Author's note:
Be advised this chapter definitely focuses more on the drama part of this story. Also please understand that Thailand is a kingdom and there are different levels to society. Many Westerners see the red-light districts in Thailand and think that the entire country is that way. Thai women tend to cover up when in public and public displays of affections are a rarity not the norm. Appearances can be very important for people.
Living in Bangkok, Thailand, trying to work for a family-owned import export company from China started out as fun but now can be a bit awkward. The head office in China has recently been sending my long over-due pay, and my housemate and I once again have money to spend. With money to spend, I figured that it would be a good time to take my neighbor out on a date. My neighbor and I have a weird relationship where I stole from her (when I was out of money), she held me up with a sword (she keeps an ancient Thai sword), she may have forced me to do sexual things (sexual things I might have enjoyed), and we have kept all this a secret from everyone (I do not think she has told anyone).
Rather than just screw around the house, I could take her out and treat her to a nice restaurant or something. I know she is a school teacher, so I assume she does not get out very much. While we do have sex, we do not have any formal relationship, so I was not sure where a date would put us.
We live in cement rowhouses that are connected with little fenced courtyards in front of each house. Previously I had jumped the fence into her courtyard to get to her house, but as our relationship has progressed, I tend to just go up and knock on the door. Since we still keep things mostly secret, I checked to make sure her housemate's motorbike is gone before knocking. It takes a couple knocks for her to come to the door. My cock jumped a little in my pants at the sight of this young Thai woman, even with her still in her teacher's uniform. She looked around making sure we are alone, then waves me into her house.
"I want to take you out to dinner. You know... maybe a date night might be kind of fun."
"Date?" Confusion clouds her face.
"Are there any restaurants near Central World you would like to go to?" The giant shopping mall of Central World seemed like a great excursion for a young couple... or not actually a couple. There have to be many restaurants we could choose from around the mall, just a short ride on the airport raillink train, and girls always love to go shopping.
She responded quickly, "Central World! Mai, mai, mai! No, we can not go there."
"Where should we go?" She is the local. She has to know better places to go.
"Mai dai, we can not date," she tells me to my shock. She tells me that I belong to her during intercourse, then she says we can not date. I am confused with what she wants.
"Why not?" I frustratedly ask.
"No date, we meet first," is her reply. I thought we had already met. "I need to ask Pi Toy. She will know where." So, my neighbor will ask her friend where we should go on a 'meet', a 'meeting', I am confused what to call our 'not a date'.
"Does your friend know about us?" I wonder. Her face turns red.
"No! Never, mai chai! No one knows." Her determined response sounds less convincing than a simple 'no'. "I message you where we meet."
"But I do not have your number? How should we message?" I point out how we have not even connected by cell phone.
"You tam line rew messinjerh?" I guess she is asking what do I use to send messages. Most Thai people use Line.
"I can do Line." I pull out my cell phone and we look each other up with a QR code. The name 'Pim Rose' appears on her profile. I ask if that is her name.
"No, you can call me Pim." This is the first time I have used her name. An odd couple that we have gotten this far without names, but I am sure Pim is just her nickname. Most Thai people have long names that are difficult to pronounce, thus they usually go by a nickname.
Having swapped contact information, all we needed was to wait for Pi Toy, Pim's friend, to tell us where to go. I found my way back to my empty house.
The next day a ding on my phone alerted me with a message from Pim. The messages named a bar near Lumpini Park. We would meet at the rail-link station around 7:30 pm. I wonder if her friend Pi Toy will be there.
Arriving on time to the train station, two Thai girls waved me down at stairs leading off the street level. I hardly recognized Pim with her makeup, a pleated brown denim mini skirt, and a white crochet poncho over her silky red crop top. Good that she waved me over, otherwise I might have passed up the fun party girl looking for a school teacher. "An ni Khun Mike. Mike this Pi Toy, she is my friend." Pim introduced me to a girl that reminds you of a stick figure with how thin her arms and legs were. Pi Toy was also matching Pim's party style with a stylishly-torn black jean skirt and a long sleave dark green shirt that had laced-up side slits with the stings tied in bows on each of her hips. What is it about seeing bit of skin revealed under laces on a slender woman that makes you want to untied those stings?
"Uh, hi, Pi Toy, how are you?" I mutter to be barely heard over the sounding foot traffic.
"I am so glad you could make it, Mike," Toy says with familiarity making me wonder how much she does not know about me. We swipe our phones at the gates and head toward the train platforms. I used the opportunity to lean into Pim and ask, "How much does Pi Toy know?"