Our New Beginning

Chapter 3

Aria set her fork on her empty plate and pushed it out on the floor in front of her. "You were right... These have got to be the best leftovers I've ever had."

Ezra grinned at her and laughed. "See? I told you."

Her eyes lit up at the sight of his smile. No matter how she was feeling it always seemed to bring her comfort. They sat in silence for a long time, but it was not the comfortable silence they used to share so often. Ezra had something he wanted to say and Aria noticed it the moment she arrived at his apartment. Every pause between them he would open his mouth then close it seconds later. This repeated throughout the night and it made Aria impatient and nervous. She wanted him to say it already, to get it over with, but a part of her feared that whatever he had to say might shatter everything she'd hoped for them. What if this version of him wasn't over Jackie? What if this version of him didn't like Aria's personality? It's what had worried her and made her want to start fresh with him in the first place. She wanted to know that Ezra could have fallen in love with her on his own. She wanted to know that he would stay with her through all of her stubbornness and flaws because he wanted to, not because he had to keep her close for research. She worried that whatever words he had to say might give her the answers she couldn't bear to hear.

"Can I ask you something?" Ezra blurted out. He seemed hesitant.

"Of course."

He ran a hand through his hair nervously then looked at Aria. Her big hazel eyes locked onto his and he felt his nerves settle down. He felt small, as if he could disappear into her vast golden-green stare and get lost in her forever. He wouldn't mind. He couldn't remember a time when simply looking at someone had ever made him feel so... whole. His gaze fell to her full lips, remembering how they had felt against his own and he suppressed a smile when he noticed that her bottom lip was trapped between her teeth. He tore his eyes away and brought them back up to her meet her eyes. She raised her eyebrows expectantly and Ezra realized he hadn't said anything. He cleared his throat and smiled sheepishly, embarrassed by his ability to become so distracted by her. He couldn't explain what was happening to him.

With a heavy sigh his eyes dropped to his plate, where he was mindlessly pushing a piece of penne around with his fork. "How old are you, Aria?"

To say the question caught Aria off-guard would be an understatement. She had been expecting the worst, expecting a slew of heartbreaking words to come spiraling at her one after the other until she couldn't take it anymore. Granted, this wasn't the brightest of situations either, but it was something that would have to be dealt with eventually. She didn't take her eyes off of him, letting the initial wave of shock, relief, and gratitude pass before she spoke.

"Eighteen," she replied with little emotion. She didn't see the point in sugarcoating it. What she didn't understand was how he had found out. Maybe she didn't look as mature as she thought she did. Maybe he'd been lying to her two years ago when he said she didn't act like a high school student.

"So you're still in high school..." he said softly, almost like a question.

There was still a part of him that hoped she would say she was at least in college. He looked up to see her nod slowly in confirmation. He sighed. Of course. There had to be a catch. He couldn't get away with something so wonderful and simple. His life didn't work that way. Aria noticed the way his face fell and recognized the same look of defeat and acceptance that she'd seen on Ezra so many times before.

"Am I really that easy to read?" she asked with a soft laugh, trying to lighten the mood.

Ezra couldn't help but smile at her easy going nature, though he was trying not to. It was refreshing to see her so nonchalant about the situation but he had to remember that he was sitting across from a high school student. And he also had to remember that he was no longer in college. He was twenty-six and she was eighteen. While it was technically legal, Ezra was still creeped out by the thought of it. Still, the way she carried herself and the way she spoke made her sound, in many ways, more mature than most of the people Ezra had come across in college. Ezra knew through hearing the stories she told and seeing how she reacted to them that Aria had been through more experiences and had a more interesting lifetime than anyone he knew. The more he thought about her question, the more he realized that had it not been for the message he received earlier that day, Aria's age would still remain a mystery.