A noisy entrance.

If Piya had been asleep when Yui and I got to her house, she sure wouldn’t have been for much longer. Almost as soon as she got the door open with her key, Yui knocked a pot plant over by the front door causing it to smash on the wooden parquetry floors. As she tried to pick it up Yui then knocked a hat stand over with her backside making another loud crash.

A light came on in the stairs leading to Piya’s upstairs bedroom and I see Piya emerge from the top of the house in a thin nightgown just as Yui is picking the plant up by the leaves and trailing dirt all over the floor.

“You really are a hopeless drunk,” Piya tells Yui without even the slightest hint of annoyance in her voice. Coming over she collects Yui, making her leave the plant where it is and starts to guide her unsteady legs up to bed.

“Make me a Milo and I’ll be down to clean this up in a minute,” Piya tells me as she kisses me warmly on the way past.

As I wait for Piya to return I find cups and put the kettle on to boil as I spoon out big heaped helpings of the powdered drink. The drinks are ready with a couple of marshmallows melting on top by the time Piya gets back from putting Yui to bed. Taking a sip, she thanks me for the hot cup with a second longer more passionate series of kisses against the kitchen cabinets.

“I hope that wasn’t you giving Yui that much to drink,” Piya says as we hug, “she’ll be like a bear with a sore head in the morning now.”

“No, she was out with Becky before coming to The Loft,” I tell her.

“Mmm, Becky” Piya says without further comment.

“You don’t like her?” I ask.

“I don’t dislike. I don’t even really know her. I’m just looking out for my girl that’s all,” Piya tells me and I am suddenly reminded of a mother lion protecting her cub. Woe behold Becky if Piya thinks she might be a bad influence on Yui.

Moving back to the entrance of her apartment I give Piya a hand to clean up after Yui’s mess, holding open a garbage bag for her to drop the pieces of the broken pot plant and panfuls of dirt into. The plant itself Piya will leave until the morning and replant into the garden outside.

Having cleaned up Piya and I cuddle up on the couch to finish the rest of our Milos as she turns a Thai movie back on that she hadn’t finished watching all of yet. I can’t make out what they are saying and there are no subtitles so I content myself with holding my beautiful girlfriend tight to me and enjoying what time we have together still until she leaves. Long before the movie has finished Piya falls asleep in front of the TV, snoring softly. I turn the DVD off with the remote leaving the end for another time and carry the sleeping girl upstairs to join Yui fast asleep. I give Piya the centre of the bed so she can be close to Yui in case she needs anything in the morning and again resume my place cuddling Piya from behind.

Unsurprisingly Yui sleeps in well into the next morning. Also unsurprising is that Piya is up early finishing the final touches for her pool party. I slip back into my clothes from last night and make my way downstairs to look for Piya.

I’m glad I took the time to get dressed as I’m greeted by first Dawn then Lawan in the kitchen.

“Mmmm now I know what I want to eat for breakfast,” Dawn says as her eyes rove over me from top to bottom.

“Good morning Roo,” Lawan says full of sunshine when she too sees me. “Can I make you a coffee? Would you like me to cook you some breakfast? Toast? Eggs? I can try and do those pancakes Piya said you like.”

“Just coffee would be great thank you Lawan. Have you seen your sister?” I say to Lawan, ignoring Dawns comments.

“She outside getting the pool ready. It’s white with two sugars isn’t it?” Lawan tells me.

“Yeah, it is. Thank you.”

Outside I see Piya squatting by the side of the pool in an oversized linen beach shirt and bikini as she pours a small brown glass bottle of milky white liquid into the pool. She starts as if I caught her up to something as I call out good morning to her.

“Oh hey! Good morning sweetie. I was just getting the chemicals right for the pool,” Piya says washing her hands off in the water. “How Yui?”

“She’s still asleep. All set for the party?” I ask taking in the sun lounges already set up around the pool plus drinks tables under a palm leaf and bamboo hut that wasn’t there last time I came over.

“Just going to need some ice. I can get it when I’m on my way back from getting changed at my place of you like?” I offer.

“No need. Aor is picking you up some clothes on her way over. You can get me the ice a little later if you like though.”

I agree, telling her I would and we head back inside where Lawan has gone ahead and started cooking a big breakfast anyway. We have barely made a quarter of a dent on it when we hear Yui calling out from upstairs sounding particularly under the weather, “Piiiiiiyyyyyyyaaaaaarrrrrrr.”

Piya pushes her plate away, then taking a coconut water out of the fridge and goes upstairs to look after her hungover friend. She returns a short while later after I have made as good as attempt as I can at getting through all the pancakes Lawan ended up cooking. They are almost as good as the ones her sister makes but not quite!

Finishing off her aborted breakfast Piya tells me, “I gave her a little something that will have her back to her usual self in no time.”

“What? Not more of your women’s helper,” I try and say quietly enough for Dawn and Lawan not to hear.

“No! Silly,” Piya laughs, slapping me playfully on the leg. “Aspirin. Could you imagine her at the pool party on that?”

I’m pretty sure I could.

Not long after that, I help Piya with the dishes while Lawan and Dawn head upstairs to get changed for the party also. The sound of the two noisy teens upstairs makes me wince for Yui’s head. Aor arrives with my clothes and I head up to get changed, checking on Yui once the girls have gone. Yui is feeling much better and even a little playful when she joins me in the shower to wash off the effects of last night. Before we waste too much water though, I cut off the showerhead and we both come back downstairs to guests starting to arrive for Piya’s last pool party of the season.

“There you two are,” Piya snatches me the moment I step into the downstairs area. “I didn’t know how long the water might be running for up there,” she says with a little tease. Pressing a set of car keys into my hand, “would you mind grabbing the ice now before everyone arrives?”

I leave Yui with Piya to help with everything and head out to the garage where Piya’s car is parked. Unfortunately, it's parked in with another car behind it. I don’t know why someone would park there when there was another parking space free right next to Piya’s car. I go to head back inside to let Piya know someone is in the way of me getting her car out when Lawan has followed me out to the carport.

“Oh, I parked Piya in by accident,” Lawan says innocently enough. “We could just take my mum’s car then? I borrowed it today.”

Lawan, in a bikini under a fishnet dress, holding out another set of keys for me to drive.