"Arthit? What are you doing here?"

Arthit had already recognized the voice, and he tried to act as casual as possible. He turned to look at the source of the sound.

"Oh. Hi Ian. It's been a long time." Arthit said looking at the man holding the hand of a little girl.

"Arthit, how come you never returned my messages?" Ian asked looking desperately at Arthit.

Kongpob sat back watching their interaction. He's curious about who this guy is, but he didn't want to interrupt.

"Uhm, I had to replace my phone a while ago. Besides, there's not much to say." Arthit replied the man.

Ian looked to Arthit's left, and saw Kongpob watching him. "And you are?" Ian raised an eyebrow at Kongpob, and then looked back at Arthit.

Kongpob has come across many different people in his professional and personal life, but never has he ever had someone ask him who he was in such a rude way, and dismissed him even before he answered.

"He is Kongpob." Arthit answered before Kongpob can.

"Kongpob? I thought your boyfriend's name was Chuck? No, Chet. Wasn't it?"

"What does it matter to you Ian? This is my personal business." Arthit said as he stood up from the bench, and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"So he is not Chet. Is he your friend?" Ian continued to ask until his hand was tugged by the little girl he was holding.

"Papa, I want to go on the swing." The little girl said to her father swinging their joined hands.

Kongpob began to feel annoyed and invisible. He got up from the bench, and picked up Popeye to go back to the car. He left Arthit to talk to whoever that guy was. They clearly have a history of some sort.

Arthit noticed Kongpob leaving, so he turned to follow him.

"Arthit, can't we just talk?" Ian called Arthit as the latter tried to walk away.

Arthit turned back. "There's really nothing to say between us. It was a long time ago. I'm okay. You should take care of your child." Arthit said pointing to the little girl before he turned his back to chase Kongpob.

"Kongpob! Wait! Kongpob!" Arthit called to the man that ignored him.

Kongpob placed Popeye in the backseat, and then got in the driver's seat. Arthit opened the door to the passenger side, and got in too. He turned to look at Kongpob, and he has never seen Kongpob actually mad. Not even the whole spying thing made Kongpob act like this. He swears he can see smoke coming out of Kongpob's ears.

Arthit was scared. He just stayed quiet. He didn't really want to talk about it. At least not today when he wanted it to be a perfect day. He wanted to let Kongpob know a little more about him. But he forgot that stomping on old grounds also means the possibility of running into ghosts of his past.

Kongpob drove silently heading back into the city. He didn't really feel like talking. He had many questions, but he didn't want to ask at the moment. He doesn't want to regret words spoken out of anger. Kongpob has never been the jealous type. However, he was very annoyed that Arthit didn't introduce him, but that Ian guy knew about Chet. So, Arthit is okay with people knowing about him and Chet, but not with him. And that Ian guy was so rude. Who the hell talks to people like that? Why was Arthit acting so strange with that Ian guy?

Arthit silently observed Kongpob from the side. Is it possible for Kongpob to look even hotter? Well, he didn't think so until now.

Looking at Kongpob's profile with his jaws clenched, and his nostrils flaring made Arthit want to suck on that long exposed neck of Kongpob's.  Who knew an angry Kongpob can look so hot? Hey, angry sex sounds hot.

After driving for about thirty minutes, Arthit had finally decided to break the silence. "Kongpob, how much longer are you going to stay mad?"

"Well, do you care to tell me who that Ian was?"

Arthit sighed. "He's my brother's friend. I kind of grew up around him. He is nobody important."

Kongpob knew there was more to it, but it didn't seem like Arthit wanted to talk about it. Not wanting to ruin the rest of the day, he changed the subject. "Where else did you want to go to?"

"Let's take Popeye home. We can relax a little before tonight." Arthit said as he continued to stare at Kongpob. He was relieved that Kongpob didn't ask any further about Ian. Maybe on another day, just not now.

"Where are we going tonight? I'm not really in the mood." Kongpob kept looking straight even through he can feel a hole was about to bore into him.

"Well, I wanted you to meet a friend of mine."

"Really?" Kongpob turned his head quickly to look at Arthit. A smile slowly forming on his face.

"Yes. We are going to his house for dinner. His wife is an amazing cook. Maybe I should buy some fruits or pick up a bottle of wine for them."

Kongpob's mood instantly lifted. The fact that Arthit wanted to introduce him to anybody was exciting for him. He pushed that Ian guy to the back of his mind. Maybe someday Arthit will be comfortable enough to tell him about that Ian guy, just not today.

~~~~~~

It was still early in the evening. Kongpob was driving into a part of town that he wasn't too familiar with. It got more and more rundown as he got closer to the address Arthit had put into his gps. They stopped in front of an old yellow apartment complex that was 5 stories high. Kongpob saw an open spot, and parked his car. He looked up and down the street, and it was practically empty.

"We are here. Let's go." Arthit said cheerfully, and got out of the car.

"Arthit, are you sure this is the right place? It's so quiet. Is this building even occupied?"

"Of course it is. Come on. My friend is expecting us." Arthit held the bottle of wine that he randomly grabbed from Kongpob's collection, and proceeded to walk to the front doors.

So Kongpob just picked up his steps, and followed Arthit inside. Once inside, both men noticed that the elevators had an 'out of order' sign stuck on them. So, they had no choice but to climb the stairs up to the fifth floor. Kongpob has never been to a building like this before. Most of the apartments they passed by seemed vacant.

Kongpob followed Arthit, and walked all the way to the end of the hall before stopping in front of a white door. Arthit turned to look at Kongpob, and helped fix his collar. Kongpob was wearing a navy blue button down shirt paired with a pair of perfectly fitted gray slacks. Arthit couldn't help himself from checking Kongpob's ass in those ass hugging slacks.

"We should go home if you continue to look at me like that." Kongpob smirked.

Arthit used his right hand, and squeezed Kongpob's very tempting ass.

"That should hold me over." Arthit smiled before he pressed the doorbell.

Ding Dong. Ding Dong.

A man came to open the door. He had a warm friendly smile on his tired face.

"Arthit, I'm so glad to see you." The man hugged Arthit tightly.

"It's good to see you too Knot." Arthit said with slight difficulty breathing.

Arthit tapped the man's shoulder to let him know he should release him.

"So, you must be Kongpob. I'm Knot." Knot said extending his hand.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Kongpob Suthilak." Kongpob shook Knot's hand, but was startled when the latter pulled him in for a half hug patting his back.

A woman holding a dish in her hand walked by. "Arthit, you're here. Dinner is almost ready."

The woman placed the dish down on the dining table, before making her way over to the three men.

"Neem, come meet Arthit's friend, Kongpob." Knot said to his wife gesturing her to quickly come.

Neem smiled brightly, but looked equally as tired as her husband. She came over, and gave Arthit a warm hug.

"Arthit, you look good, not as skinny as the last time I saw you." Neem said as she pulled away from their hug.

"Are you calling me fat?" Arthit chuckled.

"What if I am?" Neem teased. She turned to Kongpob, giving him a once-over.

"Hello, I'm Neem. I'm Knot's wife. Arthit is like a brother to me." Neem extended her hand to Kongpob.

"It's nice to meet you Neem. I'm Kongpob Suthilak." Kongpob shook her hand.

Neem smiled, and then turned to Arthit. "Arthit, is he really just a friend? I have a few single friends that I'm sure they would be interested." She winked at Arthit.

Kongpob smiled, and waited for Arthit's response.

Arthit glared at Neem. "You leave my boyfriend alone." Arthit shoved the bottle of wine to Neem, and wrapped his arm around Kongpob's waist pulling him closer.

"Really? So you two are together?" Knot asked looking at the two men surprised.

"Of course they are honey. When has Arthit ever brought anyone to meet us, and at our home at that." Neem smiled as Knot put his arm around her shoulders.

"Yeah, that's enough. So when can we eat? Neem, do you need any help?" Arthit offered.

Neem handed the bottle of wine to Knot. "Sure. Come help me. Honey, you entertain Kongpob." Neem said as she tugged Arthit's sleeve to drag him into the kitchen with her.

"Kongpob, come have a seat over here." Knot led Kongpob to their living room sofa.

"Care for anything to drink? Should I open the bottle?" Knot asked.

"Thanks, but I'm okay for now." Kongpob said looking around the modest home. There was two bedrooms, and the living room and dining were right next to each other.

"So, Kongpob, I hope you don't mind me being forward. Arthit is not only my best friend, but he is like a brother to me. Please don't play around with him. That Chet never deserved him, but Arthit was too stubborn to walk away until he got hurt." Knot said looking straight at Kongpob.

Kongpob should feel intimidated, but he doesn't. There's not much that scares him. In matter of fact, he is happy to know that Arthit has friends like this in his corner.

"I'm glad that Arthit has a friend like you. I will try my best to take care of him. He deserves better, and I hope I can be that for him." Kongpob said sincerely.

"So, what do you do Kongpob?" Knot asked.

"I do a little bit of everything. Mostly investments. What about you?"

"I'm a civil engineer like Arthit. We went to school together." Knot said.

"Dinner is ready." Neem said loudly to get the two men's attention.

They all had a good time eating and joking around. Kongpob started to really like Knot, and his wife Neem. They seemed really genuine and warm. He has also never seen Arthit so carefree laughing and joking. What a beautiful sight.

"So how's work?" Arthit asked Knot.

"It's not so great. I heard some rumors about layoffs by the end of the quarter. I'm not sure which departments will be affected." Knot said looking down at his glass of wine.

"What are you planning to do?" Arthit asked concerned.

"I'm looking for another job. You know I can't afford to be unemployed."

Neem grabbed her husband's hand. "I'm sorry my mom has all these bills."

"She's my mom too. Don't worry. Everything will be fine." Knot said to Neem. He really doesn't want Neem to feel bad about her mother's dialysis bills.

"I'll keep an eye out for any openings at my company." Arthit said.

"Thanks. It would be great if we ever got to work together. Your company has some of the hottest projects right now. Especially the SuSus Project."

Arthit looked at Kongpob, and the latter just smiled.

Knot pulled out his phone when he felt it buzz.

"Bright says he wants us to stop by his bar. He has souvenirs for us from his Maldives trip."

"It's just going to be another loud t-shirt." Arthit said laughing.

"Is it the bar that I had dropped you off on the first day?" Kongpob asked.

Arthit turned to look at Kongpob all dreamily. He can't believe Kongpob remembers so much of their first time meeting.

"Yes. You wanna go meet a loud buffoon?" Arthit asked as he intertwined his hand in Kongpob's on the table.

"Aww....honey, look at them." Neem said to her husband.

Knot could only smile. Arthit was never heart eyes, and clingy like this with Chet. Not even at the beginning of their relationship. Knot just hopes this time Arthit won't get hurt.