“It’s almost ready,” Pete says.
Shaking Alex’s hand, I ask, “How are you? Pete told me on the way here you’ve started a new production.”
“Yeah, it’s comedy. I hope you’ll have time to see it.”
“I should. The internship will be a nine-to-five thing.”
“Pete’s been telling me all about the series you filmed.”
I nod. “Without everything I learned from you last year, I probably wouldn’t have landed the part. Thanks again for that.”
“It was my pleasure. What kind of audience do bl dramas attract?”
Leaning against the counter, I say, “Many of the fans are female, although some are gay males. All the stories come from popular books in the genre.”
“I was telling him about the fan meetings. That’s what really blows my mind,” Pete said.
Taking my phone from my pocket, I pull up a video of the last fan meeting we did and hand it to Pete, pouring myself a glass of wine as they watch it.
“Look at that crowd!” Alex says.
“They’re going nuts.” Pete glances at me. “I’ll bet you have women throwing themselves at you.”
“I get my share of attention,” I mumble.
“Holy fuck, your co-star’s hot,” Alex says.
They fall quiet as they continue watching.
“This is what I was talking about.” Pete points at the screen. “Look at the two of you. It must be exhausting to keep this up all the time, especially for you. You aren’t exactly the touchy-feeling type, and this looks soreal, man.”
I shrug. “It was real. I mean, we’re playing up to the fans, sure, but that’s the real us. Like I told you, we’re good friends.”
Pete gives me a disbelieving look.
“What? I can have friends.”
“Not since we were kids.”
“I had lunch with Kris just recently.”
“You’ve known him since you were in diapers. And you two don’t hang out or talk on the phone all the time, right? Did you even hug him when you saw him?”
Scowling in answer, I sip my wine before replying. “I just mean being that way with Pravat isn’t work. We spent a lot of time at workshops getting used to being intimate. Anyway, Thailand isn’t full of toxic masculinity like America is.”
I’ve always thought of America as the ultimate place to live, particularly New York City. My visit last year only underscored those feelings. Now, though, I wasn’t so sure. On the ride home, the city didn’t hold the appeal it always has in the past.
Pulling himself away from my phone, Pete plates the food, and we sit down to eat at the small table.
“I want to hear all about these workshops andbeing intimate,” he tells me.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Rama
The sun is setting over the river when Pete, Alex, and I sit down in the living room with our glasses of wine.
Eager to see more videos of what I’ve been telling them about, Alex casts my phone to the television screen, and suddenly my face fills the screen.
“This one’s calledPracticing Skinship,” Alex says as he starts the video. He looks at me. “Skinship?”