A/N: Lily Leaves, thank you so much for your review! It made me smile :) I'm glad you discovered that this series was continuing with you going through another brocon binge! (Me going through the same was why I picked up writing this story again, lol.)

"I'm sure we'll love this ice cream place," Tsubaki said, slinging his arm over Ema's shoulders. "It's gotten amazing reviews."

"I'm excited to try it," Ema said. "Though you've built it up so much, I'm not sure it can live up to the hype."

"Oh it will," he promised, then winked. "It'll taste extra good because you have me and Azusa for company."

She laughed. "Good company does make food taste better."

"We're glad you agree," Azusa said, holding the door open for her and Tsubaki as they reached the ice cream shop. "When we heard about this place from our co-workers, we immediately knew we wanted to take you."

Tsubaki chose a round table and the twins scooted their seats close to Ema.

"We have to explain the menu to you," Tsubaki justified, laying a menu in front of her and leaning over to point things out. "First, you choose what flavor of ice cream you want as your base, then you choose what flavors you want added in. There's all kinds. Fruits, nuts, candy bars. Then you can add toppings after that."

"That sounds like it might add up," Ema said, searching for the price.

Tsubaki slapped his hand over the numbers. "We're here to treat you, Ema, not for you to worry about how much it costs."

"It's ice cream," Azusa said, his voice amused as he lightly touched her hand. "I promise it's not too expensive. Choose all the add-ins you want, okay?"

"We can always share if you're that worried," Tsubaki teased.

An image flashed through Ema's mind of a time she and Eric shared ice cream shortly after they started dating. She tried to keep her smile in place and push those thoughts away. It was frustrating that she'd finally stopped thinking of Eric and then he popped back into her life. She wasn't even sure how the memory made her feel. Nostalgic? Bittersweet? Angry that she couldn't even have ice cream with friends without thinking of him? But she supposed that was what happened when you made someone an integral part of your life. You developed all sorts of memories and connections with them that then popped into your mind even when you didn't want them to.

"I think I'll be okay," she said, "but thanks for the offer."

"Suit yourself," he said with a shrug. "But remember that the offer is there."

They'd ordered their ice cream and had been eating for a bit when Tsubaki casually said, "So how's your project going? Is it fun to have your old friend back?"

It crossed Ema's mind to tell the twins that Eric was her ex-boyfriend rather than an old friend, but she really didn't want to go into that story again. "We're almost done, so that's a relief. The project is due at the end of next week. I think we've done pretty good though." Her voice was quieter as she added, "Eric is a good worker, so he's a good partner to have. It's never fun to be partnered with someone who makes you do all the work."

Tsubaki ground his teeth. Her voice had definitely changed to hold more emotion at the end. He couldn't identify what the emotion was, but he didn't like it.

"You got some ice cream on your cheek," he told her. She grabbed a napkin, but before she could move, he captured her chin and licked her cheek. He pulled back with a bright smile. "There, all better!"

Ema blushed bright red.

"Sorry," he said, his voice holding no real regret, "that seemed faster."

"Uh, thanks," she mumbled, brushing the spot where he'd licked her.

Azusa shot him a glare. Probably because there hadn't actually been any ice cream, but Tsubaki had no regrets, because now Ema was thinking about him instead of that American guy.

A few moments later, Ema shivered.

"Are you cold?" Azusa asked, concerned.

"A little," she admitted. "But just from the ice cream."

"Here," Azusa said, taking off his blazer and draping it over her shoulders. "We brought you here, so it's our responsibility to make sure your comfortable."

"I don't think that makes my comfort your responsibility," she said. "But thank you. Are you sure you won't be cold?"

"I'll be fine," he promised, placing his arm along the back of her chair. "So long as you're comfortable, that's all that matters."

"That's not true," she argued. She grabbed his jacket and, scooting her chair closer to Azusa's, spread his blazer across both their laps. "There. Now we can share it."

He smiled down at her, his hand along her chair back brushing her shoulder. "Thanks, Ema. You're always thinking of others."

Tsubaki shot him an annoyed look, but didn't say anything. They both needed to make their moves on Ema after all.

~.~

By the time they left, Ema couldn't figure out if the twins just wanted to be close to her while they spent time together, or if they'd been flirting with her. What surprised her most was that she wasn't sure which answer she wanted to be true.

~.~

"You've been so needy lately," Sakura teased, threading her hands through Kaname's hair.

"I just want to see more of you," Kaname said, only half-lying. He'd been hoping if he threw himself more into his girlfriends, he'd make these growing feelings for Ema go away. Yes, he cared about her—he'd known her since she was a little girl. Of course he cared about her. But that didn't mean he should feel the way he was feeling.

He was a player who loved all women, but especially sexy women who knew what they wanted and went after it. Which was not Ema at all.

"Have I become your favorite?" Sakura asked, nipping his jawline.

"You're all my favorite," he told her. If he picked out favorites among his girlfriends, they started expecting more from him. Like commitment.

"Maybe I can change that," she murmured, capturing his lips.

Sakura was a skilled kisser, no doubt. She'd made his head spin on several occasions. But this time, he found himself wondering what kissing Ema would feel like. He was sure she'd be gentler, maybe even tentative at first, but she could also be passionate based on what he saw of her acting in the movie.

He wanted to erase the hurt he saw in her eyes over Erik with his touch. Unconsciously, he found himself mimicking what he would do with Ema. He cupped Sakura's face with one hand, his other arm sliding up her back to pull her closer. He gentled his lips on hers before angling her head so he could deepen the kiss.

Sakura inhaled sharply, pulling back to blink at him. Sakura—miss I-can-make-a-man-do-anything-I-want-with-my-sex-appeal—was blushing. Then her lips curved into a seductive smile. "You must really want me today," she said, leaning back into the kiss.

But Kaname pulled back. Yes, he had lots of girlfriends at once, but it was his policy to focus on the girl he was with at the time because all of them deserved to feel special and receive his undivided attention. Kissing Sakura while thinking about Ema was wrong, even for him.

"What's wrong?" she asked, her eyes crinkling in confusion.

"Sorry. I suddenly feel off. I think we should call it a night." He felt bad, but not as bad as he'd feel continuing to spend the evening with Sakura while thinking of Ema.

"What?" Sakura asked, her voice going up several octaves. She watched in disbelief as Kaname stood and gathered his things. "You're seriously leaving now?" They'd intended to spend the whole night together. "What, did you suddenly remember a date with another girl?"

Her voice was caustic, far different from her tone a minute ago. But Kaname could see the hurt hiding in her eyes.

"Sorry," he apologized again. "But I guess you could say it's something like that."

Her eyes widened before she shrieked, then started throwing things at him.

"Don't you ever come back here!" she yelled as a brush connected with his head. He winced and ducked out the door, but he couldn't deny he'd deserved that.

He paused on the sidewalk outside her apartment complex, pulling out his phone to stare at it. If throwing himself into his girlfriends wasn't working to push Ema from his mind, maybe he should throw himself into building a real career instead. And molding himself into the type of man Ema would want to be with.

He dialed his mother's number.

"Kaname?" she answered. "It's ten-thirty at night in Japan. Why are you calling so late? Did something happen?"

"No, not anything bad, anyway. I've just been thinking—you know that position you've been wanting me to take in your company?" It was a position based in Japan that focused heavily on dealing with customers both within and without the company. His mom felt his wide experience dealing with people at the shrine would be an asset to the company. "Is that offer still open?"

Stunned silence met him on the other end.

~.~

Kaname's mind whirled as he lay in bed that night with all the things he needed to do. He needed to inform the shrine he was leaving. He needed to break-up with the rest of his girlfriends—hopefully less dramatically than how things went with Sakura. He needed to buy new work clothes for his upcoming job. He'd have to interview first, but his mom was pretty certain he'd get the position.

His mind turned to Ema, but he didn't think he should do anything there yet. Aside from her still not wanting to date, he needed to show her that he was serious about her, that he'd changed as a man, before making a move. He just hoped he wasn't too late. Despite Ema's words about not knowing if she wanted to date Eric again, she clearly still had strong feelings for him.

He wished he'd had a change of heart before Eric came back trying to win her over. It was like the plot of a cheesy romance movie. And if this was a movie, he'd probably be the antagonist, trying to get in between the true love of Ema and Eric. But he was okay with playing the antagonist because he was certain he'd be better for Ema than Eric. He just hoped he'd have a chance to prove that to her.