Chapter Text
The smell of drunken nights, acrid liquor, and sweat hit my nose. The apartment was a total mess like a tornado had torn through it. Empty bottles, paper cups, plastic wrappers, and even dirty laundry were scattered everywhere.
I let out a deep sigh.
Before I arrived, my cousin Dunk had called to let me know that the apartment wasn’t in the best condition. They’d been partying all night with his teammates, letting off steam after finals. I was expecting a mess, but I definitely didn’t expect it to be this chaotic.
But since I’ve promised my parents I can manage on my own without their help, and staying here saved me a lot on rent and bills, I don’t mind dealing with this kind of trouble every day.
I set my luggage aside, rolled my sleeves up to my elbows, and was about to start cleaning up when the door beside me, which I had forgotten to check, suddenly opened and revealed a topless man in spiderman pajamas.
I froze.
Damn. Is that eight?
"Morning," he greeted, unfazed by all this mess and me, as if he had been expecting me.
I, on the other hand, was not informed that someone else was here. The guy wasn't completely unfamiliar. I'd seen him on Dunk's socials and was in almost every slide of his posts.
“Dunk told me to come and watch over his baby cousin,” he leaned on the doorway, arms crossed on his chest. “Wasn’t expecting his baby cousin to be this big, though.”
Baby cousin?
What am I, eight?
I looked at him from head to toe.
Come to think of it, I’d never bothered asking Dunk about his relationship with this man, but it was clear they were close. He even had him over at his apartment, naked.
"Are you his boyfriend or something?" I asked, just to be sure.
He scoffed. “Do you even know what you're saying?”
That was the only time I looked straight into his dark, brooding eyes. His eyebrows were thick and perfect. His lips were red, but so were his ears. His chiseled jawline made him look more manly. The mole under his eye was distracting, but if looks could kill, I’d probably be on the floor right now.
I tilted my head to the side. Why did he look so attacked?
“You don't have to look so offended. Just say no if you're not into that kind of thing. There's no need to be so homophobic about it.”
I turned my back to him and started picking up the trash. If he's not Dunk's boyfriend, he can just say so.
“I’m not. Why are you so offended?”
"I'm not."
What was he implying?
When I stood up from reaching down, he was already behind the sofa in front of me, his elbows resting on the backrest with a smirk on his face.
“I see. You like men.”
It wasn't even a question.
“So what?”
“Disgusting,” he threw the damp clothes on the sofa aside to make space for himself to sit. “What's your type anyway?”
I looked at his feet that were on the seat, which he placed down immediately, and back to his face.
I badly wanted to wipe that smirk off his face.
“Someone who isn't you.”
“You mean, hot?”
“Hot?”
“Me.”
Did he catch me counting earlier? It was not my fault I saw it. He was basically showing it off. I only looked because it was there. He's so cocky.
I gave him a mocking face. “Funny,”
“That's your type?”
So nosy.
“Bet you like ‘em sporty. With biceps.” he added.
“Why not?” I answered nonchalantly, busy with the mess that could’ve been cleaned up if he had helped.
“Top notchers?”
“Maybe.”
“Anything else that isn't me?”
Even with my back turned to him, I could still sense the smug look on his face. But before I could talk back, the door opened.
“Oho,” was the first thing Dunk said. “Sorry you had to come to this, man.” he explained. “We were celebrating last night, and I had to take my boyfriend back to his apartment. Things came up, so I only got home now.”
“Things, huh?” the guy said.
Dunk looked behind me.
“Ah..” he faked a laugh and turned me around to face him. “Phuwin, this is my friend, Pond. Pond, Phuwin.”
Then another man came in, whom Dunk introduced as Archen, his boyfriend. Archen insisted that I rest and that they would take care of the remaining mess since they were the ones responsible for it. Dunk walked me to my room, giving information on how things work while on our way.
“As a certified gay man, I never thought you’d be friends with a homophobic one.” I said when we arrived.
His head snapped toward me. “Huh?”
I ignored him, grabbed my luggage back, and closed the door to my room. My eyes roamed around, relieved to see that it was somehow organized and untouched, unlike the mess outside.
I let my body fall onto the soft bed and, before I knew it, drifted off from exhaustion, the faint voices outside lulling me to sleep.
It was already dark and quiet when I woke up. No one was outside when I checked. No shoes by the door either. Instead of calling Dunk to ask where he was or what time he’d be home, I let him be.
I didn’t want to become the kind of adult I grew up hating.
“Phuwin!” Satang called when they saw me enter the court. “You're out early.”
The three of us, together with Fourth, had been together that morning, except for my last two classes since we weren’t classmates. But before we parted ways, Fourth told me to meet them on the basketball court to cheer for his crush, who was named after a zodiac sign.
We haven’t actually known each other that long, but I appreciate that there’s no awkward phase in our friendship. I transferred from another school and never expected to find people here who share the same interests as me.
“Just attendance. Is it starting yet?” I asked, fanning myself with my hand.
“Not yet,” Fourth answered me but his focus was down below where the court was. “Help me make a banner next time so he'll notice me.”
Satang and I looked at each other and shook our heads.
When the crowd suddenly screamed, I looked down to see what was happening. I thought the game was about to start, but it was only a player who had stepped onto the court. Naravit, with “14” printed on the back of his shirt. He was drinking water and casually raised his hand to wave at the group of girls across the railings from us. Then he turned around and looked up in our direction, along with the other players, when Fourth suddenly shouted, “Gemini!”
His eyes met mine and the corners of his lips curled into a smirk when he noticed me. Slowly, he brought his hand to his mouth and shouted, "Get down here!”
Suddenly, I could feel the intense stares of the people around me, including Fourth and Satang. I tried to ignore him, pretending he wasn’t calling me, but he shouted again, “Phuwin!”
That’s me.
I closed my eyes in embarrassment. What was he doing?
“Can we come too?” Fourth shouted back.
He must have agreed, because the next thing I knew, we were already on their bench. Not just any bench, but their bench. We stood there with the other players, including Gemini.
Fourth must be celebrating.
Pond came up to me. I glared at him.
Why was he acting like we actually know each other? We only met last week, and we didn’t even have a proper conversation or introduction. All we did was banter like we never wanted to see each other again.
“Are you here searching for your ideal guy?”
Huh. This again?
“What?”
“You know, sporty. Biceps.”
I gathered the courage to look up at him.
I’d always been told I was tall for my age. I was even the tallest among the three of us, but this guy? He was taller. Bigger. Huge. Even standing with my head held high, he still blocked my view completely, especially with his broad shoulders.
“You’re right,” I agreed, as if I really were into those kinds of men. “I do love sporty guys who can carry games like it’s nothing.”
He smirked and leaned forward. Our faces were so close I could smell the mint of his breath.
“You sure you’re not looking for me?”
I chuckled.
And here I thought the idea of a man being with another man disgusted him so much he’d rather puke his intestines out than be with one. But why does it seem like he actually wants to be with one?
I didn’t step back. Instead, I played along and moved even closer.
“Sorry. I'm actually into guys who can headlock me hard enough to crush my head.” Then I whispered in his ear, “And I am so horny, I can't wait to go home without a big man to ride on.”
He didn’t pull away, but I could feel him freeze.
I straightened up and gave him an innocent smile, the sweetest one I had ever given him. He placed his hands on his side, tilted his head, and creased his forehead.
Then a loud whistle from across the court called them.
It was clear he wasn’t expecting that from me. I didn’t mean it either. God knows I only said it to gross him out and make him leave me alone.
He jogged backwards, never taking his eyes off me before finally turning around and heading to his teammates.
That was the only time I felt relieved. I sat on the bench and looked around. I hadn’t realized that everyone on the court had witnessed what we did. We hadn’t done anything bad or obscene, but I could already tell this was going to be a problem. He was obviously popular, judging by the crowd. Last week, when we came to watch Satang’s boyfriend’s practice, there hadn’t been a crowd this big
Winny, Satang’s boyfriend, had mentioned that their team captain wasn’t there, so there was barely an audience. The players were the same as before, except for him. It doesn’t take much common sense to connect the dots.
On the other hand, I hadn’t seen Winny. I was about to ask my friends when they sat beside me, but I was ambushed instead.
“Phuwin,” Satang asked in a low voice, “what was that?!”
“Right! And you know Pond?” That was Fourth. “Pond Naravit?!”
They were so close to me I could barely breathe. I pushed them away.
"He's Dunk's friend, and we're not close. We only met once."
Both of them gave me knowing looks. I tutted my tongue at them and tried to focus on the game. God knows I really tried.
“What were you talking to him about?” Fourth nudged me.
“We…” I hesitated, trying to think of something. I couldn’t tell him what I’d said to Pond. “We just talked about the mess in my apartment. I told him not to bring parties home with Dunk.”
Fourth bought my alibi, but Satang kept staring at me like he could read right through me. I looked away and focused on the game, for real this time.
Fourth was cheering for Gemini along with Satang, but most of the crowd was cheering for Pond. I could even see some banners with his name and face on them. I joined my friends and shouted Gemini’s name. Satang and Fourth yelled even louder whenever the ball was with him, and I cheered him on too.
By the third quarter, Pond didn’t seem to be in the mood. He wasn’t passing the ball to Gemini, his own teammate, and kept bumping into him more than necessary.
He looked pissed.
A player from the other team called for a timeout. Fourth immediately went over to Gemini like a worried boyfriend. Satang and I stayed behind, talking about the game, when someone sat down behind me. Satang looked past me, then widened his eyes as if telling me to turn around.
I did.
It was Pond, catching his breath, sweat dripping like bullets. He wasn't looking at me. He was silent and didn’t have that usual cocky attitude.
Now what?
What should I do?
We weren’t even close enough to ask about each other’s problems.
I was about to turn back to Satang when he spoke.
“Are you here for Gemini?”
I was taken aback by his question. Is he dumb? Anyone could tell Fourth was into Gemini, and yet he was asking me?
Still, I answered, “We’re here for Gemini.”
He glanced at me, wiped his face with the towel around his neck, then looked away.
“Do you like him, then?”
“I don’t.” I chuckled and looked at Fourth, who was laughing with Gemini. “But he does.”
He cleared his throat, and the corner of his lips curved. What?
“Who are you here for, then?” he asked, the irritation gone from his face.
“I came with my friends,” I answered, glancing at Satang, worried he might overhear where this conversation was going. Thankfully, he was busy talking to someone beside him.
“Found your big guy yet?”
I rolled my eyes and leaned back on my arms. Seriously, when was he going to stop asking me about things he clearly wasn’t interested in? Was he fishing for information so he could talk shit about it later?
Fine.
“I’m not quite sure about the players here,” I started. “They’re all covered, so I can’t tell how big everyone is. But Neo—”
I didn’t get to finish my sentence when the whistle blew again. He didn’t say anything, but he tossed his towel onto my lap and ran off to the center.
What the—?
During the fourth quarter, I noticed that Pond was back to his usual self, but he kept glancing in our direction from time to time.
What is his problem?
When Neo from the other team was at the foul line, dribbling, Pond was nowhere near him. Everyone was quiet.
Not until Pond lifted his shirt to wipe the sweat from his forehead, showing off his abs while acting completely innocent about it. The crowd squealed, screamed, and went crazy.
Neo got distracted and missed the shot. My face twisted at his stunt. He saw it and winked.
Such a show off.