Page 22 of Baby Love

“It was my fault,” Spin says. “I got drunk and P’Park had to take care of me.”

“Well, you were right not to take photos, then. You can take some later. I’ll be present for Saturday’s photo shoot, but not for next Thursday’s. P’Big will take care of you that day.” She abruptly stands and walks away.

“No pressure,” Spin murmurs, making me chuckle under my breath. From halfway across the room, Khun Lee hears me and turns around, eyes narrowed.

“Look, you got me in trouble,” I accuse Spin.

He flashes his innocent smile as he looks at his phone. “Sorry.” Holding it up, he leans into me. “Smile!”

I do, and he takes a few shots of us.

“I’ll post these.” He shows them to me for approval, and when I nod, he gets to work. When he’s finished, he looks at me.

“My friends are meeting me for dinner up the street. Want to join us? Or do you need to get home to Anya?”

“Let me check.” I call Auntie, who says she and Anya have already eaten and to go ahead and have fun.

I smile at Spin. “Let’s go.”

Chapter Nine: Spin

P’Park and I head down the street to the restaurant where Kiet told me to meet them, which features sandwiches made with homemade bread and a variety of soups. It has outdoor seating, and my friends have grabbed a table near the small coin fountain.

“Baby!” Bass opens his arms to me and I run into them and hug him. “I’ve missed you. Hey there, Park, long time no see.”

Unable to resist a snuggle, I perch on Bass’s lap.

“So, you two are working together again,” Kiet says to Park. “Must be kismet.”

“Must be,” P’Park says, leaving an empty seat for me between him and Bass.

“Get out of his lap; that’s so embarrassing,” Daw hisses at me under her breath as the server begins taking orders. Just to spite her, I stay where I am. It’s not like I’m on her boyfriend’s lap—she can just chill.

When the server leaves, Daw turns her attention to P’Park. “What is a handsome guy like you doing acting in boys love shows, P’Park?”

“All boys love actors are good-looking,” Cushion says, and I can hear her unspoken duh at the end.

“Not as handsome as P’Park is.” Daw smiles flirtatiously. “He could be in any lakorn he wants to be in.”

“And exactly how many bl’s have you watched to know how handsome the boys are?” Cushion asks.

I turn to Bass. “That reminds me, did you find out how your audition went?”

“Not yet. Oh, I ran into Nok the other day when I was getting coffee at a shop near her school. She seems really happy,”

“She really likes it there,” I say.

“She told me she’s moving into a dorm.”

Nok mentioned that to me in a text message a few days ago. Due to our conflicting schedules, we haven’t seen much of each other lately, so I haven’t talked to her about it in person. It isn’t that I mind her moving to a dorm—it’s included in the tuition—but it’s going to be weird for me to live alone. I can’t say that to Nok, though, or she might feel like she needs to stay with me.

“Yes, that’s right,” I say.

“She told me she’ll be living with two other girls and that the dormitory is close to all her classes. She already knows one of her roommates because they have a class together. She also said that she’s happy she doesn’t have any early-morning classes.”

“Sounds like you had quite a conversation in front of the coffee shop,” I say, thinking that Bass knows more about what my sister is up to than I do.

“Oh, we went inside and sat down to drink our coffee together,” Bass said.

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