Page 40 of Solo Stan
Kai
Kai scooted toward the edge of the couch, leaving a space on the inside. Elias maneuvered over him, nestling into the snug spot. As they settled, their gazes met, lying close, face-to-face. The limited space and shared body heat and breath created an unseen thread between them.
Kai signaled for Elias to come closer. His body was jerky and awkward as he leaned his head against Kai’s chest. “How was your talk with Mood?” he whispered, rubbing Elias’s arm up and down with his thumb.
“Good. Really good, actually,” Elias replied as he idly played with the crystal on Kai’s necklace.
“He’s a good dude. And,” Elias said as a nervous laugh escaped his lips, “I think he gave us his blessing.”
“His blessing,” Kai repeated. He smiled, charmed by Elias’s sudden shyness. “His blessing to do what?”
Elias traced his thumb over the small crevice beneath Kai’s pinkie and said, “To see if I’m that little line on your palm,” before firmly intertwining their fingers.
Sleepily, Kai asked, “Is that what you want?”
“I don’t know,” Elias replied honestly, “but will you give me a chance anyway?”
They lay there holding hands for a moment before Elias reached up and placed a sweet kiss on Kai’s lips. The two kissed lazily as their bodies jumbled together on the couch that was way too small for them. Knotted up in each other, they eventually fell asleep.
9:42 a.m.
Hours later, Kai was jolted awake by his ringing phone. He tumbled off the couch, and his tailbone beat the rest of his body to the ground. He quickly scrambled to his feet and searched for Elias in the room. To his relief, Elias wasn’t there, but to his disappointment, Elias wasn’t there.
Kai’s heart did a flip when he saw Elias’s name on his caller ID. He steeled his nerves and cleared his throat a few times before answering.
“Hello?” His voice cracked. “Shit.”
A low melodic voice laughed on the other side of the line. “I was going to text but didn’t think you had texting on that fax machine you been calling a phone.”
“Ha. Ha,” Kai said dryly. “The joke’s on you because I like calling better than texting.”
“I figured. Anyway, I thought I’d let you sleep. I opened up the store. Come down when you’re ready.”
Kai splashed water on his face and rubbed some toothpaste on his teeth so he could at least try to look somewhat presentable at work. His eyes were half closed, and he nearly had to stand on the toilet to allow enough room for the door to shut.
When he entered the bookstore, he was met with a CYPHR song he’d never heard before. The exclusive track, Kai thought warmly.
Elias was sitting on the counter playing with his phone.
It was a mystery how Elias managed to look so good in the morning.
Kai resembled something that was pulled out of a hairbrush, but Elias was in all black looking like someone who would promise to bring your daughter home at 10:00 p.m. but not specify what day.
Elias smiled when he noticed Kai.
“Good morning,” he said after a beat. “Did you sleep well?”
“I always do,” Kai sang. “Did you ?”
“Nope. Never do.” Elias hopped off the counter. “Good talk,” he said, giving Kai a few soft taps on the cheek. “Now, let’s go have a company meeting.” He took Kai’s hand and began leading him to the storage room.
Kai swatted him off. “What about the store?”
“Union break. Fifteen minutes.”
Kai glanced around, taking in the darkened shopkeeper’s bell above the door, the mismatched tables and chairs in the café, the bright yellow and green velvet couches in the reading nook, and finally, the rows and rows of comics reaching almost to the ceiling.
The mural he’d painted cast a colorful light on the books, almost like church windows.
His eyes rested on that particular spot in the manga section, and he said, “Five minutes.”
“Fifteen minutes,” Elias replied without hesitation.
“This isn’t a debate,” Kai said, his mouth dropping open in disbelief at Elias’s audacity.
“Ten.”
Kai stroked the stubble of his chin with his thumb as he looked Elias up and down. “Deal. Let’s go.”
Elias walked ahead, pausing in the doorframe before disappearing into the back room.
I just wanted to go to a concert with my friends, Kai thought as he followed.
Was it a mistake to start something romantic with his coworker, a coworker he’d have to see almost every single day? The nephew of his boss, no less? Most likely. Probably almost certainly. But the mistake was already made, and he wasn’t taking it back.