I got inspiration for this story after watching Tuesday's episode. In this story, Ezra took the job at Hollis, but has not had his last day at Rosewood yet. Jackie and Ezra have not seen each other in a year and Ezra does not know that she lives in Rosewood. Aria does not know about Jackie. I apologize in advance for any mistakes.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
His lips were so soft against mine. I could never get enough. The sparks that erupted throughout my body when Ezra's muscular body was pressed against mine were indescribable. I tangled my fingers in his hair while he caressed my cheek as our tongues explored each other's mouths. I could feel his heart beating rapidly against my chest. I pulled him closer, if that was even possible, and continued kissing him passionately. We were both whisked out of our passionate frenzy when a loud buzzing interrupted us. Ezra groaned against my lips, clearly not wanting me to answer my ringing phone.
"Mhmm, I have to." I mumbled against his lips as he claimed my lips over and over again.
"You don't." He whispered, as my phone continued ringing. I smiled against his lips as he continued kissing me hungrily. I wrapped my arms around his neck, while his were around my waist, holding me securely against him.
The ringing of my phone stopped, and he pulled away for a moment, resting his forehead against mine.
"See, you didn't answer, and nothing bad happened." He smiled his adorable boyish smile that I loved so much. I leaned closer to him so my lips could meet his again, but right when our lips touched, a shrill ringing sounded throughout the room once again.
"You should probably get that." He groaned.
"Fine." I sighed, as I removed my arms from around Ezra's neck and searched through my purse for my phone.
Two missed calls and one voicemail from Ella were awaiting me. I tapped my foot impatiently against the hardwood floor of Ezra's apartment as I listened to the voicemail.
"Hi honey, I hope you didn't forget that we're having company tonight so I need you to come home soon so you can help with dinner. I'll see you soon."
"You have to go?" Ezra frowned, overhearing the message.
"Yeah." I said sadly.
I walked back over to the couch to give him a good-bye kiss. What started out as a peck on his lips, ended with me roaming my hands under his shirt exploring the length of his chest and us kissing each other like the other was the air we needed to breath. I broke away for a breath a moment later and told him for the second time that I really needed to leave.
"Bye, love you." He kissed me again before I left the apartment.
I arrived at home five minutes later and walked into an oddly quiet house.
"Mom?" I called, as I dropped my purse beside the front door.
"In the kitchen!"
I entered the kitchen to see my mom wearing a formal black dress and my dad in a suit.
"Oh, is dinner tonight… fancy?" I asked uncertainty.
"Um, just a little bit." Ella said.
"Wait, so, who's coming, again?"
"Two of my colleagues from work." Byron spoke as he raided through the wine cabinet for a bottle of wine to serve the guests.
"Why don't you go get changed? They will be here soon." Ella said, as set a stack of plates on the table.
I climbed the stairs to my room in search for a suitable dress to wear. I had no idea who was coming over, so I did not dress over the top. I settled on a simple navy dress that I paired with high heels and a long necklace. I loosely curled my hair and did my make up simple to lightly match my dress.
As I walked down the stairs, the doorbell rang. I put a big smile on my face before opening it, since I honestly had no idea who it would be.
I opened the door and I froze at the sight of the man in front of me.
"What are you doing here?" I asked him incredulously.
"Your parents invited me for dinner." Ezra answered slowly. "I called you five times to warn you, but you didn't answer your phone!" He lowered his voice.
"Hello, Ezra." Ella greeted him. Byron came over a moment later to shake Ezra's hand.
"Aria, did you say hi?" Byron turned to me questioningly.
"Um, hi, Mr. Fitz." I gave him a small smile.
"Hello, Aria."
"Do you mind if she calls you Ezra, just for the night?" Ella asked Ezra.
"That's fine." Ezra agreed as he smiled at me, causing me to blush.
Byron led Ezra to the living room and the two starting conversing deeply about work.
"So have you thought any more about working at Hollis?" Byron handed Ezra a glass of wine and took one for himself.
I sat across from Ezra and my father in an armchair near the door, watching my boyfriend so easily talk to my father as if he wasn't hiding the fact that he was dating Byron's teenage daughter.
The doorbell rang again and I walked over to the door to open it. I came face to face with a tall, brunette, woman who I guessed was the same age as Ezra.
"Um, hi." I said, not knowing the woman. "I'm Aria."
"I'm Jackie Molina." She smiled warmly at me.
"Jackie, hello. How are you?" Byron came up behind me and shook her hand.
"Jackie?" I faintly heard Ezra whisper.
I looked at Ezra, whose face had drained of all its color and was looking at Jackie with incredulous surprise written all over his face.
"Ezra!" She exclaimed, as she walked over to him. "How are you?" She gave him a hug and made sure to linger her touch on him.
"You two, know each other?" Byron asked, in astonishment.
"Y-yeah." Ezra stuttered.
"We were engaged about a year ago." Jackie revealed.
My mouth hung open in shock as I watched Ezra. He had never told me he had previously been engaged!
"Well it most certainly is a small world!" Ella walked into the room, hinting that she had heard the pervious conversation.
My breathing suddenly become ragged and fast as I begun to comprehend what I had just learned. I started feeling dizzy so I sat down in the chair next to me and put my head in my hands. How could Ezra keep something like this from me? Was he even planning on telling me?
I did not know where all this jealousy suddenly came from. Maybe it was the fact that Ezra had once felt the way he did towards her that he did towards me. Maybe it was the fact that her lips had touched Ezra's so many times before mine did. Maybe it was the fact that she was Ezra's age and he could easily have a legal relationship with her, where he did not have to hide the fact that she was his girlfriend. Maybe it was because she was his first real love, someone who you never forget about.
I left the room without even a glance at Ezra to go help Ella in the kitchen.
"Honey, could you put the salad on the table?"
I grabbed the salad from the counter and set it beside the breadbasket on the dining room table.
Ten minutes later, we were all situated at the table. Ezra sat next to me and Jackie sat beside my mother across from us. Byron was at the head of the table. Jackie was currently talking about her past with Ezra. I could tell that Ezra looked uncomfortable, however I was angry with him for keeping something like this from me. I had rage written all over my face and I couldn't get the image of Ezra kissing Jackie the way he kissed me out of my head.
"Aria?" Ella suddenly asked. "Can I speak with you in the kitchen for a moment?"
"Uh, sure." I tore my gaze away from Jackie. I picked up my napkin from my lap and set it on the table beside my plate. I got up and followed my mom into the kitchen.
"Are you okay? You seem really uncomfortable and mad." Ella commented.
Way to state the obvious mom, I thought.
"Is everything okay?" She asked me suspiciously.
"Is it that your father invited Ezra? I mean, I know he's your teacher and everything but your father and Ezra are friends, so he did not think it would be a bad idea…" She rambled.
"Mom, it's fine." I assured her. "I just haven't had the greatest day today." I lied.
"Okay." She nodded, before we both walked back into the dining room.
"Remember the time when we went to my parents house, and Nick was there?" Jackie asked Ezra, smiling at the memory.
"Yeah, he always carried around that stuffed elephant everywhere he went." He smiled at her, as I sat back down in my chair.
"You two seem really close." Ella commented, closely watching Jackie and Ezra.
I had not realized how hard I was gripping the table. My knuckles had turned white and were screaming in protest. Ezra noticed, and placed a hand on my thigh under the table. He started running it up and down my leg, an action that went unnoticed by everyone else. My heartbeat sped up from his electrifying touch against my skin. I wanted to jump his bones right then and there, but I knew that that action would not end well.
I closed my eyes in bliss and let out a soft moan. The conversation around me came to a sudden halt and I quickly opened my eyes. Everyone at the table was staring at me with wide eyes, but Ezra watched me with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"Sorry." I said innocently. "I was just thinking about dessert. It sounds good doesn't it?" I spoke quickly.
I excused myself and took my half eaten plate into the kitchen. I set it down beside the sink and leaned against the counter. I started drumming my fingers against the granite as my thoughts raced.
Could I get myself into a more awkward situation? Dinner with my boyfriend and his ex-fiancée. The mysterious boyfriend that my parents and said ex-fiancée did not know about. That had to be a record of sorts.
I walked back into the dining room and sat down in my chair again. Jackie was still talking about her and Ezra and what they had planned to name their kids.
"We really loved the name Rose, for a girl. Isn't it a sweet name?" Jackie gushed. I rolled my eyes in annoyance.
Ezra nodded in agreement, but looked away from Jackie.
"Yeah…" She sighed in content. "You know, he proposed to me while we were in Italy together."
"But, you're not married, are you?" Ella asked, her eyes darting back and forth between Ezra and Jackie.
"Can I be excused?" I suddenly asked, unable to handle any more of this conversation. I did not wait for an answer, and quickly left the room. I entered the kitchen and looked around the room for something to do so I could occupy my mind with something besides the fact that Ezra's ex-fiancée was sitting in my dining room. I settled on washing the dishes. I turned on the water and grabbed a plate from the sink.
I heard footsteps behind me and I quickly spun around, coming face to face with Ezra. I set the plate back into the sink and wiped my hands with a towel. I looked at him expectantly; impatiently waiting for an answer to the question I did not bother asking.
"I'm sorry, Aria. I had no idea she would be here. I haven't seen her in a year. I don't know why she's talking about all of that stuff, because she was the one who broke off our engagement." He took my hands in his, desperately trying to make me understand.
I did not know why, but knowing the fact that she broke it off and not him, bothered me tremendously.
"Come on," He caressed my cheek and I leaned my face into his palm. "Let's go back in there and get this dinner over with. It will be over before you know it, I promise."
I nodded.
He assured me that I had nothing to worry about and that he only loved me.
He moved his hand from my cheek to the bottom of my chin so he could lift my head up. Our lips met for a moment and from the way he kissed me, I knew that he only had eyes for me.
We suddenly heard a loud shattering and jumped a mile apart.
"Mom." My eyes went wide and my heart started beating very quickly. From the corner of my eye, I saw the remnants of what had been a glass bowl five minutes ago. That was what she had dropped.
Oh my God, oh my God. This is not how I wanted my mom to find out about Ezra and I! And Ezra's still my teacher! Oh my God. She is going to flip!
"I-I can explain." I said desperately.
"It better be a damn good one."
"I-" I began, but Ezra interrupted me. He wrapped his arm around my waist and said, "Ella, I'm in love with your daughter."
She looked at me, waiting for me to speak.
"And I love him too." I repositioned myself so I was leaning against Ezra's chest. His arm moved to around my torso, holding me against him.
Byron entered the room a second later, looking for the source of the shattering.
"What's going-" His sentence was stopped short as soon as he saw Ezra's hand wrapped around my waist.
"What the hell is going on?" He demanded.
"Ezra's my boyfriend." I said confidently.
Byron turned to Ella, who was still speechless.
"I can't believe this." Ella spoke quietly.
"Well now's a good time to start believing it." I said matter of factly, as I crossed my arms across my chest.
"Ella, I really do love Aria." Ezra said. "And I would never imagine doing anything to hurt her. She knows that if she wants out of this relationship, she can easily leave. I won't stop her."
"No!" Byron exclaimed. "This isn't right! He's your teacher!"
"He doesn't love you! He's just using you!" Byron exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air in frustration.
"And how the hell would you know?" I yelled back.
"Because I know what love is! And this," He gestured to Ezra and I, "clearly is not it!"
"Don't you dare say that to me. You have no idea what love is. You're the one who cheated!" I snarled at him as I stormed out of the kitchen.
"You're not allowed to see him anymore!" Byron raged.
"You can't tell me what to do!" I screamed in frustration as tears started pouring down my face. At that moment, I desperately wished to be in Ezra's arms more than anything. However, I knew I could not break down. Not now, in front of my parents. I had to stay strong and fight for what was for the man I loved and for what was right. And Ezra and I being together, was very, very, right. "Nothing you say or do is going to change how I feel about Ezra." I pointed to Ezra, who was standing near the kitchen. I could tell that he was terrified of the scene that was going on in front of him. I would bet anything right now that he was blaming himself for this.
"You're dating a little girl?" Jackie exclaimed, reminding everyone in the room of her presence.
The look I was giving her at that moment was so full of hate that I was surprised that she didn't melt from the impact of it. Literally. No one called me a little girl.
"Don't. You. Dare. Call. Me. A. Little. Girl." I snarled at her.
"Aria!" Ella exclaimed, clearly hurt by my behavior towards the guest.
I looked around the room one last time before storming up the stairs. I slammed the door to my room and collapsed onto my bed. I curled my body up into a ball and sat against the wall by my bed, furthest away from the door. Tears started pouring down my face as my mind raced, thinking about everything that had just happened.
I had just made a show that an immature girl would put on. I just showed Ezra how fragile and young I really was. What if everything that just happened made him realize that he should not be with me? That I really was just a little girl with a crush? I started crying harder as these thoughts flew through my head. My dad said I had no idea what love was. What if he was right? All the feelings that envelop me when I'm with Ezra, are they real? They feel so right and so real, and I've never felt the way I do when I'm with him with anyone else before. What Ezra and I have has to be love. It can't be anything else. We were meant to be together. Without Ezra, I felt nothing. It was like I was missing my other half. It was true, what Ezra and I have, no matter what anyone else said. And as cheesy as it sounds, I knew that he was my soul mate.
"Aria?" I heard a voice softly ask from my doorway.
I lifted my head from my knees and wiped my tears away with the back of my hand. My mom was standing before me, with a distraught look on her face.
"I'm sorry, for how I reacted down there." Her expression suddenly changed to sorrow.
I didn't say anything, but just pulled my legs closer to my body in response.
"Jackie and Ezra left." She sat down at the edge of my bed.
I continued staying silent.
"How long has this been going on?" She pressed.
"A while." I grunted. I wasn't going to give her the answers she was wanting, because I was still mad at her for her reaction.
"Your teacher, Aria? Really?" A loud banging interrupted her.
Byron stalked into my room and slammed the door behind him.
"What the hell was that?" He asked violently. "You can't just drop a bomb like that and expect me to be okay with it! And in front of guests!"
"One guest," Ella pointed out. "I don't think we can classify Ezra as a guest at this point, if he's dating Aria."
Byron closed his eyes in frustration.
"How long has this been going on? Because I'm pretty sure that he's your teacher." Byron said though gritted teeth. Damn, he was pissed.
"Since before school started." I whispered.
"Thank God." Ella exclaimed.
"I don't care what you guys say about us. I love him and he loves me. And there's nothing you can do to change that." I defended Ezra and I. Nothing they could say to me would ever change the way I felt about him. By now my tears were all dried up. No more acting like a little girl anymore. It was time to step up and defend my relationship with the love of my life.
"Did it never cross your mind that this was wrong?" Byron questioned. "Are you the reason why he was so eager to get the job at Hollis?"
"It's not wrong. And yes, I am." I informed him.
"I can't believe this. I basically gave him a way to date you legally. I just handed that shortcut over to him! How could I be so stupid?" He exclaimed.
"Byron, it wasn't you, don't blame yourself." Ella said.
"I can't deal with this right now, but I most certainly don't approve of it." Byron said, as he got up and left the room.
Ella sighed, watching her frustrated husband leave the room.
"He's not forcing you?"
"NO!" I exclaimed. "Mom, you know Ezra, he would never do anything like that to anybody!"
She nodded in agreement. "Just making sure."
"If we tell you that we don't want you to see him anymore, I don't think you'll listen." She sighed.
"You're right." I agreed. "I won't."
"Okay." She said.
"Okay what?" I asked, confused.
"If he takes the job at Hollis that your father offered him, then I guess there's nothing we can do to stop you two from being together."
"Right." I nodded.
"Ezra's a good guy… I mean, I just don't like the fact that he's your teacher." She grimaced.
"Mom. We didn't know we were going to be teacher and student when we met. We kind of just, clicked, you know? And then we found out and we tried to stay away from each other… but we just couldn't."
She nodded.
"I need to go finish cleaning up… but can we talk about this more tomorrow?" Ella got off the bed and started walking towards the door.
"Yeah." I nodded as she left the room.
I closed my eyes and let out a sigh, thankful that dropping that bombshell with my parents was over. I was thankful that my mom was more understanding than my father. I loved Ezra, he loved me, and there was nothing my parents could do to change that.
Hope you guys liked it! REVIEW PLEASE!
Don't forget to check out my other story, Late Nights!