Page 4 of Solo Stan
“ You’re the one who’s leaving me all alone. We were supposed to go to Berkeley together, remember? We were going to get an apartment. I already bought us a friendship ficus.”
Kai’s brow furrowed in confusion. “What’s a friendship ficus?”
“A ficus between friends. Now it’s just a regular ficus.”
“Well, you were going to let me move to California! You know I’m not ready for something like that!”
“It was your idea!” The frustration was evident in Bobby’s voice.
It had been Kai’s idea, in fact. But then he pictured himself on the West Coast, away from his family, pursuing a career in tech and UX design when he didn’t even own a smartphone. The entire idea was half-baked, so he elected to stay home instead, even at the risk of being a townie.
“Sorry,” Kai responded, his tone devoid of any genuine remorse.
“Wow, you could do better than that.”
“I’ll send you an apple. I gotta go,” Kai said, feeling suddenly panicky. “Love you, Bae!”
“The only apple you need is an iPhone!” Bobby managed to say before Kai snapped his phone shut.
Kai closed his eyes and put on headphones, but he was restless.
Typically, he had no trouble falling asleep, but after having all his summer plans shattered in one phone call, his mind was in too many places.
He sat quietly at the edge of his bed for a moment before deciding he needed to get outside.
Perhaps a bike ride would clear his head.
Kai’s bicycle tires kicked up little water droplets as he rode across the damp grass to get to Uncle Moodie’s Books, where he’d been working for the last year.
When Kai walked in, his nose was immediately filled with the strong scent of coffee beans mingling with the faint aroma of printed pages.
A smile spread across his face. Uncle Moodie’s Books was part coffee shop, part bookstore.
When you first walked in, rows of comic books brightly displayed alongside collectible action figures lined the right side.
To the left, a few bistro tables sat in front of the large cashier counter, which also served as a coffee bar complete with a pastry case.
Directly behind the counter was a multipurpose staff room that functioned as a kitchen, office, and break room, with a spacious closet for storage and stock.
It was the perfect spot to do inventory in peace or prepare drinks and food away from the customers’ eyes.
The jingling bell above the door alerted Kai’s boss, the enigmatic Uncle Moodie, to Kai’s arrival. His eyes crinkled at the corners as he acknowledged Kai’s presence. He was hairless except for a full salt-and-pepper beard and mustache as he clung on to the last of his thirties.
“You’re late, young buck,” Uncle Moodie said as Kai unhooked his helmet and placed it on the counter. “D Kai had been in love with Bobby since the moment he sat next to him in Mr.Melton’s fourth-grade class and loaned Bobby a pencil.
Calling Bobby a friend felt insincere even though their bond was undeniable.
At the time, and even now, all Kai wanted was for someone to notice him, to like him first for once.
That included Bobby and the boy from the park, who hadn’t even looked his way.
He had confided in Bobby that he wanted to find a boyfriend or girlfriend because his parents had been high school sweethearts, and it was a legacy he had always wanted to carry on. They were only in eighth grade at the time, but it felt urgent.
Bobby paused his game, resting the controller on the rug, and casually suggested that Kai go out with him since they did everything else together anyway.
This was classic Bobby, practical to a fault.
His tone was so casual, as if he were suggesting they order pizza for dinner or go for a walk.
Kai choked on a laugh, thinking Bobby was joking, but Bobby repeated the question. “Why don’t you go out with me?”
Then, Kai wasn’t sure how it happened, but soon he and Bobby were inching toward each other on the living room rug. To this day, he didn’t know whether he should consider it his first kiss or not, because it had been over so quickly.
“Good?” Kai had asked, his shoulders tense.
Bobby put a finger to his chin. “Inconclusive.”
They got close again, meeting in a real kiss this time.
This isn’t so bad, Kai thought. It was pleasant, even easy, like walking or breathing.
Maybe a little weird, he considered as Bobby turned his head farther to the side, but still, not bad.
Feeling brave, Kai opened his mouth, allowing the kiss to deepen.
However, the moment he felt Bobby’s tongue on his, tasting the Swedish Fish they’d eaten together earlier that afternoon, Kai’s fight-or-flight response kicked in.
DANGER. DANGER. DANGER. Turn back! his mind screamed.
His eyes shot open, only to find Bobby’s open as well, his proximity turning him into a cyclops—not the hot Scott Summers kind, but the my best friend’s tongue is in my mouth kind. They both flew apart.
And that’s how Kai realized that Bobby was his best friend and nothing more. They still joked about the kiss to this day.
Kai exhaled in the warmth of his bed and the glow of candlelight.
He reached for a piece of parchment and wrote down his desire to find love, folded it toward himself, and sealed it with a kiss.
Placing the paper underneath the candle—which was filled with dried lavender and rose petals, along with sprinkles of cinnamon—he spoke his intentions aloud, hoping that someone was listening—someone who believed he deserved love.