Page 17 of Defect
His golden skin was like honey and he had the body of a god. I was looking so hard I damn near tripped over my feet trying to get in the car. He must have felt my eyes on him because he aimed his intense gaze at me and all I could do was wave and smile.
I’m sure I looked like an idiot. If I didn’t have to hurry and get to my next yoga class, I would have stuck around to figure out if he was a mover or if he was my new neighbor. I wasn’t looking for a man but eye candy was always welcome and the man staring at me from across the street was a fucking Willy Wonka wonderland.
He raised his hand and waved back at me and my stomach flopped.
Calm the hell down, Solana. You don’t even know him.
I pulled out of the driveway and slowed to a stop because I don’t know how to behave myself. I’ve never been good at doing what I’m supposed to do. Like he knew I wanted to talk to him, he walked over to my car. He was even bigger close-up. I thought he would pick up my little Volkswagen bug and flick it with his long fingers.
I tried to keep my eyes on his but his perfect abs fought for my attention. I leaned over to the passenger side and offered him a big smile. I finally fixed my stare to his and noticed he had the most amazing eyes. They were fiery and copper. I stared at the golden flecks dancing around his irises and felt an immense wave of sadness hit my chest.
He was hurting.
“Hi,” I said in my usual chipper voice. “Are you moving in or are you a mover?”
“I’m moving in. You live right there?” He gestured to my house and I nodded.
“Nice to meet you, neighbor.” I stuck my hand out the window and he shook it. His big hand was warm and rough. My hand almost disappeared in his palm.
“I’m Ezra. What’s your name?” His troubled eyes traced over the features on my face and the corners of his full lips curved up slightly.
God, he was a beautiful man.
“Solana,” I told him.
“You’re gorgeous, Solana. You look like a chocolate Barbie. I’m not trying to be a creep or anything but…” he shook his head and chuckled. “I’ve never seen anyone as beautiful as you.” He was so blunt. It hit me like a breath of fresh air. My stomach fluttered like millions of butterfly wings and I couldn’t stop smiling. “Are you always this charming, Ezra?” I laughed.
“Nah. I’m not charming at all. It’s true though. You’re beautiful.”
“Thank you, sir.” I wanted to tell him that he was beautiful too but I didn’t know how men took to being called beautiful. It was the only way I knew to describe him though. Hewasbeautiful. Even though he harbored incredible pain inside him. To be able to shine even through something that thick was amazing.
“Have a nice day, Solana.”
“You too, Ezra. Hey, if you’re into yoga or wanna learn, I own the yoga studio up the street. First session is free,” I told him with a smile.
“Okay. I might take you up on that. Thanks,” he waved at me again and my stomach flopped. Why did the universe put someone that fine across the street from me?
Why?
I pulled off and turned my music up to an obnoxious level even though my destination was five minutes away. Sometimes you needed heavy bass to align your chakras.
I made it to the studio right before people from my class started to show up. I lit some incense and put on soft music while I laid out Reiki information. The entire time, my mind kept floating back to Ezra. What could have happened to him to cause so much pain? I hated small talk but I knew the next time I saw him, I couldn’t just dive into his past trauma like I wanted to.
I managed to instruct my hour-long yoga class without any hiccups even though I had a certain golden-skin neighbor on my mind. I kept picturing his chiseled jawline and amazing eyes. His lips looked like they didn’t smile often but somehow they managed to stay full and look soft.
I wondered exactlyhowsoft they were…
“Looks like Sun Goddess is doing well,” Amaris’ voice put a smile on my face. I was sitting quietly in the middle of the floor in the lotus position, meditating after class was over. Mainly because I couldn’t stop thinking about Ezra. Every time I ran into him in my mind, I tried to release him but something about him stuck to me like a magnet.
“Hey, girl,” I beamed. I stood up and hugged her tight. “What brings you here?” I walked over to the tea station and started making her a cup. I set the kettle on the electric burner and waited for it to heat up.
“I just got done grabbing some clothes for Malachi from the store and I drove past. I saw you sitting here like a statue and decided to come bother you since you always barge in my office.”
“I was meditating. I met this guy today and he’s stuck in my brain. I’m trying to get him out.” I sighed, rubbing my palms on my thighs. I turned up the heat on the kettle of water and pulled the hair tie from my bun. Waves of ebony fell down my shoulders and swept across my back.
Amaris eyed me silently for a few seconds then smirked. “A guy? Where did you meet this guy?”
“Across the street from my house. He’s going to be my new neighbor.”
