enTWINed – Ch 12 (A Thai Fanfic)

I patterned my restaurant after the BarSu Restaurant, at the Sheraton Grand Sukhumvit in Bangkok. The food description is from Celedon Restaurant, also in Bangkok.

Roni sat back in the booth, her tummy feeling comfortably stretched. The grilled river prawns were her favorite, followed by the pork spareribs cooked in southern yellow curry with jackfruit seed and banana.

She hid a discreet burp and looked over at her twin. Since the arrival of their pandan pudding, she had been huddled over her tablet, mumbling to herself as she made notes. Tapping the table to catch her attention, Roni secretly smiled at the grumpy look on her face. Sri always hated interruptions when she was creating something in her mind.

“Well? Are you going to verbalize any of your ideas, so your poor, but sated, little sister can listen to them and make comments? That’s what you invited me here to do, right?” Roni looked at the electronic device on the table. “Or was I just an errand girl for you?”

She smiled impishly.

Sri’s frown smoothed out, amused. “You are both, my dear. Of course.”
They both laughed together and clinked glasses.

~~~~~

Tik and Ken were at the mahogany wood bar, nursing their drinks while they waited for their table to be ready. The tinkling sound of nearby feminine laughter reached their ears.

“Someone seems to be enjoying themselves,” remarked Tik.

But Ken barely heard his friend, instead, he focused on the women. Some memory tickled the back of his mind, and he instinctively walked towards that table.
His bemused friend following behind. What was wrong with Ken? Tik had never seen him like this, walking almost zombie-like as if he was unwillingly dragged forward.

Against one of the floor-to-ceiling windows, they found the pair women. Seeing the similar faces, Tik realized these were the Nopphadara twins that had been bedeviling his best friend.

~~~~~

Roni was sneaking a bit of her sister’s dessert when a shadow crossed their table. Looking up, her heart almost stuttered to a stop. Sri, distracted from her tablet, also looked up. They gasped simultaneously.

The younger twin was the first to react. Standing up, she all but snarled at the figure in front of her.

“You! What the hell are you doing here?!” Sri reached over to grab Roni’s hand but missed.

Tik stood back and just observed for a moment. The women were equally beautiful, although in different ways. The second sister stood up, trying again to calm the other, but the redhead shrugged off her arm. She teetered for a moment, and Tik instinctively reached out to steady her arm.

He felt a shock run through his hand. What was that? Distracted, he barely paid attention to the waves of anger directed at his best friend from the other sister.

~~~~~

Roni was beyond angry. This man, who disrespected her sister and showed contempt for her work ethics, ruined their celebratory meal by his very presence. She jabbed a finger into his chest.

“I told you to stay away from us. From my sister. Just go back from whatever hole you crawled from. You are not welcome anywhere where I can see you!”

“Charonsri! Stop it!” Her sister spoke sternly, “Please stop making a scene!” Her voice, although pitched low, was still enough for Roni to stop her display of temper. Still, she crossed her arms and looked murderously at Ken.

Tik dropped Sri’s arm as she walked forward and tugged her twin back further away from the two men. A frisson of…something…sped over his skin as he listened to the woman talk. The hair on his arms rose.

“Khun Ken, I apologize for my sister’s behavior. She is very protective of me sometimes.” She managed a tiny smile as she tried for force Roni to sit back down.

The officer finally shook off the weird feeling and stepped between the parties to try and smooth the situation.

“This is a public space. Why don’t we all calm down and not bother other people?” Tik used his best official voice for this.

Roni looked around, suddenly aware of the other patrons staring their way. This was bad for her sister. If the restaurant owner found out about this, Sri could lose the contract. She relaxed from her tense status and finally allowed Sri to pull her down into a chair. It put her at a disadvantage, though, because now she was looking up at the two standing men.

“Is it okay if we sit down with you two for a moment, Khun?” Tik asked. At Sri’s stiff nod, he sat down next to Roni, and gave Ken a little shove to sit across the table.

“Why do you continue to bother us?” Roni hissed at the man now sitting next to her sister. If her glare had any real heat to it, he would be a cinder by now.

Ken had the grace to feel a bit embarrassed. He rubbed the back of his neck.

Tik interjected. “My name is Taksin Rojanasteem. You can call me Tik. We had no idea we were acquainted with anyone here tonight. This happens to be one of my favorite restaurants in Bangkok. And my friend here.” Tik nodded at the man across the table.

“He owes me a meal. I apologize for any unpleasantness tonight. If this helps, I plan to order the most expensive meal here at his expense.” He smiled at both women, although it faltered a bit when neither reacted. The redhead still looked ready to leap across the table and attack his friend. And the brunette kept a polite but distant smile.

Did his charm fail this time?

A moment later, a waiter smoothly stepped in. “Is there anything else needed here?”
Sri smiled at the wait staff. “No thank you, just the check, please.”

The waiter shook his head and bowed. “Our manager, Khun Ramasut, said it was on the house, since you are working here.” He backed away and was quickly gone before they could say anything.

“Working here?” Ken looked between the two sisters in confusion.

Roni’s limited patience had reached its end. She pushed Ken’s shoulder, forcing him to get out of the booth. Tik stood up as well.

“Yes. Unlike some people, there are those who appreciate my sister’s talent and work ethic. She has a contract to redesign this restaurant. It is no doubt a small thing to some hi-so hoteliers, but an important thing to us.”

Ken’s face darkened. This girl’s tone was starting to irritate him. He wasn’t a bad guy, and they had enjoyed each others company in Barcelona! Her current attitude was very unfair.

Sri collected her belongings and gracefully got out of the booth and stood up. “We will be leaving now. Enjoy your dinner, Khun Ken, Khun Tik.” Taking a firm hold of her sister’s elbow, she all but dragged her protesting twin towards the doors.

Leaving two bemused men behind.

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