Chapter 2; Love

Aria:

If I had been dating anyone else, I'm 100% sure that I would have been feeling really embarrassed about what just happened. Instead, I left Hollis feeling even more confident in our relationship and that I was certain Ezra and I were in a mature, adult relationship. As I walked through the corridor of Hollis, I suddenly became very aware that I was dressed far too formally for a college student. I also started to panic in case I ran into my dad; what was I supposed to say? 'Oh hey dad, don't mind me, I was just trying to have sex with my older boyfriend, you know, the one you hate?' I walked as quickly as I could back to my car, threw my heels and coat in the back seat, put on Ezra's jumper that was, for some reason, in my car and started the engine. I just pulled out of the car park when my dad drove in. I gave him a quick wave, and sped off down the road, back to Rosewood.

I got home at just after 2, and decided to have a bath. I filled it to the brim with bubbles, and just laid there for a while, happy in the knowledge that no A messages were being sent to me, I had no homework to do, and that I was going to spend tonight with Ezra. Everything was perfect.

After about an hour I got out the bath, wrapped a towel around my hair and another around my body, and went into my room to find some clothes for tonight. I'd just finished pulling on a pair of jeans and my comfiest jumper when my dad knocked on the door.

"Come in," I said, as I sat down at my desk to detangle my hair. My dad entered, looking both worried and angry.

"Dad, is everything okay?" He took a deep breath before answering.

"Why were you at Hollis today?" Blood drained from my face; I should have guessed this was coming. "And don't say you were there looking for me, you know I don't start until 2pm on Fridays, and you looked awfully dressed up for a quite chat with your dad". He knew. Quick Aria, I thought, think!

"Yeah, I was modelling for some freshman at the university," I lied. "They're doing a fashion module and they asked me to help out." I smiled at my dad, and carried on with my hair, trying to act as normal as possible, but my heart was beating faster than a hummingbird.

"Oh, okay". He believed me. Damn, I thought, sometimes I hate being a good liar. "Well how'd it go?"

"It was great," I said, now attempting to plait my hair. "It took longer than expected, and but I'm really happy with the results." I smiled at myself in the mirror.

"Well when can I see the photos?" Blood re-drained from my face, again.

"I'm not sure, but I'll let you know," lying was definitely becoming second nature at this point. "The girls who took the photos aren't great at editing, they might take a while to get the photos sorted".

"Okay, no problem. Where are you off to tonight?"

"Spencer's. We're having take out and watching a few movies".

"Okay, have fun." He took out his wallet and gave me $40. "I know this is a lot, but make sure you have a good night." He smiled at me, and left the room, closing the door behind him.

I quickly turned on some music so that my dad couldn't hear the deep sigh of relief I was about to release. How did I get away with that?

Ezra:

As I watched Aria leave my office, I couldn't believe how amazing she was. She was definitely something special, and I never wanted to let her go. Tonight I was going to make it really special, to show her how much she means to me, whether we end it in bed together or not. I decided to skip my last class, and go into the city to get some supplies. As I walked out the building, I sent a quick email to John, asking him to cover my class, and I made sure Aria had left the car park before I got anywhere near my car.

It didn't take me long to get into the city, the roads were surprisingly silent, but it meant I had more time to shop and get everything ready for tonight. Aria wanted it to be special, and I was going to make damn sure that that happened for her. My first time was with Maggie, and it was horrible and messy and I didn't want that to happen to Aria. It was so sweet of her to dress up for me, but that wasn't how I wanted to spend our first time together. I bought several candles; both pillar and tea lights, some blankets, roses and lilies.

By the time I got back home, it was about 4ish; I'd spent way too much time deciding on what to buy, but I was happy with what I had. I texted Aria saying that she should come round at 5:30pm, leaving me an hour and a half to set up and get dinner. I started by pushing the sofa against the balcony doors, leaving us enough space on the floor, which I covered in blankets and pillows. I then put candles on every surface I could, making sure they wouldn't cause a fire. I then put the three bouquets of roses I bought into their vases and placed them next to the TV and one on the floor next to us, and I did the same with the lilies I bought. Looking at the clock, I realised I only had 45 minutes left to get the food before Aria arrived.

Aria:

I got to Ezra's apartment at 5:35pm; I usually hated being late, but I had to park around the block so that no one saw my car. I really hated all this sneaking around. I knocked on the door at 3B and gasped when Ezra opened the door. He had his best jumper and jeans on, but that wasn't what made me gasp. He had completely romanticised the apartment; there were candles, flowers and blankets everywhere and there was even dinner already on the table. I gave Ezra a massive kiss, and began to cry happy tears. Ezra ushered me into his apartment, wiped away my tears and kissed me again.

"I love you," he said, and gestured towards the table.

"I love you too," I replied as I grabbed a plate of Chinese food and sat on the floor. Ezra did the same, but he also brought over a bottle of champagne.

"I know you're underage, but I won't tell if you won't," he winked at me. Jokes about our age were definitely becoming easier to make. Ezra put on my favourite film, an old black and white movie called The 39 Steps. I don't know why it's my favourite, but it's my go-to Sunday afternoon movie. We were having the perfect evening; everything felt right. Then it felt really right. It was 11pm by the time we'd finished our third film of the evening, and I wasn't ready to end the evening yet. While Ezra got a pie out from the fridge for us, I quickly drained my glass of champagne and took off my jumper, revealing a skimpy vest top underneath. I watched Ezra as he carefully cut two slices of pie and put them on a plate. When he brought them over, I knew what was going to happen, and so did he. And it was then that I realised what tonight had been about; the roses, lilies, candles, romantic evening. He was giving me the movie perfect first time. Ezra set the two plates down next to the blanket, and after he did, I mounted him and began kissing him. Better late than never, I thought.

Ezra returned the kiss, with the same passion as he did earlier. He turned us over so I was on the floor on my back; Ezra started giving me small kisses along my neck and across my right shoulder. He pulled down my strap and did the same to the left shoulder. I went to pull off his jumper, but Ezra stopped me. "No," he muttered into the crook of my neck. "Not tonight, baby". Ezra made a trail of kisses down my arm and toward my right hand.

"Aria," he began to say, his left hand holding my right while his right hand supported my back. "I love you. And I promise to protect you, now and always." He reached behind me and pulled out a small box from under his bed.

I gasped. Oh god, I thought, is he proposing?

Reading my thoughts, Ezra said, "no, I'm not proposing marriage. I'm proposing us. This ring-" He pulled out a simple silver ring that splits to form two overlapping bands with a row of diamonds on the top band "- I propose that we will always be together, and we will do what feels right for us, not other people." He put the ring on my middle finger. "Wear this ring to remind you that we know we're right for each other, and to do what makes us happy." Suddenly, the romanticised apartment was the second most romantic thing to happen to me today. I reached up and kissed Ezra, showing him how much this meant to me, thanking him that he wanted this just as much as I did. Ezra broke the kiss, kissed me on my forehead and sat back up. "Do you want to put another film on? I don't know what el-" No, I didn't want to watch another film. I cut him off by kissing him again, jumping into his lap, determined to get my way. I wanted all of Ezra, this night was the night that would change everything, the night that made us stronger.

I pulled back and took my top off, revealing my bare chest. Ezra smiled and began kissing me again, running his hands up my back, over my bum and legs. I tugged at his top, begging him to let me take it off and he did. He too, was wearing nothing under his jumper. I wanted to make a joke about how we'd both obviously planned this easy path to nakedness, but I didn't have the time. I needed him. Ezra stood up and went over to his bedside table to get protection and on his return his took his pants off, leaving him in just his underwear. He knelt on the floor and paused; he just looked at me.

"Ezra, it's okay. I want this," I assured him, but he seemed unconvinced. I then unbuttoned my jeans. stood up to slide them off, and then knelt down in front of Ezra. "I really want this, I want you, all of you. I want us to experience every part of being in a relationship. It's okay," I reassured him, giving him my smile that confirmed my words. Ezra leaned in and kissed me again, this time it was different; it was passionate, but it was slow and gentle. We laid back on the floor, and removed each other's underwear. We never took our eyes off each other as Ezra prepared himself and broke through my virginity. It hurt, like really hurt, but it felt right.

We must have made love at least 3 times, each time we grew closer as a couple, and fell deeper and deeper in love.