Page 50 of Solo Stan
Just before the door closed, Dakarai said, “Wait!” Sarita stuck her head back out. “Do you—this is going to sound kind of awkward, but do you guys want to be friends?” Dakarai shot an uncertain glanceat Elias. “There’s only, like, an hour left of the show. Any chance we can come in with you?”
He remembered the side quest,Elias thought with a proud grin planted firmly on his face.
“Hang on, I’ll be right back,” Sarita said. The door shut with a metal click. Elias and Dakarai shrugged at each other, but Elias couldn’t hide how impressed he was with Dakarai’s boldness.
The door swung open again, forcing them back out into the rain.
“Did I seriously do that again?” Sarita asked, horror washing over her face. She slid out, mindful of keeping a hand on the doorjamb so the door wouldn’t shut. “So, the bad news is that my girlfriend said I can’t let you in. But the good news is that this door closes really slow, and I can’t be expected to watch it until it closes all the way, can I? I don’t even work here, so that’s above my pay grade. Sound good?”
“Yes, yes! A thousand times yes!” Elias said, clasping his hands together over his heart.
She laughed, and then, with a fervent push, the door flung wide open, releasing a rush of sound into the night. Elias grabbed the door and held it ajar but paused for a moment.
“What’s wrong?” Dakarai asked.
“You completed the dare,” he replied. “I said you could have anything you wanted.” Elias ran his other hand over the top of his head and swallowed hard. “Well…”
Dakarai pulled Elias toward him by the waist. He blinked hard, completely at a loss for words as his lips parted in anticipation. Dakarai searched Elias’s face for permission. Elias raised his head as far as he could without letting his heels leave the ground. Permission granted. Dakarai grasped the side of Elias’s face and indulged his expectant mouth with a short but deliberate kiss.
Dakarai drew back and said, “I’ve already gotten what I’ve wanted all night.”
Elias had been needed plenty, butwanted? This felt new. Internally, he was kicking his feet.He wants me?he thought, repeating it with more self-assurance.He wants me.
Dakarai maintained a hold on Elias’s waist as they walked inside, maneuvering through the black, dimly lit corridor past people headed toward the bathrooms. The passageway muffled the sounds of the concert, choking it off at the entrance and offering some relief from the volume. Dakarai stopped Elias by the arm there, out of view of security, and leaned him up against the wall as people rushed by behind him, pressing them farther together.
Elias picked at what was left of his nail polish, betraying his nerves. Dakarai didn’t seem nervous at all as he leaned over and took Elias’s face in his hand, resting the heel of his palm against the hollow of his throat. Dakarai nudged his nose with his own to tilt Elias’s head. Lingering there for a moment, Elias was expectant, though he was only indulged millimeters at a time. Then, without further warning, Dakarai leaned in all the way. As they kissed, Dakarai’s hand slid up Elias’s neck, and his thumb followed the line of Elias’s jaw, his fingers making a circular motion on his earlobe the same way he did to himself when he was anxious.
Even though Elias wanted what was happening more than he’d ever wanted anything in a long time, he could hear a familiar voice creeping into his brain. He had always been a fighter, not a lover. What made him think he could be what Dakarai needed and wanted? Dakarai had been very clear that he was not one whose emotions should be toyed with. Was Elias doing something wrong? As he leaned farther into this kiss, Elias noticed that something was, in fact, different this time. He didn’t have that pit in his stomach he gotwhen he was talking back, or picking fights, or doing anything he knew he shouldn’t be doing but just couldn’t stop himself. He felt at ease, a sense of calm washing over him, like he had finally found his way home.
Dakarai finally pulled away, leaving Elias breathless and with stars in his eyes.
“Are you okay?” Dakarai asked, cradling him in his hands as though he might break—as if he could sense Elias retreating into his head.
Elias nodded.
He wished Dakarai had introduced himself all those years ago in the park, but at the same time, it wasn’t likely he was ready to receive him then. Tonight could have only happened tonight.
His gaze wandered beyond Dakarai, and Elias suddenly became aware that they weren’t the only two in the room. He made eye contact with someone who began making their way over to them.
Dakarai hid his face for a moment, seemingly to fix himself, before turning around to greet Sarita and Imani. They were heckling them for their cuteness, eliciting a nose scrunch from Elias and a broad, toothy smile from Dakarai.
“We saw you made it inside and thought we’d get our new friends some drinks to celebrate,” Sarita said, extending two of their four shot glasses to Dakarai and Elias. The boys shared a smile before taking them. They were filled to the brim with a red liquid that looked like juice. Elias raised it to his nose and sniffed. It smelled like juice too.
Elias slurped the excess off the top of his so it didn’t spill. “Mmm. What are they?” he asked, the glass hovering near his lips.
Imani leaned in to answer. “They’re called Swedish Fish shots.”
“Swedish Fish?!”Elias repeated, snatching the glass right out from under Dakarai’s nose in one smooth motion. “We’re good.Underage, in fact. See? No hand stamp.” Elias pointed to the back of his right hand.
Dakarai chewed on the inside of his mouth as he bit back a laugh.
“Suit yourself!” Sarita sang before she and Imani downed all four shots back-to-back, then headed to the dance floor.
CYPHR grasped at his mic with his eyes closed as he sang in falsetto, and his band accompanied him on an all-acoustic version of the first song of CYPHR’s that Elias had ever heard. The crowd went alight, a hundred swaying cell phones popping up one by one to match the slower tempo and softer sounds. The only one who wasn’t transfixed was Elias. He couldn’t keep his eyes off Dakarai with his profile backlit by the red stage lights, which accentuated the contours of his face. Elias knew it wouldn’t take long for Dakarai to feel his stare.
“What’s on your mind?” Dakarai asked, finally turning to look at Elias.
“You never told me what my tarot card was earlier.”
