I Promise, All I Need is You
Chapter 11
Ezra's POV
"Do you want some more popcorn?" I ask my girlfriend who is curled up in my side.
Aria shakes her head softly and denies my offer without removing her eyes from the TV in front of us. It is a little after eleven o'clock on a stormy Friday night. Due to increased fighting in the Montgomery Household Aria has been using the girls as alibis in order to spend the night with me and tonight is one of those nights.
With a heavy rain and thunderstorm underway outside we opted for crawling in bed early to watch movies until we fall asleep. I am dressed in my light blue plaid pajama bottoms whereas Aria is dressed in her favorite yellow Hollis shirt of mine. Our bodies are curled together under the sheets in my bed basking in each other's warmth.
Placing the now empty popcorn bowl on the nightstand, I wrap my arms tighter around Aria.
"I want to go back to Europe someday. It was beautiful and so peaceful over there." Aria murmurs into my chest lowly. Her confession is caused by the characters in the current movie deciding to aimlessly hop on a plan and travel around Italy.
"Maybe we can take a trip overseas after you graduate. I've been putting a pretty big chunk of my paychecks in savings ever since I started teaching to use for a special occasion in the future."
Aria pushes her body up a bit to face me in bed. "What kind of special occasion?" She asks curiously.
A faint grin cracks on my face. "To be honest… Our wedding? First house together or something along those lines."
Aria bites her lips for a moment before responding. "You really have been thinking about taking those steps? I know we've briefly discussed it before but I didn't realize you had already started financially preparing for our future together."
"Of course I am. I want to ensure I have plenty of money stored up to give you whatever you desire in life down the road." I confess truthfully.
Leaning forward, Aria presses her lips against mine without verbally responding to me. The kiss starts off chaste before elevating to a deep demanding kiss. Aria doesn't even battle me for dominance, she merely opens her mouth wide as soon as my tongue skimmed across her lower lip. She shuffles into my lap during our kiss to straddle my waist. My hands gently pull on her hips bringing her body even closer to mine.
"I love you Ezra. So, so much." Aria mumbles against my lips just before reconnecting our lips.
Pulling away for a moment I give us a second to catch our breath. "I love you Aria. I cannot wait to start our future together."
Our lips connect yet again in a hungry kiss. Our hands begin drifting along each other's torsos. Upon feeling Aria grind her hips against mine and hear the sexy little moan fall from her lips I force myself to stop things from escalading any farther.
"Hang on baby. We should probably go back to watching the movie…" I trail off with deep regret.
While I would love to continue on in the direction we were headed, we cannot. Aria and I have yet to sleep together intimately. While we have shared a bed in minimal clothing on multiple occasions, we haven't had sex or even seen each other naked. With Aria being as young as she is I made it clear at the beginning of our relationship we would go at her pace. Even if she wants to wait until the night of our wedding in years to come, I'll happily wait for her.
Aria laces her fingers together behind my neck gently. Only a few inches between our faces. My hands slowly rub circles on her hips over the yellow shirt in a soothing manner.
"I don't want to stop, Ezra."
"Are you sure?" I ask needing to know she is certain about this decision.
Aria nods her head with a growing smile tugging on her lips. "I love you and I trust you. I am ready to give myself to you in every way possible."
With our eyes locked on one another, Aria ever so slowly discards her top.
"Absolutely beautiful Sweetheart." My eyes drift down to admire her fully exposed chest due to her not wearing a bra.
Our lips reconnect in a lustful kiss. At some point during the kiss we switch positions to place Aria on her back flush with the mattress while I am hovering over her. Aria used her little feet to remove my pajama bottoms and boxers from my hips leaving me fully exposed. She bites her lip in anticipation when I remove her light blue lace panties.
Kissing down her body I gradually take my time arriving to her wet pussy. It is evident she is nervous yet excited based on her anxious squirming. My hands rest gently on her thighs to spread them wide enough for me to settle between them. Placing soft kisses along the insides of her thighs I give her a moment to steady her breath prior to allowing my tongue to touch her intimately.
Glancing up at her I catch Aria's eye before leaning forward the necessary half an inch to glide my tongue along her wet lips. Aria releases a ragged breath and closes her eyes at the feeling. The softest, most delicate and not to mention sexy, moans fall from those heavenly lips of hers clearly approving of my mouth's actions.
Aria has been grinding her hips for the last few minutes and moaning even louder than before. Every now and then I glance up at her and grin internally at the sight of my girlfriend fisting the pillow beneath her head and squirming around in pleasure for me.
"Ezra…" Aria mutters breathlessly. "Ez… Babe. I think I might be… Oh god!"
Sensing she is on the edge of climaxing for the first time, I press my hands down on her hips holding them flush to the mattress. My tongue strokes her clit faster giving it full attention. Feeling Aria's body trembling around me drives me to eat her out with full intensity. Her breathing is shallow and harsh. I can tell she is undeniably close. Stretching my right hand out I grasp ahold of her right breasts to squeeze it and toy with her hardened nipple.
"Damn! Ezra! Keep going Babe. Oh god please!"
Aria finally falls into her release roughly thirty seconds after tweaking her nipples between my fingers and tugging on them paired with vigorously flicking my tongue across her clit. Her moans are quite loud and echo throughout my small apartment.
I climb up the bed to hover over Aria, feeling the need to watch as she rides out her first ever orgasm. Her eyes are wide and full of excitement the moment they flutter open to lock with mine. Her chest is rising and falling rapidly as she pants to catch her breath. She is the definition of utter beauty and sexiness.
"Is it always that pleasurable?" She asks breathlessly in satisfaction.
"I promise to always make you feel that good if not better every time."
Leaning down to kiss her passionately I grin against her lips feeling her tongue thrust into my mouth taking full control. During the kiss Aria hooks her legs around my waist pulling my body flush against hers. Her little hand drifts between us to grasp on to my fully erect member and direct it to her entrance. I roughly break away from the kiss when I feel Aria lift her hips just enough to slip the head of my cock into her.
"Hold on baby. Mmm hold on." Lifting my hips back I move off of her slightly which she resists from. "I need to get a condom first." I try to explain when she is reluctant to release her legs from my hips.
Aria shakes her head slightly with a shy smile. "Don't worry about it."
Aria pulls me down for another kiss however I am forced to resist. While I would love to enter her bare for the first time I make love to her that is merely a risk I cannot take. Her parents would murder me the instant they found out. Hell, they would find a way to have me thrown in jail for rape.
"I don't want to risk accidentally getting you pregnant sweetheart. You are so young, now isn't the right time."
Reaching over to my nightstand drawer I slide it open and blindly search for a condom. Huffing in annoyance I cannot seem to find one. Pushing up just a bit I move to get a better view into the drawer. The box must be at the bottom of the drawer due to me not needing one for well over a year if not two years.
"Really Ezra, it's okay. We don't need one." Aria entices yet again in attempt to pull my attention back to her.
"I love that you trust me enough to make love to you without a condom, but that is a risk we cannot take right now baby. Trust me, in the future I cannot wait to have kids with you. Just, not right now. I want us to be married and maybe even wait until you have graduated college. However, right now isn't a reasonable time in either of our lives to have a child added to the equation."
When Aria attempts to push the drawer shut and demand my attention back to her tempting body I am forced to firmly tell her sex without any type of birth control isn't an option. Tears well up in Aria's eyes at my reaction.
I know she isn't taking birth control herself meaning we would be 100% unprotected. That alone is asking for trouble. I never would have guessed Aria and I would come across such a disagreement in this area of our relationship. She is always the one talking about the adventures she cannot wait to go on around the world once she graduates which is something we cannot do if we have a baby tagging along.
"I have to go." Aria whispers barely above a whisper.
Within an instant Aria has slipped out from beneath me and is rapidly redressing herself. She pulls on the yellow Hollis shirt, yanks up her underwear as well as her rather short denim shorts, and lastly she scoops up her sandals before bolting out the door.
I pull my pajama pants on sans boxers within seconds and run after her yelling her name. Not even bothering to shut my apartment door I run out into the hall hoping to catch her. Unfortunately her roughly thirty second head start was just enough for her to cascade down the staircase and out the lobby.
Standing at the building door in my pajamas and bare chest I yell her name loudly watching the petite brunette take off on foot into the heavy rain. My heart breaks watching her disappear into this storm. I want so badly to chase after her but it is evident she doesn't want me to. I remain on the concrete stairs for roughly five minutes desperately hoping Aria will return.
The loud crack of thunder followed by a lightning bolt hitting a tree in the park across the way causes me to retreat back upstairs with my head hung. The walk back up to the third flight feels like a million years. By the time I return to my apartment I fling the door shut out of frustration.
My feet stride across the room to the living room in search for my cell phone. Pressing my speed dial I quickly call Aria in hopes of checking on her; even if she is upset with me I have to know she is safe in this storm. My heart falls to my stomach when I hear the familiar ringtone buzz faintly behind me. Spinning around on my heels I discover Aria accidently left her purse behind which contains her phone and car keys. Well that explains why she took off on foot rather than jumping in her car.
"Son of a bitch!" I yell loudly, mad at myself. My anger gets the best of me and I throw my phone across the room where it shatters one of the glass panels from the door to the cabinet I have filled to the max with books. Because of me Aria is emotionally upset and stuck out in this storm without her keys or her phone.
Running my hands through my hair I pace back and forth for a few minutes in hopes of calming myself down. Needing to keep busy in hopes of distracting myself, I move about my apartment to pick up our left over dinner and tidy up overall.
Over an hour, if not two, have passed since Aria abruptly bolted from my apartment. Since her absence I have cleaned up all of the glass from my previous mess as well as fully cleaned my apartment. I have been standing on my balcony watching the rain pour over the small town of Rosewood ever since. I cannot bring myself to go lie in my bed right now despite the late hour.
Leaning against the railing I run my hands through my hair replaying tonight's events over again in my head for the millionth time.
An ever so faint knock on my apartment door jostles me from my heavy thoughts. I swiftly shuffle across the apartment taking large strides towards the door. Within an instant I have the door unlocked and fling it open in hopes of the person standing on the other side is Aria.
Relief washes through me when my eyes land on Aria's petite stature in front of me with her head tilted down staring at her feet.
"Aria," I breathe out in happiness. "Please come in." Stepping aside I usher her into the apartment and notice her wet hair that has lost all ounces of curly waved hair she had earlier in the evening. Her hair is flat and wet, just like her clothes.
"Can I get you anything? A towel maybe? Or even a change of clothes?" Aria merely shakes her head silently as she avoids all eye contact. "I cannot express how sorry I am about earlier Aria."
Aria walks right past me to go stand at the doors leading to my balcony. I follow closely behind her anxiously anticipating her to say something, anything.
A few minutes pass by consisting of utter silence.
"You have nothing to be sorry for Ezra. You did nothing wrong." Aria takes a deep breath though she refuses to turn around and look at me.
"Two years ago I had to undergo a hysterectomy." Aria pauses and I hear a faint sniffle. From the reflection in the glass balcony doors I can see she is wiping her cheeks rapidly. "Which means I can never have children Ezra."
Stepping forward I have to consul her. I cannot stand her and watch her cry and do nothing about it. I place my hand on the small of her back hesitantly not wanting to upset her further.
"What happened Honey?"
"I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. It was the last thing Mom or I had expected when she took me to the doctor to figure out what was going on with me and causing all of the abdominal pain. Due to the severity of it there weren't very many options. I had the surgery just before we left for Iceland; it's why we went, I didn't want anyone to find out. I spent my time recovering and writing while all of my friends were oblivious. Spencer is the only one who knows about it. With her brains I knew she would understand all of the medical terms. She stayed with me in the hospital whenever mom had to run home for something."
Aria takes a deep breath then slowly turns around to look up at me for the first time since returning to my apartment.
"I went over to her house tonight to talk to her. When you kept talking about wanting to have kids in a few years it all hit me at once. Yet again I am not enough of a woman for you." Aria whispers the last sentence so quietly I had to strain my ears to hear her.
"Aria," I say in a reassuring tone. When she refuses to look up at me I kneel down in front of her in order to catch her gaze. My hands reach up to rest on her hips needing to hold on to some part of her. "You have never been less of a woman to me in any aspect. I've said it before and I will say it again. I love that you haven't experienced certain things in life yet; I want to be the one to share those intimate moments with you and teach you new things. I'm not upset you cannot physically have children and that certainly doesn't make you any less of a woman. I love you Aria. You. As long as you are in my life I will be happy and more than satisfied."
Aria bites her bottom lip to help stifle her cries. "I love you too Ezra. I just want to make you happy. I don't want you to miss out on having kids because of me." Aria admits lowly.
"You always make me happy, Honey. Besides, we always have the option to adopt in the future. Whether that be kids or have a house full of dogs. I am perfectly okay with that option too. Or even cats if you are more of a cat kind of girl."
That statement finally got a giggle out of her which caused me to smile as well. Reaching my hand up I wipe all of her tears away. Aria leans down to kiss me in a slow, passionate kiss. She pulls me up to my feet and wraps her arms around the back of my neck.
"Maybe two dogs and a cat?" Aria grins when our lips pull away.
Nodding my head in agreement I wrap my arms around her waist to pull her as close as possible. It was then that I remembered her wet state.
"What do you say I get you a change of clothes and we call it a night? That is if you still want to spend the night?"
Aria nods her head with a faint smile. "I'd like that, thank you."
With one last peck on the lips I make my way across the apartment to grab Aria a different shirt of mine to sleep in. Aria surprises me when she strips down out of her clothes in front of me rather than excusing herself to the bathroom like she has always done in the past. A smile spreads across my own face knowing Aria is fully comfortable and at ease exposing herself like this in front of me now.
No words are spoken as I flip off all of the lights in the already dim apartment. Aria slips under the covers first to her side of the bed closet to the brick wall and waits for me to crawl in after her before she settles in. Lying flat on my back I welcome Aria to curl up into my side with her head on my chest as per usual.
"Thank you for being so understanding. I love you." Aria presses a kiss to my bare chest then snuggles deeper into my side.
"I'll always be here for you, Sweetheart. I love you too, more than anything."
While tonight didn't quite go as planned, I am happy knowing Aria is safe with me in my arms tonight. We have the rest of our lives to make love and show one another how much we care for the other. As long as my future holds Aria in it I don't care if children are not a part of the picture; that just means I don't have to share her any more than necessary.
Pressing a lingering kiss to Aria's head I finally allow myself to drift off to sleep.
I just wanted to say congratulations to my twitter friend Nik for passing her driving test! You should all congratulate her for being awesome! It is the reason I am posting this chapter a couple days early!
Initially I had planned on Aria and Ezra sleeping together once Aria returned to the apartment but I changed it feeling it was more meaningful for them not to just yet.
It is a tossup for what chapter is going to be next. I am deciding between 3 different chapters at the moment. Either way, I will update chapter 12 next Wednesday if I get 20 reviews. If I get more than that, then I will update on Monday/Tuesday.
Thank you guys so much for the reviews so far! You are all amazing!