"EZRA," the man behind the counter bellowed, "it's time." He removed his hand from Aria's as he slowly stumbled back to reality. He removed his eyes from Aria's and turned awkwardly towards the cashier. During her brief introduction to the gorgeous man, who she knew now was Ezra from the man's yelling; the small store had filled with another 30 people Aria estimated as Ezra went and sat on the small wooden stool. He had a copy of his book in his hand as he smiled at Aria nervously as his identity as the author in the poster was exposed. Aria's smile just grew as she went and grabbed one of the remaining seats at the back of the reading area, not taking her eyes off of Ezra. Aria had a clear view of him from her seat, and him her. He began reading passages from the book, reading them towards Aria each time he raised his head from the book. Aria wasn't listening to what he was saying anymore, she was thinking of the gorgeous man who couldn't take his eyes off of her as he recited from his first novel with happiness and a twinge of nervousness. Aria stared at the way his mouth glazed over the words he had written with care, and she was fascinated.
As Ezra finished his reading, the modest audience clapped their praise and motioned towards Ezra to get copies of his book signed. Ezra smiled gloriously towards Aria who returned the bright smile, before he moved to a signing desk and was engulfed by his audience.
20 minutes later, the store was almost clear and Aria got off the chair she'd remained on during the whole event, before walking slowly towards Ezra. The final woman in the line thanked him for his signature and complimented the novel before moving out of the line to pay for the book. And then it was just Aria facing Ezra.
"You know, I haven't even let my parents read this yet," he gestured towards a book in front of him, "No one I care about has ever heard my writing, until today," Ezra said before sheepishly lowering his head, embarrassed by his confession to this beautiful girl. Aria smiled softly and put her hand on his. Ezra's eyes quickly moved to his hand which had Aria's smaller one resting on top, before moving his eyes slowly to meet hers, his mouth agape.
"You are a fabulous writer. I could tell you were speaking from your soul. I was fascinated," Aria said.
Ezra blushed, and swallowed deeply before opening his mouth to respond.
"I hope you don't think I'm crazy," Ezra said "but I feel like I've known you for a long time. I feel like your eyes can see straight into my soul, and…" Ezra scratched the back of his neck with his free hand before continuing, "You have left me speechless, Aria. I'm glad you heard me read today. It feels like you were meant to be here. Fate," he barely told as he timidly now moved his hand from under Aria's.
Aria stared at him, her eyes bright and understanding. She walked around to the same side of the desk as Ezra, grabbed his hands and motioned him to stand up as she put her hand under his chin. She leant up and kissed Ezra slowly and with care. Her being so bold had Ezra amazed and grateful. They both pulled away slightly to stare into each other's eyes before Ezra softly spoke.
"My name is Ezra, by the way. I didn't get a chance to tell you earlier. And Aria," he moved closer to her face, so his warm breath was against her lips, "You have taken my breath away."
With these words, Aria softly grabbed the sides of his face, kissing him again as his hands grabbed the sides of her face with care, as they gracefully moved their lips against each other. It felt like this was where they were meant to be, where their lives had been moving towards all this time; this moment, each other clasped in the hands of one another, the rest of the world irrelevant around them.