Just Friends (Completed)

4: An Unexpected Event..

It's been more than two weeks since the bowling night out and Kongpob feels like he has spent every second of them reassessing his whole world! He's considered everything about his relationship with Arthit - dredging up memories of their time at University, their time since as flatmates, analysing all their interactions to try and see if he's missed something glaringly obvious. Something that explains why he feels so comfortable pretending to date his best friend?

They've attended a few more events with different friends who aren't in on the story and have had to act like a couple at each one, and over time it's become natural for Kongpob to greet Arthit with a longer hug than he used to, or to drop a kiss on his cheek or to hold his hand.

Not to mention, the longer kisses they've shared when it's seemed like an appropriate time to do so.

It's weird, that to Kongpob.. it doesn't feel weird at all.

It's more like a normal part of their relationship now and he's more comfortable kissing Arthit in public than he ever felt with any of his stream of girlfriends who came before him.

And he's noticed a change in his friend too. Arthit seems much more comfortable as well, both with his own friends and colleagues and when he and Kongpob are 'showcasing' their relationship for them.

He's talked to Tew about it and his friend just raised an eyebrow and then said, "I told you so," and asked if Kongpob wanted to start a real relationship with Arthit?

And that's just the thing.. Kongpob thinks that perhaps.. he does?

He's at work one Thursday, manning the cash register when a flurry of students enter the shop and start causing chaos, picking up and discarding textbooks all over until they finally find the things they want. It's his job to ring up their purchases and as they come to his till in groups of two and three, he watches them interact with each other.

There are two guys who kind of remind him of Arthit and himself when they were younger. They look a bit like them, Kong thinks, and they are clearly best friends, the way they are messing with each other and joking around. They are fussing with a large stack of books and when they reach Kongpob, they plonk them down and then separate them into two piles in front of him, one much taller than the other.

"I'm paying for his books and he's paying for mine!" The slightly shorter man tells Kongpob with a grin.

"Oh?" He asks, bemused by the way the taller man is watching his friend, an almost predatorial look as though he's something precious that he wants to take good care of.

"I lost a bet!" The taller man says, eyes flashing as he pulls out a credit card and points to the tall stack of books, "His books are so expensive too, so I'm kind of pissed right now!"

The smaller man laughs joyfully and punches the taller guy in the shoulder, "Well, you are richer than me aren't you... so?!"

"Doesn't matter.. it's an honour thing.. anyway, you promised to pay me back in kind.." then the taller man leans in and presses a tiny kiss to the other guy's cheek and Kongpob finally sees what all their jesting really was - flirting!

He rings them up and then calls for Maprang to take over the counter while he reshelves a big pile of books, trying to calm his racing heart the whole time.

Were he and Arthit more than Just Friends when they were younger, like those two guys?

Had he been leading Arthit on for all these years?

Or, more to the point, was Kongpob interested in being more than friends with Arthit, like in a possibly serious and long lasting kind of way?

He bursts into their flat later that evening, expecting Arthit to be waiting for him with dinner.