Aria twirled in front of her long mirror. Every detail of her outfit matched the one from a year ago. Her red, blue, purple, and gray dress still fit her petite body perfectly. She had straightened her hair, even though it was shorter than last time. She had on her gray boots and her stop watch necklace. She took a deep breath before swinging her black leather jacket over her shoulders and stalking out of the room.
"Aria, where are you going?" Byron asked just as she was about to leave the house. Why couldn't he leave instead of Ella? She WAS more supportive of Aria and Ezra's relationship after all. But, it wasn't like it could get any worse. Ezra was out of a job and it was Byron's fault.
"I'm going out," she said simply.
"With who?" Her father challenged. He already knew it would be Ezra, and he knew she would tell him the truth.
"Ezra. It's our anniversary, did you know that?" Aria told him truthfully. Suddenly, Byron's face pinched up, his face becoming a deep shade of red. He really did look constipated. But, Byron let out a deep breath, knowing that if he didn't allow her to go; he would never regain her trust.
"Go. Have fun. No curfew tonight," he choked out. Aria smiled at her father's graciousness and with that, she rushed out the door.
She drove impatiently to the Apple Rose Grille, where Ezra had told her to meet him. It only took five minutes but she was there soon enough. She walked slowly into the Grille and immediately saw Ezra, sitting at the bar, reading Ulysses just as he had planned. He wore the same navy blue shirt and blue jeans as he did a year ago. She smiled and started tip-toeing towards him. She covered his eyes with her hands.
"Guess who?" she asked.
"Hmmm…. This is a tough one, isn't it, Aria?" Ezra chuckled. He turned on the stool and gave her a long kiss on the lips. He deepened the kiss right before the bartender cleared his throat. They broke apart, embarrassed.
"Scotch, please," Ezra ordered. Aria sat on the stool next to him. The bartender poured him the drink and slid it across the table.
"Happy anniversary, Ezra," Aria smiled, "My dad told me that I didn't have curfew tonight. I can stay at your place," she hinted. Ezra looked at her in surprise and took a swig from his glass. After everything that happened, Byron was trying to cope with their relationship. Aria could tell that Ezra was in disbelief, "Yes, really," she answered his silent question. She took the glass out of his hands and took a sip.
"Aria, I know that your parents are just coming to terms with us, I don't want to lose that trust because I'm letting you drink," he reminded her. She set the glass down looked at him, as if to say, "You're going to argue with me?"
"It's not the first time I've had a drink, Ezra. Plus it's our anniversary," she fought back. He opened his mouth, as if to speak, but closed it knowing that she wouldn't listen to him anyways.
"I'm not complaining," he said.
"Oh, so now you're going to get me drunk and take advantage of me? You know that's illegal, right?" Aria joked.
"If that's the top thing on my "Illegal Things To Do List", than I think I'm okay,"
Aria laughed and took another gulp of his scotch. She didn't get drunk easily. In fact, she's never actually gotten drunk. Byron would have killed her if he knew she was getting drunk with Ezra around.
"And speaking of our anniversary, I wanted to give you this," Ezra pulled out a long, black velvet box from his coat pocket. He put it in her hands gently. He had spent days, weeks even, trying to pick out the perfect present for her. Aria wasn't hard to find gifts for but he was under a lot of pressure.
"Ezra, this is amazing," she gasped, opening the box. Inside was a necklace. It was a diamond cut into a heart with blue sapphires creating a frame around it. The small charm was settled on a light silver chain, "This must have cost you a fortune. You didn't have to do this for me,"
"You were worth every penny," Ezra smiled his infamous boyish smile. He leaned in for a kiss but Aria pushed him away.
"It's my turn," she insisted. She rummaged through her bag and brought out a book. It was titled What People Don't See. She handed him the book and smiled. She never had let him see a story that she'd written outside of school but she figured that it was the right time. "This is a story I wrote over summer break. I had it edited and I hand wrote it in this journal," Aria explained.
Ezra ran the palm of his hand across the black leather notebook before opening the delicate page. On the inside cover, B-26 was scrawled in white ink, so it was visible. "Remember when you said you wanted to read my writing?" Aria remembered.
"Now's your chance. Don't lose it, it's the only copy," Now Aria leaned in for a kiss, got what she wanted. Ezra attached the necklace around her neck and then he paid the bill. They both took separate cars to his apartment.
"You look so beautiful," Ezra complimented, once they both got back to his studio. He picked her small figure up off the ground and twirled her around and planted a long kiss on her lips. They kept this up for a long time, until they both fell into bed, curled up in each other's arms.
"This is perfect," Aria whispered, kissing him sweetly on the lips.
"You're absolutely right,"
A/N: I hope you all liked it! R&R please!