My Moon, Chapter 19.2 pg 2
My Moon, Chapter 19.2 pg 2
“Cool… no need to worry then.”
And in the next second, Klai shifted his gaze from Theerak and locked eyes with Panli. He didn’t know if they held that gaze for just a split second or a whole minute before Klai looked away, because in that moment, it felt like time had frozen.
That feeling of time just… stopping?
It’s real, man.
Even if someone tried to hold the clock’s hands still, his heart would keep racing like this. Panli glanced at the birthday boy, who was turning to talk to the person next to him—probably his close friend.
If he hadn’t noticed Klai’s ears turning as red as ripe tomatoes, Panli might’ve thought he was avoiding eye contact because he didn’t want to get to know a stranger like him. But those bright red ears and the faint flush creeping up his cheeks told him Klai was just shy. He felt a bit relieved and shifted his gaze from Klai to his close friend sitting beside him, a sudden idea popping into his head.
“Worried for real, huh? You’re waiting for nothing, Fat Cheeks. Phii Fah isn’t coming.”
“He’s really not coming?” Phii Dom, sitting across from him, asked. Meanwhile, Phii Babe narrowed her eyes at him, as if she was onto his game.
Panli held back a grin before saying, “For real, Phii Dom. Phii Fah said traffic’s insane… he turned the car around already.”
“If you’re lying again, I’m not sharing any grilled meat with you. I mean it—no threats here.”
“For real! Don’t believe me? Go call him yourself.”
“Ugh, Li, you shameless liar. How far are you gonna take this?”
He shook his head, barely hiding his smile. Fat Cheeks is sharp—he didn’t buy the story for a second and probably knew Panli was lying on purpose. His irritation was likely because he was scared the words might actually be true.
“He’s daring you to call and check. Just go call him and get the truth, then come back and deal with Li,” Phii Babe said.
With solid advice from his big sister, Theerak waved his hand, signaling for Panli to move. He got up from the long bench to let his grumpy best friend step out to call Phii Fah.
“Poor kid, waiting for nothing.”
“Wait… hold on, Panli. If this isn’t true, someone’s gonna be crying because of that.”
He burst out laughing when Fat Cheeks pointed at him, threateningly. Then Panli plopped back down on the long bench, glancing at the paper bag placed a bit further away. But someone asking Phii Dom something caught his attention, making him look across the table.
“Where’d your love go, Phii Dom?”
“Ask Panli… he told Theerak that Fah turned the car around because of bad traffic.”
“But the truth is Phii Fah hasn’t even shown up yet, right, Phii Dom?”
“Why don’t you ask the guy who started this, Klai…” Phii Dom nodded toward him before continuing, “What’s up, birthday boy’s asking.”
The birthday boy shifted his gaze from Phii Dom to Panli. His cheeks, now even redder than before, confirmed that Klai was indeed very shy.
And shy people usually aren’t great at starting conversations…
Knowing he’d have to take the lead, Panli pulled his wallet and phone out of his back pocket to make himself more comfortable. He bit his lip slightly, placing both items on the table while thinking of something to say to ease Klai’s nerves. He didn’t mean to make him anxious too.
But he couldn’t help smiling as he looked at the shy guy, who started blinking rapidly, clearly nervous. Not wanting to seem like a liar in Klai’s eyes, Panli quickly slid the gift bag toward his close friend sitting next to him so he could scoot over to sit directly across from him. Their eyes met again, and that’s when he started the conversation with him…
“The birthday boy wants to know the truth… or would you rather guess first?”
“Uh… I think knowing the truth is better.”
“The truth is…” He gave a small smile as he looked into Klai’s eyes, then continued, “No one would turn their car around just because of traffic. Everyone will try to get here as fast as they can… to make sure the birthday boy feels special.”
“…”
“So, Phii Fah will definitely show up.”
“…”
“No need to worry… okay?”
Since Klai didn’t say anything, Panli wasn’t sure if his words eased his worries. So, he gave him a smile. They locked eyes for a few minutes before Klai gave a slight nod, as if to say, “Okay.” He smiled at Klai’s shy, adorable gesture and nodded back.
What he once thought…
That maybe he’d fall for him the moment their eyes met.
It might actually be true.
“Dom, I’m gonna go check the ice cream in the freezer first, okay?”
“Okay,” she replied.
“What drink do you want?”
Phii Dom turned to Panli as soon as his girlfriend walked away from the drink station. Now it was just the two of them standing there. He handed him a glass with ice before saying,
“Eating grilled meat like this, you gotta have a beer, right?”
“You jerk, where’s the beer?” Phii Dom said, laughing.
“Coke, then.”
“Okay…” He poured soda into my glass, then asked, “Is Klai sitting alone at the table?”
I glanced at the table and saw Klai chatting with a friend, then replied, “He’s with a friend now.”
“Oh…”
“Phii Dom, does Klai have any special likes? I’m thinking of getting him a gift.”
“Back in the day… Klai used to love shrimp a lot.”
“And now?…”
Phii Dom went quiet, then shifted his gaze from the glass of water to meet Panli’s eyes. “Klai likes you.”
The serious look in his eyes and the weight in his voice told Panli… what he said was true. Now it was his turn to fall silent, replacing Phii Dom’s stillness. The memory of Klai smiling and giving a thumbs-up to his photo, Lost in the Moon’s Shadow, flooded his mind. He swallowed hard, trying to say something to Phii Dom, who was staring at him, but the rush of mixed emotions left him speechless.
“Klai has had a crush on you for a long time…”
“…”
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