Limelight

Chapter Twenty-Eight

          By late afternoon, they had seen Queens and rode mountain bikes through Cunningham Park. Xavier had to take Aaliyah through the beginner's circuit first though since Aaliyah had little idea of how to ride a bike, but she got the hang of it soon enough to go through the intermediate levels. 

          They took a subway back to Manhattan and they walked through Chinatown taking about a million pictures on the Doyer Street mural together and with fans that recognized them. They played mahjong in Columbus Park and Aaliyah won once only to be totally crushed by the other competitors. She tried to convince Xavier to play as well, but Xavier wasn't too interested.

          "I'd rather not embarrass myself playing a game I hadn't even heard of before today," He explained with a snort, "I would like to record you getting your ass beat though."

          Aaliyah rolled her eyes. "Pussy," She replied in a teasing voice.

          Xavier cocked a brow at her, smiling at her, looking a little perturbed. "I'm a pussy because I don't want to embarrass myself playing some board game?"

          "I think that answers your own question," Aaliyah replied turning away to play another round.

          Barely a second later, Aaliyah heard Xavier swear. "Oh, I hate you," He muttered, putting a grin on Aaliyah's face.

          Now they were walking across the Brooklyn Bridge, and Aaliyah was laughing at Xavier. "Maybe I shouldn't have peer pressured you into playing," She said through her laughs, "You were so clueless."

          Xavier scowled. "Like you were any better," He replied frostily, "I didn't see you making any sets."

          Aaliyah rolled her eyes, hopping over a crack in the pavement for her own amusement, almost bumping into another passerby. Since she managed to get over her own anxiety about skipping school, which she only got over once the school day was over, her heart felt a little lighter. She was able to let loose and laughter came to her a lot easier now.

          Xavier seemed resigned to pretend like he found her annoying though, by now she knew better though. She would catch his smile every now and then when she cracked a joke at his expense, or made a strange observation, "Because that guy kept stealing my tiles. I'm pretty sure he was cheating," She insisted through squinted eyes.

          Xavier snorted. "Right," He replied, "Or maybe you're just not as good as you think you are."

          "Impossible," Aaliyah replied firmly, raising her chin proudly, "And I know you're not talking, you called mahjong every time you picked up a tile. I just know the other players were tired of you."

          "Well, it's not like I didn't already tell you I had no idea how to play," Xavier replied, "And no one seemed inclined to tell me what any of the words meant. What the fuck is a kong?"

          Aaliyah laughed. "Poor you," She cooed bumping into him gently. They met eyes, Xavier glaring at her, but Aaliyah was still grinning unable to help it. Then Xavier's glare seemed to melt away, and he smiled, raising his gaze above hers laughing silently. He looked back to meet her gaze again, and something about it felt different. She felt her smile fall a little, squinting her eyes a little, a little lost in all of him. Especially his eyes.

          Something told her that she was looking for a little too long, but she couldn't find herself wanting to look away either. There was something captivating about his dark eyes. There wasn't anything conventionally dazzling about his eyes, but they shone in the sunlight the way the light caught precious stones like onyx. Staring into them felt like she was drowning, and there was nothing she could do but accept the taunting concept of imminent doom. The idea of death never felt so enthralling.