Melted: A MaxTul AU story

Eighty-Two: Dinner Plans, or Settling the Other Career

Author's Note: As you can see, Loon Foong is a real restaurant. According to the information I could fine, they do have private dining rooms, but since I've never been there, I don't know where the rooms are located. Please excuse my inaccuracies. If you live in Thiland or ever go, try the place and let me know if the food is as good as it looks on the internet.

**

Max felt as though he hadn't taken a breath until he parked his bike in the garage of Weir's apartment building. He briefly wondered if Weir would consider selling the apartment to him since he never used it, and Max had grown to like it so much. Weir was back in Thailand now, but he lived a house that had space for all his beagles, his motorcycles, and to store the camper he used on his vacations. This apartment was already practically Max's since it seemed like he was the only one of Wier's friends who used it, and he felt at home when he toed off his shoes. He sank into the sofa and let his mind wander back over the day.

Okay, he let his mind wander back over the Tul parts of the day. He was completely surprised by Tul showing up at the taping of the show. He hadn't had the time or the nerve to look at clips of it, afraid of seeing on his face what he had felt in his heart at the time. Tul had been so calm and so together. He hadn't seemed nervous at all. It was as if no time had passed, and they had just seen each other the day before.

Max didn't know how to read any of it. He'd had plenty of scenarios of what it would be like to see Tul again and none of them were it. His imagination had covered the range of Tul being angry to Tul rushing to him with open arms and confessing, too. He had not predicted . . . nothing. He realized that he knew nothing about Tul's life since he had left. He had been careful not to ask Wanna because despite her new confidence, she still seemed anxious when they got any where close to talking about Tul or Shilapath. She seemed fine when they were just talking about her own Team 2 work, but not anything else, so he hadn't pushed it.

He remembered that he had gotten a message from Yaya about wanting to meet with him. She had really wanted to meet before tomorrow night and seemed upset that he hadn't told her when he was coming back in time for them to arrange it. When he had talked to her yesterday morning, she had sounded frustrated when they finally admitted that there was no time for them to meet before Friday night, saying more solemnly than he'd ever heard Yaya say anything "I guess it can't be helped."

He'd wanted to ask her more, but she said there wasn't any time to explain properly over the phone. She had ended the call cryptically, saying, "Remember that I was your friend first."

His phone pinged, and it was a message from Tul: "I made a reservation at Loong Foong for 4 tomorrow. I also sent something to your email. Please read it before we meet if you can."

Max decided to take a shower first. He wanted to read the email with a clear head. He was tired, but whatever Tul sent must be important, so he wanted to wake up a bit first. The way his schedule looked, he wasn't sure he would have time to read it tomorrow.

He came out of the shower, rubbing his wet hair with a towel and noticing that there was message on his phone that he hadn't seen. It was from Tul, merely minutes after he had sent the last message and after Max had went into the bathroom.

"I missed you, Max. I missed you, so much."

For some reason, the note made Max clutch his chest and sit. He felt overwhelmed. What could he say to that? Was Tul waiting for a reply?

He hastily replied. "Me, too. Looking forward to tomorrow."

It was late. He wasn't expecting a reply. He went to laptop and opened up his email, so he could read whatever Tul had sent. The more he read, the more he shook his head in surprise. Is this what Tul had been up to while he was away? No, he had to have planned some of this before. He wondered what Channarong Pakorn thought of this or Plustor or his stepmother. What was Tul really up to?