Win's head was pounding yet again but he needed to get up early to help his cousin and friends prepare for their departure. He rubbed his eyes as he let out a big yawn, dragging his feet to get some water to clear his head. He then made himself some coffee and decided that he'd skip his usual morning jog today; he had far more important things to do.
He prepared some breakfast for him and his friends. He included some for his parents too although he didn't know if they'd be back today. Besides, he knew his friends would finish the food he prepared if his parents wouldn't show up.
"Hey," Khaotung said as he stumbled to the kitchen half asleep.
"Oh, you're up man. I have some Advils right there," Win pointed to a little container of their medicines. "There's hot water already too so you can make coffee or something."
"Thanks man, last night was so fun I forgot we needed to wake up early for the trip."
"You guys could sleep while you're in the car," Win suggested as he noticed how Khaotung was yawning almost every minute.
"With Pleum and JJ? That won't happen. They'd be bickering with your cousin. Plus I kinda know Boss has a loud mouth too." Khaotung shuffled to the cupboard and looked for a jar of sugar, coffee powder and some cream.
"Oh, the cream's right here. Sorry, I was fixing myself a hot drink too," Win said as he handed a glass jar to his friend.
"Thanks." Khaotung scooped some and not long after, he was already stirring a hot cup of coffee. "By the way Win, do you know what's up with Man and P'Type?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"They're acting so weird. I think Man knows P'Type or something, I don't know."
Win thought of the night when Man and his cousin first met. Man was startled as his jaw dropped when he saw the older guy. Even Type saw the reaction as weird.
Was it really the first time they met that night though?
The rest of his friends and Type woke up a little later than they should be but Win had prepared them breakfast already and gathered their things so packing wasn't really a problem now.
His parents did come home only to bring some local delicacies they had bought on the place they went to and to bid goodbye to Type and Win's friends. They packed a separate bag of delicacies so that Win's friends could bring back some to Bangkok.
"Type, sweetie, thank you for visiting and staying with Win and we're sorry if we didn't get to accommodate you that much," Win's mother said as he smiled sweetly with a mix of a little apology to Type. She enveloped him in a very tight motherly hug.
"It's okay, aunty! I should be the one saying sorry for barging in your home! Don't think about it too much and besides, Win is here to keep me company. That's more than enough for me. I missed staying here at the beach too, you know," Type said reassuringly. He hugged her back, rubbing the older woman's back. He was always thankful for Win's mother; she was basically his mother too. He grew up with Win and Win's mother took care of him as if he were her own son.
"Never hesitate to call us when you need something, okay? Our home is your home too," Win's father added as he too hugged Type.
"Thank you, Uncle. Please do call me if you're in Bangkok too so I could meet you guys and maybe we could have some lunch or something."
"That sounds great. We will, son," Win's father said.
"And of course, my favorite rascals! Come here and give me a hug!" Win's mother exclaimed as she turned to JJ, Khaotung and Pleum and opened her arms.
They grinned and ran towards the arms of Win's mother. Them and Win were friends for a long time now so Win's mother knew them well. She would sometimes buy delicacies and souvenir items from their trips and would ask Win to pass it to his friends.
"Thank you for letting us stay aunty even if we didn't really give you a heads up," Khaotung said thankfully as he bowed his head for a waii.
"Sorry for eating your food too. We basically ate everything in your fridge!" Pleum said, which made Win's mother laugh.
"I do not mind at all if it's you guys. You're like my son too," She said as she ruffled their newly combed hair.
"Sorry for getting drunk all the time too," JJ added as he smiled wistfully before flashing a peace sign to them, apologizing for the countless nights they went home drunk over the course of two weeks.
"Which reminds me, we should go out and drink together some time. I wanna know what the youngsters do in the club these days!" Win's father said and his friends roared in agreement.
"Just let us know, Uncle!"
"We'll surely do that!"
"Is it free, uncle?" Of course, that was JJ. Who else could it be?
Win's father laughed and nodded. "Sure!"
"Alright, we'll get going first as we need to go somewhere. You guys take care, okay? And Win, I've packed another bag of delicacies for your other friends too. Man and Boss, am I right? Just tell them to come by again soon," she said as she walked swiftly to the front door, her husband trailing behind her.
They all waiid at the couple and waved goodbye.
"Alright guys, do you have everything set already? Make sure you don't forget anything cause I sure as hell am not mailing it to you. That shit is expensive," Win said as he shuffled around to continue helping his friends with their bags.
They spent the next hour tidying up their rooms and checking their suitcases and when they figured everything was ready, they met Man, Boss and Bright just right outside the resort where the parking lot was. Win's friends would be riding with Man and Boss back to Bangkok.
"You guys ready?" Boss said as he nodded at the approaching group.
"No, I don't wanna leave yet," Pleum said and pouted.
"Me too," JJ added.
"Same, guys," Khaotung mirrored his friends' actions.
"Stop being drama queens! We'd be seeing each other in a few weeks! Summer vacation is almost over," Win said and they all whined upon hearing the end of their vacation.
"You're right. Anyways, thank you Win for letting us stay," Khaotung said.
"Please don't recycle the words you told my mother to me," Win said before he grinned and hugged Khaotung.
"It was a really nice stay, Win. And Bright," JJ said before winking at Bright. "Thanks for the free booze during our first stay!"
Bright only nodded and chuckled as he raised a thumbs up.
"You didn't thank me yesterday when I treated you guys with free booze!" Type protested.
"You let us do silly things first before paying for our drinks, P'!" JJ answered back.
"You're heartless, P'. Heartless," Pleum added, shaking his head against the older guy.
"Whatever. Don't sit next to me or somebody's going to arrive in Bangkok with their body parts not intact!" Type said before stomping his feet and hopping on the back seat of Boss's car.
Win's friends followed him and they successfully got in the car after a few playful shoves and colorful cursing from the older guy.
"Ai'Win, thanks for the summer escapade!" Man said. He was already on the shotgun seat and he rolled the car windows down to bid goodbye to Win.
"Hey, you guys paid for your hotel rooms so you don't need to thank me! Next time, you'll stay at my house," Win promised as Man nodded and grinned before rolling the window cars back up.
Boss was the only one not in the car yet so he patted Win on the shoulders and said, "It was nice meeting you, Ai'Win. See you around, buddy," before walking to the driver's seat only to halt in his mid-step and turned to Bright. "Better make the remaining days count, Ai'Bright. Don't waste this summer."
Win furrowed his eyebrows as he looked back at the man who was smiling at Boss. Bright shifted his gaze to him before giving him a very flirtatious wink. Win could only roll his eyes and watch as his friends drove away. He waved at them and shouted, "Take care!" as if they can still hear him.
He continued to stare at the moving car, realization dawned on him that his friends are no longer there. He would see them again soon but the past few days were so rowdy and fun that he was sad they had to leave.
"Please don't tell me you're gonna cry," Bright said as he examined Win's teary eyes.
"Way to break my momentum, asshole," he muttered before walking away, the steps he made small so Bright could catch up with him.
"Hey Ai'Win, I'm just joking!" Win heard Bright chuckled. "Wanna go and grab something to eat? I'm starving."
Win flipped his wrist to see the time. It was still 10 am but he had an early breakfast so by the mention of food, his stomach growled. "Sure."
"Great. But let me get my phone first, I forgot it at the hotel room and my mom promised she'll call today from Miami," He said and jogged to the hotel.
Win, on the other hand, walked to the resort with his hands in his sweat shorts and his eyes at the white sand. He was humming some random song, now feeling slightly better with his friends' departure, when he bumped into someone.
Win, you've bumped people a lot of times since you arrived at the resort. Does the beach make you blind?
He mentally cursed at his clumsy self before apologizing to the other person. "I'm sorry! I really am!" He said and waiid repeatedly to the stranger.
"Hey, nong! It's you!" The stranger said, a wide grin spreading on his face as he pointed at Win.
Win stared at the stranger, his mind clueless of who the stranger was until he realized he was kind of familiar. "I'm sorry, do I know you P'?"
"You forgot already? We bumped into each other yesterday at the grocery store!"
Win's eyes widened and he smiled at the stranger. "Oh, yeah! I'm sorry, I'm very forgetful P'!"
"Don't worry about it, nong. So, do you have a habit of bumping into people?" The stranger said jokingly and Win grinned.
"I'm a little clumsy, P'." He confessed.
"I'm just kidding, nong. I'm sorry, I didn't get your name. I'm Drake. You are?"
"Win, P'."
"It's nice seeing you here, Nong Win. Are you here for vacation too?" Drake asked as took his phone out and pressed something.
"My parents...er, they owned the resort."
Drake raised his head and said, "Oh, really? Wow," before handing his phone to Win. "Can I get your number? We can hang out sometimes. I came with my family so it's a bit different if I hang out with someone my age."
Win didn't think much about it and nodded, taking Drake's phone and typing his number. If only Win could see how Drake was fidgeting, hesitant of his actions and his face was now blushing too but Win was oblivious to all of these. He handed the phone back to the older guy and smiled just as he saw Bright a few inches away.
"I'm gonna go, P'. See you!" He said and waved goodbye to the older guy.
He reached Bright and the other guy had that knowing look on his face. He looked sharply at the guy who Win was just talking to before turning his head, draping an arm on Win's broad shoulders.
Win would never get used to this; they've been friends for 2 months now but every time Bright would touch him or even breathe close to him, his knees would crumble and his heart would pound so hard he was afraid that Bright might hear it. He acted normally though, as if Bright's extreme closeness didn't affect him.
"Sorry if it took me a while. My mom did call and we talked for a couple of minutes," Bright explained.
"It's okay, you didn't really keep me waiting."
"Did that guy keep you entertained while I was away? Who was that, bunny?" Bright said and Win couldn't believe what he just heard.
"Bunny?"
"I heard your friends call you that. Can't I call you that?" Bright asked as he made his eyes big and wide, blinking rapidly.
"No! Your puppy eyes won't work on me."
"Why not?"
"Because I said so!"
"Whatever, I'll still call you that," Bright said as he grinned. "Anyways, as I said, who was that guy?"
"Just a guy I bumped into yesterday at the grocery store when I was buying some snacks with P'Type."
"Oh?" Bright answered unenthusiastically.
"Yeah. It's funny because I can't even remember him until he pointed out who he was. I swear I forget people so easily."
Bright chuckled. "Yes, bunny. You do forget people so easily."
"Stop calling me bunny," Win whined.
"No can do, bunny. And why did I see you handing him his phone back?"
"He asked for my number. He wants to hangout or something," Win's eyes met Bright's as the latter dropped his arms and stopped walking.
"You gave it to him?" Bright's voice sounded upset.
"Yeah, I mean why not?" Win explained but there was something about Bright's sudden shift of persona that was bothering him but he couldn't point it out.
"Yeah, you're right. Why not?" Bright said mockingly as he continued to walk and Win was a bit disappointed when Bright didn't drape his arms around him anymore.
They arrived at the snack stall and Win noticed how the other guy had been quiet since their little talk about the stranger. He tried to recall but he was sure he didn't say anything wrong or something that would make Bright upset.
"What's wrong with you?" He asked as he took a mouthful of his panini. Bright ordered some fries and a burger, a very American meal.
It took Bright a minute before answering him, his eyes lingering on the people passing them by. He finally looked at Win. "Win."
Win could only hum as his mouth was full with cabbages, meat and buns. He licked his lips as he gestured Bright to keep talking, chewing his snack diligently.
"Do you believe in fate?"
"What?" He said as he gulped down his food and stirred his milkshake. "What are you talking about?"
"John Lennon said that there's nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be," Bright said as he picked a piece of fries and popped it into his mouth.
"Yeah, and?" Win said, still confused as to what Bright was talking about.
"What's meant to be will always find a way, you know?" Bright added as he picked up another fries and put it in his mouth.
"Are you giving me some philosophy lessons, Bright?" Wint tried to joke around and lighten up the mood. Brights looked way too serious for his liking but he gotta admit that the other guy was hot with that serious look on his face.
"No, Win. But we are the captain of our ships too so we get to choose what would happen and what would not happen," Bright said as he leaned forward towards Win. "All I'm saying is Boss was right."
"With what?" Win's voice was small as he stared back at the black eyes of the man sitting across him, leaning his own body forward to meet Bright's.
"I gotta make my days count. I won't waste this summer Win," Bright said as his eyes never left Win's before pinching Win on the cheeks and grinning.
Win let out a breath of relief when Bright leaned back but he flinched at the next few words that left the latter guy's mouth.
"I'm claiming what's mine, bunny. Can't let other people have it."