"Asshole," Becca muttered as she stormed past Mitch in the staff room, her long black ponytail swishing in her wake.

She wasn't wrong, but he wasn't sure how he'd triggered her anger this time. Perhaps she'd just taught those wild primary three students who drove her up the wall.

Shawn, who stood at Mitch's side, crossed his arms across his chest. The fluorescent lighting washed out his sepia-brown skin. "Again?"

"Maybe it's her time of the month."

"You're proving her point."

Mitch placed his students' workbooks on his desk. "I don't know why she's upset about what happened. I am an asshole, and I've never hidden that. People understand when a dog pisses on a lawn, that's what dogs do. Why is it shocking when I break off a fling?"

"Because dogs are cute and loveable," Shawn said.

"I'm attractive and funny."

Shawn shook his head and walked around to his well-organized desk across from Mitch's. "I think you forgot modest."

After letting out a laugh, Mitch grabbed the toy basketball on his desk to toss in the air. "Seriously though, she's known me two years and expected what, that if we hooked up enough, she'd discover some secret key to making me a loving and compassionate partner?"

"You were on and off for almost three months. It was misleading."

Mitch tossed the ball at the homemade basket they hung on a nearby pillar. "You would have done the same. The sex was mind-blowing."

Shawn's shoulders tensed. "Don't say things like that here!"

As Mitch recovered the ball, he looked around the office at the two other foreign teachers far in the kindergarten section who either wore headphones or who were napping at their desks. The rest of the rows of desks were empty, overlooked by a few motivational posters and racks of teaching supplies. Only the hum of the overworked air-conditioner filled the room. Fridays weren't the most productive days at the international school. None of their Thai coworkers who'd be offended had this prep period, and Becca's desk was tucked around the corner with the junior high teachers and specialists so she wouldn't overhear.

Shawn ran a hand over his short black afro. "You're lucky Becca hasn't quit or taken it up with the administration."

"What would she say? I agreed to sleep with this guy, we slept together a lot, and now I'm pissed because I assumed he'd want a serious relationship even though he explicitly and repeatedly said he didn't."

"Whatever you do, don't pull this with Maria."

His eyes darted to her empty desk next to his. The image of the newer Filipina-Canadian teacher dancing in the rain at the beach last weekend fill his mind, the drenched yellow dress clinging to her curves. She'd pressed her body into his as they danced and their lips grew closer. Why did that memory keep replaying over the one where they'd actually made out? Probably because they'd left the night unfinished, her too freshly hurt by her ex and him respecting that she'd asked him for space and to just be friends. The future still held some promise.

"Did you hear me, Mitch?" Shawn's umber eyes were trained on Mitch. "You know Maria's not in a place to handle your hook-ups. If you hurt her and she quits, I'll tell the admin to send you back too. It was hard enough to find anyone to replace Sunshine and Dan in the first place."

The ball dropped from Mitch's hands and landed on the floor with a dull thud. Shawn couldn't mean that. He knew damn well why Mitch didn't plan to return to the US. They'd had each other's backs since they were in diapers, and despite everything that transpired at home, Shawn had stood by him and had done so the past three years in Bangkok.

"You couldn't do that." Shawn might have been the keystage leader of their teaching group, but he didn't have administrative hiring and firing powers.

"Just don't hurt her, and it won't be a problem. There are plenty of other women in Bangkok."

Mitch wished it was that simple, yet Maria had this effect on him that was equal parts reassuring and scary. Walking away was the safest bet for both of them, but it would be more exhilarating not to, and he loved risks.

***

Saturday, Mitch hurried up the steps to his apartment. Not because he had anywhere to be. It was early, and he hadn't made plans, but it gave him a rush. His face was hot and his overgrown blond hair stuck to his sweaty face as he reached the fifth floor. Air from the open windows of the street-facing balcony hallway cooled his skin. Further down, Maria stood at his door in a pair of tight denim shorts and a t-shirt crop top. She clutched a large container in one hand and the other was raised to knock. He smiled and slowed his pace when she put down her arm and shook her head. Was she nervous or reconsidering last week's hook-up offer? He perked up at the thought despite Shawn's warning. When she stepped back, he approached, a squeaky shoe betraying his snooping.

"Please continue, I'm dying to know what happens next," he teased.

She frowned as she turned toward him, probably upset about getting caught. The way she froze and her eyes roamed him made sexy thoughts infiltrate his brain. Sexy thoughts she rejected despite wanting you. Get your head on straight.

"What's up?" he asked.

He approached her, which only caused her to tense more. Was he scaring her? He'd never given her a reason to fear him. She clutched the container that had fogged up like it held something warm. The onion and fish scent hit him like walking into a cozy kitchen in the dead of winter. Did she cook for him? She entertained his uncontrollable need to taste what she'd already made since they were neighbours and the smell drifted into his apartment, but she wouldn't go out of her way for him. Not when she wanted her distance after last weekend.

"Are those leftovers? You read my mind."

Her pinched lips softened into a smile. "Yeah." He looked into her warm brown eyes. "It's to thank you for being so accommodating and helping me pay for the beach trip."

He'd forgotten about that. "Thanks, you didn't need to." He unlocked the door and accepted the container. As he held the door open, he asked, "Want to come in?"

She blushed. "Oh, that wasn't why I—"

"Have you eaten?"

"I was about to."

"Then join me. It's boring eating alone."

Although he'd love to keep her cooking to himself, he enjoyed her company as much as her food. She had a similar laid-back but no-bullshit spunk that he missed after Sunshine moved back to Canada. Maria was softer than her cousin, and too trusting, but she had held her own and with the way she declined Mitch's offer, she was learning.

She followed him inside as he dropped his sports bag near his desk.

"Nice photos," Maria commented, standing at the privacy wall near his bed where he'd hung assorted photos of landscapes, cultural objects, and people he'd collected since he moved here. Most of his coworkers complained about the cramped nature of their bachelor-style apartments, but he found a one-room home suited his lifestyle. 

"Did you take them?" she asked.

"No, they're knick-knacks from markets and travels." Mitch set the food on his table and pulled two bowls off a high shelf he'd built from discarded pallets.

She walked toward a picture of a sunset over a wheat field where a man stood alone and facing away.

"I wonder what he's avoiding," she said.

She studied the only object, hung in the far corner of the room, that was meaningful to him. Shawn had brought the photo from Nebraska last time he visited and wouldn't let Mitch refuse it. Mitch had hidden it as the new frame had felt bizarre, the old one shattered by his hands. Two months ago, he'd found it tucked in the bottom of a drawer and hung it up. His uneasy stomach told him he should have left the thing hidden away. 

Mitch's bare feet stuck to the floor as he approached her. "Why do you think he's avoiding something?"

"He seems detached like his mind has wandered, but his body is still there."

Mitch stared at her, then shook his head. He scratched at the base of his skull as his mouth went dry. More often than he liked, she saw too much.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're a total weirdo?" he said with a laugh.

"Sorry, I'll chill over here." She sat on his couch and gazed at her hands.

Shit, that was supposed to be a joke. He was making her as uncomfortable as he was. He could turn this around.

"It's okay." He grinned. "It's only natural to try to impress me with your art analysis."

Maria crossed her arms, but her smile returned. "If I was trying to impress you, it would not be with my art commentary."

Mitch raised an eyebrow and took a few steps closer. "So what would you do?"

"I" Her brow furrowed.

"It wouldn't be cooking for me, would it?"

"No, I cooked a big batch and hoped I could trade food for help to get set up for tutoring."

Mitch nodded and kicked himself for forgetting that promise. He had meant to arrange that this week, but after last weekend, his thoughts had strayed. He walked to his table to pour the soup into bowls. After inhaling the sour and fish aroma, his stomach growled. Flashes of weekends at the lake, eating their bigger catches of the day, hit him for a moment. He focused on Maria instead. "This isn't that catfish soup you talked about weeks ago, is it?"

She nodded. "Our conversation made me crave it."

He handed her a hot bowl of soup and a spoon then returned to get his own, and they sat together on his couch.  He ate a few spoonfuls of his soup. "This is kick-ass. Can you show me how to make this sometime?"

Maria blushed a little more. "Thanks, not sure if it's that amazing, but I can teach you or you could watch the video from my cooking channel."

"You're still doing that even after the contest?"

As if learning to be a teacher and moving to a different continent to escape an abusive ex weren't enough, she'd also participated in an online social media cooking contest when she first arrived. He had no idea where she found the energy.

"I might have opted out of the final round, but I picked up fans and sponsors."

"I can't see why you wouldn't. This is delicious." He had another few slurps to reinforce his point. When he ate the catfish, he nodded in approval. She bit her lip, and he forced his mind not to wander. "So tutoring, huh? You're okay taking on that and teaching?"

"I'll try once a week to start. I sort of need to."

"Fifa's parents have been asking the most, but I think you'd be a better fit for Min Min. She's easy to work with, though she's a chatterbox, so if you give her some themed vocabulary and sentence structures to practice, she'll chat your ear off. Maybe you can get it out of her system so she'll focus more in class."

"I make no promises. I was the same way in school. Sometimes a girl's got to talk."

Mitch's lips curled into a half-smile. "I wouldn't have guessed that."

"I'm Sunshine's cousin, remember?"

"Fair point. I'm guessing you would be a hard pair to have together."

"We drove our parents nuts. What about you?"

"Me?" Mitch asked and stared down at his soup, creating small ripples with his spoon. His chest grew tight.

"Yeah, you and Shawn. I can imagine the two of you raising hell as kids."

Mitch took a deep breath. She was just making normal conversation. Her interest in that picture had thrown him off. "Uh yeah, we could be little shitlets."

"You okay?" Maria set her bowl on his coffee table.

Crap, she noticed. He was slipping more than he should.

"Yeah, we would play all kinds of tricks on our parents, stay out way too late, build pretty epic forts." His words felt forced and emotionless.

Leaving her out of his answer was a betrayal, one of many in his past, but it hurt too damned much to even think of her name, let alone deal with questions Maria would have if he spoke it. She leaned her head on his tense shoulder. It relaxed seconds later, and he drew her closer with his free arm. He should have grabbed a beer to numb this feeling, but he clung to her instead.

"Sounds pretty great," she said.

Mitch nodded and rested his chin on the top of her head. They stayed there for a minute while he calmed his racing heart and returned his mind to the present where it belonged. He was in Thailand, his life was here, and whatever had happened in Nebraska remained sealed away with the ocean's protection. He sat up straighter and finished his soup.

Maria dug through her purse. Her face fell as she counted her bills.

He hated that even though she was free of her abusive ex, she still had a debt on her shoulders. "It's fine, Maria. I don't need the cash. You saved me drink money with your dancing. It's like a natural high. So we're even for the trip."

"Please take it."

Her eyes conveyed that in the same way he needed to leave his life in the US, she had to repay him.

"If you insist, but you're keeping this for the soup." He handed her 100 baht.

Her hands stayed in her lap. "You don't have to pay me for a gift."

"I pay the same for soup from the street vendors. It's not half this good or this quantity."

"I ate part of it."

"Small price for your company."

"Now I feel like a hooker."

Mitch laughed, and it dispelled some tension lingering in his chest. She bumped his shoulder and pouted. He scooted away, so he wouldn't act impulsively.

Maria's phone buzzed a few times like she was getting a call. Tom's name flashed on the screen, and her eyes widened. She cursed under her breath. Her reaction was reassuring since Tom's interest seemed way too quick. Last weekend, she'd been dodging international calls from her shady ex and contemplating forgiving his deadbeat ass. The last thing she needed was Tom trying to date her.

"Am I keeping you from something?" Mitch asked.

"I forgot I'm supposed to meet someone. Thanks for sharing your gift soup, and if you could talk to Min Min's parents, I'll cook a new meal for you every week for a month."

It was weird she felt like she had to earn his help somehow. "I'll never say no to delicious food, but I'll help you either way."

"Thanks, Mitch."

She wrapped her arms around him in a quick embrace. He pulled her close without meaning to, taking in her coconut and soup scent, and rocked her from side to side. Her hugs were addictive, melting away his tenseness. For once, he envied Tom.

"Enjoy your date with carrot top," he said.

She stiffened, and he responded by stroking her arm.

"First, it's not a date, and second, how do you know what I'm doing?"

Mitch laughed. "Tom likes to run his mouth when he thinks it's a competition."

She tensed more and whispered, "You didn't tell him about last weekend, did you?"

It was messed up her ex had conditioned her to fear attention from men. All they had done was make out and dance, and Tom was just a friend at best. He shouldn't be judging her for having some much-needed fun.

"No, I'm keeping my promise. Shawn doesn't know either, otherwise, he would have sat us both down about it."

She sighed. "Thanks."

"Anytime." He winked.

Maria laughed and walked toward the front door. "Enjoy your evening. Try not to keep me up all night with, you know," she called out as she put on her shoes.

Mitch chuckled. The thin wall between their apartments had led to some awkwardness in the past. But it had probably instilled the idea that he knew his way around women's bodies. "That goes both ways."

"I'm not like that!"

He laughed, and he poked his head around the privacy wall. "Have fun at the very least." Tom's company would make it a challenge, but Maria had to like something about him if she agreed to go.

"Thanks." She hesitated as she reached for the doorknob. If he didn't know better, he'd suspect she didn't want to leave. But she stepped out a second later. He'd still count it as one point Mitch zero Tom.