In the early morning, the birds chirped and the roosters crowed around the garden house, nudging the two naked bodies closer together, seeking the warmth of the other.
Every muscle ached, every bone throbbed, but the smile on the face
brought memories of past days those reckless moments with someone that
ended in a peaceful, exhausted sleep.
Back then, it had been just an escape, never imagining that someone could leave such a deep imprint, embedding themselves into every fiber of the
heart, impossible to shake off even
now.
But this time, waking up in the embrace of a broad, warm chest, held
tight as if to lock the body and the heart forever in place…
CCLVIII
Why didn't they come to take me back, like before?
The two bodies lay entwined on the mattress under the same blanket,
pressed close, sharing warmth, unwilling to part.
The smaller figure stirred slightly, shifting side to side, feeling the first
pangs of thirst.
Thud… thud…
A strong arm tightened around the smaller body, pressing the nose into a mess of soft, tangled hair. Steady breaths rose and fell, revealing just how deeply and comfortably the other slept.
Last night had been completely different from the first time. There
were no talks about getting back together, no words of love only actions, imprinted as deeply as possible, claiming every bit of what belonged to the other.
CCLIX
Waking up to that warm embrace made it clear that whatever had
happened with the lottery dealer this time would mark a new kind of
change. The morning warmth in the countryside was a feeling utterly new, beyond anything ever imagined.
Even the day the trap was sprung again…
Sex with the lottery dealer was like the very game played obsessively once tried, it hooked the soul. It was
thrilling… nerve-wracking… unpredictable… and, in the end, always disappointing, over and over, while waiting for that one day when luck would finally swing in one's favor.
Love was no different. The hope lingered that someday, the right person would appear the perfect match someone to be with forever.
CCLX
"Something wrong? Already awake and fidgeting… can't stay still?"
The hoarse morning voice spoke, tightening the arms to press the smaller frame against the broad chest, burying the nose against the bare skin of the host. Last night's frustrations, long restrained, had been unleashed, waiting for the day to claim them again.
No matter how hard he tried, he still
ended up surrendering to his own heart. The smaller body writhed beneath him, clinging through the night, calling that rough man's name every time the warmth suddenly pulled
away.
Reaching for the heat that felt like something long lost something he'd been starving for.
CCLXI
Bodies pushed and tangled, the stronger one weaving himself back into a bond that had never really snapped, even after being rejected. If anything, that bond had grown even tighter so tight that neither of them could move forward or backward anymore.
Both kept trapped inside the deepest part of this relationship, leaving everything else behind and letting their hearts act however they wished.
It was just like the lottery worth something only when someone became obsessed with it… only when someone gave it their full attention.
And right now, neither of them wanted to separate. They just wanted to stay like this.
--
"Why didn't you drive me back to the teacher's house like the first day?"
Luktan rested a small chin on that
broad chest, glancing up at the stern face with genuine confusion. A tiny hand rubbed sleepy eyes until a bigger palm caught his wrist yet long fingers brushed softly across his eyelids instead.
The man below didn't answer.
He only stared.
That pale sleepy face, those messy strands of hair exactly like that troublesome kid of his when waking up. The look in those eyes said more than words longing, wanting, craving gazing straight into Luktan's big round eyes until his cheeks flushed red.
He lowered his head, hiding his face against the broad chest, unable to endure that gaze.
CCLXIII
Thump. Thump. Thump…
In the quiet morning room, two heartbeats echoed against each other, racing, overlapping neither saying a word, because both already knew what the sound meant.
Two bare bodies lay tangled under one blanket, arms tightening little by little as if trying to melt into a single shape.
Things weren't perfect yet… but inside, everything felt overwhelmingly full.
"…Tod." The smaller voice finally
spoke first.
"Mm." A low, husky answer.
"Still mad?"
"…About what?"
"About… Bangkok. It was almost good until"
"Who could forget that?"
CCLXIV
"I'm sorry… can I say sorry now? Everything got confusing before the break and "
"Why? Everything was getting better. Then the one who ran away was you. I chased you to Bangkok and you still ruined it why the hell?"
"It just didn't feel secure. I had just graduated, just entered the working world, had debts to pay off, and
suddenly had to adjust to living in a rural town. And you're this intense single dad who would've imagined actually… loving someone like that?"
"So what now? You just wanna sleep with me forever without loving me? You don't wanna love me but you wanna screw me every time?" Tod snorted, mocking but not seriously
angry anymore.
"That's not it. I was just… unsure."
"Hmph."
CCLXV
"Don't laugh like that, I'm literally trying to grow up here. If we love each other, shouldn't we try together?
"Who loves the person who rejected his first love confession in life?"
"…Alright."
"What?"
"I give up. I'll give up everything. Because "
"Because what?"
"Because I love you. I love you, Tod."
The change of pronouns, the shy ton made that sharp mouth curl into a wicked grin.
"Yeah right~ You'll cry and leave again once daddy calls you home.
"I won't! He let me stay and work here! He was going to place me in a school in Bangkok but he didn't!"
"…For real?"
CCLXVI
"Mhm."
"Wow… naughty kid, running away just to sleep with your man."
"Don't tease, serious ! I'm already embarrassed. I apologized, I confessed, I let you do whatever last night what else do you want!? What should I do so you won't be mad anymore?"
"So desperate to become the lottery dealer's spouse, huh?"
A big palm squeezed his backside playfully.
"…Well…maybe I just want free lottery tickets for life or something~"
Tod raised an eyebrow, about to sit up, but got pushed back down by the smaller body climbing on top again.
"Hey don't be mad I'm kidding! I love you, okay? I want to be Tod's sweetheart forever~"
CCLXVII
"Hmph. You're not escaping me now. You know why I didn't beat your ass after you dumped me?"
"…Why?"
"Court mediation for Teng."
"Huh? And?"
"Master 'Baramee-Ma-Kerd' stays under custody of 'Teetra Baramee-Ma-
Kerd' only."
"…Who the heck is Teetra?"
"Your husband. Remember what you said and remember it well.
"Uh…"
"You're staying in Wat Sra-Si village till death. Because the next one I claim
ownership of… is you."
"Wow… chills down my spine, Mom…"