Page 43 of Solo Stan
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.
20
Elias
11:47 p.m.
Elias was completely lost in the moment. He nearly forgot where he was and what he was doing until Dakarai suddenly flinched. Concerned, Elias opened his eyes.
“Bathroom,” Dakarai mouthed, attempting to excuse himself.
“Hurry back,” Elias whined. Feeling much better thanks to Dakarai, he dreamily floated over to a nearby wall and leaned against it to wait.
Nia had always told him to open up more and be honest about his feelings. He’d never admit it to her face, but she was right.
He watched as Dakarai walked down a passage that led to the bathrooms. It was dark, which made it easy to notice when Dakarai pulled out his phone and held it to his ear, the glow of his screen illuminating his face.
Then it clicked—the thing that prompted this abrupt bathroom break was the vibration of Dakarai’s phone.
The best friend,Elias thought, his curiosity lingering. He folded his arms, looking out over the thinning crowd. Even though he had initially wanted to spend the evening alone, now, with the absence of Dakarai’s touch, isolation set in and he began to feel self-conscious.
“But I did everything right,” he mumbled to himself. He’d listened to Nia and gone against every instinct to let his feelings about Dakarai be known—something he’d never done before. He’d been honest and vulnerable, given a thoughtful gift, and kept an open mind about all of Dakarai’s interests that he normally would have belittled. And still, it wasn’t enough.
Elias pressed his index fingers to the same spots Dakarai had, and the sinus pressure let up slightly so he could get one full breath of air. “Who takes care of me anyway?” he muttered.
Restless, he decided to text his little sister instead:
Elias
wake your ass up
He picked the skin around his nails, waiting for her to answer. Even though it was almost midnight, insomnia ran in the family, and she had a habit of pulling all-nighters to play computer games.
Nia
What do you want?
He smiled inwardly. His relationship with Nia was the thing he was proud of most.
Elias
Nothing. I just wanted to see what you were doing.
Nia
I’m minding my own business. What are you doing?
Elias
I’m talking to you. Don’t you have school tomorrow? Go to bed.
