Looking out the window Fah surveyed his new hometown. It was small, not far from his university, but far enough that you'd have to drive or take a train to reach it. His first few days were spent in a small rented room frequented by tourists. By the end of the first week, he secured a furnished apartment and had an interview with a law firm scheduled.

Back where my life began according to my birth certificate. Mom never mentioned this town, or friends here, I wonder why? Hopefully, someone will remember my father and his tattoo.  

The job interview ended and Fah stood to make a wai to thank Khun Korn for his consideration. Khun Korn motioned for him to sit down.

"Fah, I'd like to welcome you to our little family."

"I got the job?"

"Yes. Let me introduce you to my team. We're small but that's what makes it nice I think of my employees as a second family. Come on." Khun Korn led him out of the office and over to an area with three desks, one of them empty. 

"These are my junior lawyers, Ohm and Win," said Khun Korn as he gestured at the two attractive men. To Fah, they appeared to be only a few years older than himself.  "Ohm, Win, this is our new team member."

"Hello, my name is Tongfah, please call me Fah. I look forward to working with you and I will do my best to support you." He made a wai.

"Aren't you formal," said Win with a broad smile. "And cute too!" This was followed by a thwack which was the sound of Ohm hitting Win with a stack of papers.

"I apologize for my partner and hope he didn't make you feel uncomfortable. I'm Ohm, the sensible one. I'll be glad to help you with anything you need."

"Now who is hitting on him?" Win said under his breath.

"I heard you, Win. I'm not hitting on him, after all, you're the only man for me." Ohm leaned over and gave Win a haawm kaem and immediately Win was smiling again. 

"When you said partner, you meant more than work partner, right?" asked Fah.

"Yes, against my better judgment, I fell in love with this drama queen and now we live together." Both of them waited for Fah's reaction.

"That's so cool. I wish I could have a relationship like that," said Fah. 

"Ooo, so does this mean you're one of us?" asked Win.

"One of us?" asked Fah.

"Are you gay?"

"Oh, sorry, yes."

"No need to be sorry, that makes our office four for four. Good hiring Khun Korn!"

"Wait, you didn't hire me because I'm gay did you?" asked Fah as he faced Khun Korn.

"Until this conversation, I had no idea you were gay. You got this job thanks to your grades and your interview. As far as finishing school, I'll pay for you to take your final courses online. You can stay late at the office and use the internet here."

"Really? Thank you so much!" Fah's eyes sparkled and he couldn't stop smiling.

"You finishing your degree helps the firm. We'll help you pass the Thai Bar Association exam as well so you can help with the caseload."

Another six months passed and Fah couldn’t believe the recent turn of events: he finished his degree and graduated. Khun Korn paid for the graduation gown and took the whole office out to dinner to celebrate. Not long after that, he passed the bar exam with the help of his work family. For once, Fah finally felt he belonged. 

Ohm and Win often brought him out to the club or parties at friends' houses. Although many of their friends and men at the bar approached Fah, he never accepted anyone. His feelings for Lom were still strong, albeit complex. Sometimes he wasn't sure if he loved or hated Lom. 

At one of the parties at Win's and Ohm’s house, Fah was pleasantly surprised. He'd arrived late and as he entered the party Win whispered in Fah’s ear, “We have a friend visiting. You might like him. He’s our age and he’s handsome. Watch out though, he’s a wild one.” 

Fah followed Win through the house and out to the backyard where everyone stood gathered by the pool. 

“There he is, the one with his back to us, standing by the outdoor bar. C’mon, I’ll introduce you.” They walked over and Win tapped the stranger’s shoulder. He turned around and smiled at Win.

“Win, hello! Thank you so much for inviting me. It’s wonderful to see you guys!"

“Well, thanks but I want to introduce you to another single friend of ours, this is...” but before Win could finish the introduction, the visitor cut him off.

“Fah!” 

“Mek!” said Fah, leaning in to hug him hello. 

“Wait, you two know each other?” Win couldn’t hide his surprise.

“He was my first kiss,” said Fah, smiling.

“Oooh, first kiss? Were you two an item?” Win could never stop himself from probing for information. It was one of the qualities that made him a successful lawyer but a nuisance to friends.

“No, nothing like that. We’re friends,” said Mek. 

“Well, if there isn’t any gossip here, I’m going to find Ohm and find out what he’s up to. I saw him in the crowd over there earlier.” Win walked away leaving Fah and Mek standing together.

“How have you been?” asked Mek.

“Okay. Thanks again for your help at the beginning. I’m sorry I put you in that position but I needed to figure things out and everything happened so fast. After I got here I lost my phone and had to buy a new one. I lost everyone’s phone number, although I suppose it was good in a way; if I hadn’t, I might have been tempted to call Lom.”

“When did you last speak to him?”

“The night I drugged him,” Fah said in a monotone voice. He stared at his feet and his whole body seemed to sag.  “Have you spoken to him?” 

“He used to call me once a week to see if I had heard from you but after six months he said he wouldn’t bother me anymore; it was apparent you weren't coming back.” Mek watched Fah’s face as he shared this news and noticed his eyes became glassy.

“How was he doing then? Did the family treat him okay?” Fah couldn't help himself even though he wanted to appear nonchalant.

“Yeah, your dad, well, his dad, gave him and his partner at work more important tasks that didn’t involve beating people up. That made Lom happy.”

“That’s fantastic. Not that I want him to move up the ranks of organized crime but at the same time, at least he’s not hurting people who are only guilty of being poor. Also, he’s less likely to be killed or injured, right?” 

Mek nodded in agreement. 

“Does he go to the bar? Do you ever get together with him? Is he dating anyone?” Fah cursed himself inside. He wanted to play it cool but he couldn't control his need to know.

“The last time I spoke to him he was single. Don’t forget, he was calling me to find out about you so I think his heart was already taken. I’ve never seen him at the bar but he probably goes to places closer to where he lives. He’s living in the house with your parents. I’m sorry. With his parents.” 

Mek felt awkward about the mistakes he kept making when referring to Ton as Fah’s father.

“It’s okay. They were my parents for years, or at least they pretended to be. It hurt a lot, what they said and did to me. Now, I’m happy they kicked me out. I don’t have the dark cloud of mafia hanging over me. I can work as a lawyer doing the kind of law I want to do and I’m not obligated to defend people who I'm positive are guilty of the crimes with which they are charged. I miss Lom. I'll always miss him. But again, it goes back to the first night when we met you.”

“How so?” Mek couldn’t figure out what Fah meant.

“You walked up to our table and asked if we were together. I thought we were, but Lom said we weren’t. That should have told me everything right then.” Fah gave a half-hearted smile and then looked down, pretending to be very interested in his drink. 

“Well, I don’t think he meant it like that. Anyway, what are you up to? How do you know Win and Ohm?”

“Oh, I work with them. We all work with Khun Korn.”

“You work for Korn as well? Small world.” Mek laughed.

“Why are you laughing?” 

“Korn is my uncle. He’s the first person who I came out to since he’s gay as well.”

“He helped me out a lot and celebrated my graduation from university with me.” 

“That sounds like Korn. He’s a sweet guy and I’ve always been sad he never found the right partner. He was in a long-term relationship but his partner simply disappeared one day. Korn searched for him for years but never got any answers. It broke his heart and since then I have never seen him go out to bars or try to meet anyone new. He works all the time or volunteers with different charities. I’m still mad at his ex for that. What kind of person walks out the door without a word after six years of living together?” 

“Wow, that’s awful. I feel bad for Khun Korn. I wish you hadn’t told me because now I’m going to be afraid I’ll let something slip. I wonder what made his ex do that. Weren’t there any warning signs?”

“No. They were planning a trip to Seoul together when Kovit disappeared. Oh, and don’t worry about letting something slip. I’ll call him and tell him we ran into each other and are friends. I’ll tell him I told you.” Mek raised his glass in a toast to Fah and finished his drink. “You want another one?” 

“Sounds great,” said Fah as he finished his drink off as well. A few hours later the number of people at the party had dwindled. Fah and Mek were sitting on the edge of the pool, their legs in the water, drinking and talking. 

“Fah, this might be a weird question, but do you want to sleep with me?” Mek leaned close to Fah’s face as he asked this. 

“What? Mek, no, I’m sorry. I can’t be with anyone, I’m not ready yet. Maybe when I’m over Lom.”

“It’s okay. I’m not used to rejection, but I understand," said Mek. "You and Lom and me, I'm glad we’re friends although it is an odd friendship. I needed to ask because that first night, it was you I was interested in. Lom’s kind, he’s handsome too, but we’re too alike personality-wise.”

“Really? Thanks, Mek, you boosted my ego with that news. I don’t think we could ever be together though, we’re both bottoms.” 

Mek smiled mischievously.

“You are a bottom, and Lom is a top, but I’m vers, and let me tell you, it opens up a lot more doors for fun and dating.” Mek threw his arm around Fah and leaned his head on his shoulder. “It’s too bad. When you’re over Lom, give me a call. I have never reacted so strongly to anyone’s kiss as I did to yours that night. You got me rock-hard in a matter of seconds. Someday I want to eat more than the appetizer, so keep me in mind. Hey, now that you work with my uncle and we have mutual friends, let's get together more often. It doesn’t have to be about sex, we can hang out as friends. My social circle is pretty small.”

“Your social circle is small? How can that be? You are such a player!” laughed Fah.

“That’s the problem. I meet a lot of fuckable guys but I don’t meet people I can have a decent conversation with. I don’t mean to brag, but I turn down an awful lot of people who want to turn a one-night stand into more. That’s why it sucked that both you and Lom were fun and intelligent. If you two dated, I’d be the third wheel. If I dated one of you, it would be awkward. Now that you don’t interact, well, that’s why I thought maybe I finally had a chance with you.”  

Mek’s sincerity surprised Fah. On impulse, he leaned over and pulled Mek in for a kiss. Their kiss moved from unsure to passionate in a matter of seconds. Once again Mek sensed the tightening of his pants and thought to himself Fah’s kissing was better than he remembered. He put a hand on Fah’s thigh and pulled him in tighter. 

“Oh, are you two re-enacting the first kiss for us?” 

Fah and Mek pulled apart, startled. They looked up to see Win and Ohm watching them and snickering. 

“Sorry boys, but it’s late and we have to get to bed. I’m glad you two got to reconnect. Now take your sex show out the door, I need sleep!” Win kept giggling. 

Mek and Fah stood up and walked together to the door. They said their goodbyes and went outside. 

“Mek, I’m sorry. I am attracted to you, I’m not just saying that. But there’s something inside of me that won’t let me go farther than this - with anyone.”

“It’s okay, I get it. But damn, your kisses are better than I remember,” Mek laughed. “Hey, give me your phone number and I’ll text you so you have mine. Let’s keep in touch from now on.”

“Okay, sure, give me your phone.” Fah took Mek’s phone and entered his number under the name Lips. Mek saw this and started laughing. They hugged goodbye and went their separate ways.