Stuck on you

Chapter 1

Notes:
Hi everyone! This is my first fanfic for My Engineer, I hope you'll like it! Thara and Frong might end up feeling a bit OOC because of their situation, but I hope you'll still love them. Leave a comment to share your opinion, ask me questions or tell me whatever is on your mind: I love talking to you and I usually reply back!

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THARAS POV:

"I don't think I'll make it this weekend, Duen. Work has kept me busier than usual and I'm quite behind with my research: I really need to devote the little time I have to that. Maybe a couple of weeks from now would be more reasonable," Thara says as he gets out of his car and hands the key to the valet. He is not fond of driving, his choice going to public transportation, his bike or his roller skates for his daily committments. But showing up at a formal event related to work wearing his protective gear on top of his suit would have been too over the top and definitely frowned upon , especially since he is the recipient of tonight's award and the center of the attention. Apparences are a ridiculous concept but he still has to show respect.

Invitation in hand, he shows it at the entrance and is directed to the main hall as his cousin keeps dissing him for declining his invitation to hang out.

"I promise I'll be there next time."

Duen complains for a few more seconds before giving up and telling him he will be in touch.  Thara slips the phone in his pocket and fixes his tie before breathing in and taking the few steps that separate him from his collegues. The whole night is a blur of pats on his shoulders, hands shaken and congratulations for his last publication.  A couple of journalists ask him questions and take pictures, their curiousity deviating from inquires about his latest discoveries on the cardiotoxicity of anticancer therapies for children to his private life. He flashes them his best smile and avoids to answer before leaving under the pretense that one of the the executives of an oncology foundation has called him over. Instead he heads to the bar where he puts down the half glass of champagne he has barely touched and asks for sparkling water.

"How are holding up, doctor hot shot?"

Boom and Am come up from behind him, mocking smiles on their faces. He lightly punches Boom on his chest, not meaning any harm. He was the first person he met when he started his specialization at the hospital years before, and he is grateful they were able to go through it together until the end.  Am arrived a couple of years later but quickly became part of their small group, her terrified apologies as she drew blood on a ER patient on her first day still object of a few jokes between the three of them.

"I can't wait to go home, my Cupcake is the only one I want to celebrate with."

"You're breaking our hearts," Am laughed. "You really have no affection for us. We thought we were bestfriends!"

"Dream on," Thara says picking up his glass and finishing half of it in one gulp. His eyes quickly scan the room, checking if the important people have left so he can make an escape himself. At the center of the room he sees doctor Nanthiyakun, a tight black dress that leaves almost nothing to anyone's imagination wrapping her curves. But that's not what catches his attention. On  the small of her back rests the hand of the man that came with: a younger guy more or less his age, dressed in a dark suit, his tie slightly  loose but not to the point of seeming rude. He wonders how he didn't notice him before, realizing right away that his table was probably far from theirs. He can't hear them but he sees him laugh politely at somebody's else joke, his  mouth curved up but his eyes not matching the mirth on his lips. His skin pale, almost shining under the lights of the room and in contrast with his dark perfectly styled locks: with that body and his chieseled face he is magazine worth.

"Oooh, you're looking at him."

He turns to Am, interested in knowing more. "I didn't know she had a boyfriend."

"He's not her boyfriend," she says taking a step closer as she lowers her tone. "She paid for him."

"What?!"

Boom's surprised exclamation makes a few heads turn their way but everyone goes back to their business almost right away. Am elbows him in the stomach: "Be quiet, moron!"

"What do you mean?" he asks her, now even more curious about the handsome stranger he sees for the first time in his life at one of their events. Thara never brought a plus one even when he was dating, set on keeping private life and work as separate as he could, but many doctors would show up with their spouses or partners on some of these kinds of occasions.

"She did have a boyfriend," she stresses on the past tense lookin at him. He knows well he is quite out of the gossip chain, not really interested in other people's private business. "He broke up with her last month, everyone knows that."

"I didn't," he admits.

"You should pay more attention to the gossip. Anyway, I actually heard her on the phone as she booked him. I didn't think much of it at the time, I thought I might have gotten it wrong. Until  he introduced himself tonight. Same name she mentioned when they agreed on the price."

"He is a hooker?!" Boom's voice is again a bit louder but fortunately this time nobody pays attention to him.

"I don't know if that's one of his services but usually escorts do that too, right? I wonder how much extra she has pay to have all of that," Am says while she looks at the guy as if he was a piece of juicy grilled meat. Thara has to snap his fingers in front of her face to make her stop staring.

"Why wouldyou pay for him when you can have me for free."

She laughs as soon as Boom's words leave his mouth. "Don't even dare comparing yourself to him. He's in a totally different league. Besides I thought by now you'd know I'm not dating you for your looks."

"Are you dissing me or is it a compliment?"

"Don't think too much, you know I love you."

"Do you two really have to flirt like this in front of my single ass?" Thara smiles despite his efforts not too.

"Speaking of your single ass, I have a couple of friends who recently ended their relationships. I can introduce you if you want. Two girls and a guy," Am says taking out her phone and tapping on the screen a few times. His own device vibrates in his pants pocket. "Those are the links to their facebook profiles: if you're interested I'll set you up."

He nods, pretty sure he will end up avoiding another blind date. After his last fiasco they all tried to help him get over his ex. His mother introduced him to her friends' children, his friends organized dinners and nights out with people he didn't know so he could at least hook up with them. Even Duen made his life mission to find him another boyfriend in the beginning of his new found singlehood.  But it turned out that most of the times there was zero chemistry, and when it seemed to work it didn't last long.

From the corner of his eye he briefly watches as Boom and Am still bickers about the stranger, their gazes full of fondness even if they were being jealous of each other. He envies them a little, those feelings of jealousy, the silly small fights and the happiness of making up a vague memory in his mind. He turns around, gaze lost in the crowd as he empties his glass. It is coincidently that his eyes fall back on the handsome stranger and he feels a jolt of elecricity running down his spine when their eyes meet. It lasts a moment before the guy looks away and bows to the crowd around him, only to leave with doctor Nanthiyakun right after.

A few days later he still can't forget the intense look that stranger shot at him, those dark chocolate eyes stuck in his head.

He wonders if he slept with her.

He dreams of that guy's pale hands on him, soft palms caressing his skin.

Thara thinks he might have gone crazy.

// End of the first chapter, honestly been thinking about what to write for the past month and I finally know what I'm doing plus I promise I'll actually complete this ♥️

Word count: 1493