“Where can we watch the series?” Alex asks me.
“Do you really want to see it?”
“Of course we do!” Pete nudges me hard.
“Okay.” I pull it up for him.
Pete curls up in Alex’s arms, and I settle back against the couch cushions as the theme music plays and each member of the cast flasheson the screen. About mid-way through episode one, I drift off. The next thing I know, it’s the argument scene from the end of episode eight. Rubbing my eyes, I sit up. Outside the window, the skyline is lit up in the darkness. I can’t believe they’re still watching the show.
The screen is filled with my anguished face. I had to dive deep into painful memories for that scene, and it left me sobbing even after Maha called for filming to stop. Pravat held me for a long time. Not wanting to watch, I get up from the couch and walk into the kitchen.
“What the hell?” I say, when I return moments later to find both Pete and Alex with tears dripping down their faces.
“Shh!” Alex flaps his hand, eyes not leaving the screen.
“I’m going to bed,” I say.
“Shh!” Both Pete and Alex shoo me away.
Shaking my head, I turn toward the bathroom. Fifteen minutes later, I’m showered and stretched out on the bed. My finger twitches over the screen of my phone. It’s early morning in Thailand. Pravat should be up. Without allowing myself to over-think it, I call him.
“Rama?” his voice is rough from sleep.
“I woke you, I’m sorry. I thought you’d be up for class.”
“I would be, but the term’s over,” Pravat says through a yawn.
“Shit! I’m so sorry. I’ll let you go.”
“Don’t you dare hang up. What are you doing?”
“I’ve spent the last few hours being teased by my cousin and his boyfriend about our relationship. Well, that was before I took a nap and woke up to find them in tears over Kusa and Atid’s fight.”
Pravat laughs. “Why were they teasing you about us?”
“They just don’t understand the way it is in the bl industry. Things are different here.”
“You sound so wistful. Don’t tell me you’re homesick already.”
“A little,” I admit. “Maybe I shouldn’t have accepted this internship.”
“You said you wanted to do this for your father,” Pravat reminds me. “It’ll go by fast.”
“Six months?” I ask plaintively before realizing I sound like a child. I sigh. “I’m just tired.”
“I guess you’re getting ready to go to bed there,” Pravat says.
“Mmm. That nap has probably messed up my sleep schedule even more. What are you doing?”
I hear rustling on the other end of the line, and then it sounds like Pravat drops the phone. When he gets back on, he clears his throat.
“I’m about to make some coffee. What are your plans tomorrow?”
“I have to report to the company. First day of many long days to come.”
We chat for a while more, and then hang up. I spend the next half hour putting away my things and then settle on the bed to read.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: Pravat