A/N: The image above does not belong to me. It belongs to the person who uploaded it on the internet.

Kaownah's POV

I felt a bit exhausted after the therapy session with Title. Somehow I got the feeling that it would take a longer time for him to recover fully and he might need to get a renewal of authorization from his insurance company to extend his therapy sessions. He looked weaker than I initially thought and it actually worried me when I first tried to help him up from his wheelchair and his knees suddenly gave way and his chest sagged against mine.

After our session, I told him that I would be back on Tuesday because I wasn't available on Monday. He looked pretty disappointed which was a good sign that he was eager to get better which meant that he was willing to work with me through his program. I have had to work with some patients who were not too cooperative and it frustrated me no end to see no progress as the session days neared their end.

When I got back to my dorm, the first thing I did was to make a call to Kao. I wanted to invite him to have dinner with me. I hated eating alone.

"Kao?" I said on my phone when he took my call.

"Yes, hi, how are you?" I heard him say.

"I'm feeling a bit exhausted after my therapy session," I replied.

"Why what happened to you? Did you injure yourself?" he asked.

"No, I'm not the one getting therapy," I said with a suppressed chuckle, "I'm the one giving it."

"What?" he sounded surprised, "are you saying that you're a physical therapist?"

"Yes, I am," I confirmed, "I took a physical therapy course and earned my license before I went to university for my present course."

"Wow, that's interesting," he remarked. "To whom did you provide physical therapy services?"

I hesitated to tell him. Patient's privacy regulations and all that.

"You don't have to tell me," he said, sensing my hesitation.

"So, Kao," I said, "I called to ask if you were free to have dinner with me at the mall."

"I'm sorry I can't," he replied.

"Can't or won't?" I couldn't hide the resentment in my voice.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"You're sorry? That's it? No explanation as to why you can't or won't?" I was no longer bothering to hide my annoyance.

When he remained silent on the other end I decided not to waste any more time talking to him.

"It's alright," I said with a sigh, "I won't pry into your private life. I will just ask someone else to keep me company at dinner."

"I'm sorry, Kaownah," he said again.

I did not bother to say goodbye. I just swiped my phone to end the call.

I was looking through my contacts to see who I could call when my phone started to ring.

I looked at the screen. What the hell. What did he want.

"Yes, Title?" I asked without any preliminaries, "are you calling to cancel Tuesday?"

"No, no, no!" he exclaimed, "why would I do that?"

"Why are you calling me then?" I asked. I started to feel a bit guilty for sounding short with him.

There was just the slightest hesitation on the other end before he said, "My mom cooked Mongolian beef for dinner. I swear she cooks the best Mongolian beef in all of Thailand."

My mouth started to water. I was exhausted and hungry and lonely and was getting ready to go to the mall with or without someone. Why did he call just to brag that his mom cooked the best Mongolian beef dish in the country.

"Do you need help transferring from your wheelchair to your dinner chair? That's gonna cost you extra and I don't think your insurance will cover it," I said, again feeling guilty for sounding rude to him.

"Kaownah..." I started to wonder why he suddenly sounded a bit shy. "My mother said I could invite you to have dinner with us to sample her Mongolian beef."

"Um..."

As if sensing my hesitation he added, "She also makes the best guacamole."

Holy guacamole  , what did I do to deserve such a free and delicious beef dinner. And not only that, I wasn't going to eat alone. I was going to be with company. Holy guacamole indeed. Mouth watering guacamole .

I must have spaced out because I heard Title talking again.

"Kaownah?"

"Huh?"

"So are you able to come over for dinner tonight?" Title sounded like I might say no.

"Yes, I would love to, very much," I replied, "Thank you for inviting me to dinner. What time should I be there?"

"Is six thirty convenient for you?" he asked.

I looked at the time on my phone screen. It was only five thirty. I had a whole hour to get ready. His house was less than ten minutes from my dorm. Six thirty was definitely convenient for me.

"It sure is," I replied, sounding more pleasant this time.

"I'll see you at six thirty then," Title said before cutting the call.

After a quick shower, I decided to make a quick trip to the mall where there was a wine shop. I did not want to come to Title's house empty handed. I thought some nice red wine would go well with dinner.

Promptly at six thirty I buzzed on the front door of Title's house. It was his mother who greeted me at the door.

I bowed to her and greeted her a good evening before handing her the bottle of Merlot red wine.

She looked surprise.

"Well, what have we got here?" she said, holding up the bottle and looking appreciatively at it. "It still feels cold but let's chill it some more to enjoy it better at the table."

She ushered me into the living room where Title was. I nodded and smiled at him.

"Hello, Kaownah," he said from his wheelchair, "Thank you for accepting my invitation to dinner."

"No," I said, "I should be the one thanking you for inviting me to dinner. Do you drink wine?"

"Only on special occasions," he replied.

"I brought a bottle of Merlot," I said, "I just thought it would go well with tonight's dinner."

"Yeah, I could try some of it," he replied, "not too much though cuz I am such a lightweight."

"And what happens when you get buzzed?" I asked with a teasing smile.

"I kiss everyone in sight," he replied and then as if realizing too late the absurdity of his words, he clapped his hand to his mouth, his ears growing a bright red.