Third Person POV
James the Butler opened the door on the first buzz. He knew who was at the door before he opened it.
"Good evening, sir," said James to Ming, "I will escort you to Mr. Intochar's study."
"Very well, thank you," said Ming, following James as James led him to Kit's study.
After hearing Kit's "come in" after James' brief knock, James opened the door and ushered Ming inside and then bowed and left the two inside and closed the door after him.
Kit extended his hand to Ming and Ming took it saying, "Good evening, Kit."
"Good evening, Ming, can I offer you a drink?"
"A bottle of mineral water would do for me, thanks," said Ming.
"Certainly," said Kit, walking over to his room refrigerator and taking an eight ounce bottle of mineral water and handing it to Ming.
"I'm afraid I do not have any more banana walnut cake to offer you," said Kit.
Ming had the grace to blush.
"I sincerely apologize for my childish behavior," said Ming, "I promise to bake you one if you will let me."
"You know how to bake cakes?" Kit raised an eyebrow.
"I can bake and I can cook," said Ming, "I have very good culinary skills."
On top of your good looks, thought Kit, his heart going pit-a-pat.
They heard a knock on the door and when Kit called "come in" James the butler opened it briefly to say, "I believe it's time for you to leave for this evening's event, young master."
"Let's go, Ming,"said Kit setting down his glass of red wine on his study desk.
"Very well," said Ming, drinking the remainder of water in the bottle and dropping it into the bin beside Kit's desk.
They climbed into the waiting limousine, Ming letting Kit enter first before following to sit beside him.
"Are you nervous about speaking in front of large audiences?" asked Ming.
"No," said Kit, almost blurting out 'I'm more nervous about you sitting very close to me right now'.
"I've had several speaking engagements in the past so I have gotten used to it by now," Kit added.
The hall was once again filled with a large number of attendees and the buzz of conversations quieted down as all eyes were on Ming and Kit's entrance.
One comment came out audibly as they passed by the crowd, "They make a very good pair."
Kit's heart thudded. Ming tightened his grip on Kit's elbow.
Both of them smiled at the crowd as they were ushered to their table.
Kris Perawat stood up from a nearby table and slowly approached them.
Ming grimaced and closed his eyes, expecting some cold liquid to splash across his face.
"Good evening, Kit and good evening to you, Ming," said Kris, "allow me to introduce to you my partner for the evening."
"Only for the evening?" asked the partner in an offended tone.
"Because you said you were flying back to Shanghai tomorrow for your promo event," Kris retorted.
"Let's not bicker in front of these gentlemen," said Kris' partner.
After the introductions were made, Kris and his partner Singto made their way back to their table.
The event went through without a hitch.
There was loud applause after Kris' speech, but there was louder and more prolonged applause after Kit's impassioned speech about how it was time that marriage between two people of the same gender who truly loved each other should be legalized so that their union can be proudly recognized by everyone in society.
James had seen the limousine approaching but kept the front door closed not wanting to come out to meet Kit and Ming. He waited behind the front door for Kit to press the buzzer. He usually already had the front door opened for Kit's arrival but this evening he waited......
Kit turned to Ming at the front door, holding out his hand to him.
Ming took it. "Thank you for choosing me to escort you this evening."
After a second's hesitation, Ming pulled a startled Kit into his embrace.
After a second's hesitation, Kit pulled a startled Ming's face downward and planted a kiss on his lips.