Can King Make Ram Blush?

Let's put some Money on This

It had been three months since that fateful night in the tent. It was King's best dumb decision he'd ever made. Initially, he had been kicking himself for kissing Ram and adding more pressure to his tumbling life. Relationships were the last thing the silent boy needed after dealing with an abundance of family issues. A drunken confession was also not how King had envisioned admitting his growing fondness for the junior. But that was how it happened.

When King returned from his grandmother's house, drama had ensued. King was running away from his fear of rejection faster than a man being chased by a cheetah. Ram was being Ram. Their friends hated to see the two idiots suffer. Thankfully, both were able to work out their hesitations and decide to begin their flirting stage.

Now that the decision to take their relationship to the next level had been made, there was a problem. It was a giant conundrum. Neither knew how to move forward. For three solid months, they had been stuck in the flirting stage. King was too sober to ask, and Ram was too shy to speak up himself. Their relationship had been in a stalemate ever since Ram had accepted King's proposal of flirtation.

Presently, King was enjoying his lunch at the canteen with his rowdy group of friends. Mek was coveting a soda that Boss was begging him for, reaching up to grab it and continually calling him 'husband', and Tee was rolling his eyes at the two. Silently, King watched the events unfold.

Slowly, three familiar faces appeared at the end of the table.

"Are you sure you can't eat lunch with me?" Bohn asked his boyfriend with the cutest puppy eyes he could muster. Just as Duen was about to change his mind, Ram grabbed his arm and shook his head sternly at him.

Ram. There was the man of the hour. King tried not to blush from just looking at him. Unknowingly, he was admiring his features with a twinkle in his eye. His nose sloped down so nicely and peaked over a cute pair of small, round lips. Two pools of chocolate swirls fixated on his face with a pair of neat eyebrows knitted above them.

Suddenly, King could feel his face start to grow hot. The world around him flashed before his eyes, and soon enough, Ram and Duen were departing from the group, leaving a grumbling Bohn behind.

"You're so whipped," Boss said as he happily opened the can his boyfriend kindly gifted him.

"I am not! I just miss him sometimes," Bohn defended. He plumped next to King and begrudgingly started to eat his chicken and basil.

"I'm not talking about you. I'm talking about King," Boss said, pointing out the boy that had been staring at the shrinking figures ahead. He hated seeing Ram leave, but he loved watching him go. The attention from the table on him got him out of his thoughts and to the annoying friends.

"What?" King asked, having not heard their comments whatsoever.

"See, he's totally whipped. His face is the color of a chom-poo," Boss smirked. Tee felt King's forehead. He didn't have a fever. Perhaps, he was lovesick.

"I-I am not," King denied. There was no way he would admit that he was more whipped for that boy that cream on a cherry pie. Though his friends were aware of his less than obvious crush, he hated them bringing it to light. He wasn't as shameless as Mek and Boss or Bohn and Duen.

"For once, Boss, I think you're right. Our King is in love," Bohn said, reciprocating the smirk from his friend across the table. Mek shook his head and smiled.

"I'm not in love with him. If anything, he's in love with me!" King said confidently, though he felt anything but that. Considering he was the first to confess, and it took months for Ram to speak a full sentence to him, it was clear who was more attracted to whom. At least it felt that way to King.

"Oh, please. He never blushes the way you do," Tee interjected.

Bohn pinched his cheek teasingly and chuckled at the flustered boy. "Just admit it, you're smitten," he cooed.

"I can totally make him blush. I've done it before!" King said. That was a lie. That was a bold faced lie. Ram had never blushed because of King, not even when they shared a kiss. Sure, he could be taken aback, but his face never told what he was thinking. Only his eyes gave away any clue into the mysteries of the cold face's mind.

"Ha! Liar liar pants on fire!" Boss shouted and pointed accusingly at King. Mek lowered his arm and shook his head.

"It's true! I can prove it to you," King said boldly. His eyes averted from his accuser and glued to his curry.

"Let's make this interesting," Bohn suggested with a devious look on his face. They all looked up at him expectantly. "Let's put some money on this."

"Oh, I like that idea," Boss agreed. He leaned across the table and challenged King. "I bet 300 baht that you can't make him blush within one week."

"I second that," Bohn said.

"I'll make a bet too," Tee added.

"I'll go in with Boss," Mek said quietly. It was the first time he had spoken the entire meal. The shade of it all.

"Fine! I'll accept your bet. You all will be paying up by this time next week," King grinned. Butterflies filled his stomach. He'd have to actually flirt with Ram.

"But if you lose, you have to pay us 300 baht each and declare your undying love for him in front of everyone," Boss said cruelly. How did Mek fall for such a merciless guy?

"And you have to give us proof that you made him blush. You have to provide us with a picture," Tee said. He seemed to be the brains of the operation. Why were his friends like this?

"You're on!"