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Living in L.A. had its perks. Keith liked the fact that he could eat food that reminded him of home whenever he wanted to. He also liked the ocean because he used to have to travel hours to get to the sea. However, L.A. was also expensive as hell. He couldn’t tell you what exactly possessed him to move here to study aeronautical science. He could have as easily studied it back in Korea, but a few things probably motivated him to study abroad.
First and foremost, it wasn’t exactly easy being out there. In America, he could express himself much more freely. In theory that is. The best he has managed so far was a few sloppy makeouts at parties. They weren’t exactly his style if he was being honest. He would prefer something of a bit more substance if possible.
Nonetheless, he was reasonably pleased with his decision to move to California for his undergraduate degree. After two years though, money was definitely getting tighter. He had to be sparing to be able to keep up with his tuition and drinking habits. He was frugal and he did things on the side to make a few bucks. He was known to do people’s homework, and even be a photographer if someone needed one.
It was this thriftiness that had led him to Venice Beach for the day because it was one of the cheaper beaches in the area. His friends had wanted to get a tattoo and check out the bodybuilding scene there. He was more interested in the sand and waves. So, they had split up a while ago by this point. Keith was wearing red swim shorts and a fitted black t-shirt. He wasn’t trying hard, but he still looked pretty good.
When he had decided that he had enough of the beach for the day, he collected his stuff and tossed it in his bag. He hopped up and began to glance around for his friends. He didn’t spot them. In the meantime he noticed a small crowd gathering around nearby. He guessed it was some bodybuilder or something, but then a guy with a camera approached him.
“Hey, kid. Yeah, you.” Keith gestured to himself as the man nodded.
“I’ll give you two-hundred dollars to walk up and kiss that guy with the white streak in his hair.”
Keith noticed that the man with the streak seemed to be who the crowd was fawning over. It would be difficult to reach him.
“Five hundred and you got yourself a deal. He looks hard to get to.” It helped that white streak was pretty hot. This wouldn’t be a loss at all for Keith. The photographer nodded.
He waited a few minutes for the crowd to thin out. They slowly disappear one by one before the man was all alone. At this point, the guy in question took off his shirt. Keith marched right up to him and planted one on him. It required Keith to lean up on his toes a bit, but it wasn’t a far stretch.
The taller man seemed caught off guard, but he didn’t push Keith off. In fact, he soon melted into the kiss. Much to Keith’s surprise, he also got caught up in it for a moment before he heard the clicking of a camera, and white stripe pushed him off.
“Hold on what the hell?” He said. Keith scratched the back of his neck. It was a good kiss, and now he was starting to feel guilty.
“Uh, the dude with the camera bribed me to kiss you.” If Keith Kogane was anything, it was honest.
“While I appreciate your honesty, that doesn’t make what you did okay.” The man marched over and grabbed the camera from the photographer. He removed the SD card and snapped it with his bare hands.
“Holy fuck..” Keith muttered under his breath as the other guy came back over to him. The photographer stormed off without giving any money. Keith sighed as the now noticeably buff man walked towards him.
The man tossed his shirt back on and gave Keith a look.
“So what is your deal. Are you a superfan?” Keith shot back a confused glance.
“No, dude what the hell? Do I look like I follow bodybuilding? I am just broke.” Once again with the honesty. It made the other laugh.
“Bodybuilding? So you don’t know me?” Keith didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want to insult the other, but...
“Nope, sorry.” He glanced down to see a hand outstretched.
“Takashi Shirogane, but they call me Shiro for short.”
“Okay, and?” Keith shot back. This made Shiro laugh.
“I believe you now.” Shiro turned his attention to the small crowd gathering again. They began to pester him with questions about his newest movie, and if he and Keith were dating.
“Keith.” Keith finally spoke up.
“I’m Keith Kogane. Nice to meet you, Shiro. Seems like you’re some kind of big deal or something. You an actor?” Shiro smiled and nodded.
“Yeah, something like that. Nice to meet you Mr. Kogane.” He paused.
“It was a decent kiss, but don’t you think you owe me some dinner now?” He added.
“Sounds like it’s your treat to me. I’m just some college kid who was just bribed to kiss you.” Keith quipped back. It made Shiro laugh again.
“I am sure we can arrange something like that.”