Ezra's light sheet covered Aria's naked body as she laid content in his bed watching as the bright morning sun streamed through the window.
Her boyfriend's apartment shone a golden red as the rays illuminated the walls casting the couple's sanctuary in an aura of rich color.
Aria could never get over how serene it was to wake up with Ezra. The symphony of Ezra's heavy breaths matched with the calls of morning birds set the tone for the day. In the near silence that enveloped the room, Aria could make out the muffled sounds of the family that lived above them. She knew just as much as Ezra did about the upstairs residence; hardly anything. There was a man and a woman both in their late twenties. Ezra thought they were a couple, but Aria placed her bet on best friends or brother and sister. This was mainly derived from the fact that in the entirety of Ezra living there, he was able to pretty much hear a muffled version of every sound, yet there was never any squeaky mattresses or rhythmic thud of a head board. If they were a couple, they sure had very quiet and very boring sex. Aria found herself staring up at the ceiling trying to memorize every inch of it so that when she went away she would be able to recall every detail about the place where she truly felt at home.
Aria pulled Ezra's sleeping arm tighter around her and smiled at the way he protectively grabbed her waist tighter, drawing her closer to his body.
She scanned his apartment trying to take a mental pictures of everything she loved so much about it. She saw the 'His and Her's' matching coffee mugs resting by the sink that Hanna had given Aria for a birthday gift, the paper bag masks that sat on top of Ezra's bookcase from their first couple photo. Near the front door was a table with a piece of pottery Aria made that usually held Ezra's keys and loose change. By the kitchen, there was that one spot that the floor was always slippery ever since Aria had accidentally knocked over half a bottle of wine when her and Ezra had gotten slightly intoxicated together. Behind the dresser held countless pairs of Aria's earring that had fallen down between the crack. She saw the dark knit blanket on the couch that had been present for countless make out sessions between the couple. She felt the arm around her tighten and Ezra beginning to stir and Aria turned to look at her favorite thing in the entirety of the apartment.
His blue eyes opened slowly and the faintest smile spread on his face when he saw her lying next to him, her bright hazel eyes watching him adoringly.
"Morning," his voice was deep and raspy still clouded with sleep. Aria leaned in and pressed their lips together lightly, loving the way the corners of his mouth turned up into a smile half way through the kiss. His hand, warm and large, trailed up her naked leg and bare thigh causing desire to flush through her body.
"I love you," Aria said quietly. It seemed as if she never had enough time to say that anymore. Not that she wouldn't be able to say it over the phone or through Skype, but it dawned on her that she probably wouldn't get to have another moment like this one for a few months. She felt Ezra's hand trail down her side and over her ass and watched as he closed his eyes again, smiling at the revelation of waking up with her still in his bed. With renewed passion, Aria pressed her lips harder against Ezra's and ran her tongue lightly along his bottom lip. Ezra stopped caressing her side and pulled back.
"Jesus, Aria, let me wake up first," Ezra said while pushing her back lightly. He wasn't mad, Aria could tell by the smile in his eyes as he talked. Rather, he was more alarmed, he wasn't really a morning person. He moved, disentangling their limbs, and sat on the edge of his bed letting his legs swing over and his feet rest on the ground. He picked up his boxers from the floor and slid them back on his body. Aria moved so she was hugging his sitting form from behind. She wrapped her legs around his waist and let her arms hang down around his stomach. She rested her bare chest against his naked back and kissed leisurely up his neck.
"Mmmmm someone is affectionate this morning," Ezra commented happily and dragged his hands over her smooth thighs.
"I'm going to be super clingy today, hope that's okay," Aria rested her head on his neck. She really wished that she could stop the clock and just spend an eternity in this moment. Last night Aria had had some of the best sex in her life and was still riding in the after glow of the night before. Aria finally felt like they had caught up with the sand that seemed to be pouring through the hourglass that measured their remaining time together. The rushed and desperate quality that had shrouded their intimacy for the past few weeks had disappeared leaving them stripped with only raw passion and love. There was no timer, no limit to their pleasure.
"That's okay," Ezra murmured back to her. He leant over and picked up Aria's underwear from last night and handed it back to her, "you want this?"
"Yeah, thanks," Aria rolled away from Ezra and slipped her panties back into place. She spotted Ezra's t-shirt in a crumpled pile by the headboard and slipped it on over her figure.
Ezra, feeling her lie down, joined her on the bed and wrapped himself around her body, "Do you have plans today?"
"I should start packing," Aria turned around in his arms and buried herself into his chest, entangling their legs together. She really didn't want to see the pained look that Ezra was most likely sporting right now. She felt Ezra's body tense up slightly at the mention of packing. "Do you still have to set up your classroom?"
"Yeah, I should leave soon, do you wanna come with me?" He moved his hands under her t- shirt and cradled her back, pushing her closer to him.
"Yeah, can we take my car? I have to stop for gas,"
"Sure," Ezra kissed Aria quickly on the lips before rolling out of bed and into the shower.
LINEBREAK
"Is it straight?" Ezra's strained voice called down to Aria. Ezra was standing on his tip toes on top of one of the desks trying to hang a large poster from the Great Gatsby on the back wall. The couple had transformed the prison-gray walls into an array of bright glossy colors given off by the many posters Ezra had hung up. Many of them were the ones that all teachers were required to hang up, the districts rules and the objectives and standards of the class. Ezra didn't stop there however, on one wall was a shrine to William Shakespeare and on the back wall were numerous movie posters that were originally books: To Kill a Mocking Bird, We Need To Talk About Kevin, Fight Club, Great Expectations, Dracula.
"Aria?" Ezra called again waiting for his girlfriend to answer. Only Aria was preoccupied with staring at the way Ezra's dark jeans cupped his ass and how the light cotton shirt stretched over the muscles of his back and shoulders as they strained to hold the poster in place. He was so damned attractive all she wanted to do was run her fingers down his back over and over again until she had every inch of his body committed to memory.
"Everything okay?" Ezra asked slightly confused, Aria could also detect his frustration at her distracted nature.
"Yeah, sorry, babe," Aria replied guiltily, "just thinking," [about how I want to rip your clothes off right now] ,"and um, move the right side down an inch and it'll be straight," Ezra complied to her instructions and then quickly secured the poster in place with thumb tacks. Aria quickly went back to scanning her boyfriend's toned body.
"If you're not too busy ogling my ass, will you tell me if this is all straight now?"
Aria blushed as she felt herself smile. Her not so secret lusting had been discovered. Her witty remark was cut short by the loud entrance of Ella Montgomery.
"Oh, I thought I might find you two here!" Ella said as she entered the room.
At first Aria's parents had been completely against the idea of their daughter spending her nights in the warm embrace of her twenty-four year old English teacher, but as their relationship lasted through the scornful eyes of the town, her parents started to realize that their relationship was not based solely on sex and that Aria was clearly not being forced into anything. Ezra had since attended the occasional family dinner which was always concluded with a stern talk administered by Byron, usually ending with a threat toward Ezra about touching Aria in any other way but platonically. The funny thing was, whenever Byron would threaten Ezra in such a way, Aria always made sure to reward her boyfriend with something more than just her parents 'approved kiss goodnight'. Aria's curfew was pushed from the overprotective 6:00pm to the reasonable hour of 9:00pm during the school week. Her parents rules had become much more relaxed once the school year ended and she was no longer a student at the school he taught at. Technically, they weren't supposed to have sleepovers, rather Aria was supposed to ask beforehand, however it appeared that the closer it became to her departure, the more her parents ignored their pre-established rules.
"Are both of you allergic to answering your cell phones? I've been trying to reach you for an hour, Aria. I called all the girls but none of them knew where you were. I was about to drive to Ezra's when I saw your car in the school lot" Ella accused as she made her way farther into Ezra's classroom and rested against his door jamb.
Ezra jumped down from the desk he was standing on so that they could continue the conversation they were having on the same level.
"My phone's dead, it's in my car charging, and I left you a note on the kitchen saying I was going over to Ezra's last night " Aria explained honestly.
"Well, I called Ezra, too. A few times. And I never saw a note," Aria saw Ezra quickly reach into his jacket pocket and dig around for his cell phone, "I just figured the two of you were together."
Aria turned around as she saw Ezra dig in pocket for his cell phone. When he pulled it out Aria saw the three missed calls from Ella Montgomery flash across his phone,
"Oh."
"Dammit, Ezra," Aria scolded, jokingly. Ezra flashed a tiny smile as he reached for her hand and whispered an apology in her ear. Aria smiled as his warm breath caressed her cheek and how, as he pulled back, the stubble from his unshaven jaw lightly scratched her face. She took his hand the was in hers and wrapped it around her, drawing Ezra closer to her. As if it was second nature, Ezra slid his hand in Aria's front pocket and felt her relax and lean against him.
Ella watched the interaction between the two and wasn't sure how to react. The whole thing took place in just a second but so much was exchanged between them. Ella noted, a little taken aback, how comfortable they were with each other, as if they spent a whole lifetime learning how the other moved. Ella didn't really want to dwell on the thought since it made her slightly uncomfortable. She wasn't sure how to feel about her daughter's seemingly adult relationship. She told both of them that she had come to terms with their relationship, and she had. But, it was moments like this, when all she could see was a former colleague seducing her teenage daughter that she felt uncomfortable. Ella tried her best to ignore those thoughts.
"So, Aria, you're cousins just arrived-"
"I thought they weren't coming until like midnight tonight,"
"They were able to catch an earlier flight," Ella answered, "since they're hear to see you before you go to college, I thought it would be nice of you were actually there,"
"Okay, I'll see you in like twenty minutes," Aria replied annoyed at her mothers bitchy tone. She felt Ezra's extra hand slowly rub circles on her back to calm her she moved her back away, not in the mood to be coddled by him.
"Aria, you'll come home now," Ella snapped back.
"Mom, I have to drop Ezra off, okay?" Aria said softening, not wanting to yell at her mom, "and I'm probably not gonna see him until my going away party Thursday night... So I'm gonna want a few minutes to say goodbye," Aria mumbled the last few words and felt her face blush. It felt like she was admitting something dirty to her mom. Even though 'saying goodbye to Ezra' could simply be a kiss goodbye, knowing how little self control she possessed, a goodbye kiss would turn into something else very quickly.
Aria's mom stared hard at the couple for a few moments before releasing a sigh, "Ezra, would you like to come over for lunch?"
"Sure!" Ezra answered happily. Aria felt herself smile. She tilted her head up and placed a kiss on Ezra's jaw, the closest part him she could reach. It made her happy thinking that Ezra was meeting part of her family. That her parents were accepting him, and that he was so eager to become a bigger part in her life.