It's quiet for a moment while we both observe the crowd in front of us. Zion nudges me with his elbow and I turn to look at him. "You want something to drink?" he says. "Sure"
While he's gone, the emcee comes to the stage and attempts to pump up the crowd. Zion walks toward our booth with our drinks and slides back into the booth. Somehow, he slides even closer this time. He takes a sip from his drink then leans back against the booth, finding my hand in the dark. Our fingers don't interlock this time, though. Instead, he pleases my hand on his leg and his fingertips start to trace the outline of my wrist. He gently traces each of my fingers, following the lines and curves of my entire hand. His fingertips feel like electric pulses penetrating my skin.
"Lilie," he says quietly as he continues tracing up my wrist and back to my fingertips with a fluid motion. "I don't know what it is about you . . . but I like you."
His fingers slide between mine and he takes my hand in his, turning his attention back to the stage. I inhale and reach for my drink with my free hand, downing the entire glass. The ice feels good against my lips. It cools me off.
..........................
They call on a young woman who looks to be around twenty five. She announces she is performing a piece she wrote. Her performance was incredible. I even started to wipe tears from my eyes. Zion puts his arm around my shoulders and leans back into the seat with me. "Well?" he says.
I accept his embarace and move my head to his shoulder as we both stare out over the crowd. He rests his chin on top of my head.
"That was unbelievable," I whisper. His hand touches the side of my face and he brushes his lips against my forehead. I close my eyes and wonder how much emotions can be tested. Three days ago I was devastated. Today I woke up feeling happy for the first time in months.
I turn toward Zion. "Zion, you can't bring me here and not perform. Please do one song? Please please please?"
He leans his head back against the booth. "You're killing me, Loly. Like I said, I don't really have something new or anything ready"
"Do something old then, or cover something," I suggest. "Or do all these people make you nervous?"
I knew Zion can be shy. But I didn't think he could be that shy.
He tilts his head toward me and smiles. "Not all of them. Just one of them"
I suddenly have the urge to kiss him. I suppress the urge for now and continue to plead. I clasp my hands together under my chin. "Don't make me beg," I say.
"You already are!" He pauses for a few seconds, then removed his arm from around my shoulder and leans forward. "All right, all right" he says.
He pulls his wallet out just as the emcee announces the start of round two. Zion stands up, holding his three dollars in the air. "I'm in!"
The emcee shields his eyes with his hand, squinting into the audience to see who spoke up. "Ladies and gentlemen, it's one of our very own, Mr. Zion Kuwonu"
Zion makes his way through the crowd and walks onto the stage and into the spotlight.
"What are you performing tonight, Zion?" the emcee asks.
"It's going to be "starving" by Hailee Steinfeld" Zion replies, looking past the crowd and directly at me. He borrows a guitar from the emcee and begins his performance with a smirk.