Playing With Darkness

I've heard the saying, not to play with fire but what about playing with darkness? As I look into his dark eyes, I find myself struggling to keep his gaze. I knew he was dangerous the first time we met but he always had a smirk in place, lessening the intensity of his overall being.

But now with him leaning over me like this, inches from me, I find myself struggling. Struggling to keep his gaze, struggling to look away, struggling to breathe, struggling.

Suddenly, he smirks. His thumb softly grazes my wrist as he says, "You didn't want anything to do with me before but now you want me to teach you?" I swallow hard as I keep his intense gaze and softly say, "I think you're the only one who can help me get back. Get back to my world."

Several moments of intense silence pass between us before he slowly pulls back and says, "Sure, I can teach you what I know, but you have to stay here." He releases my hand and I feel like I can suddenly breathe again.

My wrist burns but it's not red and he never hurt me. I take a steady breath before saying, "You want me to stay here? Can I come and go as I please or are you saying I have to stay here without leaving?"

He places both hands behind his back, looking relaxed as he says, "You and I both know that if you wished to leave, you'd find a way. You can come and go as you please, but you have to come back here every night."

I chew his words over and over again, but I can't find anything wrong with them. But why do I feel like there's something else? Something I'm overlooking and missing...

"Well?" He asks with a dark smirk.

I swallow again, unsure of what to do but I nod my head and say, "Deal." His smirk bleeds into a smile as he says, "Good, let's have lunch together. I won't be here for dinner since I already have things in place. But after today, I'll eat dinner with you."

I want to tell him that I don't care about sharing meals, I just want to learn how to jump like him, but I feel like this is a price to pay. Besides, I'm never one to turn down food. He extends his hand, holding it out for me to take.

I glance at his hand before looking back at him. Our eyes lock and I find myself frozen again. Only now do I realize he's hiding so much more than I had originally thought. The way the shadows dance across his flawless face has my heart clenching.

I reach out, slipping my much smaller hand into his larger one. His hand easily wraps around mine as we both remain sitting and standing. Staring at each other in silence. He then pulls me up, pulling me all the way to his chest and wrapping his arm around my waist.

He smiles down at me and says, "I will teach you what I know but it will be up to you on how you use it." I lean back, trying to create space between us as I say, "Got it, can we not be so... touchy?" His smirk darkens as he leans in and says, "Unfortunately, I'm a hands-on learner."

I blink, about to say something when he suddenly releases me and walks away with a dark chuckle. I'm the one learning! Not him! Hands-on learner my ass! I brush my dress down, trying to push away all of my embarrassment and aggravation but it didn't do a damn thing to help.

I take a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves before following him out. I follow him back to the same table we were at before and find food had already been served. Bolin points to the same seat I sat in before as he takes the other.

My lip twitches as I walk over and awkwardly sit down. I wasn't really in the mood to have lunch with the guy but if I want him to help me, I'm going to have to play nice. Plus, food. Why not. Just like the tea, I find the food to be the best I've had since coming here.

I'll hand him one thing; it seems like he has nothing but the best of everything. I take another bite as I look over at the black robe he was wearing. I silently nod, he indeed seems to have the best of everything.

As if seeing my reaction, he smirks and says, "Do I pass?" I look up to find him watching me with an amused smirk. I give him a smirk of my own as I say, "Barely." His smirk stiffens a moment before bleeding into a sinful smile.

His dark chuckle sends shivers down my spine as he says, "I'll have to work on that then." I scoff and say, "What does it matter what I think? As long as you're willing to teach me, I don't care what you look like."

His smile turns devious as he leans over and lazily leans on the table. His voice is deep and smooth as he says, "If I want my little student to pay attention, I need to make sure she likes what she sees. Wouldn't you agree?"

I swallow hard once again but this time it included the food that I was chewing. If he gets any better looking, I won't be able to pay attention to anything the man says! I wave him off and look away as I say, "It's fine, don't worry about it."

His devious smile grows as he then asks, "So I look good enough like this?" My hand tightens on the chopsticks as I fight for the right words. I feel like I'm fighting for my life right now, okay!? I glance up at him and instantly regret it.

The way he's leaning over on the table, smiling, and watching my every move has my heart skipping several beats. A cool breeze blows through, swaying out clothes and hair as we remain as still as a painting.

Something in me claws at my chest as I watch the man sitting across from me. There's an ocean of silence between us and I'm drowning in it. Before I can stop myself, I softly say "Yes," as I look away and take another bite.