Chapter 14 #2
“Yeah,” he clears his throat and holds the plate out to me. “All of the guys are busy, and I was grocery shopping and saw the buttermilk and remembered how much you liked them, so I texted her to get her recipe and… yeah. I hope they taste okay.”
God, how is this man single?
How could something as small as buttermilk remind him of me to the point where he baked me cookies? I can’t believe he texted his mom to ask for the recipe, especially after how upset he was about them not coming to the game.
That makes this gesture even sweeter.
I am so screwed.
I take a cookie, relishing the fact it’s still slightly warm.
He looks nervous, so I take a big bite. I won’t lie, I was expecting it to be nothing like the cookies his mom made.
Maybe it’s that my memory is hazy, but the texture is phenomenal—cakey and fluffy in the middle, with crisp edges—and the flavor is incredible, just like I remember.
“What do you think?”
“Ezra…it’s so good. Better than I remember.”
“Really?” He tries to hide the excitement in his voice, but I still hear it.
“I wouldn’t lie about cookies.”
“Well, good. I’m glad you like them.”
A knock sounds on my front door before Dakota barrels in like she owns the damn place.
Of course. Now she shows up.
“Good thing I didn’t get pulled over. I didn’t see your text until I was halfway to Parker’s mom’s.
I called her to ask her if she’d be okay with the kids a little longer.
” Dakota gasps, taking in my outfit. “Bitch! Did you try it on? Let me see!” She squeals, before pulling at my robe’s ties and I have to smack her hands away.
“Ezra’s here, and I answered the door wearing only the lingerie because I thought it was you,” I whisper, shoving the wallet into her hand and pretending I’m mad.
A cheshire grin spreads across her face. “Oh, really?” She turns and waggles her fingers in his direction, and he waves back awkwardly.
“Well, I assume he liked what he saw if he’s still in your apartment. I’ll leave you two alone. Hope you shaved. Love you, see you later.” She blows me a kiss, practically sprinting out the door before I can say anything else.
Not saying a word I head back to the kitchen and grab another cookie.
“So, I’m not sure because Kylie is my only frame of reference, but is it normal for friends to give each other lingerie?” If I didn’t know Ezra, I would think he was about to make some crude joke. But since I do, I know he’s being genuine.
“I… don’t know, actually. This was a surprise gift from her, to help me gain my confidence back after my break up, I guess. My ex didn’t like it when I wore it for him, even though it was only once.”
The way his face scrunches in confusion would be cute, if I weren’t so mortified I blurted that out.
“Are you sure he’s straight?”
“Oh, I’m sure about that. He just didn’t like that I wore it to try and seduce him.”
“I’m sorry, I’m going to need more of an explanation. You and your boyfriend were together for a while, right? You two never…”
“Two years, yes. And we did, but—” How do I explain this to someone like Ezra? Someone who has multiple partners a week, and probably wouldn’t be opposed to fucking in a bathroom at a bar if the mood struck?
I bet he’s the type of guy who’d command his partner to spread her legs in the car on the drive home. He’d slide his fingers into her pussy, and take his time drawing every ounce of pleasure from her…
Focus, Sutton.
“We had a schedule.”
“Like… you had ‘sex with boyfriend’ written in your planner?” His tone isn’t condescending or mocking, but it still has embarrassment crawling up my spine.
“Well, I had ‘sex with Jace’ or ‘date night with Jace’ written in there, but essentially, yes.”
Ezra blinks, his face unreadable. I expect him to burst out laughing at the ridiculousness of it, but instead he surprises me and simply says, “I–I’m sorry. I truly do not understand.”
I motion for him to follow me to the couch, needing the safety of my cushions and favorite throw pillow if I’m going to have this conversation with him. We take seats on opposite sides of the couch, and a wave of hesitation washes over me.
Is this going to be too weird for him?
It’s too late to turn back now.
“We both had very busy schedules when we first met, and it made sense to plan it out so we weren’t rushing to find time together, or going weeks without intimacy.
Toward the end of our relationship, about three months before we broke up, I had started feeling…
needy, I guess.” I cringe at the use of that word, but Ezra doesn’t seem to mind so I continue.
“I was unsatisfied with our scheduled sexy times and the routine we’d been stuck in, so I thought I’d try to spice things up.
“I bought this gorgeous peach corset set, took an ‘everything’ shower, lit a candle, and called him over to talk about something important. When he saw me, he looked at me like I had two heads or something. He started telling me I was being irrational, called me a whore for wanting what I want, and then he left. We never discussed it again, and we never broke from our routine.” I leave out the part where Jace scolded me like a child over my behavior.
I’ve already unpacked that in my journal.
The silence between us is loud, and I wonder if Ezra is uncomfortable with how much I’ve shared.
After what feels like forever, his voice is low and filled with disdain when he says, “Are you kidding me right now?”