High Tide (boyxboy)

Chapter 5: Nice guy

"I've never seen the sea for real."

☆

Stan follows Kai into his apartment. "I'm sorry if I disturbed you." It looked like Kai had just got out of bed, his hair a little messy and wearing a baggy tracksuit. 

"It's fine." Kai says as he sits on the sofa, gesturing for Stan to join him. Kai sits curled up on his seat and looks at Stan, waiting for him to speak. 

"Ok...so." How can Stan start..

He looks at Kai's eyes again. "Your eyes. Have they always been that colour?" 

Kai looks a bit taken aback. But he still answers. "Um, yeah, since birth. Why?"

"I met a boy when I was 15. He saved my life and...and he had eyes just like yours. I thought you were him." 

Kai looks at Stan, now feeling a sense of compassion. "I'm sorry, I'm not who you're looking for. I really haven't met you before, I swear. I don't recall saving anyone's life. I think I'd remember that."

"Are you sure? I mean, did you used to live by the sea?"

Kai laughs. "No, I've lived in the city all of my life." 

Stan takes it all in, feeling deflated. Kai really wasn't the missing boy. "Ok, well I'm sorry anyway. I guess I'll just go." He begins to get up from the sofa and makes his way to the door. 

Kai now feels bad. He sits up slightly. "Hey wait." 

Stan stops and turns around. "You can stay for a drink if you like, I mean I don't know you, but I'd like to."

"Sure. That would be nice." Stan replies, returning to the sofa. 

Kai gets up and heads to the kitchen area and makes a pot of fresh coffee, giving Stan the time to take in his surroundings. The apartment was very tidy, not much in the way of personal effects, no photos as such, just abstract pictures on the wall. It was almost like a show home. 

Then Stan spots one particular picture. It's a print of a painting, reasonably large, hanging over a sideboard. The image shows the ocean. The waves hitting the rocks by a cliff. The colours were all so vibrant that Stan could almost feel as if he could hear the waves smashing against the rockface.

"You like that picture?" Kai asks, looking up from his coffee machine. 

"It's interesting." Stan comments, continuing to gaze at the image.

"It's just a print, but the actual painting has an intriguing tale behind it." Kai adds. "There were all these paintings found in this abandoned shop in Carnaby street. No one knows who painted them."

"What? There's no signature?" Stan looks confused at the image.

"Just a tiny purple butterfly in the corner. Can you see it?"

Stan leans in, spotting the small fleck of purple in the bottom right hand corner. He then looks back at the image in it's entirety. "It reminds me of home." Stan replies. 

"You lived on the coast?"

"I did, but you can't make it big if you stay in a little coastal town." 

"I've never seen the sea for real." Kai confesses. 

Stan looks at Kai with surprise "What? Never? Why?"

Kai shakes his head bringing over the two coffees. Stan settled back on the sofa with Kai joining him. "I just haven't, there's no real reason why. I guess I've just never gotten round to it."

This confirmed to Stan that this guy was definitely not the missing boy from his past.

Stan takes a sip of his coffee in thought. "You know, I'm going back to visit my mother at the end of the month. You can come with me if you like?" 

Kai's aqua eyes widened. "Really?" 

"Sure. Why not?" It can be a way to say sorry for my behaviour. 

"I would really like that." Kai smiles. 

They both continue talking and the silences between them get less and less. Stan is surprised at how easy Kai is to talk to and the desire to find this mystery boy seems less important. It isn't long before a couple of hours pass by. 

"Is that the time already?" Stan looks down at his watch. "I'd better go."

They both get up from the sofa and Kai shows him to the door. "It was nice to get to know you, Kai." Stan says with a smile, holding out a hand. 

"You too." Kai smiles, giving the outstretched hand a shake. "We're not strangers anymore." He adds. 

"No." Stan chuckles as he makes his way back to his and Nathans's apartment. Kai closed his door behind him.

He looks down at his hand which had just been shaken. It felt itchy. "Damn." Kai curses, heading to the bathroom for his eczema cream. 

***

Stan heads back inside to see Nathan sitting watching TV. "I thought you'd gotten lost." Nathan jokes. 

"I've just been at Kai's." Stan insists. "You're right. He is a nice guy."

"I told you. Nathan smiles.