Ch. 36

Aria's POV

I nervously stood up and moved towards where Ezra was standing in the kitchen.

"Ezra," I called out quietly.

"What?" he asked without turning around.

"Do you want me to leave?"

I didn't know what to do; Ezra had never acted like this around me before.

"No. Of course not," he mumbled.

"Ezra, please just look at me," I pleaded with tears in my eyes.

He turned around to face me with glassy eyes. I slowly walked towards him, unsure of whether he would let me touch him or not. I reached out my hand and he immediately took it. He pulled me into a hug and I rested my face against his chest, breathing in his scent.

"Ezra," I whispered into his shirt, "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for everything I've put you through."

"Why are you sorry? This whole downward spiral started after your miscarriage. I shouldn't have given you so much space. I should've been there for you."

We were interrupted by a knock on his door. Ezra pulled away from me to see who it was,

"Mr. Montgomery!" Ezra exclaimed.

"Hello, Ezra. I know that Aria is here, but I actually wanted to talk to you about a job offer."

"Well, come in, Mr. Montgomery," Ezra said, clearly intrigued.

"You can call me Byron," my dad said as he walked inside and took a seat on the couch.

"Hey, dad," I said awkwardly from the kitchen.

"Hi, Aria," he said calmly, "Ezra, Hollis has given me the okay to offer you a teaching job starting in the spring semester."

"Wow," was all Ezra managed to say.

Byron smiled, "I know how much you mean to Aria, and Ella and I have decided that my recommendation to the dean would mean a lot to you both. I hope you accept the offer, Ezra," he said as he stood up.

"Of course I will!" Ezra exclaimed, "It's an amazing opportunity, and it puts me years ahead of where I ever imagined I'd be."

"I'm glad to hear that. Stop by Hollis tomorrow and we'll discuss the details with the dean," Byron said as he shook Ezra's hand and left the apartment.

I turned to Ezra, "Well, how about that?" I said with a laugh.

Ezra had a giant smile on, "Aria, do you know what this means?"

"We can be together in public once you take the job?" I said with a grin.

"Yes!" he exclaimed as he picked me up and spun me around.

"Who knew sleeping with your student would further your teaching career?" I said with a wink as he kissed me.

He rolled his eyes, "I'm calling Rosewood High to let them know I'm going in a different direction."

I smiled, "Ok. I'm going to take a shower."

He turned to me with a serious face, "Leave the door open, Aria."

"Ok," I said as I walked towards the bathroom.

I turned on the water and stripped down as Ezra walked into the bathroom. I gave him a confused glance and he raised his eyebrows as he took the razor blades out of the bathroom drawer, his razor from the sink, and mine from the shower.

"Okay," I said, slightly annoyed that he didn't trust me, "and what if I have to shave?"

"No. You can shave in front of me, wax, or be hairy," Ezra said as he walked away.

"Are you serious?" I said as I stormed after him.

"Yes, but I'm not going to take you seriously right now," Ezra said as he motioned to my naked body with a smirk.

I could feel the heat rise to my face; I had forgotten that I was storming after him naked as the day I was born.

"Whatever, Ezra Fitzgerald!" I exclaimed as I stomped away.

"Keep the door open, Aria Montgomery!" Ezra mocked after me.

"Yeah, I'm going to cut myself with the tooth brush!" I said angrily.

I jumped into the hot stream of water. He didn't trust me to be alone in the bathroom by myself? I hadn't really given him a choice, though. I shook my head as I tried to clear my thoughts. He was just trying to help me. I wasn't leaving him with many options. I got out of the shower and realized that I had no towel. I wrung my hair out and walked out of the bathroom.

"Uh," I heard a man say.

My eyes bulged out of my head and my mouth fell open. Ezra had a friend over and I just waltzed out naked into his living room?

"Aria, this is Hardy, my friend from college," Ezra said as he ran to get me a towel from the closet.

"Uhm, awesome, thanks for the warning!" I yelled as I snatched the towel and ran into the bathroom.

"Now am I allowed to close the door?" I called to Ezra.

"No!" he yelled back as he threw clothes at me.

I remembered that I needed Ezra in order to change my bandages.

"Um, Ezra?" I called out into the living room.

"Yeah?"

"I need your help…"

"Ohh right," he said as he grabbed the bag where kept all my supplies and walked into the bathroom.

"I could not be more mortified right now," I said as he put my bandages on, "and he definitely saw all the cuts on my hips!"

"He didn't! And I'm sorry! I completely forgot!" he said.

"So now you forgot that I was here? You forgot that I'm living here, too? You forgot about me…"

He kissed my lips and cut me off, "I didn't forget about you, Aria. I forgot there weren't towels in the bathroom."

"Fine. Just hurry up," I huffed as he put another bandage on my right hip.

"Done! I'm done!" Ezra said as he threw his hands up and grinned at me.

I glared at him and he laughed.

"Ezra Fitz! This is not funny!" I yelled after him as he walked out of the bathroom.

I walked over to where Ezra and Hardy were sitting, now fully clothed.

"Nice to meet you, Aria," Hardy said with a smirk.

"You, too," I said dryly as a deep blush hit my cheeks, "I don't usually get naked the first time I meet someone."

Hardy laughed and Ezra grabbed my hand and pulled me onto his lap,

"I'm still mad at you," I said with a completely serious face.

Ezra smiled and kissed me anyway.