Page 23 of Solo Stan

Random Act of Honesty

Make a confession.

Kai glanced at Elias, hoping he had something to get off his chest—why he’d been so quiet, why he seemed to hate Bobby so much, if he really was serious about being sorry for earlier. But instead, Elias simply raised his phone, deadpan, and asked, “Do you have something?”

“Is it Sunday already?” Kai joked, though Elias only let out a short breath of laughter.

Kai peered around at the others in the market, checking if anyone was paying attention.

He swallowed, though his mouth was dry. “I guess I could make a confession,” he said, his tone lower now.

Waiting for Elias to start recording, he cleared his throat.

“I confess…that I was warming up to you. More than I thought I would.”

Elias immediately stopped recording and lowered his phone. He observed Kai through the corners of his eyes. “Was?”

Kai’s hand went to the back of his neck. “You say you want to be friends, but I’m a little confused,” he said. “For starters, you’ve been calling me Dakarai. You could try calling me Kai like everyone else does?”

A contemplative look settled on Elias’s face. “You don’t like your name?”

“Does everyone call you Elias, or do I have to complete some trials before you let me call you Eli like Moodie does?” Kai asked.

“You don’t know how many times I’ve asked my family to stop calling me Eli,” Elias replied.

Spotting the confusion on Kai’s face, he continued, “On my first day of kindergarten, my teacher, Ms.Townsend, kept calling me Eli, and I kept telling her that my name was Elias. You know what she said? She said that Elias was too grandiose of a name for a small boy. I didn’t know what grandiose meant, but I knew I didn’t like her tone, so since then, nobody calls me outside my name, and they can thank Ms.Townsend. ”

Kai bit his lip. He was starting to think that maybe, instead of hosing down the candle, he should have given Elias a good dousing, since he was clearly too hot-blooded for his own good.

“I just like your name,” Elias continued, “and maybe I want to be the only one who says it.”

A subtle blush crept across Kai’s cheeks. Elias submitted the video, then recorded the number 55 before checking the next item:

Random Act of Kindness

Give a thoughtful gift.

“All this sentiment is making my head hurt,” Elias groaned. His body shook with a sneeze, and his face contorted in pain. He lightly pinched the bridge of his nose and tilted back his head, closing his eyes as he sought relief.

“You’re still hurt from the fight?” Kai said, as more of a statement than a question. He internally smacked himself for being so insecure. Elias wasn’t upset with him. He was just in pain.

“No, I’m fine. I’ll manage,” Elias said, pulling down his hat farther, his eyes fixating on their shadows overlapping on the ground. “It’s just allergies or a migraine or something. It looks like it’s going to rain.”

Stepping in front of Elias, Kai raised his hands and gestured to his face. He asked, “May I?” and added, “Don’t worry. I won’t hurt you,” when he sensed Elias’s apprehension.

Kai was sure Elias didn’t fully understand what he was asking, but he nodded anyway, albeit hesitantly.

Kai moved closer and placed his hands to the sides of Elias’s face, pressing his thumbs gently to the pressure points beside his nose.

He made sure not to touch the faint shadow of a bruise underneath Elias’s eye that had begun to yellow and fade.

As Kai massaged in a circular motion, Elias’s face gradually relaxed. Kai felt a quiet sense of satisfaction.

“If I hadn’t ignored those notifications, we’d probably be at the show by now,” Elias said, his hand still firmly grasped around the still-jammed cryptex. “Do you think we’ll ever figure out CYPHR’s post?”

“We still have more clues to get through, so we can certainly try,” Kai replied.

“You think there are one hundred people who are smarter than we are?”

“I think there are way more than one hundred people who are infinitely smarter than we are.”

“You’re probably right,” Elias said as he stuffed the cryptex into his pocket and leaned closer into Kai’s touch. “I just wanted to do something fun. I missed being in a city. Everything around your way is so quiet. How do you stand it?”

Elias joked a lot, but his honesty came in equal measure.

He didn’t show a ton of emotion, but he had a knack for dropping in little blink-or-you’ll-miss-it truths like this.

Elias didn’t come off as the sentimental type, but he supposed anyone could get homesick.

Kai had gotten homesick before he’d even gotten a chance to leave, so much so that he turned down his acceptance to Berkeley.

“How do you stand it? Big cities seem so chaotic and violent and impersonal.”

“Maybe they are, but is it bad that I miss that?”

Kai gave a sly grin. “You think New York invented violence?”

“I mean, I guess not. I’ve seen your little Waffle House brawls,” Elias teased.

“I know we’re different. I grew up fishing and boating, jumping into rivers. I even went hunting a few times before I realized it wasn’t for me.”

“You? Hunting?” Elias asked incredulously.

“You think I came out the womb drinking oat milk?” Kai said dryly.

“All I’m saying is that there’s chaos in what you consider quiet,” he continued.

“For things to grow, something else has to die. But the violence and chaos you’re talking about, the violence that bruised that pretty little face of yours—what grows from that? ”

Elias held the tip of his thumb between his teeth, but he was unable to hide his amusement. “So you think I have a pretty face.”

Kai released a slow exhale. “Don’t let that be the only thing you take away from what I just said.”

Elias gently placed his hands over Kai’s to lower them.

“All I’m hearing is that I still have a chance.

” Smiling warmly, he added, “I saw something at one of these tables you might like.” He closed his eyes and tilted his head slightly, as if searching through memories.

When his eyes snapped open, it was clear he’d found whatever he was looking for in his mind’s eye.

With a confident smile, he said, “Don’t move.

I’ll be right back,” before rushing off.

Kai watched as Elias slipped seamlessly into the crowd, weaving through the bustle.

He stopped at a table they’d passed earlier, glancing back to meet Kai’s gaze.

With a quick, teasing wink, Elias sent a flush of heat rushing to Kai’s cheeks.

Kai looked down at his sneakers, trying to get himself together as Elias made his way back, a plastic bag held securely against his chest.

“Close your eyes and put out your hands,” Elias urged.

Following Elias’s instruction, Kai listened to the soft rustling of the bag, followed by the feeling of something rectangular being placed in his palm.

The object was smooth to the touch, wrapped in a thin layer of plastic.

When Kai opened his eyes and saw what it was, a genuine smile spread across his face.

“You got me tarot cards,” Kai said in disbelief.

“The lady I bought them from said that she did the artwork herself,” Elias said, his tone carrying a hint of embarrassment.

“So if I see this shit on Canva, I’m coming back here.

” The way he spoke made it clear that he knew he’d done something thoughtful, even if the recognition for it was a little too much for him to bear.

Kai turned the deck over in his hands, his fingers tracing the box.

“I just don’t think you should give up on your stars and tarot cards and stuff. I think it’s cool,” Elias said.

“You liked the palm reading, didn’t you?” Kai asked.

“I like anything that leads you to me,” Elias replied, his voice tender but sure. Kai swallowed hard. “Go on, then. Open it.”

Elias took a picture of Kai as he ripped open the package and shuffled the deck. He did so, hand over hand, making sure to touch each card. Then he held the deck close to his chest and imbued it with his energy and intention. Once satisfied, he fanned out the cards, catching a swath of moonlight.

“Pick a card,” Kai said, as more of a demand than a request.

Elias hesitated but obliged and said, “Don’t tell me what it means right now. Tell me if it’s true later.”

Kai reflected on the card. Four of Wands.

Elias’s palm reading revealed that he deeply wanted something but didn’t know what it was, but looking at this card, maybe what he wanted was stability.

This card was more than that. It symbolized weddings, community, reunions, celebrations.

Four of Wands symbolized solid foundations, coming home, and laying down roots.

I knew it, Kai thought, biting his lip to suppress a wide smile. For all of Elias’s complaining about North Carolina, it was possible he was exactly where he needed to be. And maybe, just maybe, he was also put into Kai’s life for a reason too.

Kai slipped the card back into the deck and pocketed it.

Elias raised an inquisitive eyebrow. “Is it a good one?”

Kai shrugged, a glint in his eye. “I guess you’ll find out later.”

“That’s fine,” Elias replied. “All I need right now is for you to do that pressure point thing again. Please?”

Elias stepped closer, guiding Kai’s hands to his face. He shut his eyes softly.

Standing so near, their energies seemed to strike the same frequency. Everything around them dimmed and quieted, fading away until everyone else may as well have not even existed at all.