Ace in the Hole [COMPLETED]

C.8

Matthew stared at the ceiling so close to his face, his mind wandering blankly. It was around night, and he was listening to music on his phone with ear buds, a light pointed at the ceiling. The music was from years ago, sung by his one and only.

Abrenica's voice filled his head with a serenade, his eyes closed and envisioning her at his side. He could feel the winds breeze by as they stood at the precipice of an ocean, a stellar sky full of colors hanging overhead.

He reached out and held Alexis' hand, her braced smile shining like the stars above. For a second, he didn't notice that the person had changed, but Abrenica had returned shortly after, smiling as she brought him in by the shoulders.

- id est -

It was his second, third, fourth date? He couldn't count. While he was nervous, he tried to calm himself down as much as he could. This was more of an outing with Alexis, who seemed to be as lively and colorful as a firework. He particularly wore the jacket she had gotten him for his birthday, especially since it was rather comfortable to wear.

This time around, it was around night, and Matthew felt tired and vulnerable and afraid of every noise. They had gone to some mall, and since it was near closing, they were mostly alone on an open air balcony area, where the shops around them had all closed up, the fountain had flushed off down below, and the lights all over the mall were dying off.

Alexis and Matthew stood close to the railings of the balcony, at what felt like fifty meters off the ground, their hands gripped onto the cold steel with the breath of a night sky brushing through. It was a beautiful night, even without the full colors of the sky, and Matthew's gaze flickered between the stars and Alexis.

"It's lovely, isn't it?" said Alexis as she smirked at him, her eyes as big as the moon and as dazzling as the salty stars. Matthew felt something stir in him, yet he pushed it aside so as to form a response.

"Uhm... yeah." He snickered uneasily with a shrug, looking at the moon again. "It's beautiful, like..."

"Like?"

"Like, uhm, really beautiful."

Alexis sighed, looking back at the sky. "It really is. Hey, Matthew...?"

Oblivious, he was brought out of a memory by her call. "Huh? What?"

She tilted her head as she faced him. "Were you...?"

"Thinking about someone," he admitted quickly, his gaze back on the stars.

"Who?"

"Uhm... a friend," he noted. "She has these beautiful skies and stuff, a painting of dazzling colors." His hand glided across the cosmos, and he could almost feel Abrenica's presence with him. "I kinda miss her, honestly."

"Oh." Competition? Alexis wouldn't have that. "And... who is this friend?"

"Unimportant," he said curtly, his mood shifting from woozy to dead serious. "Alexis...?"

"Yeah?"

"We should... We should go, shouldn't we? It's closing time, and..."

She took his hand to make him shut up. They weren't going, not yet, not until she did one more thing. Her face drew closer to his, and she had to stand on her tip-toes to get up to his lips.

Matthew stepped back. His heart was beating rapidly, and he didn't know what was going on. He tried to cover it up, feeling regret for retreating, yet still... "I... sorry, I, I..."

Alexis sighed. It wasn't the time. He just didn't understand, not yet. "It's fine. I should... be sorry."

He nodded, now looking as the mall's lights closed off. "It's closing time. We should get out of the mall. I'll take you to your place?"

Alexis gave one last sigh before she conceded with a nod. "Sure... Take it away, gentleman."

Matthew nodded, his mind befuddled by a stirred romanticism. "With pleasure."