Chapter 9: CHAPTER EIGHT

New might have gained a new skill and that was glaring especially now as he watched Tay Tawan confidently talk to his mom about his made up relationship with him.

"Mom. I told you he's lying. There's nothing going on between us," he protested as he stomped his foot but his mother just quickly dismissed him.

"I'm not talking to you. Go away. So Mr, why should I believe you when in fact my son here is so strong with his argument that nothing's going on between the two of you."

"I believe what happened between us is enough proof that we are together and you saw it with your own eyes mom. You didn't raise him to be someone who sleeps around with random strangers, right New?"

He mentally cursed as he watched the smirk on Tay's face. He looked over at Earth who was sulking in the corner, his hands crossed across his chest. He then looked at his mom who was staring at him intently, not even blinking as she shoot daggers at New with her looks. He knew his mother very well. Despite being the loving mother that she was, she was also upright and she followed values religiously so New had no choice but to join the circus Tay had created.

He nervously laughed as he sat down beside Tay.

"Moom, I was just testing him if he, if he can fight for me. You know to test his love for me," New swallowed the lump in his throat as he watched the expression on his mom's face. He heaved a sigh of relief when his mother smiled and clapped her hands.

"That's great then! Always remember New, I raised you properly so always remember your manners and values. By the way, I brought food and some side dishes. Had I known your boyfriend is with you, I should have brought more. But don't worry, I'll bring more when I come back. By the way, you bring him to to our family reunion this weekend."

"Wait what? Mom! It's a family event!"

"Yes, but he's already a part of the family so I don't see any problem with that."

"Urgghh. For heaven's sake, I'm gonna kill you Tay Tawan," he muttered while glaring at the smiling guy beside him.

"I love you too, pumpkin."

———

Tay may have dodged a bullet earlier but he wasn't able to prepare for a brewing storm that was coming his way as he faced the fury of an enraged Apple the moment he stepped in the company building. He gave him a list of so many things to do ranging from typing reports and proposals, to listing possible strategies to raise the company's success rate, to photocopying documents, and went as far as buying her a dessert from a store that was a 30-minute drive from their company.

He plopped on his chair and loosened the tie of the suit he borrowed from New. He didn't know being an intern was this tiring that his hands were itching to call his father so he could pull out his inheritor card and work in their company. But he started this, and he always finishes what he starts.

"Might as well give up if you're this tired."

Tay's gaze narrowed into a squint as he looked at the person speaking. Leaning on his cubicle was the person he didn't wanna see in his lifetime.

"Is there anything I can do for you, Sir?" he asked putting too much emphasis on the last word.

"Yes, and that is for you to go back to your own castle and be served by your own servants."

Tay scoffed as he clasped his hands and placed them on top of his table.

"You know what, Sir, I don't think you have a say on what I should do with my life. If you're still butthurt about my relationship with New, then it's your own problem not mine. I just wanna remind you that one should not meddle with other people's relationship. Sir."

"Huh, you may have fooled New's mother but not me. You're not even close to being his friend let alone being his boyfriend."

"And you think it's your spot? Why, have you kissed him? Have you made out with him? Have you had sex with him?" Tay smirked as he emphasized every word in his statement.

He watched as Earth's eyebrows furrowed and his nostrils flared as he glared intensely at Tay, shooting him daggers with his looks. Without saying a word, he walked away, disappearing into his own office.

Tay scoffed and continued arranging the folders on his table. "I thought you're brave enough, SIR," he muttered to himself.

———

New sighed as he turned off his desktop computer. It had been a long day, from him lying to his mother to the heap of paper work he had to finish that day. He massaged his shoulders and closed his eyes for a while. The only good thing that probably happened today was that Tay and Earth did not barge into his office thus saving his sanity from all the shenanigans the both of them might pull off. He settled properly on his chair, feeling the soft cushion of the seat that somehow gave him comfort as he unknowingly dozed off.

New stirred and opened his eyes, directly staring at the shelf in his office. His forehead creased as he remembered sitting on his chair. He felt something move underneath his head and almost lost his shit when he realized that his head was on top of somebody's leg. He felt his world turn as he abruptly got up and stared at Tay Tawan who was soundly sleeping on his office couch. His mouth was slightly open and he was lightly snoring.

He eyes lingered on Tay's lips, tracing them with his eyes. He reached out his hand to touch his cheeks but his hand was left midair as a sudden realization hit him. He was about to withdraw his hand when Tay suddenly grabbed it and held it tightly.

"Don't restrain yourself. You're more than allowed to touch me," Tay said with his eyes still closed as he guided New's palm on his cheek.

"Hey, hey, let go of my hand," New protested as he tried releasing his hand from Tay's grasp but the latter held on tightly so he just sighed in defeat.

"I need to go home. It's getting late," New announced as he looked out the window. It was already dark and the clock on the wall said 7:00. He couldn't believe he slept comfortably for two hours.

"Let's go home together," Tay replied as he dragged New up the couch and grabbed his things on the nearby table. His hand still grasping his as Tay dragged him to the door.

"Wait, what together?" New retaliated but Tay didn't give a damn as he continued dragging New towards the elevator.

———

"Where the hell are we?"

Tay glanced at New who was seemingly confused as to where they were. In front of them was an enormous gate which totally hid whatever was beyond it.

"I told you I'm bringing you home," Tay confidently answered, shrugging his shoulders as he pressed something on the dashboard. The gate in front of them slowly opened revealing a grand fountain which was surrounded by different lights that illuminated the entire area.

"What?! I don't remember you telling me that? Come on Tay bring me home. Urgh I should have brought my car with me!"

But his arguments proved to be useless as Tay parked outside a mansion. Its exterior was decorated with different kinds of plants and Tay couldn't help but notice the sparkle in New's eyes as he ogled at the different flowers that landscaped the entire area. The lights that were strategically placed around the mansion also added to its majestic effect, making it seem like it came from a fairy tale book where princes and princesses dance until midnight.

"Let's go," Tay went out of the car and handed the key to the butler.

"Hey is this your house?" New asked as he got off the car, his gaze never leaving the mansion.

"Come on. Let's meet my parents," Tay once again grabbed New's hand as he dragged him towards the door.

"Hey, hey. Meeting the parents was never in the plan!" New protested as he caught up with Tay's fast pace, slightly tripping on the steps of the stairs but his arguments were unheard as Tay continued dragging him.

———

New curled his toes inside his shoes and bit his inner cheeks as he looked at Tay's father who was intently staring at him. His hands were slightly shaking and they felt cold for no apparent reason. Tay hadn't said a thing to his father aside from the greetings they uttered when they arrived and it made him even fidgety. Knowing how unpredictable Tay could be, he had no idea what was running through his mind and what would come out of his mouth.

"Dad, this is New."

New literally gasped for air as Tay grabbed his hand and raised it for his father to see.

"My boyfriend."

New couldn't even catch his breath as he stared at Tay's father who had an unreadable expression on his face. He saw how his forehead creased and his eyebrows furrowed as he looked alternately at him and Tay. He glanced at Tay and mentally cursed. This was never included in the setup and somehow Tay blew things out of proportion.

"Why did it take you so long to introduce your lover?"

New's eyebrow automatically raised at his response. He didn't actually see that coming for he was expecting he'd be furious about his son introducing another man as a lover.

"Ex-excuse me?" New uttered in disbelief.

"Wait, what? Aren't you mad or enraged or furious or anything??" Tay looked at his father's face intently, not even blinking.

"Why should I be? Come here, New. You're welcome here. You call me Dad from now on."

Tay's father quickly grabbed a puzzled New into a hug while Tay watched as his father tapped New's back.

"Come on, your mother would be delighted to see New. You should have waited for her before you broke the news."

———

His parents lovingly accommodating New in their house was something Tay didn't expect, not in a million times. He sat there watching his parents talking happily to New. He even shared about his passion for baking and promised to bake one for his mother since she loved sweets.

"This tastes good, Mom," New beamed.

Yes, New called his parents Mom and Dad now. After a series of convincing acts from his parents, they were finally able to persuade him.

He expected his parents, especially his father to make a scene, possibly thrashing the whole place down once he introduced New as his boyfriend but then there they were, completely doting on him like he was their long lost son. He just wanna spite his father to say the least. Since he had been sort of being branded as the black sheep of the family, he might as well live to what they were thinking of him, but then again the total opposite happened. He didn't even tell them he was a bisexual, or was he?

"Tay, why don't you stay for the night. It's getting late and besides we miss having you around," his mother smiled at him before looking over at New who was busy peeling the shrimps.

"But Mom-."

"Come on, Son. You haven't been home for days. It's a good thing you decided to come back and bring home New with you."

Tay glanced at New who had an awkward smile on his face..

"Fine..Fine."

"By the way, son, how's your internship? Is everything well?"

"Everything's great dad. Everyone's helping me cope, I uh, I'm starting to get a thing or two about the way a business runs," Tay replied as he stole a glance at New.

"That's great then. I guess that HR manager you specifically requested for is definitely doing a good job."

Everybody at the table looked at New as he choked on his food. He quickly grabbed the glass of water and gulped its contents as the rest of them watched him finish.

"By the way New, what keeps you busy?" Tay's dad queried.

New coughed one last time before biting his lips and glanced at Tay.

"I uh work as an HR manager in a... certain company," he meekly replied as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Ooh, so what is this certain company?"

Tay was sure his father was starting to piece everything as he shoot a suspicious look at his son who was busy slicing a small piece of meat, obviously making excuses as to evade possible interrogations.

"Uh, the same company that Tay works at."

"Hmmm. I see, I see. So, on one condition huh, Tay Tawan," his gaze narrowed into a squint as he looked at his shy son whose ears were now red.

———

New threw the pillow at Tay who was calmly browsing through his phone while sitting in the bed, but Tay did not budge. He threw another one and directly hit his head thus making Tay look at him.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Tay chuckled as he placed his phone on the bedside table.

New grabbed the pillow he threw and approached Tay.

"You fucking moron, what the fuck were you thinking introducing me to your parents! I fucking hate yoouu!" he exclaimed as he continuously hit Tay with the pillow but the latter only laughed as he used his arms to defend himself from New's continuous attack.

"Hey, hey. I already met your mother so I thought it would be better if you meet mine too," Tay replied as he continued to defend himself for it seemed like New had no plans of stopping.

"You idiot! First you lied to my mother now you're lying to your parents. You bastard!"

New panted as he continued hitting Tay with the pillow and he had no plans of stopping. He continued hitting him on various spots so he would have a hard time defending himself. He was about to hit his face big time when he felt something snake around his waist and saw his world turn around before his back hit the soft mattress.

"What the hell are you doing?!" he exclaimed as he watched Tay hover above him with only the pillow between them. He held the pillow tighter using it as a weapon in case Tay decided to attack him.

"You're such a cutie, Newwie," Tay chuckled before burrying his head on New's neck.

"Hey, hey. Get off me."

There was panic in New's voice as he felt Tay's hot breath on his neck.  He tried pushing him away but he knew to himself that he also liked the position they were in, so he just nudged him weakly as ever.

"Hey, you-you better get off me or else-or else I'll kick your family jewel."

"You wouldn't do that or else how can I satisfy you?"

New felt his cheek burned at Tay's response. He suddenly felt hot and he was sure his face was red. Tay's breath tickled his neck as he spoke and that even made the situation worse. Tay held his waist tighter and though there was a pillow between them, it still didn't help in stopping New from feeling Tay's body heat.

"You-you're disgusting! What makes you think I will do it with you??"

Tay chuckled in his neck tickling him even more but he didn't complain. Instead he just bit his lips and curled his toes to stop himself from shrieking.

"You know what, I don't know what you did to me, but I swear to the heavens,"

There was a long pause after Tay spoke and it made New uneasy. They both stayed still especially New as he waited for Tay to speak again.

"I'm starting to really like you, Newwie," Tay continued before placing a soft kiss on his neck.