Chapter 51
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
EZRA
“You’re such a good boy,” I say, rubbing my foster puppy’s belly. He loves belly rubs, and every time he sees me coming closer to him, he lies on his back demanding them.
The shelter called me after the five day hold was up and no one claimed them. They were old enough not to have to nurse from their mom anymore, so I picked one up to foster. I’ve only had him for two days and I’m already in love. I don’t know how I’m going to let him go once he’s adopted.
I’ve been so busy this past week that I have had little time to think about Violet and I.
At least until I’m lying in bed trying to fall asleep and the only thoughts that come to mind are of her.
I even got restless leg syndrome again while lying there thinking of her.
It felt like my body was betraying me. I was already having a hard time because of her, and then it wanted to kick me out of bed and make me walk around aimlessly until it decided it’s done being a pain in my ass.
It helped nothing because all it did was make me think about her even more and all the times she would rub my feet until I fell asleep.
I’m glad I have my boy with me because he has so much energy he keeps my mind off things during the day. He snuggles up to me when it’s time to go to bed, which has helped a lot. I always heard that a dog is a man’s best friend. I never knew it to be true until now.
I lay down on my side on the mattress that lies on the bare floor of my new apartment.
I found a one-bedroom apartment right away that the landlord was leasing on a month-to-month basis since he is trying to sell the place.
It worked out perfectly. It will give me some time to not rush the process of finding a house.
I rushed into signing the lease for this apartment because I didn’t want to live with my parents. I love them, but I just can’t.
Before I was waiting to pull the trigger in buying a house because of Vi, but I can’t keep waiting on other people. I have to keep moving forward for my sake.
A small whiny yawn comes out of the pup while I continue to rub his belly. He’s curled right up against my stomach. I need to find a name for him.
Knocks against the door echo throughout the apartment. He jerks up and starts wagging his tail, looking around aimlessly.
I rub the top of his head. “Hey, it’s okay.” He turns his head towards me with his tongue out. “Let’s go see who it is.”
I pick him up, wrap him under my arm, and carry him toward the front door. I’m guessing it’s my parents because they’re the only ones who know where I live.
I swing the door open, and my eyes go wide. “Vi.”
She gazes between me and the dog, her mouth partly open. She looks fresh out of a workout with her leggings sculpting her body and her hair pulled back into a tight ponytail. There’s a soft pink tint on her cheeks. Even in simple gym clothes, she looks beautiful.
“Hi,” she says softly, looking back and forth between the dog and me.
“Is everything okay?”
“No.” She shakes her head and then sighs. “I mean yes. Can we talk?”
I don’t move because I’m a little embarrassed to let her in. All I have right now is a mattress. I haven’t had time to move anything else in.
She must see my hesitation. “If not, it’s fine.”
“No, it’s just that I don’t have any furniture yet.” I back away from the front door, letting her walk in. She looks around the place. Once I shut the door, she turns back to me.
“Who’s this?” she asks, putting her hand out.
The sweet pup sniffs her and then wiggles in my arms trying to get to her. I set him down, and as soon as I do, he jumps up on her leg.
“He’s so cute,” she says, bending down and petting him. “Is he yours?”
I shrug. “I’m fostering him right now.”
She sits down on the floor and crosses her legs. He turns over onto his back, and she rubs his belly while she giggles.
“Oh, you like belly rubs,” she says in a baby voice.
“How did you know where I was?”
She looks up at me. “Your parents told me.”
I nod.
Is she going to say why she’s here? I don’t want to ask and sound rude. But the anticipation is killing me. Unless she really is here just to see how I’m doing.
“So what did you want to talk about?”
“I’m all in, Ezra,” she says, swallowing hard.
Her words made me catch my breath, shocked and unable to move as my brain tries to understand what she’s saying
“I want this with you.”
“Why?”
Her brows knit. “Why, what?”
“Why do you want this with me?”
“Because you…you’re the person I want to wake up to in the morning. You’re the person I want to see at the end of my day. You’re my safe place. And I’m sorry it took me this long to come to my senses. It has always been you.”
I’m struggling to process her words. “In what way do you want this with me?”
“I want all of it. All of you. I’m done being scared and fighting where my heart has always belonged.
” She shifts her gaze down to the dog and then back up to me.
“I can’t live in that house if you’re not there, and if you don’t want to be there, that’s fine.
I’ll go wherever you go.” She pauses for a moment. “I just want you, Ezra.”
I kneel, cupping her face in my hands, letting my fingertips trace the softness of her jaw. She leans into my touch, eyes fluttering closed for a moment.
“I hope it’s not too late,” she whispers.
I pull her closer until her forehead meets mine. “It’s never too late.” Then I kiss her. I release our kiss, our foreheads still touching. “Are you sure about this?”
She nods. “I want this. I want you. I want us.”
I pull her in again and kiss her softly. She responds instantly to me, like we’re made for each other. And we are.
“Do you want this with me?” she asks.
“You are all I’ve ever wanted since the day I first laid eyes on you.”
We crash our lips against each other.
My boy is jumping up and down and pawing at us. I release our kiss. “Are you feeling left out?” I say to the dog.
He curls himself into a ball on her legs. “I think he likes you.”
She looks down at him with a smile. “He’s so cute.”
I settle onto the floor in front of her, cross my legs, and watch him get comfortable with the woman I love.
“How did you get into fostering?”
I let out a sigh. “His mom and siblings were dumped behind my shop by someone, and the shelter asked if I wanted to foster one. And here we are.”
“Are you going to adopt him?”
“I don’t know. What do you think I should do?”
“It’s not up to me.”
“No, it’s up to us.”
Her grin grows wide as she looks down at him.
“I say we keep him.” He jumps up and licks her on the cheek.
“I say we keep him too.”
I lean in and kiss her, and right away the puppy jumps up, pawing at my chest until we stop.
We both look down at him. “I think someone is jealous already,” I say, chuckling.
She chuckles back, rubbing his belly. “What’s his name?”
“I haven’t thought of one yet.”
She pulls out her phone and types away. She looks up from her phone. “There’s Neo, Ashur, Novak, Navin. I’m probably pronouncing these wrong.”
“Did you Google names?”
She nods. “I googled male dog names that mean new beginnings.”
“I like Ashur.” I look down at our pup and I reach over to pet him. “What do you say, do you like Ashur?” He tilts his head and licks my hand. “I think he likes it.”
We both look up at each other, and for a moment neither of us says a word. We don’t have to. Everything we’ve been through—the hurt, the waiting, the confusion, the slow and rough climb back to each other—settles in the space between us. It hits me how long I’ve waited for this. For her. For us.
She’s finally here. Not halfway, not holding back, not scared to reach for me. All of her is right in front of me, and it feels like something I spent years trying to imagine but never fully believed would happen.
Happiness doesn’t even cover it. There aren’t words big enough for what’s sitting in my chest. It’s relief, it’s joy, it’s this deep, settling peace I’ve never felt with anyone else. It’s like every version of me was always missing a piece. And that piece was her.
It was worth every second.
Because sometimes there are friends who break you…and others who heal you.