The boy opened his eyes and, immediately remembering yesterday's phone conversation with Jake, covered himself head to toe with the blanket and whimpered quietly, squinting his eyes:

"Gods, I really hope Lion didn't think I was some kind of horny asshole! It's not a bad thing that I'm preparing for our intimacy in advance, is it? Will he understand me right? It's so embarrassing now... but how good it was yesterday, mmmmm. So good that even thinking about it again.... I'll probably faint from over-excitement and over-excitement when it happens..."

"Buddy, are you awake already?" - Pruit's quiet voice brought Hope out of his bashful thoughts.

"I'm awake! Hi!" - The guy sat up abruptly and the blanket fell over his feet.

"Ugh! Why do you scare me...? Okay, I want to talk to you..." - Pruit was serious.

"What's wrong? Is this about Jean?" - Hope flustered, remembering the incident with Phichit yesterday.

"Yeah... Jean..." - sadness and concern were now read in his classmate's face

"Speak up, already! Is she so worried that she's depressed? Or on the contrary, has she decided to meet Phichit one-on-one and tear her hair out? Man, you can never guess with her... Well?" - While his friend remained silent, Hope speculated.

"Hoooooope, she said... we're not going to have intimacy anymore... Here! On the sea!!!" - Pruit threw himself on a nearby bed and began shaking the elder by the arm, while sobbing loudly in a mock sobbing tone.

"Gods... What have I been through all this for! Let go!" - Hope rubbed his forehead and eyes with his free hand, scolding himself in his thoughts for once again buying into those distraught eyes, while he tried unsuccessfully to free the other from his tight grip.

"Understand me, buddy! I'm hooked! I'm a Jeanomaniac! I can't live without a sweetie! What am I gonna do?" - the theater of one not-so-good actor continued.

"Pruit! Knock it off! I understand your worries, but it's only for six partial days. And, come to think of it, there are other options..." - Hope uttered these words machine-like, and immediately regretted it when Pruit, perking up, abruptly stopped whining, and asked a question:

"Which ones are those?"

"Well, I don't know. Like phone sex..." - Hope stood up and walked briskly toward the bathroom, wanting to get away from the questions that were sure to follow his answer. And he was as good as gone:

"Wait! How's that?"

"Think for yourself!" - The headman slammed the door shut and breathed a sigh of relief, glad to be alone.

He had showered and brushed his teeth when there was a knock on the door and Pruit's voice came through:

"Hope, there's this... Your cell phone kept ringing and I answered it..."

"Who was calling?" - Hope immediately jumped out of the bathroom, hoping it wasn't Jake.

"Well, it's... I saw that this is the third time you've gotten a call from some Lion with three hearts on it - it's obviously your crush, since there are so many hearts... And... I couldn't resist... I tried really hard though! I did! I was biting my hands. Look at this. Anyway... call P'Jake back," Pruit scratched the back of his head and his cheeks reddened, clearly feeling guilty, but at the same time, the gleam in his eyes gave away that the tree of crazy thoughts was already blossoming and would start to bear fruit.

Hope snatched the phone and made his way to his bed. Turning his back to his roommate, he quickly renamed Lion in his phone to just "Coach," regretting that he'd emotionally labeled him that way in his phone yesterday after the phone call. The guy closed his eyes, imagining what awaited him now:

"Pruit won't be able to help himself and will of course tell Jean everything, and together they will be watching and noting every glance I cast at Lion. I dread to imagine what awaits me."

"Don't worry, my friend! I'm wont't tell anyone, you know. That information won't leak anywhere from this vessel. Come on, are you two dating? Or what?" - Hope turned to the man who was already lying belly-down on the bed, resting his head on his right arm and hugging the pillow with his left, smiling the most soulful smile he could muster. The embarrassment was washed away from that face in seconds.

"Or what. Don't ask questions. And, I really hope you forget about it..." - sighing, the headman began to reply, but was interrupted:

"Forget? What do you mean? I won't be able to forget it, that's for sure, if they haven't invented a special pill yet."

"We should check with Grandpa, see if he has one in his suitcase," Hope muttered to himself.

"Say what?" - To Hope's delight Pruit obviously hadn't heard his friend's last remark.

"Nothing. What did P'Jake say?"

"Ahhh, Lion said he was going to ride the waves, asked if you'd go. Oh, also specified that he was on his way to the equipment hangar already. I guess that's the boarded-up structure where Jean and I...? Are you guys on a date? Or can I join?"

"Aaaarrrrrrrrrrr," was all Hope could reply, for what was happening was exactly what he'd expected from his diehard hopeless friend.

"Wait a minute! I think I speak animal, and that means I'm allowed to go too! I rrrrrrrad!" - Pruit mimed a tiger, jumped up three times on his bed, and rushed to his clothes closet.

"Oh! Why?" - Hope looked up to the ceiling, mentally appealing to the gods. There was no response, so he walked over to Pruit and said quietly:

"Friend, you do realize the heaviness of my situation, don't you? Can you keep your temper in check? Please don't call him that. In case someone hears and gets interested."

This time Pruit didn't make a joke, "Understood. Accepted. I won't. Will you give me the details?"

"No, there won't be any details. Just know that he's very important to me, and our feelings are mutual," friendship implied honesty, but if you started telling their story, you'd have to mention the Club and your job, and Hope couldn't do that.

***

When the guys arrived at the meeting place, there were three people waiting for them: Jake, C, and Fridey. After greeting each other, the guys supported the center's suggestion and decided to warm up by jogging on the beach first.

"Hope, since you're in charge, you'll have to take over helping P'Jake with the boards. I dibs on the prettiest one!" - Pruit winked at his friend and, lighting up everything around him with his smile, rushed after the others.

"Your friend seems okay, it's like he read my mind," Lion's warm voice suddenly sounded near his ear, making him flinch slightly as he closed his eyes for a second and thought about turning back time and taking his cell phone with him to the bathroom.

Hope turned his head and looked into the dark smiling eyes and then at his neck, bare torso, counted all the cubes, then his gaze slid lower to the tight long black swim pants and settled on the bulge. A second. And the guy turned away abruptly, remembering yesterday and wanting to burn here and now with shame:

"He'll definitely think I'm horny. I can't control myself when I'm around him. Why did I even look over there?"

"Let's go to the hangar. The manager said we could take everything ourselves today," Lion said and walked toward the building, and Hope followed, looking under his feet.

When the boy entered and looked around, he didn't see the man and went to look for him deeper into the structure:

"P'Jake?"

After another rack of boxes he was pulled sharply by the wrist and found himself in the hot embrace of his lover.

"I feel like an alcoholic who quit drinking and suddenly relapsed. I promised I'd be more careful. But...it's not all my fault, is it? That look in your eye... you almost ate me with your eyes. Add to that last night's fun and what I found out... Gods, my head has been off for a while now. Kitten..." - Jake said this in a whisper in the boy's ear, breathing in a parallel breath of fervor at the roots of his hair. Hope didn't move, feeling a chill of excitement, in his mind everything was already happening here and now among all this junk.

"Lion..." - was all he could say as he pressed the man's naked torso tighter and tighter against his shaking body.

Jake pulled his head away and looked into the two darkening oceans:

"I want to run away with you. It doesn't matter where. Just to be together away from all these people."

"And I...I would sacrifice everything so that the stream of time would continue to flow just for us and everything else would stand still," Hope expressed what he had so passionately dreamed of and initiated a passionate kiss.

"There is no world! There is only you!" - Hope completely dissolved in the man, whose smell, body, voice, ardent and at the same time tender touch filled him and all the space around him with a sweet stupefying feeling.

How long had it lasted? Neither of them would likely be able to answer that question. It was seconds and minutes of hugging, touching, kissing and sinking into each other.

"Ahem!!! Ahem- Ahem!!! C, Fridey, look at the beach! They probably decided to stretch out too!" - Pruit shouting at the top of his voice abruptly pulled the couple out of the swamp of pleasure they were drowning in, completely blacking out.

Jake pressed Hope against the wall and silently made a hand sign to stand still and let him handle it. But the boy smiled and, correcting the bulge, whispered:

"It's all right. He knows about us."

It was that first moment when Hope mentally showered Pruit with thanks for such a timely rescue.

When they emerged from behind the racks, Pruit whistled a cheerful song at the door and looked around, clearly guarding the secluded couple from prying eyes.

"Are you guys done yet?"  - Hope called out to his friend.

"Are you?" - The man snidely answered the question with a question, but when he saw the teacher approaching the surfboards, he immediately made a serious face and added: "We've had a good stretch. Time to conquer a few dozen waves!"

Hope and Jake couldn't contain their smiles.

***

After an hour alone with the water and wind, the coach and the guys went to get ready for breakfast. A hotel employee met them in the lobby and, having clarified which of them was Hope from room 207, handed the guy an envelope and explained: "Khun Oliver flew out last night for a couple of days on business and asked me to give you this"

Jake immediately shifted his eyebrows, he clearly didn't like this prank by the Rock.

"Who is this Khun and what is it?" - A curious Pruit asked, looking at the envelope over his friend's shoulder.

"The owner of the hotel. Doesn't matter. Let's go get ready," Hope wanted to immediately tear without reading what was in his hands, but the rules of decorum prevented him from doing so in front of the hotel staff, and he nodded encouragingly to Lion and walked toward the stairs.

As the guys entered their room, a text came through on Hope's phone:

<Jake: "What's up? Send a picture of the note.">

The guy, smiling at his lover's obvious jealousy, made his way to his room and, sitting down on his bed, opened the envelope:

"Hope, I apologize for the way I behaved when I met you, I couldn't keep my cool. Your blows were justified. I overestimated myself. My offer still stands. I can give you anything you want and more. I hope you'll change your mind by the time I get back. I'm not sure you'll be able to make it with this man. I look forward to seeing you again! Oliver."

Hope didn't want to send this note to Lion and worry him unnecessarily, but his principles also included honesty and openness to the people he cared about, so he quickly took a picture, sent it to Lion, tore up the sheet and threw it in the trash.

His phone alerted with a text message:

<Jake: "Will you tell me the whole story the first chance you get? I want to know it so I can own the situation. I wonder what he did that made you throw a few punches at him. And what's that sentence?">

<Hope: "I will. I'll tell you right away, I have no feelings for this man, and this story isn't worth your trouble.">

<Jake: "I'll decide for myself if it is or isn't when I hear the details. See you at breakfast, kitten." >

***

Hope and his friends had already begun to eat the appetizing-looking dishes when Troy and Panit came to their table, holding hands.

Grandpa cheerfully greeted the youngsters, and first of all introduced Panit to everyone present, then helped his little boy to sit down at the table, elegantly pushing back his chair, and went to get food for the two of them, as breakfast was buffet style.

"P, it's good to see you! How are you resting here?" - Hope started the conversation while Pruit and Jean whispered quietly at the other end of the table.

"And it's good to see you too... ha ha, AGAIN. To be honest, I see you a lot, since we're here on a... 'special mission'... Ah, look, my Yeti is sexy as hell when he's happy," the scrawny guy murmured and chuckled quietly, nodding towards his beloved. He was standing, arms crossed, at one of the counters where the cook was preparing two scrambled eggs for him. Troy was in the best of spirits today, giving everyone around him a charming smile. His hair was styled up, his light gray light, tight suit emphasized his outstanding physique, and his white shirt with a stand-up collar and two top buttons unbuttoned exposed his firm, tanned chest.

Hope stretched his smile as he looked at Grandpa, and without stopping to grin, said, almost without moving his lips:

"Does he watch me? How often? In what way?"

"Don't worry. There are no bugs on you. But... he has a couple of long-range surveillance toys. Today he got up at 6am and was running somewhere, I don't think just to admire the bay, hee hee. Good thing my restless commander went without me this time.  I'm exhausted, really, as if it were me in my sixties," Panit was clearly amused by the situation, unlike his youngest, who realized how serious Grandpa's plans were and, biting his lip, asked:

"Next time, please warn me in advance when he's going hunting."

"Why? Is there something to hide? Have you already had something?" - Panit spoke softly almost in Hope's ear.

"P, don't embarrass me... And how can there even be anything here? There's spies all around and danger of being discovered. Grandpa's watching me, Oliver's figured it out, and Pruit... found out today, too... I guess it's the only way to go..." - Hope saw no way out of the situation, and was willing to silently accept that what he so badly wished for wouldn't happen at sea.

"How SO?" - The older man's eyebrows rose upward.

The boy realized that he had said something unnecessary again and hurriedly ran away from the answer, shoving almost half of the puffy bun into his mouth, but it didn't fly:

"Nong, you're so obvious. Alright, I'll text you back. Don't think I'll just let it go. Since you've already initiated me and I'm your mentor, I really want to know the details so I can refer you in case of anything."

"You're not the only one..." - Hope kept glancing at the bantering couple across the room, who kept throwing burning carnivorous glances at him every now and then.

"Pruit, who said he was a 'grave' the other day? Don't go to a fortune teller, there's a new addition to the ranks of the know-it-alls," the guy's thoughts were bursting out with sad sighs.

"Oh, look who's at the next table! Panit nodded his head in the direction where Jake was eating breakfast alone.

Hope looked at Lion for a second and then lowered his head in embarrassment, "P, don't look in his direction."

"Why not, ha, he was all right in a thong, Snowy even took a picture to remember, oh, even a few..."

"Are you boys discussing me?" - Troy approached the table with a tray. Pruit and Jean apologized and took turns winking at Hope and bowed out, making way for the gray-haired man.

"Uh-huh, Panit ratted you out. Is that true? Grandpa, are you following me?" - The boy frowned.

"Did you think I came here just to wear out my new suits? Right, and you, soldier, are going to be punished for revealing secrets!" - Troy squinted his eyes in the direction of his soulmate.

"I'll be glad to receive that honor," the green-eyed traitor chuckled.

Then Hope noticed the English teacher who had taken a seat next to Jake and was chirping merrily about something. And then... she reached over to the man, bending over so that her boobs were practically falling out and blotted his lips with a napkin. 

"What was that just now?", Hope shuddered at the insolence of this WITCH, now in his mind this woman, whom he had always treated with respect, sounded and looked just like that.

"Keep your eyes peeled! They're about to fall out on the table, just like her breasts. Hehehe," Grandpa laughed. Panit looked disapprovingly at his Snowy, then put his arm around the younger one and whispered:

"There's no cause for concern. You know he's strictly for boys."

"Well, that's so reassuring. I was 'exclusively on girls' two weeks ago too. Ha ha ha!" - Troy was having fun, and Panit, waving his fork, swiped the last sausage from his plate in a swift motion, and then defiantly with an obvious hint, greedily nibbled at it and swallowed it.

"And then what? How will you be able to live without Snowy Jr.?" - While Grandpa flirted with his baby, Hope watched the continued flirting at a neighboring table. Khun Radi spilled juice on Jake's pants, hitting the glass with her ample breasts. The man stood up, shaking off his pants, and she, groaning and squatting, was already reaching her hands with a napkin to his crotch in an attempt to wipe up the stain. This picture had already attracted the attention of everyone in the restaurant. 

Jake caught Hope's gaze and immediately grabbed the woman's forearm sharply, brought her upright, and spoke clearly in a voice that tolerated no objection:  

"Nong Radi! Please stop these inappropriate actions. Leave me alone and eat your breakfast at your table from now on, the seat next to me is occupied. Have I made myself clear to you?"

The teacher blushed and stalked out of the restaurant, while Jake sat back down and glanced at the table next to him, where the people at the table were staring at him. Hope bit his lip and smiled slightly, and Troy clapped his hands together silently a few times, mimicking applause, then turned his son's head toward him:

"Eat, come on. Don't get distracted."

"What a man! Snowy, is your son-in-law all right?" - Panit covered his mouth with a napkin and laughed softly.

"Shush! He's not a son-in-law yet. And you, son, be reasonable. Licking ice cream like that in front of the teacher, tsk-tsk-tsk. And the sauna was too long, not to mention what happened later in his room. If I hadn't gotten out so fast, I would have kept you company," Troy was saying this in between eating his omelet.

"You... well..." - Hope was slightly confused at the realization of the extent of his grandpa's surveillance, and didn't even know how to respond. Sighing, he continued quietly: "We're adults, Grandpa. It's going to be okay."

"Grown-ups? Something I have big doubts about. What was going on in the hangar today, are you out of your mind? Maybe I should follow you around as a bodyguard and chase that leech away. I can do that!" - Troy pulled away from his food and glared at Hope with a look of emerald eyes.

"Okay...I get it. You don't have to worry anymore," the young man muttered, realizing Grandpa was right about a lot of things.

"So, about that 'acquaintance' Oliver, I've figured it out. Or rather, it was Makoto's people who did it on Norman's tip. That rich bastard had not only photos, but videos. Bastard went to the club with a micro-camera, you know? What's with your eyes? I'm telling you, no more trouble, she's in a hospital bed for a long time now for all I know," Troy spoke calmly, trying to instill confidence, but Hope was still panicking:

"How many of these freaks go through that basement! I could be exposed at any moment."

It was as if Panit had read his mind:

"Don't worry. You're under the protection of the coach now, Nong. I mean, he's paid for time with you a month in advance."

"By the way! - The boy perked up, remembering what he wanted to talk to his guardian about. - Grandpa, maybe you could...I don't even know, help him out somehow? He owes a large sum to his parents and even sold his car. What's next? An apartment, a kidney, or worse..."

"Hmm, I knew about the car, but I didn't know about the debt, since that information Calleo couldn't find.... So, kid, come on, think about your studies, the adults will take care of everything," Troy said and moved the glass with juice and the plate with buns closer to his son.

***

The day passed cheerfully. Hope wrote a song for the Festival with his team, participated in the activities organized by Phichit, and in between checked in with Lion. During the afternoon break, Pruit excused himself from his teacher and ran away with Jean to the Hua Hin Market Village, which was 350 meters away from the hotel.

Hope finally had a chance to be alone, and he didn't hesitate. He climbed into the shower stall, turned on the water and used the gel to continue preparing for intimacy with Lion, even though he didn't believe it would happen anytime soon. As he plunged a third finger into his tender hole, moaning slightly in pleasure, the phone began to rattle loudly on the marble countertop on which the sink was set.

The guy ignored a couple of rings, not wanting to take a break from the business at hand, but the phone kept vibrating and he had to get out of the shower and pick it up.

It was Lion.

📞 "What are you doing? What took you so long to pick up?"

📞 "Maybe... I was sleeping and you were too pushy and woke me up," Hope wanted to tease Jake, but he wasn't buying it:

📞 "Maybe...? I think you was awake. I hear the sound of water, kitten."

Hope smiled at her man's insight:

📞 "I'm taking a shower."

📞 "That's all?"

📞 "You called at the wrong time...threw off the mood," Hope confessed quietly, wanting to hear what his Lion would say to that.

📞 "But now my...attitude is bursting out."

📞 "Now what do we do about it?" - Hope said playfully.

📞 "Shall we repeat yesterday's... conversation? I'm hooked. I want to repeat. You're not the only one having fun."

📞 "And I... want to... Oh! Grandpa's calling! Hang on!"

The cell phone informed of Troy's parallel call, and Hope picked up:

📞 "Yeah, Grandpa."

📞 "Panit and I are at your door. I've excused you. Let's go have some fun. Open up!" - The words were immediately followed by a beep, which meant no objections were accepted.

Sighing, Hope sadly informed Jake that their antics would have to endure, then hastily wiped himself and dressed to open the door for the guests.

Troy dragged the boys to the mall, and Hope seemed to walk endlessly with Grandpa, tailing the galloping Panit, whose eyes flashed with boutique names unfamiliar to the boy one by one.

Hope saw a couple of drugstores along the way and wanted to visit them to buy the necessary things on the advice of the older man, but did not dare to go there for two reasons, and both were connected with shame: the first in front of the salesman, as he would have to consult due to lack of experience, and the second in front of Grandpa, who would understand exactly what, for what and for whom it was bought.

At the end of their shopping, they decided to have a snack at one of the restaurants that occupied an entire floor of the mall. Panit chose the one with seafood, and now they were ordering. Hope often glanced through the glass doors and saw in the space between the rows the lower floor where one of the pharmacies was located.

"How can I escape? Can't go to the restroom, it's right here in the restaurant," while Hope was trying to come up with an escape plan, the older man jerked abruptly and spoke up:

"Snowy, I totally forgot I wanted to get something for...our evening vigils. I'll be quick, I promise! And don't you dare touch my shrimp! Hope, watch him. "I'm always missing goodies in my dishes."

Panit narrowed his eyes and made an 'I'm watching you' motion with two fingers, and Troy chuckled:

"It's not my fault that everything on your plate always tastes so much better than it does on mine. Run, I promise I won't touch anything."

Ten minutes later the guy came back with a bag and they started eating.

***

After returning from Hua Hin Market Village, Hope ran into his room to change into his swimming shorts. Evening basketball practice had been canceled because Phichit had games and competitions at the pool on the agenda. We had to hurry so we wouldn't be late.

Grabbing a towel, he was on his way to the door when there was a knock. Hope had just opened it when Panit burst into the room:

"Here. It's for you. I should have known right away, sorry."

He slipped the younger man a bag from the drugstore and, saying: "That's it, I'm running, Snowy will be out of the shower soon," he ran out of the room.

A bewildered Hope looked into the bag and blushed: two tubes of lube in different flavors and a huge number of condoms of different sizes and purposes.

"Gods, why so many? I wish I knew what's in here," the guy groaned. Walking to the bed, he dumped the contents of the package on the bedspread and began to study the received gift, forgetting about time.

"President, I've been looking for you..." - Pruit burst in like a hurricane and stunned, whistling: "Holy shit! Buddy, it's like I'm getting to know you all over again! Where did my humble Hope go, and who is this sexy monster?"

The guy sitting on the bed realized it was pointless to hide anything anymore and, cursing himself for being careless, began quietly gathering fifty rustling squares back into the bag.

"Come on. We're in a hurry," he said dejectedly slowly and quietly.

"Well, why did you curl up into a raisin right away? I'm... it's... friendly ready to support you. To be honest, I still can't get over it after I found out. Coach is good, but I still can't get my head around it. Jean, on the other hand, didn't even bat an eye..." - Pruit stammered, looking away.

"Eh, and he started off so well," Hope shook his head, lifting the corners of his lips. No, he wasn't mad at his friend, for he'd been prepared in advance for Jean to be the next to join the ranks of those who knew about his and Jake's relationship.

"I'm sorry... I'd die if I couldn't talk to someone about this..." - The boy stretched out guiltily.

"I know. It's okay. Let's go, or Phichit will suck your brain out," Hope stood up, put the bag in his locker and walked towards the exit, while Pruit, glad that his friend hadn't killed him for such a prank, galloped after him.

***

"President, you're out of control! I have to handle everything. I may want a vacation too, away from all this, but someone has to be responsible!" - Phichit stomped her foot as the guys walked out to the pools.

"You could have taken your time, your brain would have had to endure that verbal abuse anyway. Relax and enjoy yourself," Pruit whispered in Hope's ear and dived into the pool, giggling.

"Like a bomb!" - suddenly came Troy's voice, and everyone saw a gray-haired man in orange swim shorts rushing toward the water.

Grandpa flew past Hope and entered the water like an athlete, barely making a splash at all.

So many weirdos in this hotel," the blonde snorted and headed off to command the parade, while Hope waved to Grandpa, who had already surfaced and sighed in relief, and followed her to help organize the water activities.

It was chaos as nearly a hundred students wanted to participate in the contests and competitions. Phichit's plan did not allow for such a thing, and she stood at a loss. Hope took the lead, deciding to organize everyone into groups and pools, of which, thank the gods, there were five. After assigning scorers and judges to each group, the president handed the reins back to Phichit. She smiled appreciatively, which made the boy uncomfortable for a second. It wasn't that he didn't expect her to thank him-this beast had always treated him with respect-but her smile seemed nice and friendly.

Probably just seemed that way.

One of the pools was short a man for water polo, and Troy volunteered to participate, teaming up against Hope and Jake. Panit settled down on a sun lounger and quietly sipped lemonade from a tube, glancing at his man, who had no intention of leaving the two of them without his attention.

Witt had been put in charge of refereeing this match. The headman was fair, and, importantly, he knew the rules of the game.

Troy was a tough opponent, and Hope and Jake had to work up quite a sweat.

After twenty minutes of play, a man in a white polo shirt with a blue collar, shorts the color of a cloudless afternoon sky, dark blue glasses, and perfectly styled hair approached the pool. Hope broke away from the game, he was madly curious as to the purpose of Grandpa's right-hand man being here.

"Hia! Papers. End of the month!" it was a little wordy Calleo, he stood calmly by the pool and shook a folder of papers above his head.

"It's good to see you, my good man! Wait a bit, relax. There's no way I can do that yet. Have a drink of something on me!" - shouted Troy.

Toward the end of the four-period game, the referee indicated a change in possession of the ball, to which the gray-haired man reacted rather pointedly:

"Ref, open your eyes! He was drowning me!"

"No, it was a game moment. Throws off Hope's team!"

"Ref, what's your name?" - A confident Troy asked, swimming up to the side of the pool.

"Witt Chongrak, why?"

"Calleo, honey, would you be a dear and draw a mustache and horns on his social media avatar," the man crooned in a sweet voice while showing the judge all of his 32 snow-white teeth.

"Uh-huh," the man in the blue glasses opened up his laptop and, collapsing on the recliner, began to rapidly run his fingers over the keyboard.

Witt stood smiling, apparently unable to believe such a thing was possible, and Panit shook his head, marveling at the childish antics of his Yeti.

"Done," Calleo reported after just a minute, and closed the laptop and made himself comfortable, exposing his face to the rays of the sinking sun.

"No way," Witt snickered, getting on his phone, and a few seconds later he shrieked: "Oh, man! Did you know that's a violation of the law? Unauthorized access to private computer information. Have you read Computer Crimes Act number 2550?"

"Young man, you dare to report us?" - Troy looked meaningfully at the skinny kid.

"No, of course... But..." - Witt hesitated.

"Then let's get on with the game!" - summarized Grandpa cheerfully, and dived into the pool.

A couple minutes later the game was over and the breath-holding contest began; the president and coach were also participating, so Troy didn't plan to go ashore.

As Hope waited for his group's turn, he couldn't help but overhear the conversation.

"Khun, can I borrow your laptop for a bit?" - Witt approached the man in blue glasses.

"No," Calleo didn't even move.

"I'd like to try to do the same thing you did. Give me a chance to get even," the guy squatted down in front of the man sprawled out on the recliner.

Calleo raised himself up on one arm, shortening the distance between their faces, "I'm bored. I'll give you five minutes. The condition is that I watch."

"Could there be a surprise after all? I really won't go viral or break anything. I can be trusted..." - Witt said in a shy tone and dug his fingers into the mattress of the recliner.

The man lifted his glasses and, after holding his gaze on the boy's honest brown eyes for a few seconds, replied:

"Okay. Five minutes."

Witt smiled and took his laptop and sat down on a nearby recliner, while Calleo lowered his legs, crossed his arms and frowned, he clearly wasn't happy he'd agreed. So why had he done it?

Hope snickered and walked back over to a couple of hackers, swimming up to the edge. He did it just in time.

"Time," Calleo pronounced.

"Here you go. All set," the headman of the M6-4 class smiled, holding out the laptop.

The man's eyebrows crept upward and he uttered:

"Does my droopy gecko require comforting?"

"Ha, yeah. I changed my ava and spelled out my status back in the first minute, waiting for someone to respond. There's 24 messages already. I haven't read them, but I think you've been thrown some ideas for consolation," the guy spoke and laughed, covering his mouth.

Hope didn't know how Calleo would react, so he drew Grandpa's attention to what was going on.

The man in the blue glasses stood up abruptly and loomed over the skinny guy and, without saying a word, probably burned him with a look that was not visible behind the dark glasses. Witt shut up at once and made the most innocent and apologetic face Hope had ever seen in his life.

"Calleo, honey! This is the first time I've ever seen you angry, ha ha! Whatever that little guy did, I don't think it hurt you much," Troy interjected.

Calleo took a deep breath, went back to his recliner, and began masterfully fingering the keys again, apparently fixing what Witt had done. The boy squatted down beside him, peering at the monitor and chuckling. Strangely, the man didn't bother to shoo him away.

The sky, illuminated by the setting sun, changed its clothes every minute, trying on a variety of incredibly beautiful shades, and the wind changed the subjects of cloud patterns. It was as if Hope was watching a short theatrical performance, unable to take his eyes off the beauty, and feeling an indescribable heavenly happiness.

Jake was not far away, also leaning against the side of the pool, looking out toward the junction of the orange sky and the South China Sea. Their gazes met in an instant, and the boy felt incredibly content:

"If the sky is Earth's fifth ocean, then Lion is my personal sixth..."

He was pulled out of the romance of the moment by Panit's voice:

"Khun Troy, come in, come in! Earth calling! You'll be covered in scales soon! Come out already!"

"Did you miss me, baby?" - Troy swam closer to his soulmate.

"Your body is already soaked through with chlorine. And do you know how much I hate that smell? Until you've spent an hour in the bathtub with essential oils and gotten rid of the pool stench, stay out of bed," Panit was adamant.

Troy, peering at the couple at the opposite edge of the pool, reluctantly made his way outside:

"Whatever you say, my good man. Give me ten minutes, I'll settle things with my deputy and we'll go to the room...good thing the bathroom has a window and it overlooks the pool..."

He spoke the last phrase so that it would be heard by those it was intended for.

"I'll occupy your brain and your peepers with more important and interesting things," "Mommy" said it just as loudly, letting Hope know that he would divert his guardian's attention with all his might.

Hope turned to him and nodded gratefully, smiling. His gaze also caught on a couple in glasses. They were sitting next to each other, close together, discussing something passionately, looking at a laptop. Witt was commenting enthusiastically, exclaiming "Wow!", "Cool!", "I want to do that too!" and asking questions, and Calleo, in his own way, was answering one-word answers and often turning his head to his interlocutor's face. Or maybe it just seemed like it?

Troy had to disturb them, and he and Calleo retreated toward the restaurant.

By 7:30 p.m., all the activities were over, and the winners and those who had especially distinguished themselves were given commemorative gifts.

The math teacher, Kiantisak Wongrat, stepped forward and announced that tomorrow, as a farewell to summer, everyone was going to Vana Nava Hua Hin Water Park for most of the day, which drew a storm of applause and cheers.

Everyone was tired and hungry, so ten minutes later the pools emptied as students and chaperones dispersed to their rooms to change for a late dinner.

The sun had retired, the night was wrapped in a chill, and even the few hotel guests who didn't care for the huge crowd of children by the pool had gone to rest as well.

Despite the three-hour swim Hope didn't want to get out of the water, as Jake was also there. He wanted to breathe the same air that he breathed, look at the same stars that he saw, and regretted that he couldn't touch the man he loved.

In an instant their gazes met, and... Lion winked and pointed several times with his eyes into the depths of the pool. Hope shrugged incomprehensibly, but when he dived in for air, he realized what he was being hinted at and dived in after him.

As they sank to the bottom, Jake reached out and touched the narrow waist, then in an instant pulled the unresisting body toward him.

It was as if Hope had been electrocuted, his senses heightened, every pore and fiber of his soul clamoring for a piece of the happiness that only this man could give.  And when Lion chained their bodies with a kiss, Hope was completely cut off from the world, completely immersed in this cosmic bliss, wanting only one thing - to be forever in the embrace of the sixth ocean.