After dinner—paid for by Tankhun—we headed to Madam Yok’s club. There was a bit of a commotion when Tay wanted to go chill at a fancier bar, but Tankhun wanted somewhere he could dance—and who could win an argument against Tankhun? No matter how good you were at making your point, you couldn’t win against his brand of crazy. Plus, we weren’t dressed up—if we went to a bougie bar, they probably wouldn’t even let us in. So we ended up at the same old place Tankhun loved so much: Madam Yok’s.
“Hello, boys!” Madam Yok said. “Make yourselves at home. I’ve got your table and drinks all ready for you. Welcome, welcome.” I’d called ahead to get us a VIP table.
The club was currently pretty empty. The live band hadn’t started yet, and soft music was coming from the speakers. I let the others head over to their seats while I went to greet the people I knew—both my old coworkers and our regulars. Of course, when they saw me, they all offered me drinks without me having to ask.
“You disappeared for ages! I’ve been coming here every day to catch a glimpse of you,” a familiar customer said, though I couldn’t quite recall their name. I smiled, knocking back a glass and chatting for a bit before a member of staff dragged me over to the bar.
“Hey, you! What’s the great job you snagged? Tell us!”
My old coworkers crowded around me and handed me more drinks, talking in the way people who haven’t seen each other in a while do.
“Has the bar been busy these days?” I asked.
“Same as always,” the bartender on duty said, and handed me a drink. “Here, try this—I just came up with it.”
I didn’t know how many drinks I’d already had, but I was drinking whatever anyone handed to me. Fuck, why did everyone keep passing me drinks?
“Why the fuck are you trying to get me drunk so early?” I asked as I drank.
“You look happier. What happened? Are you making good money? Take me with you!”
I went still at their words. They weren’t the first people to say shit like that to me. Tem and Jom had also said I looked happy, even though I had a lot on my mind. Did I really look happier? How?
“What are you all gossiping about over here? Get to work! The customers are waiting!” Madam Yok’s voice broke our little circle apart. Everyone quickly scattered in different directions and got back to work. I smiled at them and sat there at the bar, sipping my drink.
“Hey, you.” Tem and Jom came over with their drinks and sat next to me. I quirked my brows at them, but my eyes inadvertently looked past them to see Kinn staring at me. I quickly looked away.
“Did you get in a fight with Kinn?” Tem asked. He threw an arm over my shoulders and greeted the staff members he knew.
“No…” I answered him.
“No? You and Kinn haven’t spoken to each other all day. You’re avoiding him,” Jom added.
“Am I really that obvious?” I asked, heaving a long sigh. My worry about what my friends thought of me came back. If they knew how far I’d gone with Kinn… Would they still accept me?
I didn’t want to keep it a secret from my friends, but everyone around us seemed to notice. If it was that blatant, then I probably couldn’t avoid the subject any longer.
“…I’m your friend,” Jom said, taking a drink. I glanced at him. He made an awkward face. “I’ll admit it’s a little hard to believe, and a little confusing…”
“But you don’t have to worry,” Tem added. “We can accept you. Like, really accept you.”
“Kinn’s not my boyfriend,” I murmured. Tem and Jom looked at each other.
“Then…what’s going on between you two?” Jom asked.
I paused, then called the bartender I was familiar with: “Hey, can you give me another glass, please?”
“The same thing? I’ve got you.” The bartender smiled back and quickly started on my drink.
“Okay, well, how far did you guys go?” Jom changed his question. I froze, not knowing whether I should keep hiding from my friends or just admit it.
My silence spoke multitudes. Jom continued: “Hmm…who’s the top and who’s the bottom?”
Tem shot Jom a disparaging glare. I sat there scrambling for an explanation, swallowing down a lump in my throat. I didn’t want to keep secrets from my friends any longer, and I could see that they knew I was sleeping with Kinn, but to tell them the actual positions? Hell no. Plus, those two were so sure that I topped…
“I’m the top,” I said, secretly wincing at the lie. I knew my friends could accept me, but I didn’t want them to look at me any differently!
“Shit, really?” Tem was shocked. “Kinn’s the bottom? Shit, shit, I’m seeing Kinn in a new light! I can’t see him the same way anymore.”
I nodded a little to convince my friends that what I said was the truth.
“Damn, I wasn’t sure who’d be the top or the bottom. I guessed right. See, Tem! I told you Porsche was the top!” Jom crowed, though he had an equally shocked expression.
It seemed like they’d known for some time now—they’d made guesses and everything.
“What do I do? I can’t see Kinn the same way!” Tem looked like he wanted to cry, occasionally stealing glances at Kinn sitting at the table. I lifted the glass the bartender handed to me, secretly pleased with myself. I’d been kind of irritated before, and slandering Kinn had cheered me up considerably.
“So…you guys can accept it?” I asked them again to make sure. I’d been straight my whole life, and now I liked a guy—I knew there would be people around me who wouldn’t be okay with it.
“We can more than accept it!” Tem assured me. “I’m just a little curious, that someone like you could…er…never mind. Anyway, don’t overthink what P’Time said to Kinn earlier—they were probably just teasing each other.” Tem was quick to try to comfort me. Fuck, everyone around me could tell.
“Is it really that noticeable?” I asked them.
“Kinda… And quit sulking like a bottom, dumbass. You’re a top! You have to be more stoic,” Tem said in a rush, squinting at me in suspicion. I quickly turned away, looking at anything other than my friends.
Suddenly, Madam Yok’s voice interrupted us. “Who’s the bottom?”
I felt a shiver run down my spine. My friends immediately shook their heads.