Chapter 25 #2
Pleasure rushes through me in powerful waves. It’s overwhelming as I drag his name from my lips in a broken, breathless cry. Ezra follows me moments later, burying his face against my neck. His breath is a whisper against my skin as he shudders above me.
Our breathing slows, hearts pounding together, skin damp with sweat and satisfaction. Ezra lies down, pulling me onto his chest. His fingers thread through my hair. We stay grasped in each other’s arms, allowing time to slip away.
One of our phones vibrates with a notification.
“Stay right here with me just a little longer.” Ezra holds me tighter, not allowing me to focus on anything else but him, us, and this moment.
I breathe in his skin, peppering kisses along his neck, and it settles something inside me. Ezra waits until I’m fully relaxed and the stress has washed away.
He kisses my forehead, drawing circles on my back. “Ready to tell the world?”
After a long, quiet moment, I sit up and glance toward the edge of the couch. Our phones lie face down, forgotten in our earlier rush. My heart thuds faster again.
I bite my lip, nerves fluttering deep in my chest, and reach for our phones. I hand him his.
“How about this?” He grins as we hold our phones up. “We post on Instagram. You write what your heart tells you, and I’ll do the same, like little love letters to each other.”
My pulse skips a beat. “Warning, I have a way with words.”
“Trust me, I know,” he says with a laugh, chewing on his bottom lip. “Make it real. Like you said.”
I sit against the couch, pulling a soft throw blanket over my lap. I upload the photo, my thumbs hovering over the keys, then I type exactly what my heart dictates.
@EzraReedPotter, wow. The moment I laid eyes on you, shirtless, standing in the doorway, I thought you were a figment of my imagination.
Then you smiled, and I heard your laugh, and knew I was doomed.
Our souls said hello, and the butterflies haven’t stopped since.
Some people say I write the best male characters.
They are nothing compared to you. You’re it, Ezra.
A dream come true. If I were asked to construct the perfect man, he would be you.
The guy upstairs kinda knew what he was doing when he put you together, okay?
I let every raw emotion I’ve felt for him pour onto the screen.
When you came into my life, everything I’d been through finally made sense.
I wasn’t ready for you back then, but I am now.
I know a good man when I see one. You are the reason I believe in love again, the reason I’ve been able to write again, and the reason my heart feels alive. I’m yours completely, Ezra.
“It’s not a race,” he says, tapping away, the glow of the phone lighting his face. The fire casts our shadows on the walls.
Thanks for reminding me what it’s like to be brave. Thank you for looking at me like we have forever and never rushing a moment. I don’t take that or you for granted. 5 Stars.
Forever yours,
—Scarlett
When I’m finished, I save it as a draft, then glance at Ezra with my brows raised.
He’s still typing, smirking, but I see how the edges of his eyes soften.
“I was wordy,” he says. “Do you want to read it before the world does?”
“Okay,” I say, exchanging phones. We look down and begin reading.
My heartbeat quickens as I read the words he wrote.
I never expected you, @ScarlettCollinsWrites.
I was happy, trying to live an ordinary life, filled with ordinary days, and then you appeared and turned my black-and-white world into bright, vivid colors.
You woke me up, and I realized what I’d been missing my entire life…
you. You’re it. I’ve been waiting for you. Now, I’m your biggest fan.
I already love our love story, and to think, we’re just getting started. Get ready, Scarlett. Together. Remember? Thank you for being brave and for always being you. I only wish they could see how pretty you are while we fall in love or hear how you whisper my name.
Here’s to us, and me worshipping you forever and fucking ever. Now, everyone, please let us be and kindly fuck off.
My breath catches when he wipes my cheeks, and that’s when I realize happy tears are streaming down my face.
“Don’t cry,” he whispers.
I chuckle at myself. “The kindly fuck off drove it home for me.”
He chews on the inside of his cheek. “I meant every word.”
“I did, too,” I say. “On the count of three?”
He nods, then we count down together and press post for one another.
Ezra sets my phone aside and takes his from my hand, pulling me back into his lap.
“Now,” he whispers, lips brushing mine, “let me show you everything I couldn’t put into words.”
My heart pounds, eyes fluttering closed as he kisses me again. His hands explore, savoring me like I’m something precious. I sink into him, losing myself as the night melts around us, forgetting everything but this moment, this man, and how we so publicly announced ourselves to the world.
The sunlight nearly blinds me. I blink awake, head pounding, and see Willow staring at me like she witnessed the entire night. She might’ve.
Ezra holds me snug against his chest, skin against skin. For a moment, I listen to his heartbeat, comforted by the steadiness.
Then I realize we’re lying naked on his couch with two tiny blankets wrapped around us. His feet are sticking out.
Last night rushes back into my mind, along with one hell of a hangover. What is that saying? Liquor before wine…well, shit.
“Ugh,” I whisper, my voice hoarse. My head throbs.
Blinking, I turn my head and see Willow is still frozen on the coffee table, tail curled around her paws, watching us with judgmental feline eyes.
“She wants breakfast,” Ezra mumbles. “Sometimes she doesn’t blink for five minutes straight. It’s like she’s using Jedi mind tricks.” He strokes a hand down my bare back.
My phone vibrates from the floor, startling me enough to jolt upright. Bad idea because it makes my head swim.
“You okay?” Ezra asks, amused and concerned at once.
“No,” I whisper, reaching for my phone with clumsy fingers. “Hello?”
“Scarlett Collins, you beautiful, gorgeous, marketing genius!” Natalie’s enthusiastic voice shrieks through my headache.
“Your post! Oh my God, it’s all anyone is talking about!
Scarlett, you’re trending. Your preorders are exploding, honey.
This is the exposure we needed to get everyone excited about Her Forever! ”
I squeeze my eyes shut, holding the phone away from my ear. “Natalie, it’s not a marketing ploy.”
“I don’t care if it is or isn’t…milk it,” Natalie counters, unsympathetic. “Listen, this is incredible. We have to capitalize on this immediately. Is Ezra who the hero is based on, and the reason you’ve been able to wr—”
I tap the screen, ending the call, setting the phone next to Willow, who swats at me.
I hide my face against his chest, and he wraps his strong arms around me. “I should probably tell my parents about you.”
“Yeah?” Laughter rumbles beneath my ear.
“They’re probably not going to be happy I announced it to the internet before them.”
He rubs his hands across my back. “It will be okay. I’m very charming.”
“I know. They’re going to fall in love with you,” I admit.
“Would that be so bad?” he asks.
I meet his deep blues. “Not unless this doesn’t work out.”
“Are you doubting anything?”
“Actually, no.”
“So,” he says, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. “I guess that dream I had about us drunkenly announcing our relationship online actually happened?”
I groan, the sound muffled against his chest. “Totally wasn’t a dream.”
He chuckles. “Not having second thoughts, are you?”
“Not at all. Or I would’ve said nightmare.” I lift my head enough to meet his cute face. “I’d do it again.”
“Good. It’s a new day. And you have a book to finish because I want to spend time with you before I have to return to work next week.”
Willow jumps off the table and trots into the kitchen.
“I have a horrible hangover,” I mutter.
Ezra chuckles and kisses my forehead. “Let’s get you some meds, water, coffee, and food. Then you’ll feel like a brand-new woman.”
He shifts, moving me aside carefully, when his phone buzzes from the table.
Ezra grabs it, eyes scanning the screen. His entire body goes rigid.
My stomach drops. “What?”
He meets my eyes. “The pictures of us in the backyard were posted.”