Obsession
That night was Aria lying in her bed, tossing and turning. She had no clue what to do, or what she wanted. Her feelings told her that if she lost Ezra now, he would be gone forever. That wasn't an option. She just couldn't lose him. But how were they supposed to keep their relationship secret? It wouldn't work, and she couldn't let him risk everything for her. She didn't even know if he wanted that anymore. It would all be easier if she stayed with Noel, for all of them. But was that really what she wanted?
As the clock hit 2 AM, Aria suddenly knew what to do.
Aria shut the door to the car and walked into the apartment building. She reached door 3B and knocked on it. Suddenly this felt like a bad idea. He was probably asleep anyway. He maybe even wasn't home. Or worse: maybe he wasn't alone. Aria swallowed. He's a sleep. He won't answer the door. She was so prepared for that he wouldn't be home that she tripped and almost fell when the door flung open. And there he stood. His brown hair was messy and he was only wearing a pair of boxers. Her eyes flew over his body. His arm muscles was amazing, well, actually his whole body was. Wow.
The look upon Ezra's face told her that he hadn't been expecting her.
"Aria? What are you doing here? It's nearly two thirty in the morning!"
Aria realized that she was staring at his muscles. She cleared her throat. Back to reality, darling.
"I couldn't sleep. And... I know what I want, Ezra. Now I do. We need to talk. Now. I'm not leaving until you let me in and we've talked." Aria paused and took a deep breath. "I will never forgive myself if I don't do this now."
Ezra seemed to have a small battle inside of him. Finally, he stepped aside and let her in.
Ezra's apartment smelled like it always had: Kraft macaroni and cheese, cinnamon and something that was just Ezra. The whole apartment was so familiar. She loved it.
Aria sat down on Ezra's loveseat and he joined her.
"So... What do you want?" Ezra had, to Aria's disappointment, put on a t-shirt to cover his bare chest. He had a serious look on his face. Aria cleared her throat once again.
"I've been a jerk. Well, we both have. But I was so confused. Because... The reason to my confusion and to my hasitation was that I listened to my head and not my heart. I wasn't true to myself, Ezra. My head said that being with you was wrong, illegal, but being was Noel was totally llegal and that was what people wanted. Being with him was right. In all ways except... Except the feelings-way."
Aria stopped talking for a moment and closed her eyes. She had to finish this. She shut her eyes open and looked straight into Ezra's eyes.
"I don't know if this is what you want to hear, but I... I love you, Ezra. And I've always loved you, even though I tried to deny it to both of us. If I lose you now I'll never get you back, and... I can't live with that. I can't live with knowing that I could have saved us but that I was to cowardly to do it. I can't live without you. I've never felt the way about anyone as I feel about you. You know me better than I know myself. Everytime I was with Noel, everytime he kissed me... I always wished it was you. And for the record, you kiss way better than he does." Aria managed a small smile. "If loving you is wrong, I don't wanna be right. If you leave me now, Ezra, I don't know how to go on. But... if you decide to do... I... Now you know how I feel." Aria felt her eyes welling over with tears and closed them. She had never before revealed her feelings to someone like this in her whole life, and she wasn't sure Ezra could handle it. He would probably say something cold and kick her out, just like he had earlier. When she opened her eyes, she expected to see a angry Ezra in front of her. Instead, she saw the opposite. Tears was slowly rolling down his cheeks.
When he spoke, his voice was cracky and filled with emotions. "I love you too, Aria." And then he leaned forward and kissed her as Aria never had been kissed before. Ezra placed his hands around her neck and pulled her closer. They broke apart and Aria rested her forehead against Ezra's for a moment. Ezra kissed her softly and Aria kissed him back. When they broke apart, they both were smiling through the tears. Ezra watched her from top to toe and started to laugh.
"You're wearing your PJ's." He said teasingly.
Aria blushed. She had gone straight out of bed to Ezra's apartment. Her hair was a mess and she wasn't wearing any make-up, either. She hadn't thought of that when she decided to visit him.
"I guess I wanted you to take me for who I am." She teased back. He smiled.
"You're wierd in a loveable way." Ezra's eyes was back to normal – warm and alive. Aria's heart started to move like crazy when he gave her a passionated kiss. He let his hand caress the bare skin on her arm. Shivers went through her body. God, she wanted him so bad. Her whole body had longed for him for such a long time. She needed him. Now.
"Maybe... We could finish the thing we started on earlier today..." Aria said in a whisper, trying to sound as innocent as possible. They both stopped moving and she could feel Ezra's breath on her. He sighed. It didn't take more than that – once their bodies had touched, they were impossible to separate.
"What are you thinking of?" Ezra handed her a mug of coffee and sat down beside her on the floor. He caressed her back, ever so careful. They had a perfect sight of the breaking morning of Rosewood. Aria sighed slowly.
"Life, I guess. When you expect the worse, it all just changes and everything turns out better than you ever hoped for. That's kind of beautiful." She smiled and looked into Ezra's loving brown eyes. She reached out and began to play with a lock of his dark, curly hair. "I'm so happy that I have you, Ezra."
"That's well spoken, my love. And I'm happy that you are mine, too." He smiled, his eyes filled with warmth and love. From that moment, Aria knew that she and Ezra would have a long life together. He let his strong arms surround her naked body. Aria rested her head against his bare chest and together they watched the break of dawn.
