The Comfort(h)

34. The next step

     Forth took a final look at himself in the mirror. He was wearing a plain navy blue full hand shirt and black jeans. He had set his hair perfectly and wore his cologne too. He wore his silver strapped watch and smiled at himself in satisfaction. Forth was not a person who cared about his looks. He would dress up comfortably rather than being flashy. That included just jeans and plain tshirts with jackets which often Ming commented as boring. So, he took extra care while dressing up because it was an important day for him.

     Forth locked his room and walked to the parking lot. He started his bike and drove to the The Marriott hotel. He parked his bike outside the hotel as they dint have valet for bikes. He checked himself once again in his bike mirror and entered the hotel. He gave his name at the reception and was guided to the reserved table. Forth sat nervously even though he was confident that he would pull this off smoothly.

      Once the exams were over and the holidays started, Forth and Ming, traveled to their home reluctantly.  Neither wanted to be apart from each other. But Forth had already promised his father that he would help him with his business during his holidays until he graduated. And, Ming would usually go on a vacation with his parents or a trip with his friends or Wayo during his holidays. But this time he wanted to be with Forth and he was whining and clinging to Forth a whole day saying he dint want to go home.

     After so much insistence and persuasion by Forth, Ming agreed to go home. Forth video called Ming everyday that week as promised. Ming would talk for hours and Forth would listen patiently adoring his cute boyfriend. Now and then Forth's family would join the video call too and Forth's grandma became so fond of Ming that she made Forth call Ming daily without fail.

      Forth stood up from his chair in respect when Ming entered the dining area with a middle aged woman. As soon as Ming spotted Forth, he left the woman's hand and ran towards Forth. He hugged Forth tightly and pecked on his lips before Forth could even react.

     "How are you babe? I missed you so much", Ming pouted and Forth ruffled his hair fondly.

      Meantime the woman had walked near to the table and stood awkwardly behind Ming. Forth raised his eyebrows nervously while the woman gave a disappointed look. Forth cleared his throat and pried off Ming's hands from his body. Ming smiled at Forth and turned towards the woman.

     "Mom, meet Forth, my boyfriend", he introduced happily, "Babe this is my mom", he smiled sweetly.

      Forth took a deep breath and extended his hand forward, "Good evening Mrs. Daichapanya. Nice to meet you".

     He just received a slight nod from Ming's mother in return followed by a quick handshake. They settled at their seats with Ming sitting to the left of Forth. And by reflex Forth almost raised his left hand to hold Ming but retreated his hand quickly before Ming's mother could notice it.

     Rune Daichapanya, Ming's mother, was slim with sharp features. She had dressed gracefully and had adorned herself with less but attractive jewelry. Ming resembled more of his mother and the skin tone was a perfect match. She gazed at Forth sharply without breaking eye contact for even a second.

      Forth shifted uncomfortably but returned the gaze confidently. He knew he had to meet Ming's family some day but he dint expect it to be this soon. Well, it couldn't be avoided as they both were so open about their relationship in social media, especially Ming. He would always post their selfies together often with cheesy captions and Ming's mother found it sooner than Forth had expected. Ming was questioned for two long hours about Forth and she insisted to meet Forth when Ming packed his bags to come back to university for hazing practice.