Page 29 of Solo Stan
“It would make this summer so much easier if we could be friends,” Dakarai said, seemingly thinking aloud. “But you have to promise no more flirting with me.”
“Flirting?Me? What kind of girl do you think I am?” Elias’s mouth split into a smile.
“No smiling either,” Dakarai warned. “If I see even one of your dimples, I’m getting on the bus and going home without you.”
Elias saluted Dakarai. “Yes, sir.”
He gestured broadly, his tacit way of telling Dakarai to lead the way. He quickly signed the check and slid it to the edge of the table before grabbing his things. Opening the app as he followed Dakarai out of the restaurant, he was prompted by a screen that saidDo not click until you’re ready to begin the scavenger hunt. You will only have five minutes to complete the first action.
He looked for approval from Dakarai, who merely shrugged.
With unsteady hands, Elias clicked the start button. A timer instantly appeared in the top right corner, along with an envelope icon in the center of the screen. The descending timer struck panic into him, like he’d slept past an alarm or was late for school. He swallowed his anxiety as best he could and clicked the envelope.
Random Act of Love
Hug someone for 10 seconds.
“Yeah, no,” Dakarai said flatly, turning on his heel. “I’m out of here.”
A smile spread across Elias’s face—he knew he liked CYPHR fora reason. “It’s just a hug,” he said, gently stopping Dakarai by grabbing his arm. He took a deliberate step in front of him, raising his eyes to meet Dakarai’s.
Dakarai bit his lip, hesitating for a moment before releasing a breath. “If we’re going to do this scavenger hunt together, all of that,” he said, waving his hands over Elias, “is what we’re not going to do. Don’t look at me like that.”
Elias’s lips twitched into a sly smirk. “Where am I supposed to look, then?”
“At the floor or the back of your eyelids.”
“Fine,” Elias said, his eyes fluttering closed. His hands felt heavy and useless by his sides, his increasing heartbeat pulsing through his ears, slowly drowning out the din. “Is this what you want?” he asked.
“It’s somehow worse.”
Elias’s eyes shot open at the cool touch of Dakarai’s hand on his. He could see the hesitation on Dakarai’s face, but also the curiosity—the slight change in breath and a flicker of his gaze to Elias’s lips. Hesitantly, Dakarai gently pulled Elias forward by the hand and then wrapped his arms around him, holding him in an embrace that felt as if it might be their last.
Elias blinked hard, trying to make sense of the situation, when Dakarai’s voice, close to his ear, asked softly, “Are you going to take the picture?”
Acting on pure muscle memory, Elias raised his phone and tapped the shutter button, easing farther into the embrace each second as he counted down from ten with the timer, their heartbeats a metronome.
The photo snapped and automatically uploaded into the app, revealing two new envelopes. Dakarai abruptly broke the contact,forcing Elias to plant his feet firmly to resist the innate pull he felt toward him, the desire to continue being held. But with a deep breath, he refocused, redirecting his attention to the first of the two envelopes. Inside was only the number0.
“The hell?” Elias muttered, puzzled. But he and Dakarai didn’t have much time to dwell on its meaning; as soon as Elias clicked on the other envelope containing their next task, a timer immediately started.
Random Act of Mindfulness
Don’t miss your chance
At seeing the beauty of Raleigh
Like you’ve never seen before
Take a look at the stars
Over the skyline of the city
Naming me to get to the top
With the clock now counting down from ten minutes, Dakarai’s forehead wrinkled in concentration as he scanned the words. Elias, on the other hand, found his mind wandering, the urgency of the moment unable to cut through.
“The spacing is kind of odd, isn’t it?” Dakarai asked, tapping his chin. “And there’s no punctuation.”
