Serial Dating

Just Clearing Something Up

He was proud of himself for even walking away. Park unknowingly tormented him all semester, but now? He could move on. That was all he needed to obliterate his crush. Deep down, though, he knew some part of him would have kept going, kept on kissing Milo in the locker room and just ignore whatever he saw at work. It was better to cut it off now, before anything became of their proposed gym plan.

Lee hurried back to Manley Hall. It wasn't long enough for him to completely process Milo Park, pack him up, and ship him off, but it was long enough for Lee's attention to return to Earth. With his brain back from the stratosphere, he glazed over a familiar, gaudy red Ferrari parked out front of Manley.

Lee skidded to a stop. He did a double-take, frozen in the middle of the sidewalk. He flinched at the sound of the driver's door popping open. He probably looked like a goddamn Sasquatch caught mid-stride in the viewfinder of his brother's sniper rifle.

Long black hair emerged from the driver's seat. Sen Asano. Lee cursed under his breath, fully prepared to make a break for it. If he ran, he could make it to the dorm door fast enough for it to lock behind him and block Sen out—

The instant he moved, a hand latched onto his wrist and a taunting, "Ah, ah, ah," struck a shudder down Lee's spine.

"Ellis," he seethed, turning with a scowl. He came face-to-face with Sen's psychopath of a boyfriend. Ellis' grin was maniacal as always, his ginger hair windswept and longer since the last Lee saw of him.

When he loosened his grip, Lee yanked his hand out of Ellis's hand. It was too late to run—Sen was already on the curb.

"Lovely to see you again, as always," Ellis said.

"Not likely," Lee huffed. He pegged his brother with a scowl and said, "What're you guys doing here?"

Sen was decked out in a suit and tie, an olive green blazer his mark of an alum. Lee really didn't want to know what event brought Sen back to campus, but something told him that Sen wasn't at all interested in it.

Sen tugged on the hem of his sleeve as he said, "Just came to visit my favorite brother."

"Oh, really? I didn't know Ma had a secret bastard I didn't know about," Lee said with a plastic smile.

Sen rolled his eyes. "Sharp as always. Get in the car, we're going out."

"Out?" Lee repeated. He glanced at Ellis, who put his hands in his pockets and offered an encouraging, serial killer smile. Lee narrowed his eyes at the guy. "Where?"

"Sushi," Sen said. Lee glowered at his brother. Screw him for knowing all of Lee's weak spots.

Grumbling, Lee shoved past Sen. He swung open the back door of the Ferrari and , fuming, ducked inside.

Sen took the driver's side and, tugging his hair over one shoulder, put the car into drive. Lee glared at him when he dared look at Lee through the rearview mirror. He'd come for the sushi, but he wouldn't be happy about it.

Sen had a stellar internship with their father at the law firm. It was the sort of opportunity USFC Law graduates pined for, and Sen got it mostly out of good old fashioned nepotism. He'd make bank, Lee was sure of it, so he didn't think twice about it when Sen pulled up to valet parking outside of San Francisco's esteemed Asian Cuisine Marketplace.

The Marketplace was a massive, five-star multilevel food court. They bypassed the first floor in favor of the second where the Asanos used to spend their Sunday afternoons splitting bowls of hotpot and arguing over what the Hell to put in it. Their flavor palates could never coincide.