Distant Signals: The Love Between Us

Chapter Twenty-Nine

By the time wakefulness crept up on Arthit Sunday morning, the sun had long since risen over the horizon and brightened the world outside his dorm. Still, he pinched his brows together in discontent, rolled over onto his back, and draped his arm over his eyes to shield them against the light peeking through the curtains. In his latest dream, Dream-Kongpob had returned and he'd introduced him to Dream-Guppy, who'd taken an immediate liking to his favorite person's new boyfriend. They'd just started talking about taking a nice hike to Mt. Doom, which made complete sense, somehow, because it was a dream, and Arthit wanted to find out what happened next, so he stubbornly tried to will himself back to sleep.

Sleep, however, remained elusive and he opened his eyes, huffing in annoyance. What time was it, anyway? Grabbing his phone, Arthit was surprised to see a new message from Kongpob and, forgetting his original intention to check the time, excitedly unlocked his phone to open the message.

0062🌕: Good morning, P'Arthit. Did you sleep well?

Arthit bit his bottom lip, but the giddy smile that spread across his lips was impossible to suppress as he stared at the message. Then, he saw the time-stamp and he frowned. "7:30am? What the hell?" he muttered, a mild sense of dread building in the pit of his stomach. It was five minutes till noon now, and he'd barely gotten up. Had Kongpob voluntarily woke his ass up before eight in the morning on a Sunday? Fuck. Maybe there was a reason?

Arthit: What the hell were you doing up at 7:34 on a Sunday?
0062🌕: Good morning to you too, P'. Lol you know, not everyone likes to sleep til noon...but don't worry. I'll never wake you up unless there's a reason.
Arthit: why would you be waking me up?
0062🌕: As in why would I be around to wake you up? I can think of a few reasons that might be the case...
0062🌕: 😈

Arthit's cheeks warmed. He groaned and put his phone face down on his chest, covering his burning face with his hands. He felt stupid for asking that question. They were dating. Assuming their relationship lasted, it was inevitable that they'd eventually wake up next to each other at some point. Hell, he didn't even need to be physically present to wake him up since he left his phone on loud, just in case. Kongpob must think he was an idiot.

His picked up his phone, opting to ignore Kongpob's innuendo and hope he'd let it go.

Arthit: What are you doing?
0062🌕: I'm at the library with M, but later I'm going home to eat dinner with my parents. Why? Miss me, already? 😘
Arthit: No! I was just curious
Arthit: I'm going back to sleep
Arthit: Good night
0062🌕: lol
0062🌕: At noon?
Arthit: I told you I was lazy
0062🌕: Are you sure that's the only reason you want to sleep?

Arthit stared at the screen, confused. What the hell was that supposed to mean? What other reason would there be? Doing nothing and lazing about in bed were delightful activities—other than enjoyment, what additional reason was necessary?

0062🌕: Isn't it because you want to dream of me?

The second he read that, Arthit's breath caught in his throat and his entire face, neck, and ears reddened. Why would Kongpob say that? He couldn't possibly know about his dreams, could he? No, that was impossible. Arthit hadn't told anyone about them, so that had to mean that Kongpob was just teasing him.

Arthit: Nope
0062🌕: Really, P'? You don't dream about me?
Arthit: Not at all
0062🌕: 💩
0062🌕: You shouldn't lie to your boyfriend
Arthit: I'm not!
0062🌕: Uh huh.

Arthit thought about denying it again—because, clearly, the more vehement he was in his denial, the more believable it was, right?—but as he began to type a response, another message from Kongpob stopped him mid-sentence.