10. Chapter Ten Park

Chapter Ten: Park

I n the middle of the night, I'm awakened by a crash of thunder. It's the rainy season, so we've been having quite a few bad storms, although they don't normally last long. I can't help but think of Spin and wonder if his sister is at home with him or if she's at the dorm and he's alone. Reaching for my phone, I send him a text.

U awake?

His reply is immediate.

Yes. Why are you awake?

The thunder woke me up.

I pause a minute, thinking, before tapping out another text.

Are you okay?

I don't like storms.

I kind of got that from the way you crawled into my bed during the last one.

I spend the next few minutes chewing on my thumbnail while I wait for his reply, and when it doesn't come, I get up to go to the bathroom. A notification pings when I'm washing my hands, and I race back to the bed where I left my phone.

I wish I were there no w .

I have to read Spin's text three times before I can think properly. Of course, I know what he means, but my brain insists on construing it the other way—that Spin wants to be in my bed, with me, for reasons other than fear. And why the fuck am I even thinking about that? Have a few kisses in rehearsal shifted my mindset so much that I'm now thinking differently about my ship partner?

No. I've done NC scenes with other actors and never felt whatever it is I'm feeling right now, which is a combination of protectiveness and arousal that makes me uncomfortable because this is my coworker I'm thinking about.

Another huge crack of thunder jolts me out of my thoughts. Quickly, I send one more text.

Goodnight. Hope you can sleep.

But I can't sleep. I keep tossing and turning and thinking about Spin being afraid because the storm continues to rage outside, and, dammit, I never asked Spin if his sister was home with him.

I wind up making some hot tea and sitting in front of the window in my living room, watching the wind thrash through the trees in my front yard.

What is it about Spin that's so different?

He's both new to the business and younger than I am, which makes me responsible for him.

He's cute, which I noticed when we first met. Back then, I didn't let myself admit that I liked boys as well as girls. I knew he was special, though. But it was right after the play ended that my parents were killed and I took on responsibility for Anya and my free-time disappeared, so there was no time to explore that budding attraction.

Maybe it's a good thing I feel this way. He's my partner, and if we're going to make our ship successful, we have to have a certain amount of chemistry. That's what I hope will make this work when my past partnerships haven't.

So, I'm just going to stop worrying about it and go with it. I've seen plenty of actors get close to their ship partners, do multiple bl's with them, and then move on.

I can do it, too.

Spin seems a little weirded out by the spa treatment.

"I've never been to a place like this before," he tells me as the attendant settles a mask over his face. Mine smells like kaffir lime and jasmine and is supposedly sucking all the impurities out of my skin.

"You'll get used to it," I assure him. "We always have a full treatment before a series. They want us to look our best for the close-ups."

Spin jolts when the attendant begins working on his feet, and I can't help but chuckle.

Two hours later, our hair is cut, nails are buffed, skin's rejuvenated, and bodies are relaxed from deep massages. The SPPT SUV picks us up to take us to the park because they don't trust us to get there on time. When we climb out, SPPT staff escort us to the makeup tent where Pear does my makeup while another girl works with Spin.

"Are you getting enough sleep, P'Park?" Pear asks me.

"Why, do I look bad?" I ask, chuckling.

"No, of course not. I just worry about you, that's all."

"I'm good," I assure her.

"I had lunch with Yah the other say. She said you're working all the time."

I frown. "Does she feel she has to keep Anya too much?"

"Oh, no. It's not that. She loves Anya. She just worries about you like I do."

"I can take care of myself," I say softly, yet firmly.

When she finishes, I wait for Spin and then we go to another tent to change into our first outfit for the photo shoot—a pair of boyfriend sweaters with hearts on them. When Spin meets up with me again, I can't help but stare at the coat of pink lip gloss on his full lips. He's downright gorgeous.

The photographer poses us sitting on a bench, my forehead against Spin's temple as he stares directly into the camera. I'm glad for the lack of awkwardness between us—it makes this so much easier than it has been in the past when I've been paired in a photo shoot with someone new. This morning, when we met at the spa, Spin was so tense, worrying about Kiet not answering his texts. I thought he might have trouble letting go when it came time for photographs, but he's acting like a pro. Maybe the massage and facial did the trick.

We pose standing, sitting, with Spin in my arms, on my lap, and standing in front of me. Some shots are happy and some romantic. Khun Lee supervises them all, staring at the monitor as every photo is snapped. She whispers something to the photographer, he nods, and Khun Lee calls over her assistant and speaks to her .

"Nongs, go with Mouse and change into the next outfit," she tells us.

I'm a little surprised when I see what it is. White mesh shirts cut high and tailored black pants that aren't exactly the usual fair for a shoot for an office romance series. Khun Lee obviously wants to present us as a sexy couple, probably because one of our scenes will be NC 17+.

When we return, the photographer poses us under a tree on a red blanket where I'm instructed to lie down on top of Spin. I can hear the camera clicking as the pictures are snapped one after another. Next, Spin lies on top of me. Then the staff puts food out like a picnic, and we feed each other while a box fan gently ruffles our hair.

Time for a third outfit—this one with complementing shirts and long shorts—and some fun shots taken on the playground.

"We need to wrap these up. It's supposed to rain in a couple of hours, and the clouds are already rolling in," the photographer's assistant tells us.

But it's at least another half hour before we're walking toward the parking lot.

I'm exhausted, and, looking at Spin, I can see he is, too. He's checking his phone again, and his expression tells me Kiet still hasn't texted him back.

"Give him some time. He's probably trying to make things up to Daw," I say.

Spin sighs. "Am I a jerk to wish he'd break up with her?"

"No. I get it that you don't feel she's right for him, but he has to come to that conclusion himself. You know how when your parents don't want you to date someone, and that only makes you more determined to do it? I think it works with friends, too."

Spin smiles wryly. "You're probably right. "

The SUV drops us off at the SPPT building where my car is parked.

"I'll give you a ride home so you don't have to ride the Skytrain," I offer Spin.

"That's not necessary," he protests.

"I'm going that way anyway." I don't like to think of him riding home alone on public transportation. Plus, it's getting dark. No doubt he has a lot of experience taking care of himself, but—I don't know. I just want to make sure he gets home safely.

I don't expect him to invite me inside his apartment, but he does. Curious about where he lives, I follow him up the three flights of stairs. The place is compact with only a small living room, kitchen, bathroom, and a bedroom tucked behind glass sliding doors.

"My sister has always used the bedroom, and I sleep on the couch," Spin tells me. "I guess I can use the bedroom now that she's moved out. The dorm already had a bed in it, so she left hers here."

"That'll be nice for you, right? Not having to sleep on the couch anymore," I say.

Spin nods. Both of our phones receive notifications one after the other. When I open mine, it's an email from Khun Lee with an attachment of photos from the shoot. That was fast.

"Which pictures should we share?" Spin asks, looking at his phone.

We sit on the couch and he pulls them up on his laptop so we can look at the photos together, deciding which we think are best out of each wardrobe change.

"Shouldn't we post these strategically?" Spin asks when we've agreed upon our choices.

"What do you mean?"

"Like, save the sexy ones for last, after people get used to seeing us together. Khun Lee said in the email that those shots were only sent to us. "

"I guess that makes sense. Let's test the waters by posting one in our public Instagram accounts." Most actors have both public and private accounts to keep work and life separate.

"Okay." Spin opens the app on his phone. "Oh, wow!"

"What is it?" I lean over to look at the screen.

"I have over 5k new subscribers, and a lot of people comment on the pictures I posted of us in the studio."

"That's awesome." I open mine, pleasantly surprised to find my original number of almost 50k subs has risen by almost fourteen thousand. "I have new subs, too."

"Which of these should we post? You do one and I'll do another one. How about the ones with the cute sweaters?"

We choose and make our posts.

"Maybe we can take another picture of us together now?"

I nod. "Let fans know we're hanging out. Good idea."

We pose with our hands together in front of us, making a heart.

"Want some ramen?" Spin asks me when we've finished posting. "I can make some really quick."

"Sounds good. Then I need to go get Anya."

Spin walks into the small kitchen.

I've set my Instagram to notify me about comments, and they start pinging while Spin's still cooking. "The general consensus seems to be that we are a cute couple," I say, scanning them as I walk into the kitchen.

Spin looks at his phone and laughs. "Someone said I'm looking at you like I want to eat you. Am I, really?" He looks up at me and grins.

I study the picture of me looking forward as Spin studies my face. I suppose his expression could be construed that way. "Maybe you were thinking about how you hadn't eaten since breakfast. "

"Actually, I think I was." Spin chuckles as he goes back to fixing our food.

When he brings our bowls to the small table by the window, I sit down.

"Would you like a beer? Oh, or maybe not, since you'll be driving home," Spin says.

I smile. "I'm not that much of a lightweight."

He brings me a bottle of Singha and opens one for himself.

"Thanks for coming in with me," Spin says after a few bites of ramen. "I couldn't face walking in here alone. I know I'll get used to Nok not being here anymore, but right now it feels…lonely."

"No problem. Do you have nice neighbors?"

"I don't know them. They're all older and don't come out of their apartments much."

I'm not sure what I could say that would make him feel better, so I remain quiet.

When we're finished eating, we move back to the living room and Spin plops down on the couch next to me, leaning close as he opens his Instagram. "Wow. There are a lot more comments. People want to know more about our series."

"SPPT will put out teasers once we start filming."

"Do you know when that will be?"

"After next week, I think."

Resting his head on my shoulder, Spin frowns. "That soon?"

"Yeah. Everything will be okay. You'll be ready, don't worry."

"Are you sure about that? We're filming the love scenes first. That's going to be so…" He leaves off with a frown.

"Awkward?" I provide. "But you don't seem to feel awkward around me right now. "

He sighs. "This is different. I like being close to people like this." He suddenly lifts his his head and moves back a little. "Does it bother you? I should have asked. I'm really bad about forgetting to do that, and I know some people don't like to be touched all the time the way I do."

"Of course I don't mind," I assure him. "I like that you're affectionate."

Spin sighs. "That's a relief. Anyway, in my last role, Bang and I only kissed chastely."

I lift my arm, inviting him in for a cuddle. When he's next to me, I give him a reassuring squeeze. "Skinship is the key. Remember how much better we did after practicing with Khun Aat?"

Spin's quiet for a moment. Then, "Can we do that again? Please?"

"What, practice? Here?"

"Yeah." He reaches into the side table drawer and pulls out his script. "This love scene is pretty intense. We've practiced the initial kiss, but the scene goes on from there. Is P'Big planning to just throw that at us without any practice?"

"Probably," I say. "It's up to us how we want to deal with it. He'll tell us if he wants to change something."

"I'd rather practice it now in private, wouldn't you? Oh, but you need to get home."

"I've got some time," I say, figuring Anya will bathe at Khun Lee's like she usually does when I pick her up after a certain time.

Looking at the script, Spin suddenly groans. "We're going to take our shirts off!" His expression is so stricken I can't help but smile.

"Does that bother you?"

Spin shrugs, lips pursed in a pout.

"Tar and Payu take their shirts off all the time," I remind him. "Maybe it's the secret of their success. "

I'm teasing, but Spin appears to think about it. After a moment, his expression clears. Picking up his phone again, he scrolls through it. "I downloaded one of their scenes earlier this week." Our heads pressed together, we watch a love scene from Tar and Payu's last series.

"They're French kissing," Spin points out. "All the really hot couples are doing that and more. They're sucking on each other's tongues, biting lips, tweaking nipples…" He continues listing what actors are doing in NC scenes, looking innocent yet determined at the same time, but I blank out, unable to think of anything else but doing those things with Spin. In private, not on camara.

"We don't have to do all that," I manage to say once I realize he's stopped talking.

"One of our scenes is 18+. It's got to be hot." Suddenly not looking so nervous anymore, Spin peruses my body. "Take off your shirt."

"What? Now?"

"Yes. Come on, come on." He waves his hands for me to get on with it.

Frowning, I reach behind my neck and pull my T-shirt over my head, marveling at how bossy my shy little partner suddenly got. Evidently, he's got a competitive side and has decided no one's going to outshine us.

I can get on board with that.