They paused in the doorway, trying to come up with a plan. Through the glass, Joshua and the ticketing woman had a united front, their body language screamingYou don’t have to go home, but you have to get the hell up out of here.
Elias raised a hand to Kai before he could say anything. “I realize I lost control of that situation.”
“You did…but thanks.”
A nervous laugh escaped Elias’s lips.
As if he could read his mind, Elias counted to three, and they both sprinted around to the side of the building. Next to the entrance, there was a black awning over the door, and they ducked under it to escape the rain. The rain drummed against the vinyl awning and cascaded down its sides like a sheet, forcing them to huddle in about three square feet of dryness. They moved closer to avoid the rain splashing up from the ground that misted their ankles.
Kai wanted to write a thank-you letter to the rain to personally thank it for being the best wingman imaginable.
“I can hear him,” Elias said, pressing his ear to the door. Kai also pressed his ear to the cold steel, and CYPHR’s set was faint but certainly audible. He didn’t lament not being inside, though; he liked his current view. He watched as Elias’s pupils expanded and his face lit up every time CYPHR hit a guitar riff he liked or the crowd cheered. The only thing Kai wanted to cheer for was this moment.
26
Elias
12:48 a.m.
When their necks became sore from standing in awkward positions, the two took a seat beside each other on the stoop, leaning their heads back against the door and listening to the music.
“You have your ticket; you can probably still charm your way in,” Dakarai urged. “I promise I don’t mind.”
“You didn’t leave me at the bus station earlier; I’m not going to leave you now. This isn’t exactly how I pictured us getting rewarded for cracking the code, but this is nice.”
“It is,” Dakarai agreed.
Their moment was interrupted by two squealing girls crossing the street, using their hands and purses to cover their hair as they ran toward Elias and Dakarai.
“I’m sorry, can we hide under here with you?” one of them asked.
The boys got to their feet and huddled together so the girls could join them under the awning.
“Oh my God, thank you so much. Where did this rain even come from? I’ll be shocked if any of my makeup is still on my face,” the other girl said. Her large deep-set eyes were the most strikingfeature of her face, and her lashes were so full and long that they nearly met her thick brows. “I’m Sarita and this is Imani.” She pointed to Imani, who was trying to shield her natural hair from the mist of water that persisted under the covering.
“Here you go,” Elias said, offering Imani his hat. Her dark eyes and dark skin glistened in the rain.
“Lifesaver,” she said, immediately tucking her hair into the hat and yanking it down as low as she could. “Thank you.”
“You both are here for the concert?” Sarita asked.
Elias let out a sigh. “We misplaced our tickets, so they wouldn’t let us in. We’re just trying to wait out the rain.”
“Was the person at the front a woman with a really tight ponytail and no laugh lines in sight?”
Elias and Dakarai gave each other a knowing look before Elias responded with “That’s the one. You know her?”
Sarita nodded. “My girlfriend works here, and she complains about her all the time. Her name’s Robin.”
“Robin,” the four of them repeated with disdain.
The door suddenly swung open, and the group was thrust back into the rain. They got completely soaked all over again by the wall of water, resulting in a collective groan.
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry. Get in here,” the person who’d opened the door said, waving them in.
Imani handed Elias’s hat back and said, “Thank you,” before ducking inside.
“Thanks so much for sharing the covering with us,” Sarita said as she was pulled inside by, presumably, her girlfriend.
