*Fuck.*
I hobble across the crowded Thai street, wincing as I go, moving like an old man as I clumsily maneuver between passing motorbikes and tutktuks. My thighs are beat to shit -- tonight was 'conditioning' class at my kickboxing gym, which means everyone gets to take turns kicking the fuck out of your legs. Going out for a few drinks afterwards may not have been the best idea, either, and now I'm tipsy and just trying to keep moving before I stiffen up and topple over.
I let out a loud sigh of relief upon reaching my apartment building, but it's cut short as I realize I'm still not quite in the clear; I live in an older place near one of the markets, and the only way up is a steep, narrow staircase.
*Goddammit*. Gritting my teeth, I get to it. Every step is agony, the way up a painstaking process. I'm forced to take a break only partway there, and I'm still leaning against the wall when a woman's voice filters up the stairwell behind me.
"Roger?? What are you doing??"
I turn to see my landlady, May, standing at the bottom of the steps. She's a pretty Thai woman of middle years, perhaps around 40, her wavy dark hair cut short and framing her finely-featured face.
"Oh, hey May," I manage a pained smile as she starts to ascend. I realize I'm in for it as soon as I see her expression -- she's not quite old enough to be my mother, but you wouldn't know it from the way she fusses.
"What are you doing, huh?" she asks again as she draws closer, eyeing me suspiciously. This isn't the first time she's found me a bit worse for wear after practice, and honestly it's kind of hard to keep shit from her. She seems able to see through my BS pretty easily; maybe that's the danger with older women.
"I'm just resting here a sec," I smile nonchalantly.
"Well let's go, huh? I can't get past you! Move!"
There's no helping it -- it's either go on up or get an earful. Grimacing, I try to lift a foot but goddamn is it difficult; my muscles are dead, it takes way too long to get myself moving.
May, meanwhile, is onto me right away.
"You're hurt again, aren't you?? Ugh! Stupid! Why you always doing this??"
She sets her groceries down and tugs my arm around her slim shoulders as I blurt out a series of half-hearted protests, but I know it's no use; once she's got her mind set on something she's gonna get her way, and that's all there is to it.
"I told you, you need a girlfriend so she can take care of you! Now you make me do everything!" she complains as she starts to help me up the stairs.
"You say it like it's so easy," I grunt in pain.
"It *is* easy! You are handsome, you have a nice job; you say hello and you buy some presents and then you have a girlfriend! Easy!"
I roll my eyes but don't say anything; I've yet to win an argument with her, and right now I'm just grateful for the assistance.
It's a tough trip but we manage to make it up to the second-floor after half a minute of huffing and puffing. As soon as we arrive on the landing, May takes a step back to look me up and down, ticking her tongue in annoyance.
"Ugh, look at you! Dirty! Why do you make me touch you for?"
I glance down and realize she's right; I haven't cleaned up since the gym and I'm caked with semi-dried sweat, my shorts and shirt crumpled and moist.
"Go take a shower!" she orders, stabbing a finger towards my apartment door down the hall.
"Err...yeah, okay. Sorry May. Thanks for the help," I say sheepishly. She's scarier than most of the guys in my gym; honestly, I'd rather go a couple hard rounds with my coach than piss her off.
I hobble away, using the wall for support and feeling a bit embarrassed, but I don't get more than a few steps before she's there again, pulling at my arm and placing it around herself.
"Come onn, you can barely walk," she sniffs, glaring up at me out of the corner of her eye. "Stupid. You shower and I get you dinner. Ok?"
I smile in surprise and she just shakes her head, muttering to herself in Thai.
It's been a year since I moved in, and in that time I've almost gotten used to her badgering and bullying. She's intimidating, for sure, but I'm a long way from home; it's nice to know someone's looking out for me, at least.
Even if she can be a bit much.
"You can shower? Or I have to do that for you, too?" she huffs as we stumble through my apartment door. She steps back to face me, quirking an eyebrow. If I didn't know better, I'd think she was flirting.
"No I'm...I can do that May, thanks," I laugh to cover my awkwardness. "And you don't have to get me any food, really...it's okay, I can manage."
She looks at me like I'm an imbecile.
"Roger. I know you can't cook. So what are you going to do? Go down and buy street food? Then I have to help you up again?"
She shakes her head and I can't help but chuckle -- she sees right through me alright.
"Okay, okay," I smile, holding my hands up in surrender. "You win. We'll do it your way. I...really do appreciate the help. Thanks, May."
"Yeah yeah," she says with the tiniest hint of a grin, shooing me off towards the bathroom. "I'll be back soon, okay? Go shower."
*
It's quite the clumsy ordeal getting myself cleaned up, but in the end it is so worth it. The hot water is a godsend; I'd gotten myself good and beat up, and I hadn't realized just how much I needed to rinse and relax.
I can't linger, though -- I've got to get some ice on my legs soon, or they're gonna be so swollen tomorrow.
I stumble awkwardly out of the shower, still toweling off as I exit the bathroom. I'm just wondering what to wear when a sudden motion catches my eye -- there's a woman standing at the stove in my kitchenette.
I curse and cover myself as she yelps and spins to stare at the burners, her pale neck burning a bright shade of scarlet.
"Oh sh...shit! Sorry May! I-I didn't know you'd be back so soon," I stammer, fervently wishing for some clothes within arm's reach. My place is just a small studio and I'm not used to company -- usually I get dressed at my closet on the opposite wall, but obviously tonight that's going to be an issue.
"It's...it's okay!" she exclaims, her gaze fixed on the food she's heating up, her cheeks a rosy pink.
"I'll just uhh, grab something real quick," I say, hurrying across the room, forgetting the state of my legs. I take one big step, try for another and end up tripping myself, tangled in the towel.
Before I know it I'm falling, landing loudly on the vinyl floor with a big bang.
"Roger!!" May shrieks, rushing over, her voice fraught with worry as she kneels beside me, tentatively touching my side. "What are you doing?! Are you okay, are you hurt?? Are you okay?? Ugh, why do you scare me!"
"I'm fine, I'm fine I'm fine," I grimace, pushing myself to a seated position. Thoroughly embarrassed, my first instinct is to brush her help aside -- but after trying and failing to get my legs working, I swallow what's left of my pride and take her hand. It's only with her assistance that I'm able to stand, the attempt made all the more awkward by having to hold the towel in place.
"You are sure you're ok?" she asks, brow furrowed in concern as she checks for injuries, one of her hands resting lightly on my stomach.
"Yeah I'm okay, I just...slipped."
She's still inspecting me when suddenly she freezes, her face turning even more red than before. I'm fit from fighting and nearly naked save for the towel, and it seems she suddenly becomes cognizant of that fact, as her hand makes an unconscious grasping motion across my abdomen. Her eyes go unfocused, her lower lip pulled between her teeth. It's slight and it's subtle and it only lasts a second, but in that moment she looks at me in a way I've never seen.
"Umm May I'm...fine..."
