KARMA COLADA

Chapter Fifteen

LEON rubbed the sleep out of his eyes with his fists, a car crash of a man.

The last time he felt this tired was when he imprisoned himself in his apartment for a full month, doing nothing but programming his app, DinnerDate; during which he breathed, drank and consumed only codes and algorithms.

Even if he slept (a rarity), Leon dreamt about it.

When he finally re-emerged into the real world again, Leon told himself that was a one time thing, and that he'd never subject himself to such a torture again.

Oh how wrong he was.

Because currently, the crushing weight on his shoulders and the listlessness in his bones felt almost, if not just as, severe. He was brittle from the inside out, like every movement could take him out at any second.

Naturally, it made sense for Leon to view everything around him with a surly disposition. He was particularly surly about Naomi, who had basically disappeared on him like a seedy one-night-stand, even though they were supposed to meet Spivey at precisely eight in the lobby.

Another thing he was a little pissed about: It was already eight-thirty, and both Naomi and Spivey were nowhere to be seen. Unfortunately, Spivey seemed to share the same disregard for timeliness like Naomi.

As if he conjured her up with his mind, the morning breeze carried Naomi's musical voice to him, its gentle resonance prickling the hairs at his nape.

"How do you say 'I have a present for you'?"

"Chan mee kong kwan hai kun," came a wise reply from what sounded like a prepubescent boy, and Leon raised his brows in amusement.

The unlikely duo turned a corner and appeared at the entrance of the lobby. Upon seeing him, Naomi's lips stretched into a smile that made Leon's knees buckle beneath him. Sunlight danced in her hair, bouncing off the jet-black and creating an angelic halo around her head.

How the hell does someone get prettier overnight?

Naomi Wu was the epitome of all things good and pure and chaste.

And this irked him to no end.

"Fitzy," she called out affectionately, and another involuntary tremor shot through his body. "Chan mee kong kwan hai kun!" she clumsily uttered, the syllables awkward and forced.

Leon resorted to glowering at her in reply.

Unperturbed, Naomi sauntered in his direction, while a scrawny boy grasping bundles of bracelets trotted at her heels, his almond eyes already eyeing Leon with distrust.

A disapproving grunt started at Leon's throat.

"Nice to see you're treating this like a freaking holiday," he reprimanded.

Naomi's features remained serene. "Meet my highly-respectable language teacher, Tor." She nodded to the boy, who by now was appraising Leon with a full-on glare.

"Tor, this is my friend, Leon."

Leon frowned. Friend. The word tasted bitter on his tongue.

"Husband?" Tor mumbled in a haughty, protective tone.

"No," Leon quickly corrected. "Definitely not. I'm not her friend, either," he emphasized with an eye roll.

"Oh." Tor's features were lifted. "Good!"

Naomi pouted at Leon, and despite himself, his eyes lingered on her bottom lip — soft and pink and ripe for suckling.

"Would I buy you a friendship bracelet if you weren't my friend? Don't be silly, Fitzy," Naomi quipped, her tone holding a sliver of malice. She grabbed him by the wrist, the smoothness of her palms sending a jolt of electricity straight to his groin.