The sun had disappeared along with the last of the employees about two hours ago. Four cups that had once contained coffee sat on top of Ezra's desk, revealing their desperate attempts to stay awake. Going through the folders together had sped up the process, but proved to make the task no less tedious or boring.

They were on the last two folders when Aria snapped, "Ugh, I can't take this anymore. I'm done. I quit!"

Ezra, who had been sitting across from her reading from his own folder, looked up at her quizzically, "Uh…"

"Not this job," She clarified hastily. "I quit reading for today. I swear if I have to read another word on these pages I'm going to combust."

Ezra laughed, clearly amused by her childish behavior, "Okay, then we'll stop. Pick up where we left off on Monday, no big deal."

"No, it is a big deal. I'll have even more shit to do on Monday," She sighed, hanging her head in defeat.

"Then we'll stay after on Monday and finish up. At least then you'll have had the weekend to rest and be a little more sane," He flashed her a boyish grin.

"Are you saying I'm crazy now?" Aria raised her eyebrows in faux-shock.

"Of course not," Ezra rubbed the back of his neck. "But you see my proposition?"

"Yes and deal," Aria laughed. "Let's go home."

The two gathered their things and buttoned up their coats before walking to their cars in Boston's 31-degere weather.

The lot had been deserted, save a couple of cars that Aria assumed belonged to people on the janitorial staff and, of course, their own.

The pair muttered goodbye to each other, both too preoccupied by the cold that was making their bodies feel stiff to say more than one word, and got into their cars. Aria heard Ezra's sleek BMW roar to life and she attempted to stick her keys in the right spot and missed due to her shaking hands. When she finally got it right, her car did no more the sputter as she tried to start it.

"You've got to be kidding me," Aria whimpered, trying her car once more. A little sputter, then nothing. Her battery had fucking died.

"Ugh!" She screamed, banging her palms against the steering wheel. "Of course. Of course this would happen to me. Of fucking course." She reached over the middle console to grab her purse. Her phone, along with the number for Triple A were buried in there somewhere.

As she searched, she heard a knock on her window. Her head shot up, fear instantly coursing through her veins, the being quelled by the sight of Ezra shivering on the other side.

"Battery dead?" His voice was muffled by the glass of her window.

She nodded before opening the door, "Yeah. This piece of junk decided to crap out on me today of all days. You don't happen to have any jumper cables do you?"

He shook his head, "No. Do you need the number for Triple A?"

It was her turn to say no. "I should have it in my purse," She said through chattering teeth.

"Here, come get in my car while you call. I've got the heat on," He held out his hand to help her out. She took it, smiling appreciatively.

Once in his car, she pulled the number from her purse and dialed it. Ezra occupied himself by drumming on his steering wheel and scrolling through his phone as she talked.

"Hi, this is Aria Montgomery. I'm calling because my car battery died and I need…" Her voice trailed off as the woman on the other end stared in on her about not having service men available at the moment. "Are you serious? But..." The woman cut her off once again, this time telling her that she'd have to wait until tomorrow and that was the best she could do. "What am I supposed to do until..." Cut off again with meaningless apologies. "Okay, fine. The address is 3758 Pembroke Circle. I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow." She spat before hanging up.

"Tomorrow?" Ezra raised an eyebrow.

"It's not a total emergency," Aria mocked the woman's tone. "So yeah, tomorrow. Would it be too much of me to ask you to take me home? I'd rather not sleep in my car."

"I'll do you one better," Ezra suggested. "I'll take you to get something to eat, then I'll take you home. It's almost 8, you must be starving."

"I am, but you don't have to," Aria declined. "I'm sure I can find something to eat at home."

"No, it's fine. I'll take you to this little hole in the wall place I know of near the ports. It's about 30 minutes out, but it's amazing," Ezra's eyes lit up like he was talking about a person that he loved.

Aria hesitated a moment, the sighed, "Okay, but my curfew is midnight." She teased.

"You have a curfew? That's lame," Ezra changed his voice to sound like one of some stoner jock who thought he was the shit, basically the guys that Aria tried to avoid in high school.

"Shut up and drive," Aria waved her hand dismissively.

"Right," Ezra laughed. "Gotta get you there if I've gotta have you home by midnight."

Line break

Aria had been living in Boston for awhile now, but had never been to this part of town. It seemed that the whole block was one big hole in the wall. Eclectic groups of shops and restaurants lined both sides of the streets, the kinds that Liam had liked to avoid. He'd been positive that one could contract HIV from eating sushi in a place next to a downgraded version of a pawn shop and hookah bar, but saw nothing wrong with hanging around sleazy strip clubs and having a beer while he gazed at the silicone breasts and butts during his single days. Apparently the clubs were okay since they had a higher end address than this place.

She gazed out of the passenger side window at all of the foreign sights, her mouth slightly agape.

"Don't knock it till you try it," Ezra said, obviously mistaking her awe for uncertainty. "The Chinese food here is to die for."

Aria shook her head, smiling a little, "I'm not knocking it. I'm excited by it. I love places like this, a little disjointed and messy. It's more real than most of regal Boston."

Ezra laughed as he put the car in park, "Good. Maybe I'll bring you back here sometime when it's light out and we can shop around? I don't know many people who actually like coming here."

"Yeah, I'd like that," Aria couldn't help the smile from spreading across her face. This could be the closest she ever got to a real date with Ezra, and it sounded like he genuinely wanted to spend time with her, which made it even better.

The two got out of his car and made their way across the street, hands tucked into their jacket pockets and clouds forming from their lips as they breathed. The air smelled of a mix of spices and cigarette smoke. Old men leaned against vacant wall space with their pipes between their teeth and their eyes dancing across the figures of women who passed alone. A couple of younger men cat called to the women that the older men scouted, clearly a little drunk and full of themselves. Streetlights buzzed overhead, threatening to go out at any moment and leave the string lights and paper lanterns hung from the doorways of stores as the only source of light. Alley ways between buildings were full of trash bags and home to a few street bums. The whole area felt dirty, but it made Aria feel alive.

She was so tired of cleanliness, of having to pretend that her life matched this nearly utopian city around her. She was so sick of yoga classes with catty moms who left their babies with their nannies only to brag about how much they loved the kids they never actually took care of. She was bored of men in suits who boasted about their 4.0 GPA's in college to women they wanted to sleep with as if that meant anything in the real world. Growing up, Aria had lived in the fakest town in all of America. Moving to Boston had been a breath of fresh air, though in reality, Boston was just as fake and petty, it was just better at pretending that it wasn't. And in some ways, Aria had morphed herself into a human version of the city. Everyone had. Being exposed to the dirtier, raunchier, riskier side of Boston was almost like a weight off Aria's shoulders. It showed her that some things could still function, even if they weren't everyone's ideas of perfect.

Aria fixed her eyes on Ezra, who stared straight ahead not needing to take this area in having been here many times before. As if feelings were something tangible and visible, Aria could both feel and see herself falling for the man. There was so much more to him than who he presented himself to be at the office. The more he showed her, the harder she fell.

They came up on a restaurant with a golden dragon hanging from the doorway like mistletoe. A little bell jingled as Ezra pulled the door open, gesturing for her to enter before him. She ducked inside and was met with instant warmth and the overwhelming smell of soy sauce. There was a partition hiding the rest of the restaurant from view and a small Asian woman standing at a podium fiddling with menus.

"Table for two, please," Ezra cleared his throat to get the woman's attention.

She jerked her head up, flashed a wide, crooked grin, and said, "Please follow me," in a thick Chinese accent.

The woman led them behind the partition and to a table in the back of the restaurant, despite nearly every other table in the joint being available. From the looks of it there were about 15 tables, only 2 of which were occupied. The light was dim and soft, instrumental music played from the speakers on the ceiling. The place was clearly over staffed. Four waiters stood in the corner on their phones, while two men tended to the only other customers. Being 9 o'clock at night, it made sense that the place wouldn't be very busy, most people had already eaten their dinners, but something told Aria that it had been this way all evening.

As Aria and Ezra took off their coats, their waitress appeared to take their drink orders. Aria got an iced tea. Ezra simply got water.

'She wrote that down on one ticket," Aria said in a low voice as the girl walked away. "I'll tell her to split it up when she comes back."

"You don't have to. I'll pay," Ezra shrugged, flipping his menu open and inspecting the pages.

"I'm not going to let you pay for my dinner, Ezra. You already had to drive me all the way out here to get dinner and you have to drive me home," Aria protested.

"Your car battery died, Aria. I wasn't going to let you sit in the parking lot, stranded and hungry. Besides, it was my idea to drive out here. I'm paying," He said firmly, his eyes never leaving the menu.

Aria chewed on her lip. This wasn't a date, as much as she would like it to be. He had no business paying for her meal. She was a big girl with money.

"Here you go," The waitress returned with their drinks.

"Thank you," Aria smiled. "Um, can you take our orders on two spate checks please?" The minute her words left her tongue, Ezra's head snapped up.

"That won't be necessary, ma'am. One check will do," He said through gritted teeth.

Aria shot him a look that could kill, but was met with one equally as lethal. He was as adamant about paying for her as she was for not letting him.

The waitress nodded slowly, then walked away before anything else could be said.

"Aria, what the hell? I told you I would pay," Ezra chastised.

"And I told you that you didn't have to," Aria hissed.

"You like getting your way, don't you?" He cocked his head to one side.

"Yes, though it doesn't happen often," She stated matter-of-factly.

"Well, it isn't happening tonight either," Ezra mocked her tone. "I'm paying. Get over it."

Aria narrowed her eyes, "This isn't a date, Ezra." The sentence was bitter on her tongue, though it was true.

"So a man can't buy a beautiful woman dinner without it being a date?" She saw the instant regret on his face after he spoke. Her heart stopped momentarily. Had calling her beautiful been a slip of the tongue? Or had he meant it, but been holding back?

The two were silent for a beat, both unsure of what to say to each other. Part of Aria wanted to ask if he really thought she was beautiful. The other part wanted to move on and pretend it never happened for his sake.

"I'm sorry, that was…do you know what you're going to order?" Ezra awkwardly changed the subject.

Aria squinted her eyes at him, then smirked, "Well if you're paying, then I'll take the most expensive thing on the menu."

Ezra laughed, "So…the Dim Sum, then?"

Aria scrunched up her nose, "Actually, I'm a vegan, so I'll probably just have some tofu."

Ezra widened his eyes, "You're a vegan? God, I'm so sorry. Who did this to you?" By the end of his question, Aria was giggling like he was the funniest person she'd ever talked to.

"It was a choice I made back in college," She rolled her eyes playfully. "It's not as bad as it sounds."

"It sounds like hell, so it must be, what, purgatory then?" He teased.

"You know what, fuck you," She flipped him the bird as she laughed at his witty remark.

"That's not very nice. Unless of course, you're offering. If that's the case, then I say, when and where?" Aria felt a tug in her stomach as he joked. I'd love to, she thought.

However, instead of admitting that, Aria simply snorted, "I may have slept with a random man on New Years Eve, and fucked my ex-boyfriend's best friend, but I'm not that easy."

Ezra shook his head, the smile fading from his lips, "How are you doing, by the way? I know you said you were fine in my office after the whole Austin thing, but…"

"I wasn't lying. I'm honestly okay. Austin didn't mean anything to me," Aria shrugged. "I've been called a lot worse by people who actually mattered. I could handle it."

"Are you talking about Liam?" Ezra lowered his voice.

"For the most part," She nodded, taking a sip of her tea. "That's the most recent."

Ezra sighed, closing his eyes as he did so, "That's not okay. I'm so sorry he was such an ass to you."

"Is," She corrected. "He is such an ass. Present tense. But I've learned to deal with it. But really, it's my fault. If I hadn't slept with Ashton, Liam would have no reason to call me those names."

"No," Ezra said with such a force that Aria jumped slightly. "You making a mistake doesn't give him the right to make you feel like shit. Let me ask you this. Why were you out drinking with Liam's best friend and not Liam himself?"

"It was a coincidence that were were at the same bar. We didn't plan to meet up or anything," She answered cautiously.

"What day of the week was it?' Ezra stirred his water with his straw.

"Tuesday," Aria said as more of a question than an answer.

"Now, why would a beautiful woman-"there it was again- "with a great life find herself at a bar in the middle of a work week alone…unless tings weren't so great in her life anymore?" Ezra sounded like the psychology major that Aria had gone out with once, but he made her think nonetheless.

"I needed to get out of the house," She muttered.

"The house you shared with Liam?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Yes," She nodded.

"Why?" He pressed.

"I needed space. He was suffocating me," She confessed.

"What do you mean?" Ezra brought this water to his lips.

"He was controlling me. Always hovering. Telling me what to do and when to do it. I didn't even have a say in out sex life. If he wanted it, he got it. I felt like I was under a microscope 24/7. He knew every move I made," The words she'd kept bottled up for so long poured out of her mouth like the floodgate had been opened.

"So you lashed out?" Ezra asked.

"So I got upset," She clarified. "I couldn't breathe near him without him telling me that I was doing it wrong."

"You wanted out," Ezra stated.

"Yes. But I didn't heat on him to get out of the relationship. I would never do that to anyone. That was an honest mistake," She bit down on her lip to keep her voice from wavering.

"A mistake that helped you get out of a bad relationship," Ezra pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess," She diverted her eyes.

"So maybe it wasn't as much of a mistake as you thought it was," He suggested.

"But…"

"No buts. That mistake was your saving grace, but Liam wants you to think it cost you the best thing in your life. He's trying to make you feel inferior because he knows he screwed up. But Aria, you have to realize that he was never the best thing in your life. He was the most toxic," Ezra's voice was so gentle that Aria thought that all of the scars Liam had left her with would be gone by morning. She knew they wouldn't be, but it was a nice thought to entertain.

"Thank you," She smiled. "You're really good at breaking people down."

Ezra grinned and feigned pride, "It's a gift."

"Now, can we talk about something a little more lighthearted?" Aria practically begged.

"Of course. Who do you think will win the Super Bowl this year?" Ezra switched topics with ease.

"I don't care much for sports," Aria admitted sheepishly.

"Me neither," Ezra laughed. "I don't even know who's playing."

"May I take your order?" The waitress reappeared as the two laughed about their athletic ignorance.

Ezra glanced at Aria, asking with his eyes for her to go first. "Uh, yeah, I'll have the tofu with brown rice, please."

The waitress scrawled it down on her pad, then looked to Ezra. "I'll have what she's having."

Aria looked at Ezra in shock, while he looked at her with the goofiest grin on his face, as the waitress collected the menus and walked away. "I thought you were appalled by my veganism?"

"I'm not becoming a vegan," He threw up his hands in surrender. "No way in hell will that ever happen. I am, however, going to take a trip into purgatory tonight, just for you."

"How sweet," Aria used a voice generally used when cooing at babies.

Ezra winked as he took a sip of his water, not needing to respond with words.

The rest of their dinner went on like this, playful banter interrupted every once in awhile by heavier, more revealing topics, such as Katelyn's death or Aria's parent's divorce. Ezra all but forced Aria to break her dietary habits to try some chocolate mousse cake during dessert, which she fell in love with, though she'd never admit that to him. And when the check came, the two played a short lived game of tug of war for the bill with Ezra, of course, coming out on top.

One the drive to Aria's apartment, the two repeated how much they enjoyed themselves at dinner multiple times and sang along to the radio whenever a song they liked came on.

When they arrived at her building it was nearing midnight. Everything around the area was closed, including the coffee shop where Ezra had informed Aria that she would indeed have a job only 6 days ago. The doors to Aria's building would be locked, meaning she would have to used her keycard to get in. As she fished around in her purse for it, she heard the driver's side door open and close. When she looked up, Ezra had gotten out of the car.

"What are you doing?" Aria narrowed her eyes as she stepped out into the cold night air.

"Walking you to the door," Ezra shoved his hands in his pockets. "Is that a problem?"

Aria felt heat rise in her cheeks despite the rest of her face slowly going numb, "No, no. I just…okay."

Her heels clacked against the pavement loud enough to mask the sound of her racing heart in her chest. She knew this technically hadn't been a date, but it sure felt like one, and a small part of her hoped that it would end like one too.

The two reached the door and turned to face one another, completely unsure of what to say or do next.

"Thank you for dinner," Aria decided to say. "I had a really great time."

"Me too. And look, you're home by curfew," Ezra smiled awkwardly. Aria laughed.

The tension between the two rose to an all night high as they stood their silently, waiting for the other to say something.

"I was-" "Can I ask-" The pair started at the same time.

"You go first," They both blurted, then laughed at their poor timing.

"Aria," Ezra gestured to the space around them, signaling her to talk.

"I forgot what I was going to say," She lied. "Go ahead."

She knew exactly what she wanted to say. She wanted to say was, "I was just thinking about how right tonight felt. Everything just came so easily to us, the conversations, the jokes, everything. I haven't felt this at ease with someone ever. I know this might be inappropriate, but I like you. I really, really like you. And I have to know, for the sake of my sanity if you like me too."

"I forgot too," Ezra fibbed. She could read it in his eyes that he didn't forget, but rather chickened out of what he was really going to say.

"Oh, okay," Aria shrugged, though her heart yearned to know what he was hiding.

"Goodnight, Aria," Ezra said, making no attempt to head back to his car.

"Goodnight-"

Before she could finish her sentence, his lips were on hers. After a second of initial shock, Aria kissed back. His hands gripped her hips and pulled her close, while her hands circled his neck and began toying with the hairs at the nape of his neck. His lips tasted like tofu and soy sauce. She was sure that hers tasted no different. He ran his tongue along her bottom lip, begging for access to her mouth. As soon as she parted her lips, granting him entrance, he pushed her back against the wall, crushing her between his body and the cement. She moaned softly as his tongue danced across her taste buds.

After a minute, the two broke the kiss, gasping for air.

"Let's take this inside," Aria panted as the aching between her legs made itself known.

Almost immediately Ezra backed away, shaking his head firmly. He had a torn look on his face, like he was having an internal battle with his emotions. "No. No, we can't. I shouldn't have…dammit."

"Ezra," Aria reached for his hand, but he yanked it away.

"This can't happen again. I'm your boss. This is wrong," He ran his hand through his hair. "I'm so sorry, Aria. Goodnight." He turned on his heals and sped walked to his car, mumbling curse words the whole way, leaving Aria in a world of confusion and frustration, and on the verge of tears.

Their passion filled moment had ended just as quickly as it had begun. Aria just hoped whatever feeling that had driven him to kiss her wouldn't disappear as fast as he did.

A/N: Wow, the responses to my last chapter were so overwhelming and motivational that I wanted to get this one out as quickly as possible. Please don't hate me for the way it ended! After so much fluff I had to throw some drama in there. But hey, they finally kissed! So what do you think caused Ezra to change his mind about his actions so quickly, other than the obvious? Please let me know what you guys thought about this chapter by reviewing! Reading y'all's responses make my day. Thanks so much for reading!

-Erin xoxo