Page 33 of Defect
“Good morning,” I smiled softly. After leaving Malachi, my heart was heavy. I couldn’t give him the bright smile I would usually give.
“Hey, you okay?” He followed me inside after I unlocked the door.
“Not really, Ezra.” I set my bag down and walked behind the counter.
“If you show me how, I can make you a cup of tea.” His offer made me smile.
“I’ll show you.” When I showed him how to work the kettle, he stood right behind me. I knew it was so that he didn’t get in the way but it made my body temperature rise.
“I know how to use the kettle. I need help with whatever branches you put in the strainer.” An involuntary laugh slipped through my lips and I glared playfully at him. He took another step toward me and I felt his body brush against mine in the softest way. My body went rigid as a board.
“Come here,” I told him, pointing to the space beside me.
“I wasn’t trying to crowd you.”
“But you’re standing like two breaths behind me,” I mentioned.
“So basically, no matter what I do, I’m crowding you?” He stood beside me and I looked up at him. I couldn’t tell him that I needed him to get away from me altogether because the scent of Irish Spring and the deep vibrations from his voice were driving me nuts.
“You’re not crowding me, Ezra. Now, right here is where the chamomile lavender mix is. Here’s the citrus blend, the jasmine blend, and the peppermint.” I pointed to each container and he nodded.
I had to learn how to work around him and compose myself. Yes, he was insanely sexy and yes I was a tiny asteroid being sucked into his intense planetary gravitational pull but I had to push all of that out of my mind and focus on the fact that he was eighteen and we were going to be friends.
It took a lot of reminders throughout the day but after a while, I was able to look at him as a friend. He was just a sexy friend that I couldn’t and wouldn’t touch.
It didn’t take Ezra long to get the hang of how things worked around the studio. It took him an even shorter amount of time to learn the email system. His real test came after my first class of the day. I watched him clean and sage the area exactly how I showed him. After that, I was sold. I made an excellent choice hiring Ezra in the studio.
Every day for the entire week, he showed up on time and did everything perfectly. When I didn’t have clients or classes, we talked about everything under the sun. I probably shared too much with him and he probably shared too much with me but what are friends for? We spent too many hours laughing after Sun Goddess closed for the evening and I spent too many days rushing him home before his mother got off work and found him not tucked away in his room.
On Friday, he saged after the last class while I answered emails, sitting in the lotus position in the Reiki room. “I’m done, Solo,” he said, sitting beside me on the floor.
“Thank you, Ezra.” I looked at his long legs and shook my head. “No, sit like this. It helps to ground you.”
“I’m not tiny like you. Sitting like that isn’t as easy for me.”
“You can do it,” I sighed. I pushed his left foot toward his right knee and he begrudgingly got into position.
“You see how stiff I am?” He asked with a frown.
“I see you trying. Looks good to me.”
“You’re saying that because I’m doing what you want me to do.”
“Maybe,” I sang and rocked side to side.
“I’m not sitting down here like this forever. You’re supposed to help me gradually stretch not snap me in half like a fucking pretzel.
“Oh stop bitching, Ezra. You can do the sun salutation all alone now. Next week we’ll work on something more advanced.” He wasn’t trying to hear anything I said because he was uncomfortable in the lotus position. When he stood up, I stood with him.
“I wanted to show you something,” I said following him with my laptop. He sat behind the front desk and I stood between his legs, trying hard not to sit on his lap. I turned my back to him and he slid forward to look over my shoulder. His knees were on either side of me and he pressed his hands against the desk, locking me in an Ezra cage. Anywhere I moved, he was there. His breathing was steady but mine was erratic. My pulse slammed against the front of my throat and I tried to figure out what it was that I wanted to show him.
“What’s up?” He said. His voice was chocolate silk against my ears.
“Right here. A new class has signed up for lessons.” I swallowed the knot in my throat. “They’ll start next month on the first. I want you to watch me put them into the scheduling system. This way they get put on a billing cycle.” I tucked my hair behind my ear when in reality I wished I could pull it up on top of my head in a bun because the skin on the back of my neck was blanketed with prickly heat. Instead, I swept it to one side.
“What program do I click on to put them in the billing cycle?” He asked. His chest vibrated against my back and I tried to keep it together. I clicked on the app and leaned over to type in the information. I knew my ass would push against him. I bent down anyway.
You’re playing with fire, Solana.
