More gently, I say, “Please, Noi.”
“I’ll get these to you later,” he tells P’Wisit, tugging at the shirt of the pajamas he’s wearing, stirring my simmering anger. I don’t want him to see P’Wisit again.
I’m silent in the elevator, doing my best to calm down. Noi doesn’t try to talk to me. Halfway through the parking lot, he tugs on my hand. “Sud, stop! You’re hurting me!”
The words register and I freeze.
Noi yanks his hand out of mine. “I don’t even have my shoes on! What’s wrong with you?”
I look down and see that Noi is indeed barefoot on the hot pavement. Without thinking, I sweep him up in my arms and carry him to the car.
When we’re both inside, Noi says, “Sud, you’re scaring me. What happened? Is it Mae? Pah? Ten? Tell me!”
I turn to him, and the sight of tears spilling out of his scared brown eyes is like a slap in the face that effectively shuts off my anger.
He thinks something bad has happened at home, and why wouldn’t he after I charged into P’Wisit’s apartment and dragged him out of there without even allowing him time to get dressed? Tossing his bundle of clothes into the backseat, I take his hands in mine.
“They’re okay. No one is hurt,” I say, looking him in the eyes so he knows it’s the truth.
Noi wipes at his cheeks with shaking hands. “Then, what’s the matter?”
Remorseful, I pull Noi into a fierce hug.
Nose tucked into his warm neck, I say, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I—I just freaked out when Bua told me you’d spent the night with P’Wisit.”
Noi hugs me back a moment before pulling away and running the sleeve of P’Wisit’s pajamas over his eyes. I’m definitely going to make sure Noi washes every bit of himself off those before he gives them back to P’Wisit. I’m aware it’s a weird, possessive thing to think, but I can’t help it.
“But, why?” Noi asks. “He wouldn’t hurt me.”
“I just saw you walk out of his bedroom wearing his pajamas, and you ask me why?” I nearly yell, angry all over again. “You know, just because he’s the president of pretty much everything at school and his family is rich as fuck doesn’t give him the right to take advantage of you!”
Noi frowns. “Take advantage of me how?”
“Oh, come on, Mee Noi!” Heaving a sigh, I look out the windshield. “Could we at least go home before we have this conversation?”
Noi remains silent while I drive to his building. When we pull up, he unbuckles and turns to me.
“Okay. Explain to me how you think P’Wisit is trying to take advantage of me.”
I’m not about to call Noi naïve after he yelled at me about it the last time, but I’m certainly thinking it. How could he not know? It must have been easy as hell for P’Wisit to sweet-talk him into bed.
“He took you back to his place and talked you into sleeping with him!”
Noi’s jaw drops open.
“That’s what you think?”
“I saw you come out of his room!” I yell. A couple walking by the car turn to look at us, and I shout, “What the hell are you looking at?” They scurry away.
Noi says quietly, “Last night after the movie he asked me to be his boyfriend.”
The bottom of my stomach drops out.
“That’s why you stayed the night with him,” I say, jaw tightening. “Because he’s your boyfriend and you wanted to…to be with him.” I can barely get the last part out.
Noi doesn’t say anything, and when I raise my eyes, he has that look he always gets when he’s going to slam a door in my face. It happened so many times when we were kids, I’m surprised I still have my nose.
“That’s what you think,” Noi says.