Текст книги "In Your Heart "

Автор книги: Micalea Smeltzer

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Текущая страница: 6 (всего у книги 20 страниц)

Across from where we sat Emma’s gaze seared me to the spot. She was mad.

I turned to look at her and mouthed, “What?”

She didn’t respond and instead continued to glare.

Ezra returned to the room, not making eye contact with anyone. “I have a few things I need to do.” Finally his gaze dropped to me. I couldn’t read anything in his brown eyes. They were flat. Emotionless. “I’ll drop you off at your car.”

“Uh…yeah, okay.” I stood up, putting the slice of pizza back in the box that I hadn’t finished yet.

Hayes stood up too, looking between Ezra and me. “I can take you to your car,” he said.

I knew he was only trying to be helpful, but I really wanted to kick him in the shin right now.

Ezra smiled weakly. “Great, Hayes can take you then.” He clapped his hands together and somehow it felt like a gesture that he was washing his hands of me.

Before I could respond Ezra turned sharply on his heel and stalked out of the house.

I was left there wondering what I had done to piss him off.

“I’m really sorry,” Hayes apologized yet again, “I didn’t mean to make things awkward for you. You said there was nothing going on with you guys, and he said he had somewhere he had to go. I was trying to be helpful,” he rambled.

“I know,” I assured him. “I don’t know what’s going on with Ezra.”

While Ezra might’ve been one of my closest friends, there were still times where I felt like I didn’t know him at all. Today, being one of those days. Sometimes he retreated into himself and there was no prying his thoughts past his lips.

Hayes parked his truck beside my car and turned the volume down on the radio. “So,” he started, “it’s still okay if I call you?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.” I laughed lightly, reaching for the door.

“You don’t feel weird about it, right? I mean, I know you just broke up with Braden, so I don’t want you to feel pressured.”

His sincerity was endearing.

“Just dinner?” I confirmed.

“Only dinner,” he nodded, “and then we go from there.”

“I’m okay with that.” I gave him a small smile.

He nodded. “I’ll see you soon.”

“Bye.”

I slipped out of the vehicle and into my store. I was feeling better and determined to put a dent into finishing up my paperwork and doing inventory.

Hours passed and when I finally left it was after six in the evening.

Once again, the whole day had managed to go by without me realizing it.

Ezra wasn’t at his house when I got there.

He wasn’t there when I made dinner either.

He still wasn’t home when I went to bed.

And I couldn’t help feeling that his absence was my fault.

I SAT AT the kitchen island, eating a bowl of cereal, and flipping through a magazine when Ezra walked into his house.

I glanced over at him, noting that he was wearing different clothes.

I quickly looked back at the magazine, refusing to let him know that I’d been waiting anxiously for him to return. I’d worried something bad had happened to him, but after three unanswered texts I’d stopped bugging him—knowing that if he’d been hurt Maddox and Emma wouldn’t have kept me out of the loop.

“Did you have a good night?” I asked.

He stepped into the kitchen, dropping his keys and wallet on the countertop. “Not in the way you’re implying.”

“I wasn’t implying anything.” I shoveled a mouthful of Cheerios into my mouth.

He propped his elbows on the counter and stared down at me with those intense dark eyes. “Yes, you were.”

I shrugged. “You were gone all night. What you did isn’t any of my business.”

And it wasn’t.

I didn’t care either.

That was a lie. I did care, even though I shouldn’t.

My feelings seemed to be swirling in a whirlpool and I couldn’t make sense of them. I’d always liked Ezra and there’d been attraction mixed into that, but I’d never planned to act on it. This jealousy I felt at the possibility that he spent the night with a woman was ridiculous. I’d not only just ended my engagement, but I’d also agreed to go on a date with Hayes, so I shouldn’t have been thinking of Ezra in that way at all.

I was also wondering if I’d agreed to go on a date with Hayes too soon after breaking up with Braden. But when was the right time to move on? Did I have to live my life on some invisible timeline that was respectable to what people found appropriate? I didn’t want to spend the next six months, or year, sniveling over the end of my engagement to a man I now realized never even owned my heart. I wanted to move on and live my life the way I chose.

“Sadie, did you hear me?”

“Huh? What?” I snapped my head up, my gaze colliding with his.

“I stayed at my parent’s house.” He turned and grabbed a mug before pouring himself a cup of coffee. He leaned against the counter once more, arching his brow as he waited for a response from me.

“Did you not come home because of me?” I asked, swirling my spoon through the milk. Suddenly, I wasn’t very hungry anymore. “This is your house, Ezra, and I don’t want to keep you from it.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose. “That had nothing to do with you and everything to do with me,” he sighed.

“Is this because I told Hayes I’d go out with him?” I asked, lowering my head and staring down at the cereal like it was the most interesting thing I’d ever seen.

“Yes. No. I don’t know.” He mumbled, running a hand nervously through his hair. “Things are complicated.” His jaw snapped together and he glared at the nearby window.

“How so?” I prompted.

“You’re my best fucking friend.” He slammed his palms down on the countertop. “It can’t be more than that. I told you I wouldn’t lose you, and I meant that.” He dumped out his coffee in the sink and muttered, “I’m going to shower,” before heading upstairs.

I sat dumbfounded, not knowing what to do or say.

So, I did nothing.

Several days passed, and Ezra kept his distance from me.

Boys could be so incredibly frustrating, and they thought girls were complicated creatures.

Hayes called and texted me some, but we’d yet to go on an actual date. Although, we’d made plans to go out for dinner next Friday, so it was still happening.

Now, it was the Fourth of July and everybody was headed to a party at the Wentworth’s. The Wentworth’s were a wealthy family in town, and Hayes happened to be related to them.

I rode with Ezra, but the entire car ride was filled with awkward silence.

I didn’t know how to fix this, mostly because I didn’t know what I’d done wrong in the first place.

He’d made it clear that he didn’t want a relationship with me beyond friendship, and frankly I didn’t feel that I was ready for more with anyone. I already regretted saying yes to a date with Hayes, but I hated to let him down now. Besides, one date wouldn’t hurt anything.

We arrived at the mansion and I took a deep breath. Things had changed a lot since the last time I was here. Then, I’d been engaged and blissfully ignorant.

Ezra got out of his car and I was forced to follow, more awkward silence descending upon us.

Normally, it was a comfortable silence between us, now it felt like he was building an invisible wall between us to block me out.

I followed him to the backyard. Although, calling it a yard seemed an injustice. The space was expansive with a beautiful pool and the greenest grass I’d ever seen. There were several cabanas set up so that you could escape the boiling hot July sun and servers walked around with trays of food and drinks.

A gust of wind blew by and my skirt billowed around my legs.

“Hey, you guys are here!” Hayes waved from a nearby cabana. He stood up and grabbed two beers from a cooler before jogging over to join us. He only wore a pair of navy board shorts slung low on his lean hips. His chest and arms were sculpted and on the start of one arm was a half-sleeve tattoo. Dark sunglasses covered his eyes, but nothing could hide his blinding smile. I felt bad that his smile did nothing to me, but it wasn’t…I refused to finish the thought.

Hayes held out a beer to Ezra and then me, the caps already popped.

“Thanks,” I said, taking it. It wasn’t my favorite beer, but it was the thought that counted, right? Although, the way Ezra glared at the drink in my hand I knew he believed differently.

“I’m okay,” Ezra replied, waving away the beer, “maybe later.”

Hayes shrugged, unfazed by Ezra’s dismissal.

“I’m going to see Maddox.” Ezra pointed and strode off, leaving me alone with his band’s guitar player.

I forced a smile for Hayes and tried to give him my attention, but my gaze kept drifting in the direction of Ezra.

“How have you been?” He asked, lifting his beer to his lips.

“Uh…good,” I replied, shielding my eyes from the sun. “Busy with the store.”

“’Course,” he nodded. “Fuck,” he rubbed his forehead, “it’s blazing hot out here. I’m getting back in the pool. You want to?” He tossed a thumb over his shoulder at the crystal blue water.

“Sure.” I shrugged, not knowing what else to say.

I’d worn my bikini underneath my skirt and tank top so I followed Hayes to the cabana he’d commandeered and stripped them off. My bikini top was bright orange, flowing down in a triangle cut. The bottoms were orange and blue zig zags that tied at the sides.

Hayes’ cousin, Trace, occupied one of the lounge chairs with his baby son sitting in his lap. The baby—who was probably old enough to walk now—was dressed in a pair of pale blue plaid swim trunks with oversized red sunglasses perched on his tiny nose. The baby blew bubbles, spit dripping down his lips and onto his chubby stomach. Trace chuckled and kissed the baby’s cheek before looking up at me.

“Sadie, right?” He asked.

“Yeah,” I nodded.

I hadn’t seen Trace Wentworth since the disaster last New Year’s. He had been absent from the ballroom when Ezra and Braden got into a fight, but he’d caught Braden and me in a hallway on his way back from putting his son to bed. Braden had been shouting at me, making everything out to be my fault, and I’d stood there, mute, as I took his verbal assault. Trace interrupted, cutting Braden down with quick, sharp words. Braden didn’t yell at me again that night—he still bitched though.

“How have you been?” He asked. “Where’s…?” He paused, waiting for me to fill in the blanks.

“Sleeping with someone else,” I replied, not batting an eye. I didn’t even care anymore.

Trace winced. “Sorry?”

“You said that like a question.” My lips quirked into a half smile as I folded my skirt and top to tuck into my bag.

“Well,” he paused, seeming to search for the right words, “he didn’t seem very nice, which wouldn’t be much of a loss in my book.” He shrugged.

The baby made a noise and Trace started playing peek-a-boo with him.

“Yeah, I’m glad it’s over.” It was the first time I’d said the words aloud and I felt a stirring in my gut at the truth in them. I was better off without Braden. Bigger and better things were headed my way, and when the time was right I would fall in love again, for real this time.

Trace rubbed his finger against his son’s lips so that the baby made a whirring noise. Turning to look at me, he said, “I’m happy to hear that.”

“Are you ready?” Hayes asked. He’d slipped off somewhere and I hadn’t even noticed he was gone.

“Yeah.”

I put the untouched beer back in the cooler and followed him to the pool. I’d put on sunscreen before I left the house, so I wasn’t worried about getting burnt.

It was a humid day and sweat already clung to my neck as I stepped into the cool water. It felt amazing against my heated skin.

Hayes chose to forgo the steps leading into the pool, and instead padded over to the diving board. Before he stepped up on it he rubbed his hands together and blew into them. He pointed in my direction and grinned. “Cheer for me!”

“I’ve got my Pom Poms at the ready.” I shook my fists in a mock cheer.

He chuckled and stepped up onto the board. It wobbled with his weight.

He bounced several times before soaring into the air, doing a somersault, and diving into the water.

When he surfaced he swished his wet hair away from his eyes while I cheered. That had been impressive. I’d been expecting a belly flop.

He swam over to me and a dimple pierced his cheek when he smiled. “Some party, huh?” He asked, looking around.

“They go all out,” I commented, taking in all of the decorations and guests. I didn’t know how they knew so many people. “Are your parent’s here?” I asked.

I knew Hayes was related to the Wentworth’s, Trace being his cousin, but I’d never actually met his parents.

“Nah,” he said, pushing his wet hair away from his blue eyes.

“You’re kind of a lone wolf, aren’t you?”

He chuckled. “I am, but they’re on vacation in Hawaii. I sent them there for their anniversary.”

“That was sweet of you,” I commented, swimming over to the side of the pool and resting my arms on the concrete side. I kicked my legs out behind me as Hayes joined me, mimicking my position.

“I figure I owe them.” He smiled. “They put up with all of my teenage angst and paid for my guitar lessons.”

“I guess those definitely paid off.”

“They did.” He smiled, squinting against the sunlight. He stretched his palms out on the concrete and I noted the callouses on his hands. Ezra had similar ones. They came from all of the hours of playing the string instruments.

I’d asked Ezra if they hurt once and he said it looked worse than it felt.

“How was your tour?” I asked.

“Fun,” he grinned.

I chose not to comment. I’d heard stories of what Hayes did on tour and most of them involved him getting naked with groupies.

“I wish I could’ve gone to a show.” I’d been planning to attend their concert in D.C. at the Verizon Center, and maybe two others in Virginia, during their Coming Home tour, but after the blow up at New Year’s I’d decided it was best not to go. I’d seen them in concert plenty of times, though, and the excited rush I felt never diminished.

“There’s always next time.” Hayes winked, his arm bumping into mine as he drew closer to me.

“Yeah—” I started to say, but the word quickly turned into a scream when someone cannonballed into the pool right behind me, drenching my upper body which had remained dry up until this point. I turned, ready to go off on the ignorant asshole, when Ezra surfaced beside me. “Ezra?” I asked. “What the hell are you doing?”

He shook his head, sending water droplets flying. “I was hot, so I’m cooling off.”

I was tempted to shove him under water. I glared at him, my tongue working behind my closed mouth as I tried to form words. “You’re ridiculous,” I finally settled on. With an apologetic smile thrown in Hayes’ direction, I said, “Excuse me.”

I swam to the steps and climbed out of the pool. I rang out my hair, heading for the side of the house. I needed a moment to collect myself before I hit my best friend. His odd behavior the past few days, coupled with his obvious attempt to disrupt my conversation with Hayes, was more than enough to piss me off. And let’s face it, with all the shit thrown my way lately I was already a little testy.

I’d barely rounded the house when a warm hand caught my elbow. Tiny little pinpricks zinged down my spine and I knew before I turned around who would be standing there.

“Let me go.” I jerked my arm from his grasp and he did.

I glared at Ezra, letting him see the anger simmering in my eyes.

His bronzed chest glimmered in the sunlight from the reflection of the water droplets and his flowered board shorts hung dangerously low on his hips, enhancing the V shaped muscle that disappeared beneath along with the trail of dark hair.

“What do you think you’re doing?” I snapped at him, my tone venomous as I crossed my arms over my chest. “Because from where I’m standing you’re acting like a five year old.”

He looked away from me, a muscle in his jaw ticking. He turned back, lowering his face into his hands. He let out a small groan. “I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing,” he admitted.

“You cannot tell me that you want nothing more than friendship from me and then get into a pissing contest. This isn’t high school. This is my life.” I stared him down, daring him to dispute me. “I’ve been through a lot in the last few years, especially the last few weeks, and I don’t need to be worried about my best friend hating me for trying to rebuild my life.”

“I know,” he hung his head in shame, “I’m sorry.”

“I’ll call my brother tomorrow and see if I can crash on his couch. I’ll be out of your way,” I vowed. I felt like living with him was only serving to bother him more. The close quarters were wearing thin for both of us because they only served to intensify the attraction between us.

“No,” he said adamantly, shaking his head, “that’s not necessary. I’ll get my shit together. I promise.”

I stared at him, calculating the sincerity in his words. Finally, I nodded. “Okay, I believe you.” Anytime Ezra had made me a promise in the past he’d always kept it.

He swallowed thickly and took a deep breath. His lips lifted in a slow smile of relief. “Let’s pretend the last few days didn’t happen.”

“I can do that.” I smiled and his shoulders relaxed.

He rubbed his hands together and pointed over his shoulder. “I guess we should get back over there.”

I nodded and followed him. We’d no more than rounded the house until we bumped into Hayes. He gave us each a sheepish smile and rubbed the back of his head.

“I thought I should come check on you in case you guys were trying to claw each other’s eyes out or something.” He shrugged, letting his hand drop.

I lifted my hands and wiggled my fingers. “No claws. See?” I joked, hoping to ease the tension.

It seemed to help as both of the guys relaxed.

“I’m going to go see Emma.” I nodded towards the cabanas. Before either of them could reply I ran off. I hoped if I left them alone for a bit that it would help ease the awkwardness between them that was my fault.

I found Emma and Maddox in one of the various cabanas along with Remy and Mathias.

Remy and Mathias shared one of the lounge chairs with her sitting in front of him. Mathias rubbed her shoulders and she relaxed against him.

Maddox and Emma occupied two of the other chairs, quietly talking together. They looked up when I entered and I grabbed one of the regular chairs and pulled it over to Emma’s side.

Her blonde curly hair was piled on top of her head in a messy bun and she was wearing a cute pale blue floral bikini set. The top came down farther on her midriff, reminding me of a corset.

“We saw what happened.” She said immediately, refusing to let me skirt over the events of a few minutes ago.

I sighed, propping my feet up on her lounger. She made no move to push them away.

I sat back, weighing my words. “You know Hayes asked me on a date,” I started, “and Ezra has been weird since then. This was the culmination of that. I think everything’s settled now, though.” I shrugged.

“Settled?” She repeated and Maddox leaned forward to peer at me around her.

He lifted his black Ray Bans to the top of his head. “I’ve never seen Ezra act like this before and I’ve known him since we were little.”

Emma turned to look at him and then back at me. “We’ve noticed things…”

“Oh my God,” I groaned dramatically, “here we go again. Ezra and I don’t like each other like that. Stop trying to make something out of nothing. It’s annoying.”

“I think you guys would make a cute couple.” Remy piped in behind me and I heard Mathias chuckle.

I ignored those two, remaining focused on Emma and Maddox.

Emma looked at me pityingly. “You don’t really believe that, do you?”

I glared out at the pool and away from my friend. When I looked back at her I let out a sigh. “It is what it is.”

I jumped when Mathias yelled behind me, “Collin, stop that!”

I looked over to see a kid of about six or seven running after people, squirting them with a water gun. I’d never met him before and I was confused as to why Mathias would be calling him out.

I swiveled around in my chair to look at the brooding lead singer. His lips were pursed in a snarl as he pointed a finger in warning at the boy.

“Who’s Collin?” I asked.

Mathias hands fell to Remy’s exposed baby bump. She was dressed in a white bikini with a crocheted black tank top that covered her top half. A floppy hat was perched on her head and when she turned to look at me it smacked Mathias in the face. He laughed and reached up to remove it, smoothing down her ruffled blonde hair with a stroke of his fingers. I never thought I’d see the day where Mathias was a loving and doting husband. It was weird, but a good weird.

“He’s my little brother,” Mathias replied, returning to massaging Remy’s shoulders. “I signed up with the Big Brothers Big Sisters program a while back and they assigned Collin as my Little Brother,” he explained. “His mom had to work today, so I offered to watch him so that she didn’t have to pay a babysitter.”

“That’s…nice of you.” I mumbled, shocked that those words had left my lips.

He smiled, ducking his head. “I can be nice when I want to be.”

Remy reached back, rubbing his thigh. “Go get in the pool with him. He’s restless.”

Mathias sighed. “But what if—”

“If I need something I can get it myself.” Before he could protest she leaned back with her head on his shoulder and covered his mouth with her hand. “Or ask Emma to get it for me.”

“Fine,” he agreed, albeit reluctantly.

He slipped out from behind her and ran after the little boy that was currently using his squirt gun to water the grass since he’d been scolded.

I turned back to Maddox and Emma and adjusted my chair so that I was sitting more angled and not blocking Remy.

“How are the wedding plans?” I asked them.

Emma hadn’t peeped one word about her upcoming wedding since my engagement fell apart. I knew she thought it would make me sad hearing about her dream wedding when mine wasn’t happening, but I was truly okay with everything. I wished everyone would stop treating me like glass. I wasn’t going to break.

Emma was slow to smile. “Good.”

“Good? That’s all I get? You’re getting married in September, I know you have more details than that.”

She frowned, her nose crinkling. “Are you sure you want to hear about this?”

“Yes!” I threw my hands up, sighing in exasperation. “I’m your best friend, so yes, I want to know about your wedding and I want to help if you want me to! I’m okay,” I emphasized the word, “so stop treating me like I’m not.”

She looked at Maddox and back at me. “Okay,” she replied. “I’ll stop.” A smile broke out across her face as she launched into details on the wedding. I listened and inserted comments here and there, getting excited. She deserved this and so did Maddox. I was honestly kind of surprised they’d waited this long to get married. I knew it was Emma’s doings though. Maddox would’ve married her as soon as she graduated high school. I had no doubts on that.

Halfway through our wedding talk Maddox left, joining his twin, Hayes, and Ezra in the pool.

Remy ditched us too, saying that she was starving.

Emma finished gushing about her wedding plans, her cheeks flushed a pleasant pink color.

“So,” she started, reaching over to grab a drink off the table, “you’re really okay?”

“Not one-hundred percent,” I answered honestly, “but I’m getting better.” I draped my arms over my bent knees. “I realize now that my life was headed in the wrong direction. Braden and I would’ve ended up divorced within a year, I’m sure of it.” I sighed, looking off in the distance. “It sucks feeling like I’m back at the starting line while all of you are moving on to the next step. Everything happens for a reason, right?”

She nodded, setting her now empty glass aside. “It does.” She stood up, stretching her arms above her head. “I’m getting in the pool, before I die and all they can find of my body is a puddle of sweat.”

I laughed at her and pushed up from the chair. “Good idea.”

Sweat clung to my arms and the back of my neck. I’d lived here my whole life and I still wasn’t used to the summer humidity.

We joined the guys in the pool. They played with Collin, all of them now the proud owners of squirt guns. When Emma and I stepped into the pool all of them turned their water guns on us and squirted us in the face. Even in their twenties they all still acted like a bunch of little boys.

Emma yelped holding her hands up in defense. “Maddox! I’m going to kill you!”

“Hey!” Trace yelled and I turned to see that he and his wife were in the pool now, their son sitting in a tiny float. “Don’t get my kid wet.”

“Sorry,” the guys chimed, lowering the guns.

“Where’s Remy?” Mathias asked, his voice sounding panicked as he swam for the stairs.

“Stop getting your panties in a bunch,” Remy’s voice boomed as she neared us, “I’m fine. I wanted something to eat.” She held a plate piled high with food in her hand. She stuffed a grape in her mouth. “You worry too much.”

Mathias sighed, his shoulders sagging in relief. “You can’t scare me like that.” He swam over the edge of the pool and I noticed he’d gotten a new tattoo. I’d missed it before since Remy was sitting in front of him. Above his heart was one word: Hope.

I swallowed thickly, knowing the significance behind the tattoo.

“Aw, poor you. Would you like me to put a tracking monitor on my ankle so you know where I am all the time? I can be your prisoner. Maybe,” her voice lowered, “if you don’t irritate me too much, I’ll even let you use your handcuffs on me.”

Maddox cleared his throat and muttered, “Well, this got awkward really fast.”

Remy gasped and the plate tumbled out of her hands, falling to the ground. I knew her reaction had nothing to do with what Maddox said.

In a lightning fast move Mathias leapt out of the pool and over to his wife. “What’s wrong?” He asked, fear sticking to his words. He looked her over, searching for what had caused her distress.

She grasped his wrist and brought his hand to her stomach. “The baby. I felt it.” Her mouth parted in wonder and tears pooled in her eyes. “It’s kicking. Do you feel it?” She asked, looking up at Mathias with wide, love-filled eyes.

He held his hand to her stomach and gasped when he felt it too. “Wow,” he murmured, looking at her lovingly. “That’s amazing.”

“I never thought I’d see the day,” Maddox whispered.

When I turned to look at him he was smiling at Mathias and Remy with a look of awe. I think we’d all worried that Mathias would remain angry and brooding for the rest of his life—and he still was those things occasionally—but you couldn’t deny the fact that for once he was actually happy. Seeing someone that had once been so miserable find a light in their life was a truly beautiful thing.

“What are you guys looking at?”

We all turned around to see a pretty redhead standing on the other side of the pool, her hand clasped tightly in the hold of the guy beside her. The guy was wearing a fedora—yes, a fedora—with his sandy colored hair peeking out of the bottom. They were both dressed in swimsuits, but the girl had a bag slung over her shoulder like she’d only just arrived at the party.

“Avery!” Olivia, Trace’s wife, chimed. “I was afraid you weren’t going to make it.”

The woman named Avery straightened her pale blue bikini top that had white stars. I noticed that her bottoms had red and white stripes. It was the perfect bikini for the holiday. “Yeah, we spent more time at Luca’s parent’s house than we meant to.” She shrugged. “Where should I put my stuff?”

“Our cabana’s fine.” Olivia pointed.

“Thanks.” Avery set off in that direction and the guy, I assumed he was Luca, followed her like a puppy.

The next interruption came in the form of Trace’s younger brother, Trent. He let out a war cry and bound towards the pool, executing a perfect cannonball, and drenching all of us in the process. It was a good thing we were already wet.

Trent surfaced, grinning.

Dean began to cry, not pleased that his face got wet. Trace pulled Dean out of his float and into his arms as he glared at his little brother. “Look what you did. Now my kid’s going to be terrified of the water.”

“Oh, shut up,” Trent kicked his feet swimming away, “a little water won’t hurt him.”

Trace continued to glare at his brother, but chose not to argue, and instead bounced the baby in the hopes of cheering him up.

Ezra swam over to me, his curls plastered to his forehead. He cracked a small smile and treaded water. “Enjoying the party.”

I smiled back. “It’s nice to be with my friends.”

“I’m still your favorite, right?” He joked, winking.

I mock gasped. “I don’t pick favorites.”

He chuckled and lowered his lips, blowing bubbles in the water before speaking. “But if you did I would be number one?”

“Maybe.” I splashed him.

He splashed me back and soon it was an all out war.

“You guys are children!” Maddox called, he and Emma now at the other end of the pool to avoid our splash fight.

“Coming from you that means nothing!” Ezra laughed, shoving a wall of water at me.

I didn’t turn away in time and some of it went up my nose. I coughed and sputtered.

Ezra immediately ceased his attack. “Are you okay?” He asked.

I nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

Before I knew what was happening he had my back pinned against the pool wall with his arms on either side of me. He stared down at me, his dark eyes intense. I watched as a droplet of water fell from one of his curls and onto his nose, before rolling down his lips.

My heart thudded in my chest at his proximity and my muscles locked up. When he got this close I never knew what to do. My body had always reacted to Ezra, I just denied what I felt. I tried to pretend it didn’t exist, because it was easier that way. He was right, we couldn’t ruin our friendship even if I did daydream about the way his lips would feel against mine. Even when I was with Braden I’d still felt this intense connection to Ezra. I guessed maybe Braden had been right to be so jealous.

“So, we’re good?” He asked.

“Huh?” My brows knit in confusion. I’d been too busy staring at his lips to process his words.

“Are we good?” He repeated. “After our talk earlier…we’re still good, right?”

“Oh,” I shook my head, “yeah.”

His smile was blinding, shedding light on all the darkest parts of myself. Ezra, in many ways, was the best parts of me. There was something about him that was so pure and good that you couldn’t help but be affected by that if you were around him for long. I swore he had one of the kindest and pure souls that ever existed. There weren’t many people like him and I was lucky enough to call him my best friend.