A Promise Of Romance (MewGulf AU)

🌞Chapter 12🌻

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"Gulf! Gulf! Wake up!"

Gulf didn't realize he was being spoken to at first. When he jerked himself awake, all of his classmates were looking at him and laughing.

They were in the middle of Authentic Movements Class, which involved everyone closing their eyes and moving freely to the music the teacher played.

The second Gulf closed his eyes, he'd fallen asleep.

His classes had been getting harder and harder lately since the school was preparing for the end-of-semester performance. In addition to their usual classes, students had to attend rehearsals for the play. He was beginning to approach his physical limits working at the pub while attending classes. But if he quit the job, he would be forced to quit school too.

'The best thing would be to take a break from school and get a better job so I could earn more money, then come back.'

He realized that he was seriously considering Mew's offer. 300 pounds was about 12,000 baht; more than 400 dollars a day. He could earn more than his month's pay at the pub just by dressing up as a woman.

And it wouldn't be the first time that he had dressed as a woman either. For his first two years in high school, the older students had forced him to play the women's roles every time they did a play. He hadn't wanted to do it, but everyone had said that he was prettier than a real girl. In his third year, he had assumed the presidency of the drama club. He had been relieved to escape the women's constumes by becoming the best.

But, considering his present circumstances, he could hardly be blamed. And he had to admit that this offer would probably make the best story of all when he got back to Thailand.

The final spur in changing Gulf's mind came unexpectedly---Mew came to the pub.

Even in the crowded bar, Mew stood out immediately. He was casually in a moss green designer shirt and beige slacks, but even so, he looked like a model from a magazine.

Holding a straight scotch in one hand, he came up to Gulf, smiling.

"When do you get off work?" he asked.

"10:00 pm," Gulf answered, a bit bewildered.

"Let's go on a date after," Mew suggested.

"A date?" Gulf echoed, even more bewildered.

Mew nodded. "Yeah."

Gulf tried desperately to recall the meaning of the word. A date was usually when two lovers decided on a day and time to meet. Was there some other meaning?

Maybe there was another meaning to the word 'date' that Gulf didn't know. Or was Mew making a joke? Unable to reach a decision, he simply agreed. When he was done with work, he left the bar with Mew.

"Actually, I haven't eaten dinner yet," Mew remarked. "Have you?"

"I only ate a little bit before work" Gulf replied. He wasn't lying. It had been six hours since he'd eaten.

"Do you want to go back to my place for dinner?" Mew offered.

Gulf nodded. He could never get to sleep on empty stomach. He wasn't going to turn down an opportunity for food. And he would be lying if he said he wasn't interested in eating dinner at a nobleman's house.

They hailed a cab and headed for Mew's apartment.

The spacious room was, as always, devoid of the signs of life. It was like a ruin.

"Where's Mr. Mild?" Gulf asked.

"He's got a lot of work," Mew explained. "Apparently, he can't spend all his time with me."

"Lord Jongcheveevat---"

"There's no need for formalities, call me Mew," Mew said.

"Do you live here alone...Mew?" Gulf inquired.

"Yeah," Mew replied.

"I thought aristocrats had more servants," Gulf commented.

"There are enough back at my estate to make you sick," Mew said.

"You have another house beside this?" Gulf asked.

Mew laughed, "In Dorsett, which is a wasteland."

Gulf stared at Mew and now he understood a little better why Brenda had called the man a God.

"I'll be right back," Mew said suddenly. He disappeared, leaving Gulf in the living room.

Gulf looked around. The room was poorly lit for its size, and so the whole place was dim. Framed paintings decorated the walls. Gulf's knowledge of art was limited, but he recognized a Chagall piece among them. It was probably real. And all of the furniture looked like antiques of some value. He almost felt as if he had wandered into an art museum by mistake.

Mew reappeared after a while.

"Dinner's ready," he announced. "Come into the dining room."

The large table was covered with a white table cloth and a candle burned in a silver candlestick, which was set in the center of the table. The ambiance was exceptional.

But the selection  spread on the table was limited---only spaghetti with meat sauce and wine. Gulf wasn't sure if he should comment on the unexpected simplicity of the meal or not. He chose to ignore it.

The spaghetti wasn't good enough to compliment. The noodles were too soft and the sauce tasted like it come out straight from the can. But the wine was extraordinary.

Glancing at the label, Gulf saw that it was quite old. He regretted drinking it so quickly. He would probably never taste anything so sophisticated again in his whole life.

"I'm glad you decided to come," Mew said when the meal was over. "There's nothing quite as dull as eating alone." After he'd reached adulthood, he had never eaten with any of his school friends except Mild.

"Everyone's busy with their work except me. I don't have a job. But they don't have time to come see me," he confessed almost shyly.

It wasn't lack of jobs that kept him from working though. Rather, there was no need for him to work thanks to the inheritance from his parents.

Probably due to the effect of the wine, Gulf was in high spirit and talked with Mew about his school days, about Thailand, and about a thousand other things. He thought that his English must have been very stilted, and he had difficulty understanding Mew's stories, but he seemed very interested and listened attentively.

The man was acting completely different from the first time they'd met. He was being a true gentleman.

"Can I invite you back sometime?" he asked.

Gulf nooded.

Mew smiled, looking truly glad. He had obviously been really bored before.

Gulf wanted to leave in time to catch the last subway train. His host insisted on seeing him off at the nearest station, and they ended up walking there together.

It was the coldest part of February. They sobered up immediately, and fell into natural silence.

Gulf didn't feel that he cluld broach the subject of the job.

TBC