Hazed behind the whisps of smoke and oversized sweatshirts from Hollister, Kenji Tanaka is a sassy, sharp-tongued omega, and he meets Meena - the son of a notorious crime boss posing as a legitimate businessman to anyone in law enforcement - who wou...
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Mirroring the pastel-like colors washing the sky, an array of houses floated by, as Meena drove into the unevenly-laid, cobblestone driveway of Sloan Leighton's lime-green bungalow. Meena grabbed a bottle of cold, strawberry-flavored wine from the kooler in the passenger seat of his convertible.
The soles of his Converse - painted a fading, pale-orange - slapping the chipping paint of the cemented, shaded, front porch, he was greeted by the smell of cheap alcohol and an array of flavors of vape.
Sloan bounced over to him; her white, acylric fingernails wrapped around her half-full bottle of blue-vodka. ❝I'm glad you made it, Meena!❞ she cried excitedly. She threw her arm around him for a side hug. He flinched from her touch, but she didn't seem to notice, too focused on swigging her drink.
In his head, he murmurs, I'd rather be anywhere else.
But he managed to flash a smile - half-hearted - at her, and he answered, ❝Mhm,❞ he hums. ❝Wouldn't miss it.❞
The familiarity of lying poisoned his throat, but at this point, it was a reflex.
Meena sipped his strawberry wine leisurely, scanning the dim-litted living room. On a couch - the color of piss-yellow - were people that he's seen in the parking lot of campus, all stoners. ❝That's great! Anyway, we were just about to play beer pong. Wanna join us?❞
Apathetic, he follows her to a table, set up with a pyramid-like structure of solo cops - all filled with a muddy-brown color.
Meena freezes when he sees Cherilyn - Sloan's best friend.
❝Are you playing, too?❞ he hears Kenji mumble, lips curving up at his presence. Meena's brother stood beside Kenji, and immediately, he knew Mustafa and Juno brought him along to a college party - for reasons beyond his comprehension. Mustafa likely invited him out of spite because he knew Meena would be affected.
For a moment, he contemplates whether to say he has a headache, and rush home. But Kenji smiles in a way that reveals his dimples, and Meena suddenly forgets how to blurt out a lie. He's dressed in a heather-grey sweater that hides his hands and a pair of black jeans that hug his waist far too tight for Meena's brain cells to function.
So instead, he replies with, ❝Yup,❞ and accepts the ball from Sloan.
Meena's ring-covered fingers easily tossed the ball in the nearest solo cup, and the sound of the splash stained his lips with a smile. ❝That was amazing.❞ Cherilyn had been watching off to the side, holding Sloan's drink. Her free hand curled around Meena's forearm, and he gives her a smile, obviously fake, that masked his discomfort. Back in high school, she trailed behind him like a lost puppy, and because he was afraid of admitting he was gay, he'd slept with her. And since then, she seemed to believe there was a chance of a fling between them. But her hand on his arm made his skin crawl. Her ebony curls ghosted his skin when she rose on her tiptoes to whisper into his ear, ❝I'm glad Sloan invited you. It's been a while, hasn't it?❞
He shivered, and instead of the breath of the air conditioner tasting his neck, his reaction was brought on by the whiskey tainting her breath. He created space between them with a step back, and weaved his hand through his messy curls. She blushed in embarrassment, and fell back into the shadows.
Meena paid her no mind after that, and he resumed the game instead. The ping-pong ball Mustafa let fly from his fingers barely touched the rim of the cup before falling onto the dusty wooden tabletop. With a wince, he downed the beer. He wiped the liquor from his mouth with the back of his sleeve.
A second ball Meena threw into a cup on his next turn - further back in the pyramid than the former - and Mustafa's expression made him smirk. ❝Damn, I thought you would put up more of a fight. You're letting me win at this point.❞
Mustafa replied with a simple flash of his middle finger, a mere silhouette from behind his red cup.
Kenji blew out a soft laugh at Mustafa's reaction. Lifting his gaze, he slowly slips into the rivers of chocolate opposite him. Kenji pinches the ball between his fingers. Without breaking eye contact, he creates ripples in the brown liquid from the impact of the small ball hitting the surface. Meena swallows hard at the hint of mischief swimming in Kenji's eyes. ❝Is this the fight you wanted, Meena?❞ He grins lazily.
Meena tongues the inside of his cheek; pondering his next move. ❝You're brave, shortcake. I'll give you that.❞ At that, he swallows the cheap-tasting beer.
❝Brave? I wouldn't consider it bravery. You're not scary in the slightest. Up for a challenge? Sure.❞
Sloan threw back her head to swallow the beer, wincing at the slight burn.
On his turn, Meena smirked at him, eyebrows raised, before he aimed for the furthest cup from him, but the ball bounces off the rim instead. Kenji burst into a fit of giggles at the loss. The curves of Meena's lips dropped back down. ❝Aw, what happened to that confidence you had? Ill-timed, huh?❞
❝Fuck you,❞ Meena grits out.
The empty threat only made Kenji laugh harder - almost gasping for air.
A ghost of a smile stretches across Mena's face.
Did you like meeting a few people from Meena's past? Do you like his banter with Kenji?
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