I woke up the next day and the bed was empty. My hands slid over the cool sheets looking for Ezra's warmth. I started panicking, thinking he had left me in the middle of the night. Maybe being in my bed with his arms around me was too much for him. I pushed him too far. He was probably back at that house of horrors filling his body with the dark venom.
I was about to start crying when I heard the voices out in the kitchen. Brynn and Ezra were deep into a conversation and talking way too loudly. A heavy sigh of relief escaped my body as I laid my head back down against my pillow.
"No, I'm totally serious." I heard Brynn telling him. "I brought piles of dudes over here trying to get her to loosen up enough to forget you."
"First of all, piles of dudes?" Ezra questioned with a twinge of anger in his voice.
I rolled my eyes and covered my face with my hands. It was too early for this.
"Calm down that psycho stalker jealousy crap. I had to try something."Brynn defended herself.
"So you think trying to get her to fuck random dudes was the solution? She shouldn't be with anyone else. She should be with me." His voice rose in anger.
"You weren't here, Ezra. You didn't stick around. When shit got hard, you couldn't get out fast enough." My mouth was on the floor, listening to her call him out.
Brynn was a really good best friend. I loved her so much for standing up to him for me.
There was a long pause where it sounded like they were still talking, but I couldn't make out the words.
What was going on?
What the hell were they saying?
"I know I hurt her, you don't have to keep reminding me. Just do me a favor and stop trying to help me. I don't need your help again..." Ezra's voice trailed off until all I could hear was his low, wordless hum.
Damnit.
"You needed to know. You can't blame me for what happened." Brynn countered back after Ezra's low hum died off.
What did Brynn help him with before?
Something felt off.
I could just be irritated because they were talking about me, but I felt like there was more I didn't understand. It probably had to do with something from that night. That must have been why I had no clue why they were arguing in my kitchen.
I wished they weren't talking about me at all. I didn't want Brynn to put ideas in Ezra's head before I had even made up my mind about what I wanted from him. So, even though my body and mind were exhausted, I decided it was time to get up.
I pulled my door open quickly and said, "Good morning," to interrupt the conversation before it went any further.
Ezra's mouth was hanging open like he was about to lash out at her and he closed it quickly the second he saw me.
I walked towards the kitchen and went to the cabinet to grab a coffee cup. I began to pour the steaming liquid into the mug. I blew on the cup and took a sip. I had the sudden feeling I was being watched. When I looked up, both Ezra and Brynn stared at me with wide eyes.
"What?" I said, suddenly defensive.
"Nothing." Brynn said, looking back down with bright red cheeks.
"You're acting like I just caught you two talking about me or something." I took another sip of my coffee.
They knew they were caught.
"We would never do that." Ezra sheepishly smiled and took a drink from his own cup. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling. He pulled up the corner of his mouth when he saw my reaction.
Brynn looked between us and turned her head in amusement. She noticed the little moment between us.
"So, Riley, do you have any plans today?" She asked me, changing the subject.
"I've got to go to my parent's house. JD and Anna are coming over." I didn't add Aiden's name into the conversation. I shouldn't have kept his presence a secret, but I was not ready to discuss him with either of them.
"Ezra, do you want me to take you back to your place?" I asked. It was not really what I wanted. I could keep a better eye on him if he stayed here. I quickly added before he could answer the first question, "Or you could stay here another night if you want?"
"You wouldn't mind if I stayed?" He asked eagerly. "My roommate is nice enough, but he keeps a lot of stuff at the house. I won't be able to stay clean if I go back home. I need another day to clear my head before I go back."
"Brynn, do you care if Ezra hangs out here while I'm gone tonight?"
"As long as he promises not to punch any more walls for fun." She said, winking at him.
"I promise." He said, raising his cup to his lips again. He reached up to push the hair off his forehead. The air in the room had lightened since I had stepped foot in the kitchen. It was borderline playful between us. I was grateful for the atmosphere change.
"Brynn, do you have clothes in your conquest drawer that might fit him? I will throw his in the wash before I leave." Ezra looked amazing shirtless in just his tight boxers in my kitchen, but I did have a roommate. Not that nudity ever made Brynn uneasy, but I was uncomfortable at the thought of her watching my half-naked, not boyfriend walking through the house, leaving very little to the imagination.
"I can find something."
She left the kitchen and headed to her room. Ezra and I just stood there, trying not to stare at each other. I would look over at him and he would move his eyes to the other side of the room. He would look back at me and I would look at my feet. It was like we were having an anti-staring contest. The first one who got caught looking loses.
Brynn came back five, very silent and awkward, minutes later with some dark blue shorts and a white t-shirt. When Ezra came out of the bathroom after changing, I could see he had to tie the shorts pretty tight to keep them on. The white shirt was a little snug across his chest, but it only accentuated his broad shoulders. I wanted to run my hands over those shoulders to feel them move and flex under my fingertips. Ezra was always breathtaking.
I noticed him staring at his hands, moving them like he was trying to get them to work. I looked down at them to see the violent tremors he was trying to suppress. I hadn't really thought about him coming down off whatever he had been taking. He closed his eyes and took a deep strained breath.
"Are you going to be ok while I'm gone?" I asked him and motioned towards his hands. He looked down, fighting hard to try to steady them without any success.
"Just a side effect from the withdrawal. The headaches and nausea will be worse. I'm probably going to go lay down while you're gone if you don't mind. It's going to be a really long night."
"Not at all. You can sleep in my bed again." I offered to him and then immediately began cursing myself out for the tingles that came at the thought of him being in my bed when I came home. I imagined him moaning my name and then telling me I was beautiful as he pulled me on top of him.
"Riley, hello, did I say something wrong?" Ezra cocked his head to the side, staring at me.
"Huh?" I asked, blushing.
"Where'd you go?" He asked, smiling down at me.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"I said I was going to take you up on the offer and you were staring off in space. Are you sure you're ok with me staying here another night?" He asked.
"Please sleep with me... in my bed."
Damnit. Damnit. Damnit.
He smiled as he ran his eyes over my body. He was laughing at me and I was completely mortified.
"I meant please stay another night until you feel better."
"I fucking love it when you beg." He whispered in my ear and walked away to go sit down in the living room.
I swallowed and headed to my bedroom to get ready without saying another word. My body was buzzing from the electricity I was feeling from being so close to Ezra. I was afraid I would electrocute anything that came near me. My head was fuzzy and I felt like I was drunk again. My brain had evidently lost the fight and my body was steering the ship now. This ship veered sharply off course and was headed straight for the rocky shore of bad decision land.
I began to brush my hair and pulled it up in a tight ponytail. It was just long enough to stay in. I lined my eyes lightly and threw on some soft makeup to hide the bags underneath. I pulled on my ripped black jeans and a white tank top. The last outfit add I decided on last-minute was to cover the tank top with a tight zip hoodie that hit me just above my hips. I looked at myself in the mirror; I looked terrible. I wasn't going to fool anyone today.
I opened the door and saw Ezra sitting on the couch with Brynn. They were watching some reality show on TV. Brynn was cackling loudly at the girl on the screen with too big of a boob job and awful lip injections.
"You seriously watch this stupid shit." Ezra grumbled at Brynn.
"This is epic. Watch her. She's about to take off her shoe and throw it at him." Brynn exclaimed.
"This is complete garbage. This isn't even real, it's scripted and it's not even good!" Ezra raised his hands, trying to argue his point.
"When you start paying the bills around here, you can pick what's on my tv. Until then, suck it, Miller." Brynn said, biting back. Ezra huffed and sunk down further into the couch like he was pouting. I left them for five minutes and they were already at each other again. How was I going to leave them together for the whole night and not come back to a crime scene?
"Do I need to cancel my plans tonight?" I placed my hands on my hips, scolding the two oversized children arguing in my living room.
"He started it." Brynn scowled.
"Did not." Ezra countered back.
"You two are impossible." I said, rolling my eyes. I grabbed my bag off the table and opened it looking for my keys. I searched through the bag and came up empty-handed. I was already going to be late and couldn't remember what I had done with them last night when I got home.
"It figures. Where the hell did I put..."
"Looking for something?" Ezra placed his hands on the table behind me and his warm breath was in my ear.
"Keys." I squeaked when he leaned in and brushed up behind me. I couldn't catch my breath when he was this close to me.
"Oh, you mean these?" I heard the jingle of a key ring from behind me.
I turned around and tried to grab them from him and he held on, not letting me take them from his hand. He leaned down into me and kissed the top of my head before letting me pull them from his grasp.
"Don't be gone too long." Ezra lifted the corner of his mouth into a small smile and brushed his thumb over a small patch of skin near the button of my jeans. I squirmed as the moisture began to build between my legs.
I looked over when I felt like I was being watched and saw Brynn giving me a smug "I knew it" look. I wanted to yell at her that we weren't doing anything, but denying it would have made me look more suspicious.
"You're on Ezra duty." I called over to Brynn and tore myself away from his fingertips before I would do something I regretted.
"Aye, Aye, Captain." She saluted me.
Ezra chuckled at the nod to our role reversal.
I turned and grabbed my bag and keys to leave the apartment. I was smiling like a schoolgirl as I walked down to my car. I had Ezra's scent all around me and I was bathing in it. I wanted to let him touch me and send me spinning under his fingertips. I had to find a way to break this spell he had over me. My body wanted the release from the tension I felt with him near. I looked around the parking lot to see if anyone was watching. I knew what I needed to do.
When I saw the coast was clear, I unbuttoned my pants and dipped my fingers inside my panties. I was only doing this to keep myself from touching him. I used my fingertips and found my favorite spot and began putting pressure against myself. I bit my lip as my fingers moved, circling myself quickly. I had to be fast in case someone pulled into the lot. I used the other hand to press down at the base of my stomach. It was my little trick to get myself off faster.
My panties were soaking and I was close to the edge. I was imagining myself on top of Ezra as he whispered all the dirty things he wanted to do to me. I sucked in a sharp breath. In my mind, I could hear him calling me his good girl and begging for me to lose myself to him. I closed my eyes and licked my lips as I felt my climax take over my body from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. My cheeks were flushed from my orgasm and I was out of breath. This was the first time I had done anything like this since the accident. It felt fantastic.
"Everything ok?" I jumped when I heard Ezra's voice and a light knock on my window. I pulled my hand out from inside my panties and rolled down the window of my car. My skin was on fire from my humiliation. I looked back at him and saw him looking down to where my pants were unbuttoned. He raised an eyebrow at me and a smile crept to his face. He definitely caught me.
"Yeah, I'm good." I said, trying to brush it off. "Wha.. why are you down here?"
"Brynn saw you still out here and thought you might be having car problems." He was smiling wickedly at me and took his lip ring between his teeth. "I came to see if you needed a hand, but I guess I got down here too late." He nodded to the unbuttoned pants again.
"I was fixing my tank top." I cleared my throat and hurried to button myself up again.
Ezra leaned in my window and breathed into my ear. My body froze when he came near me. He whispered low and sweet, "You are so sexy when you come."
"I will be back soon." I chirped and tried to roll up the window. Unfortunately, I missed the button and ended up locking the door instead. I tried again and managed to roll down the passenger side window. Ezra's whole body was shaking with laughter as he watched me fumbling around for the right button. I turned the color of a plum and threw my car into reverse with the window still wide open.
He moved his hands through his hair, continuing to laugh at me. He bit at his lip ring. I could see the image of me touching myself replaying in his head. He knew it was because of what seeing him did to me. He knew I made myself come while thinking about him. I couldn't hide my attraction to him. I never could.
"Be a good girl tonight Riley." He said wickedly, tapping the open window before moving back far enough for me to pull out of the parking lot. I watched him smile as I drove away.