Pretty Little Lovers Untamed

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Chapter 31

Pretty Little Lovers Untamed

Chapter 31

Aria wasn't sure at all what her decision would be that afternoon as she headed to the restaurant to meet up with Ezra. Honestly, all she wanted to do was crawl in bed and stay there. For hours. Quite possibly for the entire day. But of course, avoiding the situation would not make the situation go away. She had to see Ezra if she had any hope of getting her life back together.

She kept her eyes down as she entered the restaurant because she knew that seeing Ezra before speaking to him would only make her more of a bundle of nerves. He did that to her. Yeah, the situation was really messed up but she did care for the guy a lot.

"I have a reservation for two under the name of Fitz?"

The server smiled at her and led her to the back corner. Ezra was sitting with his hands in his lap at a table for two. Laying on the table in front of Aria's chair was a bouquet of a dozen white roses. She picked them up and smelled them.

"I'm speechless," she said, and took a seat. "Thank you for the flowers Ezra. You really didn't have to."

He gave her a half smile and then said, "Yeah, I know. I just wanted to." He was quiet for a second and then- "I ordered you and I the Marsala chicken. I thought you'd like it. And some waters. Is that okay?"

She nodded. She really wasn't that hungry but she couldn't shut Ezra down for trying. "Yes. Thank you."

He shrugged. "It's no big deal really." He laid his hand on the table then, perhaps hoping that Aria would touch him again, but she didn't. She couldn't. The guilt she had inside her kept her from moving at all. "I love you Aria," he said then, though she didn't meet it with a likewise response.

"How's Malcolm?"

He smiled fondly, remembering his son. "Mal.. He's great. He and I went to the zoo the other day and he knows like every single animal. His favorite is the elephant and he can make the elephant noise and it's really impressive. Plus, we were feeding the otters and he told me about how otters hold each other's hands to keep from floating away from each other while they sleep. He's just really smart, Ar. I think you're really like him. I want you to meet him."

Aria blinked and then shook her head. "I can't Ezra."

"Why?"

"You know why. You know why that would be weird. For one I'm in high school and you're my teacher. For another, you and his mom are talking and that's already got to be hard enough on him. And.. I just can't."

Ezra licked his lips. "Ever?"

"Ever."

"What are you saying?"

Aria thought about it. What was she saying? She'd just basically told Ezra that she never wanted anything to do with his son. So what did that mean? That she didn't want anything to do with Ezra either? Didn't that make that mandatory? Because how could she be involved with him and not his son now that they were apart of each other's lives? She sighed. "I think you'll make a really great dad," she explained, "And I'm sure Malcolm is a great kid. I really am. But I can't ever meet him. And I can't be with you either. I just can't." She swallowed and then added, "I'm in love with someone else?"

Ezra's jaw dropped and he leaned forward a bit. "You're.. What?"

"Spencer," Aria told him. "It's Spencer. I'm sorry."

"Spencer Hastings?" He smoothed his hair down. "Wait. Am I missing something?"

"Not really. No. I'm in love with Spencer. I know it's kind of out of the blue and shocking because believe me, that's how I feel to. I promise I'm more amazed by it than anyone else. But it just happened. And I can't be who you want me to be because of it."

Ezra took a deep breath. "It's funny, but I'm actually relieved. Because you deserve so much better than what I can give you anyways. And while in the back of my mind I know it's selfish to want you, at least now I can feel better knowing that the person you'll be with instead is Spencer. Because I see the way you two look at each other in class and I'm honestly happy for her. I just hope she treats you right." He stopped for a minute and just looked at Aria, the girl he'd loved for a while now. He felt a part of him slipping away but he couldn't stop it. So just smiled at her. "I'll cancel our order okay? And we can just agree to maybe see each other around, okay?"

Aria stood up, hugged him tightly and said, "Yes. Thank you so much for understanding."

He hugged her back. At least they had that.

She left then unable to see anymore of the hurt painting his face. And she pulled her phone out of her pocket. She had to call Hanna.

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