"RIVER SHRIMP!"
It's like a dream when I see a big river shrimp in my hand. It's full of prawn paste bubbling in front of me. That delicious smell is calling me.
"It's so good?" Khun Sam looks at me while I act like an actress. "No wonder. When I broke the promise, you got mad at me."
"Who? Who was upset? Not me. By the way, I'm so hungry right now. It looks so delicious."
After saying that, I start eating the shrimp in front of me. I'll be honest, I don't usually eat good food like this because I just graduated and didn't get my first paycheck. Besides, my mom isn't particularly rich to buy expensive food like that.
But Khun Sam brought me here to eat... Ah, my benefactor. I must give her a flower ring on every special holiday.
"You are neither pretty nor educated."
"If you said I'm not pretty, then I am."
"That?"
You are some kind of Pharisee.
"How do you know?"
"I watched."
"As?"
"When you say you don't like something, it means you like it." I move away from my plate to describe it. "For example, you said you didn't want to propose, but you really did."
"Nonsense."
"It's you. Everyone in your gang thinks the same thing."
"Hmmm. When did you talk to them? So if I say I don't like you. Do you know what that means?"
"It means you like me."
He smiled from ear to ear. And suddenly I feel ashamed as I look into her eyes. She too.
"Madness. I don't like you at all." His face turns redder and redder as he waves his hands in denial. "I mean what I said."
"You hate me?"
"No."
"Okay, do you like me or not?"
"I like it."
"Enough of that. What the hell are we talking about? Oh, you got a notification, your phone is vibrating."
She is shaking her body following her cell phone to hide her embarrassment. I look at her, wanting to laugh, but I hold back.
Are you trying to avoid the topic? But what he did with that straight face is so charming.
"Who will dance? Crazy." She said for no reason. I wonder why, so I put my plate down again and pay attention to it.
"Dance?"
"Jim sent me a dance clip and told me to practice." Khun Sam shows me a clip of the SES group "I'm too old to dance" on his cell phone.
"A wedding ceremony only happens once in a lifetime. Let's dance for it."
"No."
It means that he will definitely dance. I smile and am suddenly surprised by the sound of my cell phone. But I don't shake like Khun Sam.
"Hello?"
[Mon, aren't you home? I was going to invite you to Chatuchak, where are you?]
I look at Sam before answering him. She is having fun with the dance clip.
"I'm in Ayuthaya with Khun Sam, we're going out to eat."
[You hang out with Khun Sam very often. Last week you were with her. This week it is again.
You do not have time for me.]
"Ahhh. Stop complaining. We see each other every day. Please stop blaming me." I laugh at the same time.
Khun Sam stops looking at his cell phone and looks at me coldly.
"Who is it?"
"It's nope." Silence ensues, so I decide to hang up. "I'm eating. We'll talk later, nope."
But cruel eyes stare at me and I don't know why I have to be so afraid of him, even though he's already met Nope.
"I'm sorry."
"Why are you apologizing?"
"I don't know." He said carelessly. She closes my mouth with her hand. "Hmm?"
"Your lips are so thin."
"What pretty lips."
He immediately changes the subject. What's happening? We hold eye contact for a while and then she walks away.
"You seem pretty close to Nope. Is he your boyfriend?"
"No, it's not."
Khun Sam is serious and I reply carefully, as if hiding something in my reply.
I'm afraid he'll get mad.
Hmm? Why am I afraid of this?
"Nope... He always hangs out with you." She starts to eat while asking. "Aren't you afraid of the rumors that he is your boyfriend?"
"He's always been my friend, ever since school. And he's always been nice to me."
"You're popular?"
"Not much." I laugh shyly and count on my fingers. "Hmm... there were more than ten confessions."
A fork falls from Khun Sam's hand. I laugh when I see the scene.
"Are you OK?"
"Not much?"
"If there were a hundred, I would say that there are many."
"You're weird." She talks. "Beautiful lips."
"Hmmâ¦" I look at her and say with my mouth full. "Ojcearecentersada min oca (Today you seem interested in my mouth.)"
"What are you saying? It's okay, I understand. I'm sorry." She keeps looking at my mouth. "They would definitely enjoy kissing your mouth."
"What do you expect me to answer you?"
Now, we feel uncomfortable and ashamed. She keeps looking at my lips. What's wrong with her?
"What do you like about me?"
"Hmm?" Why do you want to know which part of your body I like? It must be the nose.
"Do you want to bite my nose?"
"Um..." I roll my eyes at this response. "It looks delicious."
"Let's make a trade."
"The type?"
"I let you bite my nose."
"And you let me bite your lips."
He bites his lip as he looks at me. Geez, what a shame. I raise my hand to cover my mouth.
"First you must ignore my mouth. I am puzzled. Nobody talks like that to their friends."
"You are not my friend."
"What am I to you?"
After a long pause in our conversation, Khun Sam, who is pulling himself together, changes the subject.
"I saw you take a picture of the river shrimp before you ate it. Are you a social media girl?"
"Oh... what a shame. I'm in a bad mood. When I saw the prawns on a food blog, I wanted to show them to you too. Don't you?"
"I don't understand being in a virtual world and posting pictures of food. Where did you post?
instagram?"
"In my Facebook".
"Why do we have to have a Facebook account?"
Okay, this is a pretty awesome conversation. I need to be careful.
"It's to communicate with old friends. We can meet them there."
"Can't we get in touch by phone? The numbers are listed in the directory."
"Nowadays, you don't open the yearbooks to find a phone number anymore." His eyebrows rise, which makes me laugh. "Did you do that?"
"That's why we created the yearbook. If Facebook is as good as you say, I'll try to learn it, but I won't post my photos or update the world about my life."
"You look like an old lady."
"What did you say?" she says, irritated.
"You own a digital advertising company, but you don't understand how to use Facebook, Instagram or other social networks. So I wonder how you survive these days."
"We came here to eat."
Heavens. She misunderstood my point again!
"Do you use Facebook a lot?"
"Every day. I keep up with the news there. It's easy."
"Do you have many friends?"
"Various. Most of my office colleagues added me. Chin, who works next to me, flirted with me." I tell him without thinking.
"Always sending me stickers in private message."
"I command too."
"I know."
"I sent stickers."
"Yeah."
"I always sent you stickers."
I look at Khun Sam who keeps repeating what he said. Do I need to interpret something here?
"Exactly. You send me stickers every day."
Then he crosses his arms, raises his eyebrows, and doesn't say anything else until we get back.
Okay, I dropped the ball. On the way home, without saying a word, I feel awkward until I reach my house. Until I can't anymore.
"Are you mad at me?"
"No."
She smiles at me, which startles me.
I'm sure she's mad at me... but why?
"You can tell me if you're mad at me, because sometimes I don't understand."
"You are always useful to use social networks, how could you not know? Send beautiful stickers."
"Do you have a problem with the stickers?"
"I think it's beautiful."
"Are you mad at me for the stickers?"
"It is not beautiful?"
I smile. Now I can read your mind and I know what you're thinking.
"You are also beautiful".
"You send me stickers too. More than anyone." So I smile at her and she narrows her eyes at me.
"Serious?"
"Really. I think you're beautiful."
"Do you measure it by the number of stickers?" She stretches her back. "Then you can go. I'm going back to my house... Oh, don't forget the shrimp I bought for your mother."
"Yes ma'am."
Khun Sam and I turn at the same time to get the prawns out of the back seat. We are now only a few inches away from each other.
Palpitation...
Help... help me, God. My heart is racing so fast I could have a heart attack.
"Mon."
"Y...Yes."
"Not interested?"
"In what?"
"On my offer... The exchange."
"Hmm." I'm confused, rolling my eyes. His face gets closer and closer to mine.
"Swap what?"
"I let you bite my nose."
"And then I'll bite your lips."