Page 61 of Baby Love

Spin nods. “They were a gift to my sister, and she gave them to me because she’s scared of fish.”

Anya’s eyes go wide. “She is?”

“Terrified of them,” Spin says. “Lucky for us, huh?”

I grin. “Sounds like a plan.”

Keeping up with Anya at Sea Life, even with Spin there to help me, is just as tiring as any work day I’ve ever experienced. Maybe more tiring. Located beneath the same shopping mall where Spin and I recently signed photographs, Sea Life Aquarium is packed full of marine life that Anya is content to watch for hours. Often, as we moved from exhibition to exhibition, Spin and I would have to coax her away from one to get her to the next.

“She reminds me of our father,” I say as Spin and I watch her study the sharks behind the glass partition.

“Did he enjoy marine life?” Spin asks.

“Yeah. He used to take me here all the time, but Anya hasn’t been since she was too young to remember. I’ve been meaning to bring her here for a long time. Thank you for suggesting it, and for using your free tickets so I’d only have to pay for Anya’s.”

“My pleasure. This is a lot of fun. Hey, look! An octopus!” Getting Anya’s attention, we hurry to the other side of the glass tunnel.

We don’t leave until almost closing time, and, on the way home, Anya falls asleep mid-sentence talking about the blind cavefish. When we pull up in front of the house and I turn around to say something to Spin, who Anya requested sit in the back seat with her, my heart melts to find him fast asleep, too, his cheek against Anya’s hair. I hate to wake him up, but I need his help getting Anya into the house. She barely rouses long enough to change into her pajamas and brush her teeth, then she’s out like a light clutching the stuffed stingray Spin insisted on buying her. When I return to my bedroom after taking my shower, Spin is already fast asleep in my bed. I stare at him lying there, liking the sight too much.

The following morning, after I prepare a special breakfast with Anya and spend some time watching cartoons with her before she has to go to school, I talk to Khun Anong again about taking care of her for the next few days while Spin and I are in Koh Sumei filming. As I usually do when I have to be away, I feel guilty. But Khun Anong points out that Anya is always fine with her, and I feel a little better by the time Spin and I leave.

As soon as we arrive at the studio, we board the bus that’s taking actors and staff to the beach. It’s a twelve-hour drive that we spend listening to music, reading, and chatting. It’s late when we finally arrive at the hotel.

After a shower in the room Spin and I are sharing, I lie on one of the two beds and scroll through my phone while Spin takes his shower. P’Big has posted a picture of me and Spin asleep on the bus, sharing earbuds. I stare at the photograph, a longing rising within my chest that I don’t know what to do with.

When Spin comes out of the bathroom in a navy sleep shirt and shorts that show off his legs, tanned and tight with muscle, I turn the phone so he can see the photo.

He groans.

“Did I drool on you?”

Laughing, I turn off the screen and toss my phone onto the bed behind me. “If you did, I didn’t notice. I was asleep, too.”

Spin throws himself onto the other bed and crawls beneath the covers. “I don’t know if I can sleep tonight. I should have made myself stay awake on the bus.”

He props himself on his pillows and pulls the new script from his bag.

“P’Park,” he says after a moment.

“Hm?”

He doesn’t reply, and I turn to look at him. The tips of his ears are bright red as he stares at the script.

“What is it?” I ask, leaving my bed to sit on the edge of his.

He glances at me. “This line I have to say.” When he points to the page with his finger, I lean over to look.

Boom: I want to feel you inside me, Khao.

When I glance back at him, Spin’s cheeks match the tips of his ears.

“I don’t know if I can say that to you,” he says.

He’s so damn cute.

“Of course you can. You’re an actor,” I tell him.

“It’s embarrassing,” he says.

---