Chapter 2

Aria POV

Aria gave her bedroom one last look, before slinging her duffel bag over her shoulder and taking her two big suitcases in her hands as she headed down the hall to the front door to wait for Ezra. Her big brown eyes scanned everything as she gnawed on her lip, her heart filling with sadness. She was going to miss her house. She had grown up in this very house. She had some good memories, especially with her father. God, she missed him so much. She could feel the rush of tears forming, but she pushed them back. She wasn't going to cry anymore. She had promised herself. She couldn't keep crying. It wasn't going to bring her father back, or help her. She didn't want to leave everything she knew, not this house, her friends and her father's friends, but most of all, her boyfriend. She didn't want to leave Jacob. They had been together since middle school. They had said their goodbyes last night, but she didn't know if she could ever not see him. She didn't want to be away from him. She wouldn't be able to withstand the distance. She couldn't survive off phone calls. She released an angry breath. It wasn't fair, none of this was fair. Not her father's death, having to leave Jacob and her friends, her house, and moving away. She felt so empty, so alone. She walked out the front door, glancing back over her shoulder at her house, and then she stepped outside. She dropped her two suitcases on the ground and let the duffel bag slide down her shoulder, before siting down on one of her suitcases. She folded her arms crossed her breasts, flipping her long dark curly hair over shoulder as she peered down the street, searching intently for Ezra's car. She had no idea what he was driving.

She picked at an old scab on her knee, before tugging down her short skirt. She propped her elbows on her knees as she bowed her head, running her fingers through her velvety curls, the lush locks falling back down. She looked back up, her eyes searching again. Where was him? Was he even coming? Did he even want to take her in? She didn't expect him to. She could take care of herself. She didn't need a legal guardian. She didn't' need anyone. It had felt weird seeing him again, Ezra. She hadn't seen him for so long. She thought back to her father's funeral. He had looked exactly the same when she had been a child, aside for looking older, having grey hair in his dark hair, and walking with a limp. She wondered what had happened to him. A strange feeling had burst inside of her as her eyes had met his pretty baby blue ones over the crowd of people. He still looked handsome, had always been gorgeous to her. He was so good-looking for an older man. He had been her secret crush as a child. She had gone gaga when he had shown her affection as a child. He was still tall, broad-shouldered and lean, and solid. She had wanted him to come over to her yesterday, to talk with her. She hated how he hadn't been able to get through the crowd of people to reach her. She had watched him throughout the ceremony, wanting to catch his eyes. He had looked so sad, so lonely and so angry. She couldn't blame him, she was angry too. As she had locked gazes with him, she wasn't able to forget the churning in her stomach and being short of breath, and feeling warm all over.

Aria knew she was attracted to him, she wanted him. She had always wanted him. She wanted him to touch her, to kiss her, to be on top of her, and to be inside of her. She was so glad that she wasn't a virgin. She could hardly believe she wanted these things from him, but she did. He was old enough to be her father. He was her father's best friend. She shook her head, pushing away her attraction. No matter how much she wanted to have him in that way, she couldn't act on it. It wasn't right. It was wrong. She couldn't betray her father. Besides, he was probably married and had children. That thought made her frown as one of her fingers went back to pick at her scab. But, for the time she had known him, she had never seen him with any girlfriends. Was he gay? She didn't want him to be. She got up and stretched, feeling her snug shirt pulled tighter over her big round breasts. She didn't want to sit back down; her feet were going to sleep. She looked down the street once more. There was still no sign of him. She didn't know what it was going to be like to live in Rosewood, to live with Ezra. She wasn't thrill about making new friends, or starting a new school. She just wanted to be free to do what she wanted. She didn't want to follow anyone else's rules. She hoped Ezra wasn't strict. If he was, then they were going to have some problems. She was willful, opinionated and independent, and didn't like to follow rules. She didn't want to be difficult, but she wasn't going to change who she was.

She had wanted to speak to him at the feeding, but he hadn't shown up. Where had he gone? Before she could even name some places, she observed as a black 2013 Cadillac ATS pulled up in front of her house. She knew it was him. He got out the car and made his way up to her, his limp more pronounced today than yesterday. He moved stiffly, like he was hurting. His mouth was set in a hard-line as his baby blues eyes gazed up at her. She couldn't tear her eyes away as she focused on his face, feeling knots start to form inside of her stomach as heat rushed into her cheeks. As he got closer, she could see him closely. He looked bad. He had red rims around his eyes, bags underneath his eyes and he was scruffy like he hadn't shaved in days, and he clothes were wrinkled. Her heart ached for him, feeling concern. She could feel herself become aroused, her panties becoming very wet as his eyes continued to bore into hers. She pulled her eyes away, not wanting to feel these urges. She couldn't. She unconsciously took a step back when he climbed up the brick steps to stand in front of her. He was so tall; he towered over her small frame. She looked back into his face, her long lashes lifting slowly. She sucked in a breath, feeling herself start to hyperventilate at his closeness. His eyes were so incredibly blue, seeing the many age lines at the corner of his eyes, but she still found him beautiful. She couldn't speak, tying to form words unsuccessfully. She was never speechless.

"Are you all ready to go?" Ezra asked, reaching down to take her two suitcases in his hands. "We have a long ride ahead of us".

She could smell the strong scent of alcohol mixed with his aftershave. The odd combination did funny things to her stomach.

"Yes," Aria said, lifting up the duffel and slung it over her shoulder. She followed him towards his car. She saw how bad he was limping, but he didn't once complain about the heaviness of her suitcases. She didn't want him to hurt even more. "I don't mind taking one of my suitcases. I packed a lot".

"It's fine," He grunted as he placed them inside of the trunk next to his. He then pointed to her duffel bag. "Are you going to put that one back here too?"

"No," Aria said rather quickly as she hugged the bag tightly to her body, seeing as one of his eyebrows shot up. She forced herself to get a grip. It was just a bag, a very valuable one with her most prized processions. She wanted to keep it close. She met his curious gaze, feeling herself melt under his blue eyes. Were they always so distracting? "I meant to say, is that I want to have it up front with me".

"Okay," Ezra said as he shut the trunk, and then he headed over to the diver side to get into the car. She walked up to the passenger side, opening up the door and getting in as she put her duffel bag between her legs on the floor. "Have you eaten? I could stop at Cracker Barrel".

"No, I was too busy packing my things," Aria said as a hand traveled through her hair, disarranging the soft curls, before they cascaded back around her face. She wanted her hair cut. It was too long. Not only that, it was also annoying and it took too long to blow-dry. "Cracker Barrel sounds nice".

He took a right, then a left, before coming up on the restaurant in question. He pulled into the jam-packed parking lot, finding a park up at the front. They both got out and headed inside, he placed his hand at the small part of her back as she walked beside him. It felt nice, comforting. She shook her head, her long dark hair whipping about in angry swirls. She had to get a grip. She couldn't think about his hand on her. It was innocent. As they followed a waitress to a table in the middle of the restaurant, she couldn't help looking sideways at him, glimpsing at his strong profile as she pressed her mouth harder together. He really was handsome, feeling herself swooning as she cradled her right wrist. What was wrong with her? She had to stop this. She had known him since she was a baby. She kept up with his long strides; he was limping even more as he favored his left leg. She could see the tightness in his jaw, knowing that he was experiencing pain. She pulled her eyes away from him as she moved from his side, sitting down at the square table. She wanted to help him. She didn't know why he didn't voice his discomfort. Was he used to it? Did he take medication for it? Was he avoiding his pills for a reason? Did he want to feel pain? What had happened to him? Did it come from a work injury? She knew that he taught English at the high school in Rosewood, but she didn't know what else he did. She looked over her menu that the smiling waitress had given them.

"I'll have the Grandpa's Country Fried Breakfast," Ezra told the waitress, who was flashing him flirtatious smiles as she wrote his order down. He didn't seem to notice, or care. Aria wanted to barf at her lack of morals. Ezra breakfast consisted of Two Eggs cooked to order with Grits, Sawmill Gravy and Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits along with real Butter and the best Preserves, Jam n' Apple butter, a Hash brown casserole, and a Country Fried Streak. "And I'll have a glass of orange juice to drink".

Aria couldn't stand the way the too skinny waitress was making gooey eyes at Ezra. She really didn't have any shame. She rolled her eyes, looking over her menu again as she thought about what to have. She could feel Ezra's blue gaze on her as she fought to stay calm, her hands becoming clammy. Aria knew that she shouldn't, but she looked up as she met his eyes across the table. Something electric passed between them, seeing how his pretty blue eyes scanned every inch of her face, before falling down towards her full red lips, and then he looked away. She felt shaky. What was that? Why had he looked at her like that?

"I'll have the Wholesome Mornin' Sampler," Aria said hoarsely as she read off the menu, before looking over at Ezra. She wanted to catch his eyes again, needing those baby blues on her. She got her wish as his eyes came back to hers again, his eyes widen just a fraction, and then he tore his eyes away as though she made him nervous. Did she, did she make him nervous? Did he not find her beautiful? She knew she was very lovely, but she wasn't conceited. She hated conceited girls. She also hated catty girls. She also hated meat-headed guys. Her breakfast consisted of Low-Fat Vanilla Yogurt and Seasonal Fruit topped with Honey Granola mix Almonds and Dried Fruit, along with Two Eggs cooked to order, served with a Wild Maine Blueberry, and Turkey Smoked Sausage Patties. "And I'll have An Old-Fashioned Lemonade to drink".

The waitress took their menus and left to get their drinks. She fiddled with her Shamballa bracelets as she tucked her bottom lip into her mouth, sucking gently. She glanced over at Ezra again, watching him as he watched the other diners. He didn't speak. She didn't remember him being so quiet when she was a little girl; then again she had been a child. She didn't understand him. Why wouldn't he look at her? Why wouldn't he talk to her? Did he not want to be around her? Did he always look so sad? Distant? Her cheeks flamed as she remembered crawling into his lap as a little girl, wrapping her legs around him. She had been so close to him, he had felt so warm and smelled so good. She was happy for the distraction as the waitress brought back their drinks and their food. They ate in silence as well. She watched as he popped Ibuprofen into his mouth and washed it down with orange juice. When they were done eating, they bagged their leftover food, he paid, and then they left out of the restaurant and walked back to his car. He kept his hands to himself this time. She sulked, wanting to feel his touch. She took out her sketch book as his steered the car onto the road. She had always been an artsy person, sketching the scenery around her as the car zoomed past. She had talent, the point of the pencil making light strokes as she captured what she saw. Everything was beautiful to her, nature, and all kinds of people. She liked to sketch everything she saw. She stopped drawing, the bottom of the pencil pressed against her lips as she flipped through her other sketches. She had sketched all her friends, her father, and even Jacob. She smiled down at her creations.

Without looking over at him, she started to sketch Ezra. She sketched him from memory, his face coming to live on her paper as she went into detail. Her hand moved across the paper as though it had a mind of its own, forming the shape of his face, then drawing his eyes and nose, then his chin, and then she drew in his hair. She added everything she saw when she had studied the planes of his face, including his age lines and other markings. She wanted to make her sketch a replica of the person beside her. She wanted to do him justice, her hand moving fiercely now, almost angry as her brows furrowed in concentration. He was just as beautiful on paper as he was in person. She had a wish to sketch all of him, every bare inch. She bit her lip, wanting to know what he looked like without any clothes on. She knew that he would be just as captivating. She could feel herself heating up, feeling the moisture that broke out on her chest as she bit down on her pencil, breathing as though she was having trouble. Her other hand nestled inside her hair, keeping the curly mass from falling into her face as she held it back. What would he look like? Would his chest be hairless or hairy? Was it well-defined and muscular? Did he have abs? Were they taut and rock solid? She turned her head slightly, her eyes roaming over his biceps as she mutely cursed inside of head as she got wet again. The arms of his T-shirt strained so amazingly as she panted like a bitch in heat. She begrudgingly pulled her eyes away, not wanting him to catch her staring. What did his back look like? Was it always strong and muscular? She imagined them rippling. What about his ass? Was it also muscular and tight? He was in such great shape for a guy his age. He really didn't look old to her, the only things giving his age away was the silver strands in his hair and the age lines etched into his face. She could feel the place between her thighs thumping like mad as she squeezed them together as she fought her sexual frustration down. She needed sex, wanting to feel a guy's cock filling her.

Aria put her sketch book away, not able to concentration anymore. All she could think about was Ezra, seeing him naked. She wondered if he was any good at fucking. She bet he was. She could literally feel the raw sex appeal rolling off of him. She wanted him to fuck her hard and so good. She needed him to pound into her pussy fast. She didn't care about the huge age difference, or about him being her legal guardian. She was a very sexual person. She was also very sad and lonely. She needed physical contact. Her hand nestled deeper into her curly locks, gripping her strands as though they were a life line as she kept herself from jumping Ezra's bones. She imagined herself lowering down on his very hard cock, feeling as he thrust so deep and hard as he filled her to the hilt. She could even her imagined herself rocking back and forth on him, huffing and puffing as she bounced on him as she rotated her hips. She imagined his hands squeezing the sides of her waist as he brought her down on his erection repeatedly as she scratched and moaned. Imagined them moving fast and wildly against one another as he continued to fuck her. Even imagined the sweat, the sounds and moans and groans, and feel of skin hitting against skin. She even imagined the smell of sex that lingered in the air, feel her cum so thick and slimy bathing his cock, and feel his semen rushing up inside of her. Could feel her near approaching, hear his grunts as her inner walls constricted around him as he pounded his cock harder inside of her, and heard herself screaming as white-hot sensations rumbled through her body as she came in a sea of passion. She imagined orgasms making her shudder over and over as he also came hard, his body trembling as he held her close. She crunched down on the fantasies. She had to stop. They were making her loony tunes. She could never be with Ezra like that. He would never want her in a sexual way.

She closed her eyes, deciding to get some sleep. Even in her dreams thoughts of Ezra haunted her. With her eyes closed, she didn't notice Ezra sneaking glances over at her, his baby blues unreadable as they took in her delicate facial features, then his eyes roamed over her body as he took in everything, and then he look back at the road as he shook his head. His hands tighten around the steering wheel as he kept his gaze on the road in front of him, listening to the light sounds of Aria's breathing. He looked like a man who was struggling to stay neutral towards the girl beside him. He looked back over at her, before dragging his eyes away for good. Her eyes fluttered open, spying the welcome sign that announced they had arrived in Rosewood. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, her fingers running through her hair and yawned, before she looked out the window. The town was quiet and small as he drove them towards his house. She tried desperately to take as many places in as she could, before they passed it. She liked what she saw of Rosewood so far, feeling excited to start a new school year and making new friends. It wasn't long for they pulled up at his house, her big brown eyes drifting over the neighborhood. She got out of the car, reaching down to retrieve her duffel bag, then she walked around the back of the car to join him as he took their suitcases out of the trunk, and then she led the way to the front door as he fished out his keys from his pocket. She walked into the small, slightly decorated house as he brought the suitcases in. She didn't ask him if he needed help, she knew he would reject her offer.

"Your bedroom is this way," Ezra said as he started walking down the little hallway. She followed, keeping as much space between their bodies as she could. She couldn't help as her eyes dropped on their own accord to look at his ass. She sucked on her bottom lip, shivering as she forced her eyes back up. She wasn't quick enough, her small body slamming into his back. One of his hands shot out, keeping her steady as she held onto his arm for balance. He felt great, loving the way his muscles felt under her touch. She was standing too close to him, her insides feeling like mush. She was breathing too hard, her eyes holding his. She could make out all the lines on his face, his baby blues so intense. She felt herself moving before she could even stop herself, stretching up as her hands snaked up his broad chest, and then around his neck, before pressing her lips to his. She continued kissing him for few minutes, before drawing back, her eyes a dark brown with hints of gold as they twinkled. He moved back, causing her arms to drop back down at her sides. "I'm sorry".

Was he serious? She had kissed him.

"No, I'm sorry," Aria mumbled, her hand going into her long curly locks as she wrapped her other arm across her chest. She couldn't kiss him again, couldn't touch him. She had loved kissing him, feeling the hardness of his body up against hers, and feeling his hard mouth against her softer one. He had tasted like mint, the smell making her light-headed. She tore her eyes away from him, looking around her new bedroom. It was nice. It wasn't too girly. It was decorated simply. She loved simple. All she needed were pictures of her sketches littering the walls. She gazed back at him, her eyes caressing him as he stood back awkwardly. "I like it".

"I'm glad," He gave her a small smile, before it fell away. He looked uncomfortable, avoiding her gaze as he looked around the bedroom. He was acting like he had never been kissed. But that couldn't be possible. He was at least 40-years-old. "I went with a yellow paint. I remember it being your favorite color as a child".

Aria smiled beautifully at him, loving that he remembered her favorite color. What else did he remember about her?

"Yellow is still my favorite color," Aria said, letting her duffel bag drop to the floor. It was starting to hurt her shoulder. She massaged it as she walked around the bedroom, getting a feel for it. The atmosphere felt amazing. "Did you paint the room yourself?"

"When I had free time," He said, his eyes following her as she checked out the rest of her bedroom. She walked into the bathroom, loving the single sink vanity, big shower, and the color of the bathroom. It was blue. "I wanted to have everything painted before you came to stay with me".

"I love it," Aria said as she walked back out of the bathroom, her eyes looking around her bedroom again. "You did a wonderful job, thanks".

She wanted to hug him, but fearing that she'll do more than just that. Why did it feel so weird? She used to hug him all the time as a child. Why did she have to be attracted to him?

"Thank you, but I had some help," Ezra said as he started to back of the room. "And you're welcome. This is your home now, so I want you to feel comfortable. My bedroom is down the hall to the right, but if you need anything, I'll be in my office".

She watched him go, not missing how he practically ran out of the room to get away from her. She pulled her eyes from the empty doorway, blowing out a breath, and then she began to unpack all her clothes and other things as she got settled in. She hung all her sketches on the wall, including the one she had done in the car with Ezra, her fingers stroking the paper as she traced his face. He was so gorgeous. He made her weak in the knees. When she was done, she fell back on the full-sized bed, expelling a breath. What the hell was she doing? She shouldn't have kissed him. She knew better. She knew it was wrong, but she had done it anyway. Why was she forcing herself on him? He didn't want her like that. He saw her as a daughter, someone who was underage. She buried her hands in her hair, wanting to yank every strand out from the root. She bit her lip, not knowing what to do. Her crush on him as a child had turned into a full-blown attraction. She didn't care about his age; it just made her more drawn to him. He was lost and lonely like her. She had to stop thinking of him in that way as she got up from the bed. She decided to take a cold shower, hoping that it would wash her attraction for Ezra away.

What did you guys think? Please review and let me know. I personally loved this chapter. And I really love this story.