Chapter 1 First Glance #2
The noise of the carriage seemed to fade into the background. Elliot could still hear conversations, the rattle of the train, the announcement from the speakers, and the faint music leaking from someone’s headphones, but none of it seemed to matter.
He had no idea how long they stood like that.
A few seconds, perhaps.
Long enough for Elliot to become painfully aware of his own breathing.
Long enough for him to wonder what would happen if the stranger walked over.
Long enough for him to imagine what that rough voice might sound like.
The thought startled him.
He finally broke eye contact.
His face felt hot, and he lowered his gaze to his phone without unlocking it.
He could feel the stranger still watching him.
Elliot told himself not to look again.
He lasted perhaps five seconds.
Then he glanced up.
The stranger was still there, still watching him, and Elliot suddenly understood that this evening had changed in some small, inexplicable way.
He didn’t know the man’s name.
He didn’t know where he worked.
He didn’t know where he lived or why he was on this train.
He knew nothing about him.
Yet, as the metro continued racing through the city, Elliot found himself thinking less and less about the office, the unanswered messages, his manager, or the expectations waiting for him at home.
For the first time all day, he wasn’t thinking about the life he was supposed to be living.
He was thinking about a stranger with tattooed arms standing beside a metal pole.
And he had no idea why he suddenly hoped they would be on the same train tomorrow.
Almost Missed
The train accelerated as it left the next station, and the crowded carriage shifted with it.
Elliot tightened his grip around the pole and adjusted his stance, trying to keep his laptop bag from knocking into the person behind him.
The movement of the train had become familiar enough that most passengers barely reacted, but Elliot was tired and distracted, and his attention was nowhere near where it should have been.
He could still feel the weight of the stranger’s gaze.
He told himself not to look.
He looked anyway.
The tattooed man was standing exactly where he had been before, one hand loosely holding the overhead rail while the other rested by his side. His posture was relaxed despite the movement of the carriage. There was something almost irritating about how comfortable he seemed in the chaos.
Elliot wondered whether he was always that confident or whether he simply didn’t care what anyone thought.
The thought had barely formed when the train jerked unexpectedly.
A wave of movement passed through the carriage.
Someone stumbled into Elliot from behind, and his hand slipped slightly from the pole. His laptop bag swung forward, pulling his shoulder with it. His foot shifted awkwardly, and for one terrifying second he lost his balance completely.
He reached for the pole.
His fingers missed.
Before he could fall, a strong hand closed around his upper arm.
The stranger caught him.
Elliot’s body moved instinctively toward the source of support, and suddenly there was almost no space between them.
His shoulder brushed the man’s chest.
One of Kai’s arms was braced beside him while his hand remained firmly around Elliot’s arm, holding him steady until the train settled.
Elliot stopped breathing.
Not literally, perhaps, but close enough that he became painfully aware of the air he was trying to pull into his lungs.
The stranger was even more imposing from this distance.
Elliot could see the details of his tattoos now, the dark lines and patterns covering his skin. He could also see the faint shadow of stubble along his jaw and the small crease that appeared between his eyebrows when he was concentrating.
His eyes were darker than Elliot had realized.
And they were looking directly at him.
“You okay?”
The voice was low and rough.
It was the first time Elliot had heard him speak.
The simple question sent an unexpected shiver through him.
“Yes,” Elliot answered, although his voice came out softer than he intended. “I think so.”
The stranger didn’t release him immediately.
“Think so?”
Elliot swallowed.
“I mean, yes. I’m fine.”
The man’s gaze dropped briefly toward Elliot’s feet before returning to his face.
“You nearly went down.”
“I noticed.”
There was a faint edge of humor in the man’s expression.
“Good.”
Elliot wasn’t sure whether he was amused or embarrassed.
Probably both.
The stranger finally loosened his grip, but his fingers remained against Elliot’s arm for another brief moment before disappearing.
The place where he’d touched him seemed strangely warm.
Elliot immediately looked toward the window.
He could see his reflection again, and it was obvious that his face had changed. His cheeks were flushed, his glasses had slipped slightly down his nose, and his expression looked far less composed than he wanted.
He pushed his glasses back into place.
“Thank you,” he said.
The stranger nodded.
“No problem.”
That was all.
Two words.
Yet Elliot found himself replaying them in his mind.
No problem.
He wondered what his voice would sound like if he said Elliot’s name.
The thought stopped him.
They didn’t know each other’s names.
That was ridiculous.
He didn’t even know whether the stranger had noticed him before tonight.
Yet the brief contact had changed something.
Elliot was suddenly aware of every inch of space between them.
The train continued through the city, swaying gently as it moved along the tracks. The crowd began thinning after the next few stations, but Elliot didn’t move away. He could have found another place to stand. There was now enough room.
He stayed where he was.
The stranger didn’t move either.
For several minutes, neither of them spoke.
Elliot looked out of the window and tried to regain control of his thoughts. Buildings and streetlights passed in blurred streaks. His phone vibrated again in his pocket, but he ignored it.
He knew he should check it.
He knew there were probably work messages waiting.
He didn’t care.
Something about standing beside this stranger made the rest of the evening feel strangely separate from the life Elliot had been living all day.
The stranger shifted slightly.
Their shoulders brushed.