7
Kai
10:33 a.m.
Kai prepared to take the walk of shame back to the front of the store. He contemplated buying a plane ticket to the farthest country he could afford and starting a new life, but he knew he’d have to face Elias eventually.
Feigning nonchalance, Kai’s stride ended up seeming awkward instead of apathetic. He expected Elias to make fun of him or, at the very least, give him a dirty look, but he was surprised when all Elias said was “For a second, I didn’t think you were coming back. I thought you left me here high and dry.”
Swiftly overcoming his surprise, Kai said, “High, sure. But dry? Never that.” He forced an airy laugh and cleared his throat. “Are you familiar with comics at all?”
“Unless it was made into a movie, I’ve probably never heard of it,” Elias replied, dismissively at first, but then his eyes widened, and he leaned forward. “What I meant to say is that I’d like to know more about comics. Maybe you could show me.” His gaze traveled slowly down Kai’s body, lingering at apparent points of interest, only returning to Kai’s eyes when Kai let out a nervous laugh.
“Why are you…?” Kai began, but then thought better of himself. “No offense, but I didn’t expect you to be so nice.”
Elias’s expression darkened. “What did you expect?”
“No, sorry—I mean, not sorry. It’s just—you’re really…um…nice.”
“Thanks, I think?”
Kai hoped that they truly were twin flames and that their etheric cord was strong enough to pull him from the hell of this painful conversation. He fidgeted with the captive ring in his ear in an attempt to hide his face. “I’ll have you primarily work in the café, then, since you’re not familiar with comics.”
“What else will youhaveme do?” Elias asked, an unreadable expression on his face.
“Uh…I’m not sure yet. We’ll see how it goes.”
“Not used to being the boss, are you?”
“I’m not your boss.”
“Not with that attitude, you’re not.”
Is he flirting with me?Kai thought.
Elias’s lips twitched, his dimples giving away the smile he was trying to hide. He then pivoted, resting his back against the counter to squarely face Kai. He did that thing that boys who know they’re good-looking always do: pretend to stretch but flex their arms in the process. Elias doubled down by going for a scratch underneath his shirt, exposing his stomach.
“Um, excuse me for just a minute,” Kai said before slipping into the staff room and settling down at the computer.
He opened up his SeatTix account to create a listing for his extra tickets to the CYPHR concert but paused before he clicked submit. Leaning as far as he could without falling off the aluminum stool, he craned his neck to peer through the open staff room doorat Elias, who was wasting time on his phone. It had not one crack or scratch, unlike the phones of most of Kai’s friends, whose fingertips had callused over because of their spiderwebbed screens. Elias seemed above that sort of thing.
Elias glanced up and caught Kai staring. He winked, then turned his attention back to his phone, a teasing smile on his face.
Looking back at the computer screen, Kai chose “2” from the drop-down menu and watched the pinwheel spin until the page informed him that his listing for two CYPHR tickets was pending review. He had told the universe he didn’t want to be alone, especially at this concert, and it seemed she had answered.
He’d wait for the right time to ask Elias.
Elias suddenly poked his head into the room, using the doorframe as support. “Are you going to keep hiding from me all day? I’m starting to take it personally.”
Kai clicked out of the window. “Sorry,” he said, instantly regretting the word as it left his mouth.
Elias laughed softly and shook his head before retreating to the counter.
After getting off to a rocky start that morning, Kai leaned into his role as mentor, guiding Elias through the more tedious but necessary aspects of the store’s operations. Kai felt a sense of accomplishment as Elias gradually took on more and more tasks throughout the day.
When there was a lull, Kai pulled out his sketchbook and took a seat by the staff room door, where he had a full view of the counter and the entire front of the store, but also some privacy. This way, Elias, who was reading the coffee-maker manual, couldn’t see what, or who, he was drawing. Finding his HB pencil, he began to lock this moment in time the same as he’d done allthose years ago. Yet, it displeased him how bold and permanent his first few strokes looked, so he quickly switched to a 4H, the lightest pencil he had.
The shop’s old factory windows were thick and wavy in the center, and how the sun shone through the panes made halos in Kai’s eyes and surrounded Elias in colorful prisms, which Kai tried to capture with gentle strokes.
