Page 25 of Psync
“Too bad.”
Eli stood awkwardly with his wallet in his hand before finally putting it away. “I’ll buy you lunch next time, then.”
The smile Eli got in response was like looking at the sun.
Chapter Ten
Eli
“How does it feel to have everyone here call you Haruka instead of Yamada-san when they first meet you?”
“Probably about how it would feel to be called Talosa-san instead of Eli.”
“So, different, but not bad?”
“More or less.”
Eli had been peppering Haruka with questions about what it was like to live in a different country. Since he’d only left the country once—for a weekend school trip to Montreal—Eli had a never-ending supply. For someone who had come off as a total jerk the first time they’d met, Haruka had surprised Eli by patiently answering every single question.
“So, when you—”
Haruka placed a kabob stick on Eli’s already full plate.
“Thanks. Anyway, what do you do when—”
“It’s not there to look at. It’s there to eat.”
“I already ate.”
“You ate one beef skewer.”
“It was really big.”
“I had five.”
“You’re bigger than I am,” Eli said grudgingly.
“No more questions until you eat more.”
“But—”
Haruka pushed Eli’s plate toward him. Eli didn’t pout. It was definitely a manly frown he leveled at the plate in front of him. Definitely.
He took his fork, stabbed a grilled vegetable, and stuffed it in his mouth, chewing with exaggerated motions all while maintaining a very manly frown. Which, for some reason, made Haruka look like he was doing everything he could not to laugh.
“Hey, you two, I finally found you!” Alice sat down next to Eli with a massive pink smoothie in one hand and a slice of pizza in the other.
“We weren’t gone that long.”
“What are you talking about? The sun is going down. Nate and I have been texting you for over an hour.”
Eli pulled out his phone and saw he’d missed fifteen texts and five calls. “Oops.”
“We were starting to wonder if Haruka had kidnapped you and smuggled you back to Japan.”
Haruka rubbed his chin and narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. “You are small enough to fit in my suitcase, chibisuke.”
“I’m not—you’re—ahhhh, you both suck.”
