Serial Dating

A Bit Of Clarity Would Be Nice

Lee thought about it through the night and into the morning and past the start of his shift at Starbucks. It kept him awake, albeit not focused, so work wasn't as spot on as it usually was. He felt stuck in muck and that muck was dubbed Milo Park trash and he was chest deep in that shit. It would take more than a cold shower just to wash it off. He could be found spacing out at the Pike's Place coffee machine nearly overflowing a dozen different coffee mugs.

In the midst of one such mug, a familiar voice sounded behind him saying, "—also take a... triple shot latte, no foam, please. Thanks!"

Lee startled at the sound. He turned, coffee swishing in the cup, and caught sight of Park in line taking his card back from the cashier with a charming smile. Milo glanced at Lee then, and that charming smile brightened tenfold.

Lee hastily finished filling up the cup and brought it to the pick up counter. He called out the name before leaning over to Milo and saying, "What're you doing here?"

"I always come here," Milo said.

Lee closed his eyes, thinking, Duh, of course. "I-I mean, what're you doing today?"

"You... literally have my schedule."

"Humor me, dammit," Lee said.

Milo laughed. He folded his forearms on the high countertop and smiled like it was his day job and he loved it. "I'm just studying some art today."

"Really," Lee droned, less impressed.

"Yeah, you," Milo said.

"Oh. That was a shitty pickup line," he said.

"You just don't have taste."

"According to you, I have excellent taste in Noods," Lee said. Milo's smile widened, his eyes sliding away from Lee and to Lee's coworker, who stared between them with a look of alarm. Lee's face turned red. "Noodles & Company! Not—never mind," he said with a dejected sigh.

He turned back to Milo to say, "What are you majoring in, anyway?"

"Physical therapy," he said.

Lee laughed and said, "I'm serious."

Milo sighed. "Yeah, you're right. It's been decided that I couldn't get into physical therapy school even if I didn't devote all my time to sports. So I'm just in the general exploratory studies course here."

Lee hummed because he really didn't have a thing to say about that. He supposed it was normal for athletes—especially ones as stellar as Milo Park—to funnel all of their energy into their designated sports. Milo was no different. Focusing too heavily on school would only be detrimental to his athletic career, and doing poorly in classes would screw football over as well. An even balance meant that meat-headed athletes at USFC tended to major in general studies for the soul purpose of playing football.

"You probably... cover a wide range of topics then, huh?" Lee said. He thought of Milo's Spanish course endeavors and thought to ask, but given Milo's dismissive attitude about school, he figured it was a topic for another day.

He moved to the far end of the espresso machine, and Milo slid over to follow him. He checked the order on the cup receipt and pulled a shot of espresso and stuck the filter into the machine. He cranked the handle tight and slid a shot glass underneath before flipping the switch.

"Yeah... I don't really like to talk about school," he confessed, only to backtrack quickly. "But I mean, I'd love to listen to what your classes are like! And what you're doing in your major. It's probably more interesting."