CHAPTER SEVEN
EZRA
Months had gone by and seasons had melted into each other until it was suddenly summer. He had ran into Aria here and there but she never texted or called him. As much as he told himself not to get discouraged, that she would come around, he was honestly starting to worry that maybe she never would. Without warning, it was suddenly Hardy's wedding day. So here they were, fixing cufflinks and straightening ties in a tiny room off the back of Rosewood's one Catholic church. Hardy was the most nervous that Ezra had ever seen him and he found it just a little bit funny as he watched his best friend run around like a chicken with its head cut off.
"Hardy, Man, calm down," Ezra chuckled as he finished attaching the last cufflink on his shirt sleeve. He straightened his vest and reached around Hardy for his suit jacket. The one thing Hardy had gotten Amy to agree on for the wedding was the small wedding party. So it was literally just Ezra and Amy's maid of honor, her sister.
Hardy took a deep breath and shook his head, attempting to shake out his pre-wedding jitters. "I'm doing the right thing here, right? I mean, everyone eventually gets married. I didn't think I'd get married before you, though. And I had always assumed that I'd eventually get married because I knocked some chick up but this is the more respectable option, right?" He was babbling off questions that Ezra couldn't help but laugh at.
"Yeah, this is definitely the more respectable option. And you're ready for this. Shoot, I put on one of your cufflinks," Ezra replied as he started taking off the cufflink he'd just attached. There was a timid knock on the door and Hardy just about jumped out of skin at the noise. Ezra let out a laugh as his best friend calmed down enough to walk over and open the door.
"I'm sorry for interrupting, but the bride has insisted that since I got pictures of her and the maid of honor getting ready, I had to snap a few of you two as well," Aria said as she made eye contact with Ezra from across the room. Hardy stepped aside so she could come in and closed the door behind her. "I won't take long, I promise."
Ezra flashed her a smile before responding. "Aria, it's fine. Maybe you can help me calm this guy down. He's about as nervous as I've ever seen him."
Aria snapped a few photos of Ezra putting on his cufflink and Hardy buttoning his vest as she replied. "That's completely normal. I once watched a groom get completely smashed before heading out to the altar. During his vows he stopped, turned to his best man and proceeded to throw up all over his rented tux," Aria told them, laughing.
Ezra's eyes quickly snapped to Hardy's. "Don't even think about it. No alcohol until the reception." Hardy just responded with a roll of his eyes. The door once again opened as the priest stuck his head in.
"If you gentlemen are about ready, we're set to begin."
"Let's do this thing," Hardy said before taking a deep breath and walking out.
Ezra turned to Aria before leaving. "Will you be at the reception later? I saw that Lucas is here as well, so I didn't know…"
"I'll be there. If we don't have two events going on, we both usually cover a big gig like this. It's easier to capture everything this way," Aria replied with a small smile. She took a deep breath before timidly asking, "Save a dance for me?"
Ezra's eyes widened in astonishment. Maybe she was finally coming around. "Absolutely, you can't leave before you get one." He gave her a small smile back and opened the door wide to allow her pass before he followed. 'Well, here we go.'
"… Hardy came back to our dorm, covered head to toe in raw egg and feathers. I'll never think of chickens the same way ever again," Ezra laughed into the microphone. "In all seriousness, though, Hardy, you're starting down an incredible journey, one I'm sure will be filled with its own chicken stories. Keep on being you man, love your wife with that huge heart of yours, and remember to name your first born after me. Love you, Man." Ezra wrapped up his best man's speech and turned to hug Hardy before taking his seat as dinner was served.
"Thanks for everything you've done for me, Bro. I can't express how extremely grateful I am," Hardy told him as he took a sip from his champagne glass. "I'll make sure to return the favor when you get hitched."
Ezra gave him a small smile before responding, "I'll hold you to that." Ezra looked out into the crowd and quickly spotted Aria as she stood towards the back taking a few pictures of the wedding cake and gift table. Hopefully Hardy would be able to fulfill that promise one day.
The night seemed to fly by in a flurry of food, friends, music, and of course alcohol. Ezra kept a constant eye on his best friend to ensure he didn't get out of control, a favor to the bride, of course. Before he knew it, the DJ was calling all couples to the dance floor for the last song of the night. Ezra had yet to share a dance with Aria, but was unsure how she would respond to a couple's dance. He didn't need to worry about it, however, as he felt someone come to stand next to him at the bar. Looking over he caught Aria's soft smile and warm gaze, flashing her a smile in return.
"I believe that I was promised a dance…" she trailed off.
Ezra's smile grew even bigger as he took her hand in his and began to lead her to the dance floor. "You were and it would be my honor to share a dance with you." Wrapping his arms around her waist, he felt Aria start to fiddle with the short hairs at his nape when she wrapped her arms around his neck.
"It's amazing how you can speak right to my heart. Without saying a word, you can light up the dark. Try as I may I could never explain, what I hear when you don't say a thing."
Swaying gently to the music with Aria wrapped in his arms, Ezra couldn't erase the goofy smile from his face if he tried. He caught Hardy's stare from across the dance floor and his best friend flashed him a thumbs up before turning back to the dance with his wife. Ezra shook his head, laughing to himself.
Aria smiled up at him. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing. Hardy's just being Hardy," Ezra replied, smiling down at her. Aria suddenly seemed to get extremely nervous as she fidgeted with the collar of his shirt and diverted her gaze. "What's wrong? Are you ok?" Ezra asked with concern.
"You know, sometimes we make decisions that we wish we hadn't made and those choices cause us to miss out on some incredible opportunities. It's so hard to fix those mistakes once you've made them…" Aria whispered, staring off at a point beyond Ezra's shoulder.
Ezra knit his brow in confusion.
"It's just… I've been kicking myself for how I've treated you, Ezra. You've been nothing but incredibly kind to me and I've done nothing but give you a cold shoulder in return," Aria responded. She met his gaze and he could see the regret in her eyes, she truly felt sorry for how she had treated him.
Ezra reached up to smooth a stray curl of hair that was framing her beautiful face. "Aria, you have done nothing wrong. If I had felt any kind of animosity from you, I wouldn't still be waiting for you. I'm still here."
Those seemed to be the words that Aria was hoping she'd hear as a bright smile suddenly lit up her face. "Yes."
"Excuse me?" Ezra was beyond confused.
"Yes." He stilled their dancing for a moment to stare at her in complete confusion. "Yes, I will go on a date with you," Aria whispered.
It was Ezra's turn to bear a light shattering grin as he crushed Aria's small body into his own. He couldn't help but bury his face against her bare shoulder, and run his hand over her styled up-do as he let out a few laughs. He didn't think he'd ever been so happy in his entire life.
"So I'll take it you're happy then?" Aria muffled against his shoulder.
Ezra nodded his head in complete joy as he lifted his head to meet her gaze. "Absolutely. I've never been happier than I am right now." Nothing else was said as they stared into each other's eyes and swayed gently to the music.
"You say it best, when you say nothing at all."
As the song finished playing, Aria raised her hand to cup Ezra's check, running her fingers over the light stubble that had formed there. "I should get going; Lucas is waiting on me to help take pictures of the happy couple as they leave."
"Ok," Ezra replied in a low murmur. They didn't break from their embrace, instead standing still on the now empty dance floor.
"Can I call you? Or text you? Later, I mean. We can set up something then…"
"I've never stopped waiting. I'll continue waiting, now for that call. Goodbye, Aria," Ezra whispered.
She stood up on her tiptoes to press a light kiss to his cheek before responding. "Goodnight, Ezra." She left the dance floor to find her belongings and made her way to the exit, turning her head once to meet his stare and flash him a smile before disappearing into the night. Ezra shook his head and with a huge smile, went to wish his best friend farewell.
