Enga mellom fjella

Fresh and hot (18+) [289]

Pratch sat where the sea spray couldn't reach him, waiting for the sun to set. I watched as a VW beach buggy picked him up. Red, just like his shorts.

There was nothing to do but follow. Pattaya isn't big like Bangkok. He was headed towards Si Racha, a place I knew well.

He seemed to be in a hurry as if his life depended on it. It did.

Life on the beach can be a beach... if you know what I mean.

Me? I was his 'guardian angel'.

That's not what I had in mind when I first met him over a plate of succulent slipper lobsters last week. I was more interested in eating him than slurping the garlic sauce. So much good food in Thailand.

The buggy wasn't hard to spot. But as they got out it looked like they were more than just talking.

Yeah, I caught up to him just in time to stop him from selling the only thing he had to offer, himself. I scared the eager customer off.

He wasn't pleased. He needed the baht.

I bugged him about that.

We walked back down the ally in search of a quiet spot. I spoke softly about how salt rusts out iron wheels like on that beach buggy, how he wouldn't always be fresh-faced and 'hot', how if he didn't want me to bug him he'd have to agree to be mine on the spot. His smile was wider than the alley.

I know my street food... I only buy where there's a long line of satisfied customers. And I like my meal fresh and hot.