Art of Seduction

Chapter 7

❤︎

Art of Seduction

Chapter 7

"Hello, handsome," someone says, wrapping a pair of arms around Kongpob's waist from behind. "How are you today?"

Kongpob puts down the papers he's been reading and gives a gentle smile. "Excellent. And you?"

"Better now," Arthit mumbles, face buried in Kongpob's hair. "I missed you."

A tickling feeling wanders throughout Kongpob's body, and his cheeks blush in a very embarrassing way; fortunately, Arthit's not able to see it.

"We shouldn't really do stuff like this..." Kongpob says instead of replying to the other's tender comment, trying to draw away from the touch. "It's not... It's weird."

"Really?"

"I mean, in public." Kongpob hurries to add, his face now so flushed a fire truck would be jealous to its shade. "In working place and so on."

Arthit turns the man around to gaze him with amused expression. "You want me so bad, don't you?"

Kongpob knows it's impossible to hide his bewilderment anymore, but still tries to do so by giving a snapping reply. "No I don't, now please let go before someone comes!"

"Okay then." Arthit says, voice temptingly low and husky. "I need just one thing from you first."

"...What?"

Arthit slides his tongue across his lips to wet them, before pressing them against Kongpob's, to lead them through a breathtaking, warm kiss, both soft and deep at the same time. Instead of drawing away, Kongpob responds by wrapping a leg around the man's body to pull him closer, tongue sliding into Arthit's mouth. 

Arthit takes it as a positive answer and his hand boldly disappears under the back of Kongpob's shirt, caressing the bare skin with gentle fingers, and Kongpob's whole body is tingling, in a way that makes him feel it might explode.

Kongpob loves this feeling, more than anything else, more than all the things he used to treasure so much back when Arthit wasn't in his world. As Arthit's hand runs through the man's hair and pulls rough, his hand touches the skin on Kongpob's neck he adores so much, the fear of losing it all makes Arthit's heart bounce in almost painful pace.

"Uhm... Hello?" comes a hesitant voice from the door, and they break off quickly, faces flushed as they turn to gaze at the speaker.

"Mike..." Kongpob says breathlessly, hand darting into his hair to straighten it. "W-what are you doing here?"

Mike's cheeks are even more red than Kongpob's as he gives a little annoyed-sounding reply. "I came to pick up my clothes. This is a public dressing room, if you didn't know..."

"I did," Kongpob says quickly, backing away from Arthit. "I just mean that, uhm, you could knock before coming in."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Mike says with a sarcastic tone in his voice, "Believe me, I didn't expect to find you two experiencing such a... hot atmosphere in here, so pardon me if I forgot to knock."

"Whatever." Kongpob snaps, collecting his things to leave the room. "Sorry, but I have to go now. You can taunt me later."

When Kongpob passes by Mike, he cannot help muttering: "You're fucking Joss, you phony bastard," in a low-pitched voice, loud enough for just Mike to hear.

Mike looks like he's been slapped. "What did you say?"

"Oh, nothing," Kongpob smirks, happy that Mike understood why he should remain silent when it comes to Kongpob and Arthit's secret dressing room sessions. "Nothing at all."

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Kongpob doesn't really understand why he invited Arthit to come over at his house. It was just a thing he said in a spur of moment, right after Mike caught them in action in the dressing room.

Physical attraction. That's what Kongpob keeps telling himself, time after another; it's the only suitable word for describing his feelings, since it would be a little corny to say the thing between them is just friendship.

Can't take my words back anymore, can I?  Kongpob sighs, heading towards the convenience store to buy some food, in intention to fulfill his promise of cooking something for his guest.

"Kongpob!" comes a feeble voice from somewhere behind Kongpob's shoulder, and he turns around to see the store owner rushing towards him. He tries to give a bow, but his whole body is so sore it's hard to even raise an arm, not to mention bending his back; the trip wasn't good for his health, that's for sure, at least not the parts where he was having some naked fun with Arthit.

Still, with a smile that looks more like a grimace, he greets the woman out of courtesy.

"You haven't stopped by for weeks!" the old lady continues, clearly delighted to see Kongpob again. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, thanks." Kongpob replies quickly, in urgent hurry to leave the store as soon as possible - he doesn't have much time before Arthit arrives. "And I'm sorry, it's been quite busy lately."

The woman gives him a long, searching gaze, so intense it makes Kongpob squirm in discomfort; he tries to turn away to finish his shopping, but something keeps him from doing so.

"Oh, I just remembered," the owner starts suddenly, "Did the charming young man find you?"

"C-charming...young man?" Kongpob's tone is indifferent, but his heart has starts bouncing in fast pace; a certain person just popped into his head, a person he hasn't spotted in a long time...Could it be...?

The woman looks thoughtful for a moment, then replies with a soft pinch of apology in her voice. "Umm...I can't seem to remember his name."

"How did he look like?" Kongpob demands urgently, although he knows it's very rude from him to do so. "What kind of hair? Eyes, clothes... Whatever, just please, please, try to remember, okay?"

"Well, he was very handsome..." the owner starts, looking a bit confused. "Brown hair... Hiding behind sunglasses. Wearing a black sweater."

After hearing the description, Kongpob knows for sure the woman's talking about the guy who used to follow him around; speaking in past tense because, though Kongpob hasn't stopped in the store for a long time, the guy hasn't been around anymore. Not after --

"Rojnapat" the woman says, unexpectedly. "Rojnapat...something."

-- not after he met someone.

"Arthit?" Kongpob's voice is feeble, so slight it could as well be soundless.

"Excuse me?"

"The name of the man. Arthit Rojnapat." Kongpob's trembling by now.

"Yes, yes! That's him! So he did find you?"

Kongpob feels like throwing up; his head is dizzy and somehow stuffy, as if his brains aren't getting enough oxygen all of a sudden. How stupid am I? It's so easy. It's like the math in elementary school. A handsome stalker. A guy who suddenly appears in my life, dressed as a woman to get to me. Seriously, how stupid can a person be...?

"You could say so..." Kongpob manages to whisper. "Y-yes, he did find me."

"That's great," the woman smiles, clearly not aware of the internal struggle Kongpob is experiencing right in front of her eyes. "He introduced himself as an old friend of yours, so it must have been a delightful reunion!"

And here it comes again; the past I remember nothing about...

"Well, uhm, thank you." Kongpob mutters, "I'll just take these and get going - I'm sort of in a rush..."