Chapter Twelve
Ezra
There weren’t many people at the thrift store. Juno was standing by a table with used electronics on it to find a camera that was good enough to take videos for her movie.
“This one’s almost the same as mine,” she said and held one of the cameras in my direction.
“Does it work?” I asked, standing behind her and looking over her shoulder.
“I think so. It turns on, but it says it has low battery. I think I’ll get this one. There’s a charger that comes with it,” she explained and pointed to the short cord on the table.
I nodded as she turned her head to look at me. She smelled amazing, and I couldn’t help but take in more of her scent. I placed my hand on her waist and leaned in to kiss the top of her head. “I’ll get it for you,” I whispered, hoping she would accept this gift.
“You don’t have to, Ezra,” she said with a smile and turned her head back to look at the camera.
“See it as a late birthday gift.” I smiled and brushed my thumb along her waist, wishing there were no clothes covering her. She leaned into me with her back against my chest, and I moved my hand to her stomach, showing her in that small gesture how much I wanted her close.
“Are you going to insist on buying it for me?” she asked softly, and I chuckled.
“Probably.”
“Okay,” she sighed, turning to face me with a smile. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. But it’ll have to stay—”
“Between us. I know, Ez,” she whispered with a hint of sadness in her voice. I wished it was easier. But whatever we had going on between us could not get out. It was our secret, and I wished she’d be older and not my student.
I gave her an encouraging smile, then patted her lower back before nodding toward the checkout desk. “Let’s go.” I grabbed the camera out of her hands and reached for the charger on the table, then walked across the store to pay for the camera. It wasn’t that expensive, but I wanted her to save her money for other things. This camera wasn’t much of an investment. I gave it another year, then she’d have to buy a new one.
We walked across the parking lot to get to my car, and as I opened the passenger door for her, she put her hand on my wrist to stop me from doing so. “Would you like to go for a walk with me? We could walk along the creek. I don’t wanna go home yet,” she told me.
I studied her for a second. We were far enough away from people we knew, so taking a little walk with her wasn’t a bad idea. “Okay,” I replied. I put the camera on the seat, then shut the door again.
“Unless you’re not comfortable with it,” she added to her suggestion, but I quickly shook my head. “I’d love to go for a walk with you, Juno.” That settled her concern, and we started walking toward the creek leading into a small forest.
I pushed my fists into the pockets of my coat and looked straight ahead, taking in the beautiful colored leaves on the trees. “What’s your favorite season?” I asked.
“Winter.” Her answer shot out like a cannonball. I chuckled, turning my head to look at her.
“Winter? What’s nice about winter?”
“The snow. The lights. The coziness when you’re inside, cuddled up with your favorite blanket and a hot chocolate in your hands,” she replied.
“That’s so cliché,” I mocked.
She laughed. “But it’s the truth. Summer’s too hot. I don’t like the sun. I get sunburnt easily, and I have to put on tons of sunscreen before leaving the house. You start to sweat the second you open the front door and sleeping at night is horrible when you can’t even open the window because you’ll get bitten by freaking mosquitoes.”
“Right,” I muttered, puckering my lips and trying to bite back a grin.
“What’s your favorite season?” she asked.
“I’m starting to like fall a lot,” I told her, turning my head to look at her again.
“Starting to like? What’s making you change your mind?”
“You,” I said bluntly. Her eyes widened, and then that infamous frown appeared between her brows again.
“Why?”
“Because you remind me of it. Your natural dark, copper hair matches the leaves, your eyes look like dark blue, stormy skies, and then there’s your whole aura…” I hoped I didn’t sound like a total creep, but I couldn’t hold it in any longer. She was beautiful, and I wanted her to know.
“My aura? How does my aura match a whole season?”
“When you’re around it feels like a breath of fresh air. It’s like a storm coming up, but in a good way.”
She couldn’t find words. Instead, she kept her eyes on me while her face relaxed and the frown finally turned into a smile.
Juno reached out her hand and hooked it around my arm, and while it slid down to my wrist, I pulled my hand out of the pocket to take hers into mine. Our fingers locked, and in that moment, everything felt right.
We kept walking with our fingers intertwined, and after a minute of silence, she broke it. “Why did your ex leave you?”
I never talked about Olivia, but I didn’t want to keep my past relationship a secret. Talking about it might even help to get over it. “I left her,” I said, brushing my thumb along hers and holding her hand tightly in mine.
“We fought too much. She’s very work-oriented, and prioritized her job. Not that that’s a bad trait, but the second she came home she let all her frustration out on me. I tried to push it aside in the beginning, but she soon started to use her hands to let out her anger. Again, I took it for the first few months and hoped that she would calm down eventually. But she never did.” I sighed, running my other hand through my hair.
“I wasn’t happy anymore, and we started fighting over the most senseless shit. I worked at St. Floyd’s High School back then, and she wasn’t the only one who had stressful days at work. I couldn’t take it anymore, so I told her to leave.”
Juno’s hand squeezed mine and she leaned in closer to put her head against my upper arm. “Sorry to hear. You’re a great guy, Ezra. I hope you know that.”
Instead of bringing Olivia up, she chose her words carefully, saying only positive and uplifting things. That’s one way to cheer someone up, and she did it successfully. I smiled at her, kissing her head before looking back into her eyes.
“You’ve got a beautiful soul, you know that? It’s like an old, wise woman is stuck inside of you. That’s incredibly fascinating. You’re young, but I’ve had better conversations with you than with most adults I know.”
As we kept walking along the creek, her smile wasn’t the only thing that grew. My heart was full, and for the first time since we met, I didn’t feel as if we were risking anything at all.
Chapter Thirteen
Juno
We reached the car after almost an hour of walking around in the forest and talking. Our conversations were seamless, and I had a few laughs thanks to Ezra. He wasn’t just an extremely nice guy, but he was fun to be around.