Roommates - Not in Bangkok anymore [completed]

Chapter 23

Tin's POV

Tin sat on the stands at the football pitch, next to Irene. The second half of Can's first game as a substitute had already started.

Even with his still limited knowledge of football strategy, Tin could see that Can had a good chance of playing soon, if Coach Lavinia was as well-versed in strategy as everyone said she was.

The team had been playing on a defence-oriented setup, because they were playing against one of their strongest opponents – but just defending a 0:0 score wouldn't get them anywhere. It was very likely that they would switch to a more attack-oriented system, and if they did, Coach Lavinia better brought in Can.

Tin had spent more time observing his boyfriend sitting on the bench than the actual game. You could read the flow of the game easily in Can's face and his nervous fidgeting. Tin hoped he would get to see him play, soon. He longed to see the talent everyone attested him in person.

No matter how he played, for Tin, Can was already the most talented, best-looking and most spirited player on the field – but he had to admit he was biased.

It was hard, sitting here supporting him as his ostensibly hostile roommate. Particularly because the game he was just watching was the reason they were forced to keep their hands off of each other for the last nights.

Around Wednesday or Thursday, they had found a printed note on a card slipped under the door of their room warning Can not to engage in any physically straining activities, including in the bedroom, until the match, to conserve his energy.

They didn't know who it had come from and it had made Tin nervous, while Can had predictably laughed it off.

Since it was a printed note, Can thought that it was something that they just gave to everyone who had had the talk with Ms. Trimble on the off chance that they needed the reminder, while Tin suspected that it had been targeted. It could have been either McNeil or Ms. Trimble, the former had probably observed their change in attitude no matter how hard they might have tried to be discreet and the later obviously knew the questions Can had asked. Though she probably didn't know who the boyfriend was.

Another harmless suspect was Jonathan, he had found out they had done it after Can had been too obvious with his happiness.

But Tin was mostly worried about the not-so-harmless suspects. People like rugby captain Thomas, who might be onto them.

Because they had gotten less cautious in the days leading up to the note.

It hadn't stopped with that surprisingly hot first time. Can had not so subtly made advances every time they had returned to their room in the evening, and sometimes even in the morning as well. However, it had become an unspoken agreement between them that Tin decided whether he wanted to act on it and how.

Of course, Can had made bold suggestions, come-ons and sooner or later he was always reduced to incoherent pleading, but ever since Can had admitted that he couldn't slow down even though Tin had needed it, Tin had been in charge. And he loved it. Can was so direct in voicing his likes and dislikes that it was pure joy giving him what he wanted – or withholding it and listening to him getting desperate.

Tin had also come to suspect that there was a naughtier side to Can's callous attitude towards pain, one that Can had maybe not entirely understood, yet, himself. But Tin had observed and wondered. It wasn't just that Can had a high tolerance to pain because he was a sportsman and curiosity was stronger than fear. Tin believed that up to a certain point, Can liked it... and he was actively seeking it.