Wittawin sat in dead silence, eyes fixed on the road ahead, barely blinking, drowning in his thoughts. The hum of the engine faded into white noise as his mind churned.
Victory should have felt better than this—so why did his chest feel so tight?
"I'm putting it in turbo mode, Win. But if you're afraid it's not fast enough, you can drive yourself," Pamorn said without turning to look. "Aren't you worried about your motorcycle getting stolen? Thieves are everywhere these days. Can't trust anyone."
If there's going to be a thief, it's probably just one person—a thief named Teeradon.
"I already arranged for it to be towed," Wittawin replied.
"A bike you love that much, and you're willing to just abandon it? Not even a little regret about leaving your precious possession behind? If it were me, I'd wait until I saw with my own eyes that the tow truck actually came. Stay with it, spend quality time with it—something that valuable doesn't come easy. It never did anything wrong, been loyal to you for so long. Then out of nowhere you just abandon it." Pamorn voiced his lengthy opinion.
"Stop talking, Pamorn. Just drive. I don't want to hear it."
"Yes, sir," Pamorn mocked. "I'm just worried about the bike that got abandoned by its owner. Being left is cruel."
Wittawin sat quietly, thinking about both the bike and the person he'd left behind at that small roadside hotel.
Pamorn's words troubled his mind. He admitted he was worried about the bike, but at that moment he wanted to teach Teeradon a lesson. Teeradon had been pursuing him persistently for nine months now, and still hadn't given up.
Right now, Teeradon was probably sitting glumly in his room, hungry because he was waiting to eat dinner together. Or maybe he was getting angry while searching for him.
Will Teeradon realize I've escaped to Bangkok? And how angry will he be when the tow truck reaches the hotel and takes my bike back to Bangkok?
Teeradon will probably want to punch the wall when he realizes I outsmarted him. Then maybe he'll finally stop chasing after me.
Really?
Probably not. Teeradon seems serious about this.
Serious like that? Does he really love me? With a face like that, who could he possibly love...
Come on. Isn't nine months enough to prove Teeradon's feelings?
"Pamorn, make a U-turn up ahead," Wittawin said quietly after sitting in silence for a while.
"What now?"
"Just do it. Don't ask questions." Wittawin sounded irritated.
"Getting all snappy now. What's gotten into you lately? Being this moody, no wonder nobody wants you," Pamorn shook his head.
"U-turn," Wittawin ordered. "Take me back to the hotel. I'm going to watch over my bike. Afraid it might get stolen."
"Really?" Pamorn looked disbelieving. "You love that bike so much you're willing to change your mind? You change your mind a hundred times a day, Win. Never make firm decisions. You made me drive all the way from Bangkok, I'm exhausted. If I take you back to the hotel and you change your mind again, I'm not coming back to pick you up." Pamorn grumbled like a bear with a bee sting for a while before finally arriving at the hotel. Wittawin sighed heavily and got out of the car, saying briefly:
"Drive safely."
"Thanks for letting me come pick you up, Win," Pamorn called after the young man who was walking determinedly into the hotel without looking back. "Not even a word of thanks to a friend."
Pamorn smiled bitterly, watching Wittawin until he disappeared from sight before saying, "Don't know what he sees in you. That attitude—you deserve to get punched several times a day."
A rustling sound came from the back of the car. A tall, long-limbed young man who had been curled up on the third-row seat of the Toyota Fortuner slowly poked his head up with a tired groan.
"Ow, I can't take it anymore. My legs and back are killing me."
"Khun Don, did you really plan to stay curled up in the back seat all the way to Bangkok?" Pamorn turned to ask.
"Probably not. I'd die from the cramps. I figured I'd pop up in a bit to surprise Wittawin," Teeradon shrugged, folding down the front seat and clumsily climbing over from the back row.
"He would've kicked you right out of the car," Pamorn pursed his lips, looking frightened as if Wittawin were still in the car.
"I wouldn't let Wittawin do that."
"He'd kick me then. He probably can't reach you anyway," Pamorn chuckled softly, watching Teeradon make a disgusted face while getting out of the car and stretching his limbs.
"Thank you so much, Khun Pamorn. And I'll talk to Pro Action Company about setting up their network system. I guarantee your company will definitely get that contract."
"Thank you, but I did this because I wanted to help a friend and help you. I didn't think of it as some kind of business exchange," Pamorn clarified.
"People need to help each other out. Don't overthink it. We'll be relying on each other for a long time to come." Teeradon smiled thinly and waved goodbye, then turned and walked toward the hotel.
"Just don't let it get to the point where you have to drug Win and carry him to bed to wait for you. You've come this far—time to close the deal with that stubborn guy." Pamorn said with a smile to himself before driving off, heading to a luxury resort in Cha-am where the owner was friends with Teeradon.
So his friend got outmaneuvered by Teeradon's master plan too. A stubborn guy like Win needs exactly this kind of treatment.
***