"Luke..." Khao sighed. He thought, having sex only in the car instead of going to his former boss's house, would maybe put some emotional distance between them.
He found himself tangled in the man's arms every day, starting the night that he quit. Luke followed him to the parking lot, the two exchanged words followed by desperate kisses that culminated with him laid in the back seat and Luke's teeth making their mark around the hickey so hard they broke skin. That bitemark still decorated Khao's clavicle even though the initial hickey was already gone.
"I know." Luke run a hand through his hair. "You can't date me. Khao...I want you to know something. Since my break up with my ex, I haven't been with anyone else but you. I'm not a cheater or a player."
Khao stared at him intensely. Was Luke truly serious about him? The fear of being messed around with has weighed on his mind, and he shook his head. "Just...give me time. And damn, maybe some gum, my mouth tastes like your juices." He tried to lighten the mood with a silly joke.
Luke seemed to pick up on his discomfort and reached for his wallet; a folded up paper falling out of the pocket when he pulled out the gum.
"Whoops. Here you go." He gave Khao a square, quickly catching the paper and frowning when he noticed what it was. That expression didn't escape Khao's eyes and he snorted.
"Who's that?"
Luke sighed. "My ex."
"Can I see him?" He leaned to look over Luke's shoulder. "Do you still like him?" Khaotung's eyes wandered from Luke's face to his hands and tried to look at the polaroid.
"That's not really any of your business, is it?" Luke crumpled the picture tightly in his hand. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you. But to answer your question; no. I...it's complicated."
"What's complicated? You've been over for many months now. If he moved on, so should you."
"I have moved on." Luke grumbled. "But recently, he's been texting and calling. I even blocked his contact. I don't love him anymore, but each time he contacts me, I remember the pain he caused me. That time was quite a low point of my life. I don't want to remember it."
"I'm sorry." Khao's soft hand touched Luke's. "Can I ask...?"
"It's nothing really special, really." Luke stroked the length of Khao's fingers; he liked how elegant his hands were. "We were together for quite a while, until my father died and I couldn't cope with it. I was just spending money left and right, I didn't want to think about anything...even my ex." He leaned his head back.
"I ignored him, for days, which lead him to seek comfort in someone else's company. When I found out, he said he thought we already broke up. Back then, I thought maybe we could move past it, but the guy treated him so royally, I couldn't measure up. I told him we were officially over. Hell even the club began to suffer with how depressed I was at the time. It was only when my best friends assured me things will be okay that I finally picked myself up. My ex was already happy with his sugar daddy, but on occasion he keeps coming to the club...I try to avoid him."
"I'm sorry that happened." Khao sighed, chewing the gum. The words didn't fully hit him until he buttoned his shirt all the way up and heard the crinkle of that paper again. "Hang on..he comes to the club?"
"Yeah. If I see him on cctv I just stay in my office." Luke shrugged. He then smoothed out the picture and handed it over to Khao whose eyes widened. "Maybe you've seen him there..."
