“The Four of Wands, which represents celebration, joy, and a sense of homecoming. Does any of that resonate with you?”
Elias bit the inside of his cheek. “I think it does.”
He nestled his chin on Dakarai’s shoulder, taking the fabric of Dakarai’s shirt between his teeth and, with playful determination, attempted to draw him closer by the collar.
Dakarai tapped on his chest, signaling for Elias to rest his head against him. When he did, Dakarai draped his arm protectively across Elias’s chest, and finally, they watched the show.
“I swear I’m not usually like this,” Elias said, “but you bring it out in me.”
“Same,” Dakarai replied, his voice resonating against Elias’s back.
A goonish smile settled on Elias’s face, and he melted fartherinto Dakarai. Sinking into a relaxed stupor, Elias felt the tiredness from the day finally taking over as he watched CYPHR perform.
If we kiss once, we can’t take it back
But if we kiss this once, I can kiss you again
“This song has been stuck in my head for weeks,” Elias said.
“It’s my favorite,” Dakarai replied. “I’m glad I got to hear it live, finally.”
CYPHR commanded the small stage. Bathed in the glow of stage lights, against the black muslin, he moved with a confidence that was apparent in every gesture. He handed off his guitar to a bandmate before settling in front of a keyboard to play a ballad version. The audience was captivated by CYPHR as he lost himself within his music.
Elias tapped the beat with his fingertips against Dakarai’s arm. They were still soaking wet, and under any other circumstances, they would have been completely miserable. However, with the bass pounding in their chests, they didn’t even notice that their clothes were sticking to them. They didn’t care that they’d have to be at work in the morning. Elias hadn’t felt this way in a long time—perhaps ever. The only thing that could make this moment even better was getting closer to CYPHR.
Elias gave Dakarai’s leg a playful squeeze. Leaning close to Dakarai’s ear, he said, “Let’s go join everybody else.”
“We’ll get kicked out if your best friend Joshua sees us.”
“It’s, like, two in the morning. I want to get kicked out,” Elias said, extending his arm to Dakarai.
Elias half expected that he’d need to convince Dakarai more, but he was surprised and delighted when Dakarai motioned for him to lead the way. Was it possible that Elias brought out Dakarai’s boldness?
27
Elias
1:50 a.m.
As the two neared the stage, the venue started to look more like a private party than a club. The bass rising in Elias’s chest was almost unbearable, as though it had replaced his own heartbeat. Rotating red lights cast long, sensual shadows that moved in rhythm to the music. Every inch of the room was bathed in red light, which clung to the veil of fog that fell from somewhere above. The sun could have been up and people could have been on their way to church for all he knew. Walking into that red den was like entering into a vacuum where time was only a suggestion.
Elias led Dakarai by the arm through the sultry red glow. As he stepped closer to the stage, it was like figures appeared in the mist, looking him up and down. Some of their eyes lingered on him, but most drifted behind him to Dakarai.
It was so much louder on the floor than it had been in their little tucked-away corner. The sheer volume felt confining, and Elias stopped—they’d gone far enough. He wrapped Dakarai’s arms around his waist and leaned his head back onto Dakarai’s shoulder. His body completely lost all strength the moment Dakarai held him, and he closed his eyes for a moment as they swayed together,watching the red-drenched CYPHR with the silhouettes of hundreds of hands against him, tendrils of fog shining through their fingers.
One hundred heads pointed their chins toward the ceiling at the sound of a loud pop. Confetti gushed from above. The band then launched into their next song, spraying bottles of water into the audience.
The cool droplets hit Elias’s skin, awakening and exhilarating him. He turned to face Dakarai, who was shaking the confetti from his hair. With a touch as gentle as a whisper, Dakarai cradled Elias’s face in his hands, his fingers delicately wiping away the liquid that threatened to fall into his eyes.
Then Dakarai’s eyes suddenly grew wide, and Elias watched as he ducked down as if trying to shrink himself. Elias followed his gaze and was met with the familiar eyes of the security guard, his short-lived friend, Joshua. Stationed near the entrance, Joshua’s stoic demeanor turned from confusion to rage in an instant. He knelt to talk to Robin. What they were saying was inaudible, but Joshua was pointing directly at Elias, punctuating every word with a deeper furrow of his brow.
Elias put his mouth to Dakarai’s ear so he could hear him over the rattling bass and said, “Let’s go.”
As they scurried away, Dakarai accidentally bumped into a woman wearing a men’s hoodie that went down to her knees. He quickly said sorry, but she shoved Dakarai back and clung on to the man next to her, who was presumably her boyfriend, with a fervent “Fuck you!”
“Stay away from my girl,” the boyfriend said.
“Stay away from your girl?”Elias repeated incredulously, jumping in front of Dakarai. “You thought he was trying to beyour boyfriend-in-law? He was just trying to get past.”
