"Is that Fah's car?" asked Mek.

"Yeah. Dad said no one touches it until Fah is back. Tin likes to wash it, he calls it his car. I think Fah might be in for a fight when he returns."

"There's something I didn't tell your parents," said Mek in a conspiratorial tone.

"What?" Run's eyes widened as he leaned in close.

"I ran into them, we talked, they said goodbye and went across the street for their coffees. While they did that I stuck a tracking device on Lom's car. I made it obvious I was following them so once Lom lost me, which he did, he wouldn't bother checking his car. I know where the car is parked and it's in the neighborhood you showed me."

"Really? Can we go now?" Run said while bouncing up and down.

"Not now. Lom knows my car and the streets are almost empty at this time of night. Tomorrow during the day we'll blend in. We can park by the coffee vendor and walk over. I already told him I shop in that area, so we can walk around normally. I'll lie and say we have a friend at a nearby building. Don't tell your parents, your mom wouldn't want us snooping and your dad might send in the cops."

"Once we find his car, what do we do?" This spying game intrigued Run.

"Nothing. We can start shopping in the neighborhood to increase our chances of running into them again. I'm not sure how he'll explain being in the same area a second time. Oh, don't look now but your mom is looking out the window at us." Mek smiled and looked at the ground as he spoke.

"Oh, God, she's so annoying. She thinks if two gay men are alone together we're going to have crazy, wild, monkey sex." Run's ears were turning red.

"She gets upset if you're with another gay man?" This surprised Mek.

"No, just the opposite. She tries to be a matchmaker. She's hoping I'll find a partner I like and one she approves of, and then she'll drive him away with her 'oohs' and 'aahs'. She'd be the first one out there buying us a couple's shirt," laughed Run. Mek laughed with him. "Mek, I'm going to owe you big for this but go with it, okay?" asked Run.

"What do you mean..."

Before Mek could finish the sentence, Run grabbed him and kissed him. Out of the corner of his eye, Run could see his mother's shocked face. Mek began kissing Run back.

Damn, the boys in this family kiss you out of nowhere and they are all masters of the art of seduction, Mek thought to himself.

Somewhere along the way, the kiss went from something Run had done to shock his mother to a real kiss. Mek pulled Run in close and Run allowed it. They now added tongues to the kiss. Run lightly bit Mek's lower lip and sucked on it. His arms wrapped around Mek's waist and Mek's arms wound themselves around Run's neck. Run became aware of Mek's hardness at almost the same moment Mek felt Run's bulge pressing against his thigh. Mek pulled his head away.

"Run, if we don't stop now, we're going to shock your mom with a lot more," Mek whispered.

"You knew that's why I was kissing you?" Run was genuinely surprised.

"Run, I'm not an idiot. As much as you like to think that I'm vain about my kisses, I know when someone is using me to upset someone else. Or in this case, shock her."

"I shouldn't have teased you earlier. Your kisses are memorable," said Run only half-laughing.

The two friends continued hugging. They'd been friends for years and neither had ever entertained the idea of dating the other. Now things were different. Not awkward, but different. "Now I'm definitely coming to that party with you." Run pulled Mek even closer.

"Now I'll only take you to the party on one condition," said Mek, their foreheads pressed together.

"What's the condition?" Run's voice was getting huskier the longer their bodies remained pressed together. He didn't want to let go of Mek; he didn't want to go back inside. If his parents weren't awake he would have begged Mek to take him to his place right then and there.

"You come as my date. I'm not bringing you along only to watch you hook up with someone else." He stared into Run's eyes as he spoke.

"Mm," said Run. "Mek, if my parents were asleep, would we be stopping here?"

"Hell no. You'd be in my bed as fast as I could get us to my place, and I wouldn't let you leave until we tried it from every angle." They said nothing for a moment then they both burst out laughing.

"Damn Mek, have some pride, at least play hard to get," laughed Run.

"Fuck you," said Mek, also laughing.

"No, I believe the night of the party I will be fucking you, or you will be fucking me," said Run, raising his eyebrows as he pressed the length of his body against Mek. They kissed one more time, less ardently than before as they were aware Mek had to leave and Run had to face his parents. "By the way, Mek, how do I explain what just happened to my Mom? She's going to want to know when we started dating. I can't say we aren't."

"We are. As of now. Tell her that." Mek gave Run another quick kiss and got into his car. Run stood and buzzed the gate open for him. He waved goodbye to Mek and stood touching his lips as the taillights faded into the darkness.

Turning around to face the door he glimpsed his mother quickly backing away from the curtain. An impish thought entered his brain and he laughed. Entering the house, Run could see his mother sitting next to his father as if she hadn't been spying on him mere seconds ago.

My mother must have been a sprinting champion in her college days, thought Run.

"Did Mek leave?" asked an innocent-faced Mint.

"Yeah, he's gone. Well, I'm off to bed, goodnight."

"Run, would you please come here," Mint asked, the lilt of her voice continuously rising until the end of the sentence.

Boy, she's good at this. I wonder how many times she's spied on me before when I wasn't aware of it, wondered Run.

"Honey, Mek's gay also, isn't he?"

"Yes, Mom he is, like me and Fah." He wasn't going to give her any help.

"Have you ever thought about dating him?" He was shocked at how innocent his mother still sounded. As if she hadn't just watched his dual-erection-causing make-out session!

"Date Mek? Hmm, nope, I never thought of that. Okay, goodnight!"

"But...wait. Don't go. You've never thought about dating Mek?" Mint asked sweetly with only a hint of frustration seeping through.

"Nope, never have." Run shrugged his shoulders and held his hands out palms up.

"Have you thought about having sex with him?" asked Mint, her tone now lower. With her eyebrows raised and her head cocked to the side Run thought all she needed now was to shine a bright spotlight in his eyes. Khun Adi looked at his wife as if she had lost her mind. She hadn't shared with him what she'd witnessed outside the window.

"Sex with Mek? Nope, never. Okay, for the third time, goodnight Mom, goodnight Dad." Run turned to head to his room.

Unable to restrain herself any longer Mint yelled, "Oh no you don't, mister! You get back here and explain why you and Mek were passionately making out by his car! I almost got pregnant watching the two of you!"

"Wow, Mom, talk about spying! And once you saw what we were doing, why didn't you respect us and stop watching?" Run pretended to be angry. "Can't a man have any privacy in this house? Or in the driveway?"

Khun Adi stopped pretending to read and put his book down. He was highly amused watching his son and wife.

"I was in shock, that's why! You never said anything to us and then kissed him as if the world was going to end in fifteen minutes."

"Mom, are you jealous? Dad, do you hear her? You need to take her upstairs and give her some love. But remember, wear a condom. Tin and I are ten years apart, we don't need another decade baby. Also, Mom's not so young anymore," laughed Run. Khun Adi was laughing out loud. Mint went from flustered to laughing with them.

"You're making fun of me. It's not nice to tease your mother, do you hear me?" Mint wanted more information but was unable to stop laughing.

"Yes, Mom. Oh, I forgot to tell you, I'll be going to that party as Mek's date." He smiled at her.

"So you are dating?" She tried asking this as innocently as possible this time around.

"Yes, Mom, we're dating." Run smiled at his mother, knowing she finally had the information she wanted.

"When did this start?" Mint had a million questions. She loved Mek and was happy with Run's choice.

"Mom, sometimes there needs to be a little mystery between us. What you're asking me now will have to be part of that. Next time Mek shows up here, which will be tomorrow when he picks me up to go shopping, you can ask him all your questions." Run waved at his mother and walked to his bedroom. He locked the door because he knew she would never be able to wait until tomorrow to ask her questions.