Chapter 8 #2
“Better leave it on display, unless you’d like to get a bunch more?” Michael pulls his turtle-neck collar down, showing more love bites than untouched skin.
“Raph is a real savage,” Rami tells him. Michael agrees with a nod but his lips curl up.
A sudden thought pops into my head. “Do you know what happened to Jacob?” I haven’t seen him around since that night. It’s not that I care. I grind my teeth. It’s just that I want to know why he assaulted me and if there is the possibility of that happening again.
“Who?” Sari asks.
“The shithead who attacked Sully.” Rami’s voice has turned harsh.
“You don’t need to worry about it.” Michael rubs my bicep in a comforting gesture. I deduce they helped Ezra to take care of him. I just hope they won’t get into trouble because of me.
“Serena and I will keep an eye on you and Ezra tonight, and one of us will stay close by. You’ll be extra safe,” Rami tries to reassure me, but he misunderstood. I feel perfectly safe now that I have Ezra watching me even when we aren’t together.
“Done,” Michael suddenly exclaims.
He lifts a portable mirror to show me his work. My hair looks great. He parted my bangs on the side, letting them fall on my forehead, which frames my face nicely. The top is a little puff, while the sides sit neatly around my ears. It’s casual but cool.
When I thank him, he does a little dance while Rami whistles approvingly at me. Michael has that clean-cut style, neat and polished, a stark contrast to Raph’s bad-boy one. Do Ezra and I look that different as well?
Sari tells me to look up and then down while he applies a light layer of makeup on my face. Michael and Rami start a heated discussion about what the best food is to eat off their partner’s body.
I’ve never even thought about doing it so I have nothing to really say about it.
My mind starts to wander, and I imagine licking whipped cream off Ezra’s chest. Would he let me do that?
He never says no to me. Even this date is something I wanted to try, and he humored me.
I really, really like him. It’s impossible not to since I’ve never met someone like him.
He makes me feel safe and capable at the same time.
Could my feelings be deeper than I thought?
Or is it too soon? Everything seems to go too fast with him.
But if I think about my time before him…
I was drifting through college life. Apathetic to the present, only thinking about my future goals.
My hopes were shaky. Fear kept affecting my perception of myself.
Then Ezra, or the man in the mask, saved me from that scaffolding, and I felt like waking up from a stasis.
Those dreams about him made me alive again, curious, excited, ready to try new things even though it was scary.
Somehow, he awakened a new part of me, paving a path that led me to…
myself again. But I still know so little about him.
“Do you guys care about Ezra being an assassin?” I ask.
“Some of us did at first, but then Rami found out what kind of hitman Ezra is,” Michael replies.
“Uh?”
“Oh, you don’t know.” Sari puts a hand over his mouth.
“You should ask him…wait, you love him even without knowing that?” Michael seems surprised.
Do I love him? “How do you know if you’re falling in love?” The thought manifests out of my mouth before I can stop it.
Everyone quiets down. “Let me put it this way,” Rami breaks the silence after a moment. “Falling in love is like dancing.”
I’m not the only one frowning at him right now.
“You remember the crocodile and hippo scene in Fantasia?”
“Disney animated musical?” Michael asks. I vaguely remember it.
“Okay. The croc with the red cape sees the cute hippo with a pink tutu and wants to eat her, but they start to dance, and something just clicks.”
Michael snorts. “And then she crushes him to death.”
“Does she?” Sari seems upset about it.
“No, she doesn’t.” Rami and Michael get lost in another discussion, this time about Disney characters, when I feel Sari’s hand squeezing my arm.
“I think,” he starts softly, “You love someone when a part of them always lingers with you, like when you close your eyes and still see that person’s face and hear their voice.”
I nod, does dreaming about them count too? I suddenly feel a little choked up.
“Ezra will never love me,” I state.
“Psychopaths are incapable of love.” Sari’s honesty feels brutal right now.
His not love…fixation toward me, would it fade with time?
“But I saw the way he looks at you,” he continues. “That’s the forever look I find in Uri’s eyes every day.”
Michael joins in, “Romantic love comes and goes, a psycho’s obsession lasts forever.”
I snort at that. It sounds quite insane. But even though it’s a twisted way of being in a relationship, what I’m feeling surprises me because I don’t care. I want Ezra.
“You look fabulous!” Rami’s heavy hand falls on my shoulder as he turns serious for a moment…just a moment. “Getting fucked to sleep every night by the man you drool for, that’s what you should aim at.”
I feel nervous as I walk down the dorm’s stairs.
I pull at the lapels of my black coat and almost drop the little clutch in my hand—a present from Lori for my first date.
The yellow knitted cap Ollie bought for me years ago is inside the pocket.
It’s not that cold today, I won’t wear it.
I just brought it with me as a lucky charm, sort of a comfort blanket.
I don’t know why I feel so tense. It’s just a date.
Ezra is waiting for me downstairs. Would he like my new look? I’m very grateful to the others for coming all the way here just to help me out, but maybe it’s all too much for a date. I mean, I don’t even know where we are going.
I take a deep, calming breath and push open the front door. I see him straight away, leaning against a car. His imposing presence and handsome appearance attract interested looks all around, but his unwavering eyes are solely focused on me.
I seem to have used up all the air, and now my chest is burning as I gasp like a dying fish.
I wondered a few times if my imagination would be better than reality.
Well, it fucking wasn’t. Ezra in the flesh is a hundred times more alluring, more incredibly perfect, than in any of my night or day dreams. His arms are crossed over his chest, strong fingers around those large biceps that flex under his black leather jacket, and his long, muscular legs are covered in dark gray pants.
I move my gaze up slowly . He styled his hair pushing all the soft waves back, displaying that beautiful face for everybody to see.
His mouth curls into a crooked smile, transforming his features from handsome to stomach-knottingly gorgeous.
He makes his way toward me as I remain rooted to the floor.
Waiting. Every step he takes is echoed by a beat of my heart.
It feels almost like it’s whispering: closer, closer.
When he reaches me, he wraps his arm around my waist and yanks me against his body.
His head lowers, nose digging into my neck as he inhales deeply.
“Fuck, you look stunning. I want to drag you out of here and have my way with you.” His low voice makes me shiver all over again.
I almost yield to him when I hear a giggle coming from behind me.
I open my eyes—which I didn’t even realize were closed—and I see Sari running toward Uri until he catches him in his arms. Was Ezra’s brother there before?
My attention was so focused on Ezra that I didn’t see anybody else.
I’m once again astonished by how profoundly this man affects me.
It’s scary to think how vulnerable I’m letting myself be. Where did all the caution go?
His lips suddenly crush mine, giving me a claiming, wet, incandescent kiss. All the tension I was feeling vanishes like ashes in the wind, leaving in its wake a deep desire.
“Eyes on me, Little Chick,” he demands when he pulls back.
“Always.” I pant. How can he doubt it?
He lets me go with a satisfied nod, but takes my hand before pulling me toward his motorbike.
I’ve only ridden Michael’s. Raph bought him one, and he let me sit on the back once.
I loved it, even thought of buying one for myself, just before I remembered how clumsy I am.
I would probably get stuck under it somehow.
Sari waves at me with an encouraging smile as he gets in Uri’s humongous car. Ezra takes the small clutch from my hands and inserts it under the seat before sliding the helmet on my head—and making a wreck of Michael’s hard work. Thankfully, he and Rami left already.
“Where are we going?” I ask with uncontrolled anticipation. The butterflies in my stomach won’t stop fluttering.
“You’ll see,” he says, before wearing his helmet.
I suddenly have the urge to feel the bike under me, so I lift my leg and mount on the back, placing my feet on the pegs, just like Michael taught me.
But I land my butt down too vigorously, making the bike shake and then start to fall to the side.
Ezra grips the handle with one hand and curls his other arm around my waist, sliding me toward the front as he stabilizes the bike.
“I’m sorry.” I grip the elastic fabric of my jeans on both legs, feeling so embarrassed and tense again. “I’m ruining this date already.”
“The only thing that will get ruined tonight is your ass if you keep apologizing.” The speaker inside the helmet makes his dirty threat boom inside my ears, and I suddenly squirm on the seat.
“I’m nervous,” I confess. Would he understand?
“Just hold on to me tight. I won’t let you fall…ever.”
That last reassuring word mitigated my anxiety. He knows I’m not talking about the motorcycle. I wrap my arms around him as soon as he sits in front of me and plaster my front to his back. Gods, it feels good. My helmet is on his shoulder, and my thighs are cradling his hips.