Kai gets off his bike with a mood gloomier than he was in the afternoon. This last-minute call to work deterred him from picking Macau to the party. He wanted to surprise him by popping up in his house unexpectedly. Vegas might've punched him, but that's ok.

He wants to hurry up to get to the inside part of the club, but his walks are blocked by so many people who greet him or want small talk. The manner is tact, he succumbs to that for a while to be polite.

When he gets to his friends, he throws the birthday gift to Dom. "From Mac and me."

Vegas scoffs at his friend's insinuation that he and his brother are a couple.

"Wow, thanks!" Dom exclaims as he sees inside the packaging. It's a Rolex Daytona Watch.

Vegas is giving him raised brows, skeptical. Kai just gives him a sweet smile. He's going to be a bitch brother-in-law, isn't he? "My brother actually pitched in?"

"He picked, I paid. Same thing."

"And you didn't say a thing when he picked a fifty thousand dollars plus watch as a gift?"

Kai just shrugs. "Money is meant to be spent. Besides Dom is my best friend." Dom smiles so big it can light up the room.

"Damn. He's going to be more spoiled rotten than he already is," Kla whistles.

"I didn't spoil him, Klahan! He has budgets," Vegas looks defensive.

"Oh, please. His budget can buy an apartment every month. Although not the luxury kind, it's still an apartment."

"What budget are you going to give him, Kai?" Dom teases.

"None."

Arthit whistles. Klahan murmurs 'dumb ass' under his breath. Dom looks confused. Vegas is suspiciously quiet. Ash just smiles.

"Not a smart move," Ash joins. "Cau spends like crazy when he is stressed out."

"No problem. I can afford it. I'll just work harder, earn better," he nonchalantly says. It's true. Macau's habit of spending is to be expected as he comes from that kind of background with that kind of brother.

Please, this is not out of his calculation. He's courting a Theerapanyakul! Do people understand what that even means?

What Macau hasn't have yet? Vegas might delay him to get what he wants for a month or two, but he will eventually get it. Macau knows that the best and so does Vegas's inner link. Pete, Vegas's partner, isn't better either at spoiling and cuddling the boy. The only positive influence in Macau's spending habit is Porchay, said Ash. The kid seems to be allergic to anything too expensive.

The Theerapanyakuls are known as big spenders. Even when he is at the same level as Tankhun in the spending department, Kai is confident he can afford it in five years to come. Macau probably has the urge to redecorate their houses on whims by that time and he will just smile and say ok.

He wants to be that person for Mac and he will. Even right now, he earns better than Vegas if they don't count the earnings from their family's side.

Vegas doesn't say anything to this. He looks like he is thinking about his life choices. He just listens as his friends go back and forth about his brother. This is inevitable, isn't it?

"Don't you want to say anything, V?" Art asks, with a big smile, eager to coax a response.

Vegas looks at Kai, who looks at him back with confidence. There's a heavy air of anticipation.

"Break his heart and I'll break all 206 bones in your body," he says before he raises his glass. Kai gives him a wide smile and a thumbs up. Vegas sighs and downs the whole glass in one go.

"Where is he anyway?" Kai asks after a round of drinking.

"Dancing with Dec," Kla says with a pointed knowing look. Kai doesn't like that look at all. So he gets up and heads to the dance floor.
***

Macau is the life of the party when he is in one. He can dance, he can sing, he can spank a girl in between. Right now he is in his element with his friends and friendly faces surrounding him.

His body sways with the music while laughing and talking to his friends at the same time. He's not drinking that much though. Only a glass and it's still in his hand. Maybe that's why he is very aware of how Dec's arm drapes around his waist.

But he doesn't think that much about it. Dec has always been like that since they were toddlers: hugging, holding, grabbing. That was why Macau developed a crush on him back in middle school even though he knew Dec was straight. He just didn't think how bad Dec would take his confession in the first year of high school. That led to their bad fallout. But they were able to mend it in the last year of high school.

He is singing his heart out when Dec turns him around to face him. He widens his eyes in question, but Dec just smiles. One of his hands goes up and browses Cau's hair. 

The brush feels... Odd. Slightly too intimate to be just friendly.

His friend gets closer, now putting both of his arms on Macau's shoulder. He is so close that their noses almost touch. He can almost taste Dec's choice of alcohol. Macau has to take a half step back. He's confused by this development.

Is he that drunk?

"How is it that you're getting more and more beautiful every time I see you?"

The question and how Dec says it throws him off his guard.
***
It doesn't take time for Kai to find Macau in the sea of people. Call it intuition, but he thinks that's his gift.

First, he just observes, seeing how his boy is having fun with his friends. Macau really knows how to have fun. He really let go: talking, dancing, singing, screaming his heart out with a laugh. It's a beautiful scene if not for the arm that circles his waist.

For his defense, Mac undrapes it a couple of times, making it smooth enough that people think that's just how he moves among the crowd. But Dec is being stubborn.

He's too far away to see Dec's eyes when he looks at Mac, but he still doesn't like how Dec is too close to Mac's face when he talks.

But then Dec turns Mac around, looking like he wants to kiss him right here and there. That's when Kai moves.
***

"What?" Macau asks, bewildered by the question. He tries to laugh it out. "Are you high, man?"

Dec shakes his head. "I always thought you were beautiful. That day when you confessed, I was so happy secretly. But the guys mocked and teased. So I ...," he sourly smiles, "I've never been attracted to males, never. Even now. Just you. I thought I forgot about the feeling, have gotten over it. But you ... You are just there and I have a hard time breathing."

Is this ... a confession?

Macau wants to say something, but can't. He just opens and closes his mouth several times. His head is spinning and it's not because of the alcohol.

Fuck. How come he doesn't see this coming?

"Dec, I don't ..."

He doesn't get to finish the sentence because another arm is circling his waist and tugging him from Dec. A lips is kissing his neck. Then he says to Mac's ear, "Hey baby, sorry I'm late. Work held me."

A sense of relief washes over Macau. He has an out without making this awkward with Dec. "That's ok," he says back in the same manner, eyes colliding with Kai's. The guy is smiling but Mac can see he's on the edge.

This can end up bad. A warning rings inside Macau's head.

Then Kai turns his attention to Dec. "Hi, buddy. Sorry, but I'm taking my boyfriend out of here."

"Boyfriend?" Dec doesn't look pleased when he says this.

"Well, it's just technicality, but yeah."

Dec turns his attention to Macau who thinks about his choices before he echoes, "Yeah. We're ... together."

"Him?" he points at Kai. "Do you know anything about him?" he asks with a condescending tone. Macau doesn't respond to that. He knows better than to escalate things. He hears Kai sighs before him, "Hey!" he warns.

"Shut up I'm talking to Cau!"

"You shut up before I'm making it my business to take you out!" Kai already puts Macau behind his back when he says this, with a face so close to Dec's. He tries not to draw attention. Dec is Dom's brother and this is his party. He doesn't want to screw that up but this little boy is making it hard.

Macau pulls his arm, "Let's just go. Come on!"

It takes a few tugs before Kai relents and lets himself be dragged.

When they reach a quiet place, Macau turns around and sees that the dark clouds are still hanging on Kai's face. "Calm down, calm down," he says while cradling Kai's face. "Nothing happens so let's not make something happen. P'Dom won't like it."

"It is because Dom that I didn't rearrange his face when he brushed your hair like that!" Kai spits, still very much angry.

Macau decides to play it down. "That's usual. He's been like that since we were kids!"

Now the angry eyes are directed at him. Shit. Wrong move. "Say that again. So are you saying he used to do that to you when I was not around?"

"No...," ok, what should he say to dispute this? "I don't know. I'm confused myself. He's not ... He's probably just drunk."

Drunk? Yeah, Kai thinks the fuck not. He can see Dec has feelings that is not on the friendly side for Mac from miles away.

"What did he say to you?" Kai's hand is on Mac's face, brushing his cheek.

Macau hesitates. "He said ..."

"Don't lie." Kai doesn't shout but there is still a hard pressure there.

Macau sighs. "He said I'm becoming more beautiful. I think... I think he was confessing."

Kai laughs, not in a humorous way. "Fuck that kid! You know that if he kissed you, I would beat him up without hesitation, right? I'm not fucking kidding, Mac. Next time, I won't give a fuck about his brother or his family. He's lucky I'm not fucking kill him!"

Macau can see his effort to Mac this go away is futile. "Fine," he says, "Let's just dance. Have fun. Ok? That's what a party for. Ok?" he coaxes Kai with a smile. The guy doesn't say anything back but he lets Macau turns around in his embrace and sways his body from side to side.

When Kai circles his arms and pulls Mac close until there is no space between them, Mac smiles. He reaches for Kai's head, stretching his arms to the guy's nape, twirling the end of the hair. He feels Kai's lips on his neck and tilts his head to give easy access while still swaying his body, rocking both of their bodies to the rhythm.

He is aware of everybody's eyes on them. He bets his name and Kai's will be on the front page of the news, of every kind, from serious ones to gossip columns.

But he doesn't care.

All he cares about is this man behind him, kissing as if he owns him. He likes the feeling of being own by somebody for the first time since forever, not gonna lie.

Then he can feel him, growing hard and hot under him. But his kisses are not changing, still delicate and gentle. The contrast makes his smile grow bigger.

He's feeling naughty. So he presses his ass right on that guy's growing bulge before rotating his hips. He earns a nip on his skin. "Behave," that guy warns.

Macau laughs but still does it again and again. Kai's hands are now on his hips, pressing it hard to get him to stop. When he fails, he turns Macau around. "Naughty boy, are you going to give everybody here a show?" he whispers on Macau's lips, before kissing it hard. Macau just lets him devour his mouth there, making the air more suffocating than before. When he finished, the boy's lips became more than just irresistible.

Macau smiles, hands still twirling the hair on his nape. "Show?" the boy says with a mischievous smile. "Like this?" he goes down slowly, not breaking their eye contact. Macau then moves slowly up, lingers a while on his crotch, nose touching him there before kissing it gently.

A firework blasts inside Kai's head. He grips the boy's hair while Macau, with a smile on his lips, kisses his way up. Those little kisses burn even with clothes on.

When they're eye to eye again. "Is that a good show?" he innocently says with a little laugh. He bites his lips when he feels Kai caresses his ass before groping them.

"Mh, mh, Khun Chaimongkon," he says as he takes that hand away, moving his forefinger side to side on Kai's face. "You can't do that. We're in public. What if there's a scandal?" his eyes widen dramatically.

"Fuck scandal!" Kai curses as he tugs Macau's hand and drags him away. He's taking him out of here.

Macau laughs and happily follows.