CHAPTER FOURTEEN

ARIA

Aria looked over the menu in front of her for about the hundredth time before letting out an aggravated sigh. She was supposed to have met Spencer for lunch over a half hour ago and her friend had yet to make an appearance.

"Can I get you some more iced tea, Ma'am?" The waiter asked as he made his round again past Aria's table.

"No thank you, I'm fine," Aria responded. One of the drawbacks of being eight months pregnant was the constant urge to pee. Her baby seemed to like resting on top of her bladder, thus causing Aria to have to rush to the restroom every thirty minutes. She didn't need to drink a second glass of tea and speed up the process.

"I am so sorry!" Spencer exclaimed as she came barreling through the doors and collapsed in the seat across from Aria a moment later. She ran a hand through her hair to try and smooth the frizziness that had collected as a result of her apparent run to meet her. "I was grading lab reports for the underclassmen I'm GAing for and time got away from me. Have you ordered yet?"

Aria shook her head and picked at her napkin. "It's fine, Spence. Don't think I'll let you live this down for a while, though. I mean, come on, a pregnant woman ready to pop at any second should never have beaten the Spencer Hastings to a meal." Aria shot her a smile to show she was only joking before Spencer took her seriously; she had a tendency to do that.

"Yeah, how are you feeling by the way? I haven't seen you since Thanksgiving. Noah doing well?"

"I'm fine. Tired, achy, and ready to get this child out of me… but I'm alright. And Noah's Noah," Aria laughed. "His new found interest seems to be dinosaurs for some reason so you've been recruited to help me shop for Christmas gifts with said theme after lunch."

Spencer just shrugged and turned her attention to the menu. As much as Spencer loved making small talk, Aria knew she was really just focused on getting food- soon. The waiter came by not a minute later and eagerly took their orders. In fact, his eagerness told Aria he was all too excited to meet her lunch partner. Spencer got the message loud and clear and made quite the show of making sure he saw her engagement ring as she handed him her menu. Aria just chuckled as the poor boy scampered off.

"Speaking of catching up…. How's Ezra?" Spencer asked with a knowing gleam in her eye a moment later. A blush filled Aria's cheeks at her question. She hadn't exactly updated any of her friends on the status of her relationship with Ezra. Her reaction was all Spencer needed.

"It is about time, Ar! Now you're going to have to forgive me but I'm going to go all Hannah on you. Have you guys kissed? Is it official yet? What's he like in bed? Does he-"

"Spencer!" Aria interrupted, blushing much brighter than she had a minute before. She didn't want to know where Spencer was going with her questions but she could take a wild guess. "We decided to give… us…. A try only just last week. And he's Ezra so… he's perfect."

Spencer fanned herself with her hand, perfectly mimicking what was sure to be the reaction of their blond haired friend. Sitting up straighter, she shot Aria a smile and reached over to squeeze her hand. "I'm happy for you, Aria. You deserve someone like him. I've seen the way he helps you with Noah and that man is the real deal. Don't let go of him."

Aria smiled down into her drink. "I don't plan on it."

"Oh, we should double date!" Spencer exclaimed happily. She dug her phone out of her purse and scrolled around for a minute or two before continuing. "Perfect! What are you doing this Friday? Toby and I have signed up to take this couple's pottery class over at Hollis. You guys should come with us!"

Aria made a face. Pottery and eight months of pregnancy didn't seem like a good combination to her. "I dunno, Spencer…"

"Oh, come on! At least try! I want to get to know him, we all do. Besides you should go out on at least one real date before the baby gets here. After that, who knows when you'll get any alone time."

Spencer did have a point. Aria wanted her friends to get to know Ezra, at least more than the few words exchanged when they'd met in passing. This seemed like a good opportunity to do just that. She turned to dig her own phone out of her purse and flipped it on to text him.

EZRA

"We don't have to do this if you don't want to," Aria offered from the passenger seat as they drove towards Hollis later that week. Ezra, who'd been patiently tapping his fingers against the steering wheel as they sat at a red light looked over at her and shot her a smile, reaching across to give her hand a light squeeze.

"It'll be fun," he replied. "Be forewarned, though, I've never been that artistic. I'll try and protect you from any rebellious clay that may or may not come shooting from my hands."

Aria giggled at his comment and turned to watch the passing street lights and light snow that had started to come down around them. Hopefully they wouldn't be stuck in a storm while they were there. That would just be perfect.

Pulling into the parking lot adjacent to the art building not a moment later, Ezra unbuckled his seat belt and looked up at her questioningly when Aria didn't move. Sighing, he sat back into his seat and fully turned towards her.

"Hey," he said, reaching across to gently caress her cheek. She finally looked at him, making full eye contact, and he could see the reservations in her facial expression. "There's nothing to worry about, alright? Your friends want to get to know me. I don't think I'm a bad guy, Ar. Honestly, the only thing you've got to worry about is them loving me too much."

Aria let out a soft giggle before unbuckling her seat belt. "That's not possible."

Ezra jumped out of the car and rushed around to her side to open her door. Just as she turned to climb out of the vehicle, however, she let out a small gasp. Her hands instantly flew to her stomach and she sucked in a deep breath. Ezra instantly knelt beside her, worry lacing his features. She took a second before flashing him a soothing smile and reaching for one of his hands. Aria gently pressed his palm just to the right of her belly button and Ezra's own breath hitched in his throat as he felt a tiny butterfly like movement. Just as he was about to pull his hand away, a hard kick was sent his way from the unborn child.

"Looks like someone's trying to say hi," he said with a small smile.

"Either that or protesting this art class," Aria giggled. Grabbing her purse, she stood and clasped Ezra's hand in her own. "Come on, before he or she decides it's time to make an appearance."

"Tell me again how we got roped into this," Toby muttered towards Ezra under his breath. They sat, each at their own pottery wheel, trying unsuccessfully to sculpt a pot out of a wet pile of clay. The only one that seemed to be having any success, surprisingly, was Aria.

"Hey, I heard that," Spencer retorted, flinging a small bit of clay towards her fiancé. She instead hit Ezra's smock and he couldn't help but to laugh at their childish behavior. He turned and caught the small smile Aria had on her face as she too listened to her friends.

"You're the one that suggested a couple's activity, Toby," Spencer continued. "Besides, I thought as a landscaper that you were supposed to be good with your hands. What exactly is it that you're making over there? It looks like a rock."

"Hey!" Toby replied with mock hurt lacing his voice. "This, my lady, is just the early stages of what will surely be the most beautiful vase you've ever seen. Don't judge it until I'm done, thank you very much! And when I suggested a couple's activity, I was thinking more along the lines of bowling, or ultimate frisbee, or basketball... some kind of sport. Not art class!"

Ezra let out a chuckle, turning his attention back to his own work as Spencer and Toby took rounds playfully bickering at each other. His pot, truth be told, wasn't coming out too badly. It wasn't going to be the next great piece of art but it was at least recognizable for the most part. He couldn't say the same about whatever it was that Toby was trying to make.

Aria's pottery wheel came to a stop beside him, causing Ezra to look up at her in confusion. She just smiled before wiping her hands on her apron and standing.

"I need to use the restroom, be right back," she explained. He was left alone with her friends a moment later and Ezra suddenly felt nervous.

"So Ezra…" Spencer started. He let out a deep sigh. Here came the interrogation. "Tell us about you. Aria told us you teach over at Rosewood High?"

Ezra nodded. "I was just hired this year to teach English lit. It's a nice school so I'm really happy I'm there."

"That's great, we all went to Rosewood and it's an awesome school. I'm sure you've experienced the snobby parents, though," Toby laughed. "Most of the people in this town have too much money and trust me, they like to make it known."

Ezra let out his own laugh but before he could respond, the teacher was calling for everyone's attention.

"Alright, everybody. The class is just about over. Whatever you have, bring it to the front so our teaching assistant can bake them in the furnace. You can pick your products up next week."

Ezra sighed, looking down at his pot. It would have to do though he was fairly certain that whatever was planted in it was doomed to grow at an awkward angle thanks to the horrific lean Ezra had forced the pot to take. Glancing over at Aria's station, he shook his head in bemusement. She had long since been done with her pot. It was perfect.

"Just a word of advice, Ezra," Spencer suddenly spoke up from beside him, seeking to end their conversation before Aria came back. He turned to look at her, giving her his full attention. "Aria's… not perfect, ok? Nobody is. So just, you know, take it easy with her. She's had a rough go of it."

Ezra shot her a warm smile, standing to collect his and Aria's pots to bring them to the teaching assistant.

"That's alright," he replied as he walked away. Shooting another smile over his shoulder at her, he continued towards the front of the room. "Perfection is boring."

So Ezra and Aria finally spent some quality time together and her friends are getting to know him as well. All seems to be smooth sailing for the couple, at least for now lol. What did y'all think? As always, please R&R!