Within My Stratosphere • SOTUS

Chapter 14. Red Amaryllis

[Arthit]

The moment he crashed and fell through the front door of his home, he immediately bypassed his roommates, beelining for his room. After making sure the door was securely locked behind him, he ran to the mirror. Promptly plopping himself down in front of it, he examined his appearance. Nope. There was no way he was going to face his friends looking like this.

The person staring back at him in the mirror was flushed pink from head to toe, hair was tousled out of place, and lips swollen red. There was no denying it. There was no denying that he was kissed.

Arthit groaned as he dropped his face into his hands. Oh my god. What was he doing hugging Kongpob closer like that? He should have slapped—punched him, or pushed him away, but no, he automatically allowed the kiss to happened. He encouraged it. Out of the corner of his eye, Arthit glared at the face in the mirror. "I loathe you," he muttered under his breath.

Sigh.

This was not supposed to happen. He was supposed to get the date quickly over with and done. That was why even though work had been hell, he still insisted that they continued on with the date as planned. Who would have guessed that work would end so late in the evening, that he would immediately knock out asleep, that they would see the sun rising together, and then drive back and make out in Kongpob's car?

The worst part of this was that he enjoyed it. Their date. It was actually nice spending time with Kongpob. He made him feel comfortable and at peace; he felt... safe with him. Of course this was deducting the times Kongpob smiled at him, touched him, or kissed him. Apart from those three things, which made him fizz out of reality for just a moment, everything else was fine.

He fell back into the rug, wallowing in shame. Why, oh why was Kongpob such a great kisser? He made it difficult for him to pull away. Was this what Namtan was talking about when she mentioned that she liked experienced men?

This was one of the reasons why he had tried to experience dating for himself. That went down in flames when a guy showed up instead, and then Kongpob dragged him out afterwards.

Maybe it wasn't a date he needed to experience, but a kiss. If he had more experience in something like intimacy, there was the possibility of him developing the immunity to push Kongpob away.

Jackpot. Or...Was he just being stupid again?

Arthit sighed in defeat. It was only wishful thinking. Besides, where was he even going to find someone to practice kissing with?

Right now he needed to focus on how to effectively evade his nosy housemates. Pulling out a wet wipe, he started cleaning his face, hoping to erase all the evidence from last night. He almost jumped out of his skin when there was knock on the door.

"Ai-Oon?" It was Namtan.

"Yeah?"

"Are you alright in there?"

"Yep."

"You sure? Where were you last night?"