“Do you want to come round mine?” Kai asked abruptly, his gaze fixed on me.
We were sitting in the park across from school. It was almost six PM, and we’d been talking since detention ended at 4:30.
Kai had shown me a few new skateboarding tricks, attempting to teach me. The problem was, I couldn’t even stand on the board without tumbling.
Eventually, we gave up. Mostly because Kai found my repeated failures hilarious, dissolving into helpless laughter with each fall. He’d made a point of declaring he’d never lend me a skateboard again.
“Really?” I asked, watching him shift closer. “Why not? It’s starting to get dark.”
I nodded slowly, shrugging.
We began walking to his house, side by side. Every few minutes, our hands brushed. The subtle contact sent a current through me.
The moon was already visible, but no stars yet. The air was biting, and I could see my breath puffing out with each exhale.
Kai shoved his hands into his coat pockets, and I sighed. Of course, I’d forgotten my own coat. Luckily, Kai didn’t live far, so it wouldn’t be a long chill.
Then, I felt Kai’s gaze on me, and deliberately avoided meeting his eyes. After a moment, he reached for my right hand, drawing it into his pocket.
He didn’t say a word, but I turned to him, a small smile forming. He returned it, squeezing my hand.
The cold was fading, replaced by the warmth of his touch.
Ten minutes later, we reached Kai’s house. He pushed me through the door and locked it behind us, then pulled me upstairs and into his room.
We both sat on the bed, and he shrugged off his coat, hanging it on the back of the door.
“What do you want to do?” he asked, turning to face me.
“Anything,” I replied simply.
Kai’s eyes lit up. “Movie marathon?”
I giggled and nodded.
Soon, we were sprawled on Kai’s bed, a half-eaten pizza between us, a movie playing on the wall-mounted TV.
When the movie ended, I glanced at my phone.
“Kai, it’s almost eight,” I said.
He only looked at me, his expression unreadable.
“It’s dark!” I blurted out, remembering my walk home alone.
“So? Stay over.”
Stay over? He wanted me to stay over?
Anxiety flared. “Are you sure?”
“Yes!” he almost yelled, a laugh bubbling from his lips.
Before I knew it, the lights were out, and I was listening to Kai’s steady breathing beside me.
We’d argued over who should sleep on the couch. He insisted I take the bed, claiming, “You’re the guest, and guests get beds!”
I’d stubbornly refused, but eventually agreed to share.
I turned onto my side, facing away from him, shivering as the room felt colder.
I fidgeted, unable to settle. Kai shifted beside me, muttering something about sleep.
I stifled a giggle, then sighed and turned over again.
“Please keep quiet,” he murmured.
I frowned. “I haven’t said a word, Kai.”
He turned to face me. “I mean still. Can you stop moving?”
My face flushed. “Sorry.”
“It’s fine, Leo. Just sleep.”
I shuffled further under the covers, trying to move as little as possible. “Are you cold?” he asked.
I shrugged, realizing he couldn’t see me. “A little.”
He shifted around, and before I could ask what he was doing, he pressed his body against mine.
“Better?”
I felt his breath on my neck. He was cuddling me? Spooning me?
It felt strange, yet incredibly comfortable. I lay still, and before I knew it, my eyelids fluttered closed.