“I went for a walk to look at the ocean,” I say in a more reasonable tone.
Things have never felt this awkward between us before, and I don’t like it. But there’s no way I’m bringing up P’Pear and the kiss I witnessed. Thinking about it makes my stomach hurt.
We slept together, and two nights later, he’s kissing someone else.
Flopping onto my side, I turn my back to him and face the window.
“Are you mad at me about something?” P’Park asks after a moment.
“I don’t have any right to be mad at you,” I say.
“What does that mean?”
The next thing I know, P’Park is climbing into bed with me me. The troubled look on his face makes me want to reach out and touch him, but I hold back, reminding myself that he’s played me for a fool. He made me think we had something together. He did. I wasn’t imagining it.
“Tell me why you’re mad at me.”
I spend long seconds studying his face before answering. His dark brows dip toward his nose, and his eyes beseech me to talk to him while I swear his lips beg me to kiss him.
Those lips just kissed P’Pear‘s, I remind myself.
“What is it we’re doing?” I ask him. Because I have to know. We’ve both signed a five-year contract to be partners, and I can’t stand uncertainty. I went through enough when I developed feelings for Bang last year and then had to watch him team up with someone else.
“You mean because of the other night? Nevermind, of course that’s what you mean.” P’Park looks flustered. “I’ve been wanting to talk about it, but we’ve been so busy.”
“I’ve been wanting to talk about it, too,” I say. “In fact, I hoped to talk to you about it tonight on the beach, but you were busy.” Ugh. I didn’t mean to say that.
P’Park frowns, but I can tell the second he realizes. “You saw me talking to Pear.”
“I saw you kissing P’Pear,” I say, pushing myself up and drawing my knees to my chest.
“I needed to talk to her. Someone told me that she’s still hoping to get back with me, and I needed to set her straight,” P’Park says.
I stare at him. “You dated?”
“Well, yeah. I told you that.”
“You definitely did not tell me that.”
“She’s Khun Anong’s granddaughter. We dated last year. I broke up with her.”
I climb off the bed, but P’Park grabs me by the wrist before I can walk away.
“Spin, if I didn’t tell you, I’m sorry. She doesn’t mean anything to me. She never really did.”
I can’t sort through the rush of feelings. Jealousy, definitely. Hurt that P’Park never told me. “You obviously weren’t doing a very good job of setting her straight if she kissed you,” I say through gritted teeth.
Swinging his legs off the bed, P’Park sits on the edge. “Spin. Look at me.”
Reluctantly, I turn to look at his face.
“I told Pear I have feelings for you.”
“Before or after you kissed her?”
“She kissed me, and if you were standing there for any length of time, you know I pushed her away. That’s when I told her I like you.”
Tugging my wrist from his grip, I walk toward the door. I hear P’Park following me.