***
New.
"Aren't you really my brother's boyfriend? He takes care of you more than he takes care of his own brother."
I awkwardly shifted on my seat as Nannon, whose gazes were boring holes on my face, raised an eyebrow at me.
"No," I replied sparingly to which he replied with a smirk.
"Oh, really? Well, I guess he hasn't made a move yet or he's simply a coward. You know what, he's been talking about you ever since high school. You're New, right? New Thitipoom Techaapaikhun?"
I unconsciously furrowed my brows at him, quite confused with what he meant.
Why would Tay be telling his family about me?
And he even knows my complete name.
What on earth is happening??
"Tss. He's so smitten with you that he even keeps a photob-"
"NANNON!"
We both flinched as Tay's voice reverberated in the living room followed by a flying slipper which eventually landed on Nannon's forehead.
"OUCH! IT HURTS P'TAAAAYYY!!"
"Then you stop blabbering nonsense."
"Yaaah! I'm telling him th—"
"Just shut up, okay? Or I'll shove this slipper down your throat."
"Tss. Whatever!"
"Good morning, New. Did you sleep well?"
I gave Tay an awkward smile as he turned to me.
How can he switch from one personality to another??
"Pffft! Seriously, when did you learn how to sound sweet, P'Tay? Psh, I wanna gag. You're giving me the creeps!"
"Oh, shut up, Nannon. Go away!"
"Tss. Blah. Blah. Blah. P'New, don't you ever say yes to P'Tay. He will just make you cry. Did you know th—."
Nannon must have infuriated the hell out of Tay as the latter grabbed the nearby flower vase and attempted to throw it at Nannon.
"MOOMMMM! P'TAY'S TRYING TO KILL ME!" screamed Nannon as he scampered away.
"Tss. Don't listen to him. He's just being a brat. By the way, why didn't you wake me up?"
I scooted away as he sat beside me on the sofa but he just moved closer to me.
"Uiiii. What are you doing??" I whined as he grabbed me by the waist and made me sit on his lap.
"Are you avoiding me?"
"Wh-why would I avoid you? Let me go."
I tried prying his hands off my waist but he just held it even tighter.
Geez! I could feel that part of him brushing against my arse!
"Hey. Are you blushing? Why? Are you shy of what happened last night?"
Oh goodness! How can't I when I could feel him underneath me every time I move???
"W-what do you mean? Did something happen last night?" I stammered as I feigned innocence.
But he didn't say a thing and just smiled at me.
"W-what?"
"Hmmm. It's a waste I didn't see you the moment I opened my eyes this morning. But well, at least I have you in my arms right now."
"Psh, fuck off. I-I'm gonna take a shower."
I tried pushing him away and was quite relieved when he let me go.
"Wanna take a shower with me?"
"Fuck you, Tay!"
"Sure. Why not?"
"Uuuggh! I hate you!"
***
Last night
"NO! NO! STOP! DON'T OPEN IT!"
I gasped as Tay charged towards me and grabbed the photo book.
But before I could even ask why, we both heard a loud thud.
I winced as my back hit the carpeted floor and groaned even more when I felt Tay's weight on top of me.
"Oh, shit. My back hurts."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Tay apologized as he lifted himself and placed his hands on both sides of my face.
"Aren't you getting away from me??"
But he didn't answer and started removing the stray hair from my face instead.
"You look better in this position."
"Huh? What do yo-" I furrowed my brows in confusion but eventually gasp when I figured out what he meant.
"What the fuck Tay?? You're such a pervert!"
I tried pushing him away but failed.
"Why? I just said, you look better this way. Why? Are you thinking of something else? Ohoooh! I think you're the one with a perverted mind."
"Oh, just, just leave me alone!"
With all the strength I could muster, I pushed him away from me and was quite relieved when he didn't resist anymore.
"Your face is red," he giggled before grabbing the photo book from the floor.
"Tss. Are that afraid to let me see your ugly photos?"
"What? What ugly photos?"
"That photo book! I bet you have loads of photos without front teeth and ridiculous haircut that's why you don't wanna let me see that! Tss. Were you that ugly as a kid?!"
"Y-Yes! I was that ugly! So don't ever touch this one! I'm, I'm keeping this away from you," he glared before placing it inside a drawer and locking it.
"Pssh! Whatever!" I sneered before sprawling myself across his bed, occupying the entire area.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
"Sleeping, obviously."
"Move over, babe. Where am I supposed to sleep then?"
"Psh, go somewhere else."
"Excuse me, but may I remind you that this is my room and my bed. I have all the rights to sleep here."
"And may I remind you that I am your guest so I am entitled to enjoy the amenities that I am supposed to."
"Amenities, what?"
"Whatever. Just sleep on the floor or somewhere else. Your house is so big you could definitely find a place to sleep," I grumbled as I blanketed myself and closed my eyes.
Silence followed and no movement could be felt inside the room thus making me wonder what Tay was up to.
I was about to check on him when I felt the bed move and was quite flabbergasted to see Tay hovering above me the moment I opened my eyes.
"Uuii! What are you doing??"
"If you're not letting me sleep beside you then I'm sleeping on top of you."
"Are you insane???!"
"I told you I like seeing you in this position, right? Hmmm. But I don't think I'd be able to sleep in this case."
"Pe-pervert! Fine if you sleep here then, I'll just sleep on the floor. Don't you have conscience or something??"
I tried pushing him away but he just completely dropped himself on me, putting all his weight against my body.
"I'm sleepy already, babe. Can you just sleep beside me? I promise, I won't do anything to you."
I bit the insides of my cheeks and let out a frustrated sigh.
"Oh, come on, Tay. Just get off me already. You're quite heavy. I can't breathe."
"I won't unless you promise you'd sleep beside me."
"Fine! Fine! Just get off me!"
I shot him a dangerous glare the moment he got off me.
"You're so cute when you're annoyed."
"Oh, shut up. You do love annoying me, don't you??"
"Yeah, I do but without the annoying part."
"Huh? What do yo—"
"Just go to sleep, okay babe? I'm taking you somewhere tomorrow."
"Where?"
"It's a surprise."
"Tss. If it's one of your pranks, Tay I swear I'm kicking your ass."
"Ohoohh. My boyfriend's quite fierce."
"Excuse me? Boyfriend??"
"Ssshhhh. Just go to sleep," he muttered as he closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around my waist.
"Then go to sleep without hugging me, you jerk," I hissed as I slapped his arm but he didn't even budge.
"But I want tooooo."
"Seriously! Oh goodness, why are you so damn clingy?? Are you a monkey in your past life??"
But he just giggled and pressed his body against mine even more.
I let out a deep sigh of surrender as he snuggled his head into the nook of my neck.
"What did I ever do in my past life to suffer this much? Agh. I'm not even married but why do I feel like I'm taking care of a three-year-old kid," I groaned inwardly as I attempted to close my eyes and get some sleep.
But before I could even fade away into dreamland, Tay slightly adjusted his position by placing his leg on top of mine.
And I swear to heavens I felt something.
Something
hard.
"What the fuxk, Tay?!! Are you by chance—"
I couldn't even continue my question out of embarrassment. I couldn't be wrong!
"I'm sorry. I can't resist it since you're this close to me."
And with all the strength left in me, I pushed him off the bed.
***
The sound of the waves crashing against the shore and the chirping of the birds hovering above us filled the entire area and I couldn't help but breathe in the salty air.
After eating breakfast with his family, he just dragged me into his car, saying he wanted to take me somewhere.
And I wouldn't even regret coming with him as I watched the calmness of the sea in front of me.
"Do you like it?" Tay asked as he stood beside me.
"I love it."
I heard him chuckle.
"I bought this beach house when I came back from overseas. I've always wanted to have a vacation house where I can spend quality time with my future family."
"Psh. Didn't know you have a romantic bone in you."
"I'm glad you find it romantic."
"If this is for your future family, why did you bring me here then?" I glanced at him.
But he just shrugged before turning to me. "Hmm. I don't know. I just want to know if you'd like it."
"Tss. Silly. Why would my opinion matter?"
"Wanna take a swim?"
"Nah, later. It's still so hot."
"Psh. Didn't know you're extra careful with your skin."
"Tss. Oh shut up."
***
In the afternoon, we decided to have some barbecue by the beach.
And since, Tay couldn't cook for the hell of it, I ended up doing almost everything.
It was a good thing he knew how to wash the dishes or I'd definitely end up breaking the plates on his head.
"Hmmm.. You know what, you can get married already. You cook so well," Tay commented as he munched on his barbecue.
"Yaa, when did the ability to cook become a standard for marrying?"
"Well, you could feed your entire family. And you know what they say, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach."
"Psh, is that why you always ask me to cook for you?"
"Well, that's one."
"Tss. You're just too lazy to cook that's why you always bug me."
"Don't you have plans to get married? I mean, you plan the perfect wedding for others. Do you even have your own dream wedding?"
"My dream wedding?"
"Yeah."
I chuckled as I glanced at the ocean and sat on the mat next to him.
"Nah, I don't think I'll ever be married."
"Why?"
"Do you think someone will truly love me?"
"Why do you even ask that?"
"You see, I'm gay. I mean, I didn't mean to hide that from you, okay?"
I turned to look at him when he just let out a chuckle.
"Hey, are you laughing at me being gay???"
"No, no. It's not what I meant, okay? I mean, I knew it from the start. And you didn't have to tell me. It's pretty obvious."
"Psh. Oh, shut up."
"But go on. I'd like to know more about you."
"As I was saying, I don't think I'll ever get married. I don't think I'll ever find a man who's gonna love me for who I am."
"What made you say that?"
"You see, I'm almost 26 but I've never been in a relationship. No one has ever wanted to be me with me."
"What about me then? I like being with you."
"Psh. You just like annoying me. If I don't cook for you, I doubt you'd stick to me."
"Uiii. Do you seriously think of me that way??"
"Yes, you're like a younger brother who needs to be taken care of."
"Yaaaaaa, I'm older than you are!"
"But you definitely act like a kid."
"Tss. You have never been in a relationship because all you could see is that Mond!"
"Yaaaa, he's my first love, okay? You just can't take that away from me. And why would I look at someone else when I already reserved my heart for him."
"But where did it get you? Huh? You ended up getting hurt."
"Well, I think it's part of loving someone."
"Tss. If you could have just looked at others before you could have been married by now."
"Psh, and who would marry me huh? Do you know the reason I decided to take this job? It's because I realized I won't be able to experience such happiness so I'll just help others experience it instead."
"Tss. What are you a philanthropist?"
"You do have a way to ruin other's happiness, don't you?"
"Tss. Who are you to predict the future? Maybe somewhere out there, someone is dying to marry you. You know, have kids with you. Spend a lifetime with you."
"Psh. Then he should come sooner because I'm not getting any younger!"
"Tss. Anyway, what do you want for your wedding?"
"Why are you curious about it??"
"Come on. Just tell me, okay? Who knows I'll get to sponsor your wedding in the future."
I stifled a laugh as he furrowed his brows at me.
"Please give a huge amount of money then, okay?"
"Tss. Fine. I'll pay for everything."
"I'd like to have a beach wedding."
"You like the beach that much?"
"Yeah. In some ways, looking at the sea soothes me. It's healing. I wanna be married with the sun setting as I walk towards the person I'd love for the rest of my life."
"Sunset?"
"They say sunset symbolizes the end of the day, but for me it's a symbol of me coming home to the one I love. That no matter what happens, I'll always come home to him, every single day of my life."
I turned to look at Tay who didn't say a thing. He was just staring intently at me.
"How about you? What's your dream wedding?"
"Anything. It doesn't really matter to me. I just want the one I love beside me on that special day and come home to me every single day."
"Tss. You just copied what I said!"
"Yaaa, that's what I really want, okay?"
"Then quit acting like a child and find the one you wanna marry. You're not getting any younger."
"Tsssss. Why should I look when you're already here?"
"Oh, come on? You want me to help you look for that person??"
"Uiiii! Just, just get me more barbecue. I want more barbecue."
"Psh! You should really learn how to cook."
"I will. And I promise you'll be the first one to taste my food."
"Psh, no thanks. I don't wanna die from food poisoning."
"Oh, come on. I'm being serious here. One day, I'll be the one cooking for you while you look after the children."
"What the hell are you talking about? Are you trying to recruit me as your future helper??"
"Ugh, why are you so slow??"
"Tss. Fine, fine. I'm getting more barbecue, your highness. Tsssss. I'm really gonna shove these barbecue sticks right down your throat," I rolled my eyes at him but he just smirked at me.
Ugh, since when did I start spoiling this brat, huh??
***