Serial Dating

Downward Facing Dog

It was easier to wake up Saturday morning for his early shift than expected. In fact, he was on his feet after the first alarm on his phone. Lee rubbed the side of his bedhead with a yawn and, stretching his legs out in front of him, plopped his feet on the carpet in his dorm room.

One of the perks of having a ridiculous wealthy family intent on paying for his law school meant that Lee also had the luxury of a single room dorm. He knew he'd be sacrificing such benefits when he switched USFC colleges, but for now, he'd revel in the independence. With no one to bother him and no one to worry about but himself, Lee prepared for work.

He stood in front of the shared restroom mirror, brushing his teeth. The bathrooms were always silent on Saturday mornings. With everyone either hungover or trying desperately to sleep in before the dining room opened, Lee had the entire restroom to himself. He bent over the sink and spat out bubblegum flavored foam.

When he straightened up, he stared at himself in the mirror. He flattened his hand over his bedhead, where it was oh-so obvious in the trimmed hair on the sides of his head. When he pulled his hands off, those frosty strands stood up on end once again. He looked paler than usual under the restroom's fluorescent lights.

Do I really want to shower just to fix my bedhead? he wondered, tugging on the messy, crazy strands on the top of his head. He thought of Park, which immediately pissed him off. As if he'd shower for a guy. They were going to be working out, so showering how was just an extra step in his day.

It'd only take two minutes... he thought.

He took the shower and, less than an hour later, he was already grateful for it.

Lee opened that day which meant prepping the counter space, filling the coffee machine with fresh grounds, and brushing up the espresso machines. By the time all that was taken care of, his coworkers were in and he left to drag the locked gate away from the store entrance. He crossed the tiled flooring, turned the corner away from the back room door, and stopped at the sight of someone glaringly familiar standing outside of the gate, eyes on his phone, distracted.

Lee skidded to a stop a few paces away. He was used to customers waiting outside of the gate on weekdays, but Saturday?

"What're you doing here, Park?" Lee said, resuming his pace. Maybe if he acted normal, he'd be normal for once.

Milo looked up from his phone. The instant he locked eyes with Lee, he smiled. It didn't quite reach his eyes, though, which remained slack and tired. "I have a lot of homework to finish before the game. I didn't want to bother Rushi Roll so I figured I'd come here."

"Ah," Lee said, articulate as ever.

He went to the wall where the gate locked in. He stuck the key in and turned it, walking it around the arched café space where it looped out into the student common area. He passed Milo on his way. Milo was watching him, his bright eyes diluted with exhaustion. Lee came close to snapping his fingers at Milo and telling him to head back to his dorm to sleep for another hour because Christ, if Milo didn't look two seconds away from passing out or what.

It was the earliest Lee had seen Milo. Most days, Milo came in almost religiously around nine in the morning, never sooner, sometimes later. Lee always assumed that nine in the morning was Milo's first taste of caffeine, but he was starting to think that Milo stopped by Starbucks for an extra shot.

When Lee returned to the cash register, Milo seemed to be waiting for other waiting customers to filter past before Lee claimed the second register. Milo was the first in his line.