Xavier

45

"And through this way you'll find our oldest and final piece in the entire museum. It's actually by an unknown artist. It was found in some old ruins of an abandoned village in Kuwait. It was drawn on the skin of an ox. Because of this...canvas we were able to calculate an estimate of when the painting was made. According to our Archaeologists it's about 6000 years old."

I stepped as closely as I could while admiring the worn ox skin that was stretched to make longer. There was a portrait of an woman on it. She was washing something in a river with a basket beside her. It was so worn you could tell that it was super old. But you could see her and her curly hair clearly.

"Since this is the last piece that would conclude our tour. Did you two have any questions or want to see anything again?" She asked us.

Xavier looked to me and I shook my head with a smile. "No, thank you so much for the tour."

"It was my pleasure."

Xavier extended his gratitude and she walked away. "You ready to go eat?" He asked.

"Absolutely."

The restaurant was within walking distance of the museum so Xavier and I walked side by side down the street in a comfortable silence. I stuck my hands in my pocket and snuggled closer into my jacket as we walked. "Did you like the museum?" He asked over the sound of the wind.

"Yes it was so nice. The last piece was my favorite. What was yours?"

"The last one was really nice. My favorite was the chunk of rock with the mural that they recovered from that church in Greece."

"That was really beautiful."

"Out of all of it you're still the most beautiful piece of art I've ever seen." He complimented. My heart warmed at his compliment and I bumped his shoulder with mine. "You sure do know how to make a girl feel special."

"That's alway my goal."

The restaurant was a quaint little place that wasn't too big. It did look a little up scaled but the menu was respectable. We sat in front of the windows surprisingly. I expected him to have us sitting further back just in case. We were serviced immediately so while we waited for our food we just tossed little questions back and forth. "Okay and what are your hobbies?" I asked.

He furrowed his eyebrows and shrugged. "I don't really have many. I'm either always at work or exhausted because of work. I like...hockey and watching those history videos on youtube I suppose." He shrugged.

"Really?! We're gonna have to change that."

"What are your hobbies?" He pondered. "I like to read and paint and i used to write and produce classical music when I still played violin. Haven't done that in ages though."

"When'd you stop playing?"

i opened my mouth to answer because the answer was very very clear but I got choked up. I didn't want to say straight up that i stopped because my boyfriend died. That just seemed a little forward to me. "After high school I just didn't find the time to play much. Wasn't really something I was interested in anymore." I shrugged. It wasn't a complete lie but it wasn't the complete truth either.

"Understandable."

"I think we should try some different stuff together that way you won't be bored at home while you're not working." I suggested with a teasing smile. "What did you have in mind."

I pressed my finger to my chin and a looked up slightly as I thought about what we could possibly do. "Hmmm have you ever tried pottery?"

"Nope."

"Would you?"

"Will you do it with me?"

"Of course."

"Genesis?" My neck damn near broke with the speed at which i turned my head. Someone that knew me was calling my name. Passing by my table with a tray of empty dishes was Mason. I'd almost completely forgotten he existed because I hadn't seen him in a while.

"Professor Nixon, how are you. I was in your Criminal behavior class with Genesis."

Xavier shook his free hand and kept up a cool and collected exterior. I on the other hand was freaking out. "How'd you manage to get here?" Mason asked me. He had worry in his eyes. A look behind them that seemed concerned for me. I just happen he didn't think what I thought he was thinking. "We're working actually. You remember I told about my student PA work study job." I explained.

"Oh yeah! Well I'll leave you to it. Im sure you have important things to talk about it. Call me later Genesis so we can link up. It was nice to see you Professesor." I nodded calmly and he walked away. As soon as he went into the back I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. "Do you think there's more student who work here?" I whispered hurriedly. "Probably."

"Are you not concerned? Should we stay and eat? I mean I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea which actually isn't the wrong idea and then-"

Xavier silenced me by grabbing my hand across the table. "We're not gonna leave. It would be suspicious if we did just up and go. As far as Anyone else is concerned we are working. You work for me. So it's okay. We just need to act normal." He said lowly.

I took a deep shaky breath and nodded. "Okay." He looked around as he rubbed something circles on the back of my hand. "We're gonna be fine."

I had never gotten the pleasure of seeing him practicing law in court hut I knew he had to be great. judging by how calm and collected he was being when he could lose his job if someone got the wrong idea, I knew he could hold it together in court.

"Really might be better to keep these where we know we're good." I suggested in a hushed tone. "Maybe. But so long as you work for me We will always have an excuse. We don't have to be so...in the closet, because of that." He replied lowly so that only I could hear.It was so low that I had to strain to hear him.

"In the closet." I repeated and snickered a little. "Poor word choice I know but you know what I mean."

I did. This...relationship...is a secret. It's unethical according to the school so no one can know about it. But because I have an excuse to be around him so much even off campus, Our dates, if we even have more, could go unquestioned. So long as we kept it professional in front of everyone else. "I know."

"I'm relaxed, well I'm trying to." I sighed. "Good. I got you. Don't worry."

I wanted to listen to him and try not to worry but it wouldn't be me if i wasn't worrying.