The Incurable Spell

As soon as Jenny shut the bathroom door and turned on the shower, Jun stood up and shut off the jazz song, replacing it with a Thai R & B compilation. The style and music sounded almost like any American pop group of the previous decade; The Thai lyrics were alien to Chris. Impossible to concentrate on a blurring, uninteresting paragraph about Thai etiquette, he set his guidebook down on the coffee table, refocusing his attention towards the fragile creature brushing her long black hair in the mirror. As the dark, mascara-smeared eyes caught his glimpse in the reflection, Chris had no other choice but to speak.

“You've been crying…” It wasn't his style to beat around the bush. “Something bad happen?”

She was caught off-guard by his directness---partially shocked yet slightly impressed. She returned his direct question by giving him a deep yet tantalizing stare in the eyes through the mirror reflection “It nothing. That man, Chang, you meet him before.” As soon as she had his eyes locked, she returned her attention to her hair. “We fighting cheoy cheoy .”

“That man…he is your boyfriend, correct?” Chris tried to regain her stare. There was something promising in her eyes.

“Oh no, we break up laew . It better, I think so.” Her sweet voice was so soothing, drawing his full attention. In perfect sync to the laid back groove streaming through the room, Jun put down the brush and walked back to her bed, carrying with her smells of apple blossoms and pheromones within close vicinity to Chris.

Exotic thoughts and emotions began to fill Chris's mind and body quickly. It was pleasant yet irritating at the same time. The more he knew her---the longer he was in close proximity to her subtle yet intoxicating discharges, the more his subconscious desires surfaced. He had to say something quickly to get his mind running within logical reason. As the girl lied down in the spot he had been lying naked several moments before, his heart began to race. And so, his words came out blurred and quickly. “What was the fight about?”

She turned her head towards him slowly and elegant. “Huh, what you say? Again please, slowly?”

‘I'll give it to you as many times as you want at whatever tempo you can handle' he thought to himself. “I said, what were you and him fighting about?”

She slowly sat up putting her back against the wall / head-rest, now at eye level to him. Chris noted every detail and curve in her enticing form. She was becoming closer to Goddess status to him every second that passed “He just mean man sometime. He get angry me about nothing and drive car so scary.”

Chris's opportunity for a sincere yet illusory compliment came. “Don't stress it so much. Any guy with such a beautiful girlfriend like you will always act like a jealous jerk, even in America . Even if I was your boyfriend, it probably wouldn't be any different, I guess”

She smiled now that she knew she had him hooked. Now it was just a matter of reeling him in gradually. “I think I want to change new boyfriend to be handsome boy from America . Thai boyfriend nah buea maak maak .”

Chris repeated her last words fairly close on the tones. “What does that mean? He asked.

“It mean Thai man is bored…it is very bored.” Her English wasn't the best, but communicative none-the-less, and besides, with such a sweet sound and cute face, Chris couldn't complain.

Just then, the bathroom door opened, and Jenny, wrapped in a pink towel strolled into the room dancing to the upbeat tempo. Jun quickly turned her back to Chris, laughing at Jenny before saying something in Thai.

“ Mai Ai poo chai lor lor reu? ” Jun then turned to Chris to explain. “She no shy about you?” Chris was speechless and sat back passively.

“Ja Ai tummai? Rao gor hen kao bpoe dtem tii laew.” Jenny responded with rapid giggly girl fire as she provocatively removed her towel surprising the other two seeing she was already dressed in a miniskirt and strapless bikini top.

Laughing heavily at her friend, Jun turned back to Chris. “Is all American girl so crazy like her?”

“You haven't seen anything yet.” He responded. Though the attention should have been on Jenny then, he was secretly thinking about Jun. She was becoming addictive and he allowed the emotions to settle deep inside. He gave out the best fake laugh he could to share in with the two girls' silliness and enthusiasm.

The girls continued giggling and chatting, mostly in Thai, as Jenny got ready---applying lotion, sprays, mascara, and all the contemporary female fixings. Chris picked up his guidebook and tried hard to read and intake, to no avail. There was only one thing occupying his mind. He couldn't decide if it was infatuation, lust, or something more sacred. In the end, he decided he was under a spell, though he had no desire to locate a remedy or resist the warmth of these hazed feelings.

“Do you still want to check your Email? I can take you to the internet cafe now because I need to go anyway.” Jenny was all ready now, standing in between Jun's bed and the coffee table. Chris's view was blocked.

Chris stood up and checked his pockets. “Yea, that sounds good. Let me just get some cash and my passport.” Chris retrieved a button-up leather bank-book / passport holder from within his bag-pack, but finally decided just to take the whole pack.

“Where you sleep tonight ?” Jun asked as Chris mounted his pack on his back, ready to leave.

“Not sure yet, I've got to check my email first and see something.” He didn't feel like revealing just yet that his aunt and half-Thai Japanese cousins were living in Bangkok---at least not until he was certain destiny's plate had nothing else left for this tempting atmosphere.

Jenny beat Jun this time. “You are more than welcome to stay here. If Jun doesn't stay at her boyfriend's tonight, you can have the sofa, or my bed…up to you.”

“Thanks. I'll have to see later on. No rush just yet.” Jenny's direct mention of that ‘boyfriend' brought Chris down from his high suddenly---back to reality, irritated, exhausted pushing off the jetlag for as much as his senses could bare. Jun hoped to get one more eye-lock and smile at him before they left, but he was out of the door too quickly, followed directly by Jenny.

Lingual Footnotes :

cheoy cheoy เฉยเฉย : So so

laew แล้ว : Already

nah buea maak maak น่าเบื่อมากๆ : Very boring

Mai Ai poo chai lor lor reu? ไม่ไหอผู้ชายหล่อๆเหรอ : (you're) not shy around a handsome man ?

Ja Ai tummai? Rao gor hen kao bpoe dtem tii laew จะไอ๋ทำไมเราก็เห็นเขาโป๊เต็มที่แล้ว : Why should I be shy? I've already seen him completely nude.

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