A few hours after Kian and Malak’s call, a ringtone could clearly be heard in the silent bedroom. The young adult immediately dropped his pencil on his opened notebook before unlocking his phone while ignoring all the notifications but one. Going to his phone’s texting app, he opened the unread message on top of his list.

“Hi! I heard about this delicious Sichuan restaurant in Chinatown. It’s named The Solstice, and here’s the address. Are you alright with the place?”

With a smile on his face, Malak quickly typed a response.

“I have heard about that place before! Isn’t it super popular right now? But… Isn’t their food renowned to be very spicy? Is that alright with you?”

He clicked on the send button and put down his phone. But he didn’t expect that Kian would answer right away.

“Yes, it is. That’s why I already made reservations for us. And don’t worry about me, a little heat is nothing I can’t handle ✧٩(•́⌄•́๑)و ✧.”

Malak laughed a little at the older man’s answer before writing his response.

“Don’t say that I didn’t warn you before! ←～（o ｀▽´ )oΨ What time is the reservation at?”

Malak played with his pencil while waiting for Kian’s answer, but it never came. He shrugged it off, thinking that he must have been busy. He closed his phone before going back to his mathematical equations for his physics class. The time left before the hellish exam period started was only getting shorter. It felt like he was running out of time, but he couldn’t give in. He needed to ace his exams to enter a good college and make his parents proud. Stretching his arms above his head as he felt his back pop. He groaned at his sore back and neck. Before calling it a night, Malak checked his phone one last time and noticed that he missed Kian’s answer a few hours ago. Without delaying it further, he unlocked his phone and read his answer.

“I reserved a table at 19:00, but I’ll come to fetch you if that’s alright with you?”

Malak could feel his heart beating harder in his chest. He didn’t expect him to come to get him. Although the eighteen-year-old boy already met that mysterious and charismatic man once, he didn’t feel comfortable giving his address so soon. He will decide after their second meeting whether he wants to keep being in contact with Kian.

“Thank you for the offer, but let’s see each other at the restaurant at 19:00.”

After staring at his text bubble showing on his phone a bit more, he finally went to bed at ease.

“Yes, you did right by not giving him your address,” Malak reassured himself.

( ु⁎ᴗᵨᴗ⁎)ु.zZ

Being the last class on Friday, most of the students were not listening to the teacher. They were constantly staring at the clock above the instructor’s head while counting the seconds remaining until they were free from this place. But as soon as the bell rang, they couldn’t stay silent anymore. Even the teacher quickly ended his class before everyone walked out of the stuffy classroom.

Enrico, who sat in front of Kayla and Malak turned around with a grin. “Let’s go out this weekend!”

“Someone is already ready for the exams,” Kayla sighed while packing up her books in her backpack.

“No, I didn’t even start yet,” he answered with a shrug. “That’s exactly why we should go out! Let’s have fun for one last time before hell starts.”

“Hell has already started, and I recommend that you study seriously too. There’s a lot to do,” the only female friend of the trio warned Enrico, who groaned.

“Come on, one last time, and I won’t say a word until the end of the semester! Malak, please say something.”

“Sorry, but Kayla is right. We should study and I have to work too. I simply don’t have time,” Malak said apologetically as Enrico sighed in defeat.

“Alright, it’s not fun to go alone anyway… Hey, what about a study group?” the black-haired boy perked right back up with a renewed energy.

Kayla stared suspiciously at him. “We are going to study in that study group, right?”

“Yup! Are you guys down for it? What about Saturday?”

Malak tensed up at the mention of Saturday. He couldn’t tell his friends that he had a “friendly date” with basically a stranger. He has been expecting it for days now, but he couldn’t reveal it. It would be too suspicious since they didn’t know his sexual orientation. However, he couldn’t say that he has work that day either, in case they dropped at his workplace and discovered the lie.

“Yeah, sounds good to me,” Kayla confirmed with a smile. “What about you?” she turned to Malak while expecting a positive response as well.

“Ahh, about that…” Malak stalled for time while his brain worked at a fast speed to come out with an excuse. “I’m sorry, I can’t Saturday.”

“You have work? When does your shift end?” Enrico asked while trying to coordinate and organize everything.

“No… It’s family stuff, but Sunday I can.”

“Then, it’s settled! Sunday it is.”

With the study group organized, the trio of friends slowly made their way home. For Malak, the rest of the day ended in a blink of an eye, while spending most of his evening coordinating his outfit for tomorrow. He couldn’t contain his excitement, but he was also very nervous. He never dated before. Everything he knew, he learned from reading, watching movies and listening to his friends. Despite having multiple girls confessing their love to him before, he rejected them all. At first, Kayla and Enrico thought Malak already liked someone, but they never got his attention on a girl for more than a few seconds. As a desperate effort to not let Malak transform into a eunuch, they went as far as creating an account on a dating app. Again, without success.

With his secret deeply hidden, he sometimes dared to stare for a few extra seconds at handsome men in magazines and movies, but he never went further than that. To Malak’s eyes, everything about Kian was perfect.

The next day, Malak arrived in front of the restaurant with fifteen minutes to spare. Through the large window, he searched for Kian but didn’t see him yet. Patiently, he stood near the door, so he was out of the way of the other customers. Only a few short minutes later, Malak notices Kian walking toward him. Seeing the man since their first meeting in the club brought a smile to his face.

“Hey, sorry I’m late,” Kian greeted with a charismatic smile when he got close enough to Malak.

The younger man smiled shyly. “You’re not. It’s still not seven yet.”

“But I still made you wait, didn’t I?”

“It’s alright, I also just arrived myself.”

Silence seized over their conversation as they stared at each other in the eye. No matter how magnetic Kian’s eyes were, Malak was the first one to break eye contact out of embarrassment.

With a smile still etched on his face, Kian laughed it off to break the weird atmosphere between them. “Shall we go in?”

Opening the door for Malak, both men walked into the Sichuan restaurant. Spices immediately tickled their nostrils as the hostess seated them after confirming their reservation. After receiving their menu, they both opened it and read its content.

“They do have a lot of choices,” Malak awkwardly commented to break the silence.

“Yes, they do. Would you like to share? This way we can try more dishes,” Kian proposed, as Malak quickly accepted. “I heard their mapo tofu and beef in chilli sauce are their signature dishes.”

“Yes, and their numbing-hot noodles too!” Malak’s eyes sparkled in anticipation of tasting those dishes. “Will that be enough?” he wondered while tilting his head slightly to the side.

“Let’s add the stir-fried green beans and a bowl of rice each.”

“Sounds good.”

After ordering their food, a casual conversation lit up the table. It all started with spicy food and other interests they shared. After the dishes they ordered were served on their table, the awkwardness between them quickly disappeared. At first, it was because of the chopsticks. While Malak barely grabbed a few pieces here and there, Kian was a complete mess and couldn’t even use the chopsticks properly until forks and knives were offered to them.

“Wow, everything is so red,” Kian commented nervously as reality dawned on him now that the chopsticks were out of the way.

“Haha, yes. It looks very spicy. What do you want to try first?”

“What about the noodles? They don’t look that spicy.”

After separating the dish between them into smaller bowls, they both took their first mouthful of the food. Their first bite was mild until they got to their second and third mouthful when their mouths went numb from the peppercorns. While Malak was enjoying the spicy food, Kian was already at his third cup of iced water. He was usually confident about his spice level, but these dishes weren’t meant to let the eater be free of pain. Following Malak’s lead, they moved to the mapo tofu. They each took a bite, accompanied by the white rice. The spices were incredible and very intense. It exploded in their mouths as they numbed their tongues with spiciness. The burning and prickling sensation on their tongue was addictive. It was like a vicious circle of pain and pleasure.

Over food, they shared information about each other. Weirdly enough, Malak felt a sense of déjà vu. However, he couldn’t recall when he had a similar experience and brushed it away. By the end of the night, they each knew each other well as if they grew up together. Their chemistry exploded, and Malak felt that it would be impossible to keep a platonic friendship with Kian. He didn’t know why, but he couldn’t fight the growing affection in his heart. He didn’t know where those emotions originated from, since this was only their first meeting.

“Thank you for the meal, Kian. I really enjoyed the time we spent together,” Malak smiled as he shed his initial shyness.

“You’re welcome. I also enjoyed it too,” Kian smiled back as he opened the door for him. “I would propose to drive you back home, but…”

“Thank you for the consideration, but I’ll manage,” he answered politely. “By the way, where did you park your car?”

Kian turned around and pointed in the subway's direction. “Down the street, over there.”

“Then, if you don’t mind… Um, would you like to walk there together?” Malak proposed in a meek voice, as he was nervous that Kian was angry at being rejected yet again.

“Shall we?” he answered, still wearing that charismatic smile of his.

As they walked in comfortable silence, Malak couldn't help but notice how Kian's eyes shined in the starless night. They were magnetic, and the young man couldn't stop staring until they both made eye contact. Embarrassed, Malak immediately looked away with a slight blush on his cheeks.

“Do I have something on my face?” Kian asked after a brief moment of silence, but Malak suspected the man was making fun of him.

“Y-your eyes,” he mumbled before he could stop himself.

“My eyes?” he repeated in surprise before looking away in what seemed like embarrassment or shame. “I'm sorry, I know they have an unusual colour…”

“I meant nothing bad!” Malak quickly added, hoping he didn't hurt his newly made friend. “T-they are very pretty… Just like the brooch you gave me.”

As if taken aback, Kian stared at Malak for a brief moment. Both men stopped walking and a moment of silence took over them.

“Thank you,” Kian thanked with a sincere, but heavy smile. “You have always been the only one to like them,” he mumbled under his breath.

“What? What did you say?”

“Thank you!” Kian repeated with his usual charismatic smile once again.

“You're welcome!”