Ezra's Winner

Sixteen

(Second part to double update)

Kenai's POV

"Look at you!" I clapped my hands together and I smiled at the scene before me.

Ezra was finally standing on the stage. His eyes were wide open, and he looked much less tense than the other times. Armand puffed out his chest, it was filled with pride as he looked upon him. So did mine. 

Ezra's progress has been amazing. These past few days since he's been back something changed. I don't know what, but now it felt like he and Lucien had something to prove. I wanted to know more about what happened and what caused it, but I knew he wasn't the type. Ezra needed space to step up and forward. He didn't like being pestered because he felt like he was being pressured. He's never said it like that to me, but I've spent enough time with him to know his habits.

Since he's been back we've been together every day. It's become like a routine. We meet here every morning and I teach him a new skill. Then we go and eat lunch together, sometimes smoking, sometimes not. But we'd just talk. Talk about everything.

I've learned about some of his favorite childhood memories. Moments with his dads that he's cherished. He's a family man at heart and wants a big one like how he grew up. I learned that he has never been to a human city before, but would love to visit one and see what it's like. He's very protective over his siblings but especially Ambrose. He's worried that he and his mate won't reconcile. 

The whole situation was fucked. Ambrose's girlfriend passed, right before his assumed mate's birthday. It felt wrong for Ambrose to move on to his mate especially when he was grieving the loss of a woman he loved. But as time went on he felt guilty for making his mate wait so long and became paralyzed. 

Ezra was doing what he could by giving advice but this was new territory for both of them. He told me how everyone in their family knows sign and sometimes they'll have conversations only signing for hours on end. I made a mental note to start learning. Just in case. 

"I'm so proud of you," The words were easy to say. I was proud of him. 

Ezra shrugged and crossed his arms, a slight twinge of pink rose around the collar of his sweater.

"Yeah, whatever." He muttered.

Armand and I held in our laughter as we watched. Ezra liked to pretend he didn't like my praises but when he got all shy and weird like that I knew he did.

"Are we done now?" He asked, with a slight pout of his lip. 

His bottom lip stuck out and his eyebrows went into a scrunch. He always looked so cute when he made that face. I ran my eyes across his face, stopping at his lips, how plump and full they were. They were a dusty pink, a pink that I ached to see a bright red and bruised from mine. 

"Kenai?" He asked, pulling my thoughts out of the gutter.

Friends. We were friends.

"Yeah, uh, no we aren't done. Read the first line of the script." I cleared my throat and crossed my legs over the other to try and hide a situation that was trying to grow. 

I was sitting on the opposite side of the room and knew Ezra wouldn't be able to tell. Still, couldn't be too careful.

Ezra rolled his eyes but eventually gave in like I knew he would. "Hello everyone, and thank you for coming. I appreciate you taking the time."