Sarawat's Story

Part XXII: 2gether for the Day

Saturday began with a rattle: Tine's phone vibrating with a call on the nightstand, waking us up.

Tine was asleep in my arms – his back against my chest, my face buried in the back of his head in his soft hair – and when he began to stir, I tightened my arm around his midsection, hoping he would ignore the call. Cuddling with Tine was a treat that I never wanted to end. I already hated mornings; with Tine there, I didn't want them to end. So, as he stretched away from me, I growled lowly but kept my arm around his waist.

"Hello?" Tine mumbled into the phone. "Yes... oh, hi... I remember... okay... okay... one o'clock will be fine... I'll ask him... okay... alright... see you then... bye."

Curiously, I wondered who had called Tine. I hadn't been able to hear the voice on the other end of the line, but the tone of Tine's voice didn't seem alarmed or anxious. Feigning deep sleep, I waited for Tine to nestle into my arms again. I peeked out one eye, thinking he was now distracted by his phone, and Tine was staring down at me with a smirk.

"I knew you were awake," he teased.

With a grunt, I shut my eye and tried to pull Tine down into the bed next to me.

"Stop!" Tine protested with a laugh.

I grunted again and crossed my arms on my chest.

"Well, if you want to stay in bed," Tine said casually, "I guess I could ask Boss or Mann to take pictures with me today. Or maybe I should call Phailin."

The morning light burned my eyes as I sat up quickly and glared at him. "Don't you dare!"

Tine laughed harder.

I pouted, and Tine pinched my cheek.

"That was Mai on the phone," Tine revealed. "She was supposed to be the photographer on Thursday. She has some free time this afternoon, and she wants us to come to campus to take pictures."

Yawning, I smirked. "As long as I can spend the day with my boyfriend."

Tine blushed. "Shut up," he said, hitting me with a pillow.

***

Mai gave Tine basic instructions for our photoshoot: she would provide the clothes – borrowed from the department store where she worked part-time – and she had a friend who could do makeup if needed. Tine and I only had to meet her on campus at one o'clock at the Student Union Building. In the meantime, Tine returned to his dorm to shower and change, and I showered and changed as well. I brought sandwiches and juice for us at a deli near my apartment, and after sitting on the steps of the Student Union for a few minutes, Tine arrived.

A group of girls walked out of the building behind us, and they seemed surprised to see Tine and me sitting so close together. They whispered amongst each other as they walked down the steps and continuously looked back with giggles and cooing until they walked into the Law Building next door.

Next, two guys walked past in front of us and, like the girls, began whispering to each other when they noticed Tine and me. I watched them walk towards the dorms. I looked over at Tine, captivated by a video on his phone, and felt a strange feeling in my stomach.

"Tine, can I ask you a question?"

Tine glanced up from his phone. "Sure. What's up?"

I looked down at my hands, then back to Tine. "Are we... I mean, do you... do you want to tell people that we are together?" I quickly added, "I mean, if you'd even thought about it, it's okay if you haven't. And it's okay if you don't wanna tell anyone."

Tine looked away. "I've kinda thought about it," he replied softly.

"Oh, okay."

I stared out over the campus lawn, not knowing what to say or how to feel.