Distant Signals: The Love Between Us

Chapter Twenty-Four

The next morning, Arthit woke up to blinding sunlight shining on his face. He lifted his head, confused as to why he'd left the curtains wide open, and frowned at the view outside. Right, he was in Kongpob's bed. He felt terrible—like he hadn't slept at all. A dull headache plagued him, and his mouth was impossibly dry, like he was dehydrated.

Then, he remembered what happened last night and he cringed, letting his head fall back onto the pillow. He covered his face with his hands, mortified that he'd asked Kongpob to kiss him and then had a damn panic attack. He hadn't had one of those in years. And he couldn't believe he'd kissed his junior—again.

Should he just pretend that he was still asleep for a while? Where was Kongpob, anyway? Noise to his left alerted him to Kongpob's presence, and he came back into the room, shaking his hands to dry them.

Kongpob smiled. "Are you awake now?" he asked, as if nothing had happened last night.

"Yeah." He sat up, immediately taking note of the green and black cardigan Kongpob wore over a white button down with black slacks. He looked like he was getting ready to go somewhere. "What time is it now?"

"8:30 a.m."

"8:30 a.m.?" repeated Arthit, disbelief dripping off every word. "Why did you wake up so early?"

"I have to go to my niece's birthday party."

Oh. Arthit nodded, glad to hear that there was a reason for this atrocity beyond Kongpob being a morning person. But, aside from that, Arthit was confused. What was going on? Why hadn't Kongpob said anything about what happened? Did he dream it? No, it was definitely real. Unlike the first time, Arthit remembered this kiss in vivid detail—just thinking about it made his lips tingle and his cheeks flush.

However, he could also remember the blinding panic and the terrifying realization that he'd made a choice through his actions. Arthit rubbed his forehead, hating himself for not being able to stand by that decision. He didn't know how to talk to Kongpob now, because he didn't know what to tell him. He didn't consider it a mistake, but he also didn't know that it wasn't a mistake, which made no damn sense.

"You seem tired," said Kongpob. "You can sleep a little more. Like I said last night, we don't have to talk about what happened yet. Eventually...but not now. Just sleep. I'll leave a spare key for you."

Arthit froze at the mention of last night, his heart beating faster. "You don't have to," he said, a little too quickly. "I'm going to take a quick shower and head back to my dorm." He climbed out of bed, pointedly ignoring the faint disappointment on Kongpob's face, and escaped to the bathroom.

Once there, he released a deep breath and leaned against the sink. "Shit," he cursed, staring at himself in the mirror. "Act normal."

Except, he couldn't—not entirely. Although the shower helped calm his nerves, Arthit emerged from the bathroom feeling awkward, anxious, and desperate to escape the whole situation. He walked over to his bag as casually as he could, but the fact that these circumstances were not normal weighed heavily on his mind. How could Kongpob appear so unaffected by what happened last night? That question bothered Arthit more than he cared to admit. How was it possible for Kongpob to act like nothing happened?

"Are you hungry?" asked Kongpob, from behind him. "I bought you soy milk and Chinese donuts for you. Eat them before you head back." Kongpob walked over to the fridge, grabbed a glass sitting on the top, and held it out for him. "Here."

Preoccupied with packing his bag, Arthit reached out to take the glass without looking, but the second he felt Kongpob's fingertips brush against his own, Arthit jumped back, letting go as if the contact had literally shocked him. The glass shattered. Arthit stared down at the spilled milk and shards of broken glass that covered the floor, his heart beating wildly in his chest. "Kongpob, I'm sorry," he said, kneeling down and grabbing the two biggest pieces.