It Happened One Night [COMPLETED]

Chapter 9 - "Ezra, I could kiss you!"

Ezra's first five attempts were close, but none of them reached the building across from them. Liv held her breath every time he threw, and tried not to show her disappointment when each of them fell short.

Each time he leaned down for the next ball, she gave a little pep talk. "That was good practice. It almost made contact. I'm sure this next one will."

She was repeating herself and the words had lost any pep but they helped keep the hopeless thoughts from creeping into her mind.

"Besides, we still have..." she turned to count the balls left on the ground. Her stomach dropped. They only had two left. "We still have plenty of chances," she finished, turning back around and smiling brightly at him.

She was trying to keep her own worry from affecting him but it was unnecessary. Since the first throw, he had been in a zone. He hadn't said a word and he didn't show any sign that he had heard a thing she had said. His eyes held an intense focus as he took in his target. He pulled his arm in and she held up the sign. The air went still around them as he wound up for the pitch and released the ball.

They both froze as they watched the ball sore through the air and hit one of the dark office windows. A loud crack rang out through the night and they looked at each other in disbelief.

"You did it!" Liv said. Her voice grew louder as she repeated it like a cheer, "you did it! You hit the building!" She grabbed Ezra's arms and jumped with joy.

He smiled, but he didn't join in the celebration. "I did, but it wasn't one of the windows we needed to hit."

"It doesn't matter," she said, trying to keep the hopefulness alive. In truth, she knew it did matter.

The noise hadn't been loud enough to get the people's attention but he had hit a window. When he had come up with the idea, she hadn't been sure it was possible. But now that they knew he could, getting help felt as simple as him throwing the next ball.

His smile brightened with amusement at her happiness. "But it does matter. I have to hit the right window."

"Easy," she shrugged, like the hit was as good as done. "You got this."

He chuckled as he reached for the next ball. When he looked at the building, his gaze became serious again. Liv took a step back, this time trying to contain her eagerness so as not to distract him. Her toes danced in her slippers as she tried not to bounce up and down.

She didn't hold her breath as he threw the next ball, her faith solid in his ability. The ball soared through the air and hit a window, but it was too high. She rushed forward, hoping the noise had been loud enough to get someone's attention, but there was no movement or sign that they had heard it.

"Okay," she started, ready to put everything she had into her pep-talk, but one cold glare from Ezra silenced her.

She bit her lip and stepped back. He calmly reached for the last ball and got into position. She knew his look wasn't meant to be mean. He need to focus and nothing she could say would help.

He sucked in a deep breath and she watched his shoulder's settle. He looked down then back up. He wound up the pitch and Liv held her breath. The moment the ball left his hand, it felt like time stopped. Liv's eyes tracked the ball as it seemed to spin through the air at a sluggish pace. It collided with a dark window and the loud crack the impact made was like an electric shock, snapping time back into place.

Ezra let out a low sigh, but Liv didn't give her disappointment a breath.

"Okay," she said brightly. She turned away from the neighboring building and began to walk. "Next plan."