“I guess if we’re going to be getting up early, we should go to bed,” Pah finally says, standing and stretching.
Noi uncurls from around me and gets to his feet, hugging Pah and then kissing Mae’s cheek. I say goodnight and follow him upstairs.
Ten’s door is ajar, and I peek inside. Ten and Oat are both asleep in his bed, moonlight pouring in on them from the window. I smile because they could be me and Noi not so long ago.
“Let’s sleep in my room tonight,” Noi says from behind me.
“Sure.” I follow him down the hall. His room, which was Mae’s sewing room before Noi came to live with us, is the farthest away from everyone else’s. Is that why he wants us to sleep there tonight?
“Afraid of waking them up?” I ask, smirking at him when he closes the door behind us. When he looks at me, I waggle my eyebrows suggestively.
Noi smacks me in the stomach. “No way. We are not doing anything here.”
“So, we’re going to wait until we get back to Bangkok and then do something?” I tease him.
Rather than getting annoyed, Noi’s smiles at me in that flirty way he’s been doing lately. “Maybe.”
“Stop teasing me,” I say, voice low because I’m getting hard.
“You started it,” Noi says.
Snorting, I turn away from him and strip off my shirt and pants, tossing them onto a chair. When I turn back around, Noi stares at the tent in my boxer shorts.
He bites his lip but doesn’t say anything, just takes off his own clothes and switches off the ceiling light before turning on the dim lamp shaped like a globe on the bedside table.
Under the thin covers, Noi snuggles into my side as has become his habit. I really want to pull him in for a kiss, but, despite my teasing, I don’t want to mess around when our family is within hearing distance any more than Noi does. Looking around in the semi-darkness, I take in the posters of various K-Pop groups on the walls that have been there for as long as I can remember, and the shelves filled with books, oddly shaped rocks, and other items Noi has collected over the years.
“What are you smiling about?” Noi asks me.
“Just remembering how you used to sit and read for hours. You were such a geek.” I yelp and jerk away when Noi pinches me. “Ouch! That hurt.”
“You deserved it.”
“That’s boyfriend abuse.”
Noi is silent for a moment before saying, “Why didn’t you wait for me to tell them?”
Sliding my hand into his hair, I play with the soft strands. “They were sitting in the living room, and I could tell Pah had been thinking about seeing us in my bed. The Mae asked me outright. I’m sorry. I was afraid they might be mad at me, and I knew that would upset you.”
“It would, but I wanted to be there for you,” Noi says. “But it’s okay. Another part of me is glad you did it because I’m a coward. Did Pah speak harshly to you?”
“Just a little, at first, because—like I told you—he’d warned me about it. So, he thought I’d ignored what he said and that we were essentially playing with fire. But after I explained to him that we’re serious about each other, he relaxed.”
“I’ll bet they’re worried about us.”
I kiss his head. “It’s our life. We’re the ones who are making the decisions. They’ll adjust.”
“I just don’t want to cause them any trouble.”
Moving onto my side so I can see his face, I say, “Enough of that. You haven’t caused them any trouble. They love you, Noi. Nothing’s going to change that.” Leaning in, I kiss him softly on the lips. He’s warm and pliant in my arms, and I want so badly to move my hands down his back and squeeze that cute little ass, but I don’t dare. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to stop.
“Go to sleep,” I tell him.
Chapter Twenty-nine: Mee Noi
The woods are eerily dark as Ten, Sud, and I walk along the trail. We shouldn’t be out here when we can barely see. Pah always warns us to watch out for snakes.
As soon as the thought occurs, Ten cries out in fear and pain. He was beside me just a moment ago, but now he’s several yards ahead of me on the path.