5. Ezra

Chapter 5

Ezra

M y older brother, Elias, called while I was driving to the nightclub to walk me through how to behave for the wedding on Sunday, as if I needed more lessons on how to behave at an important family function. Smile, dance, and don’t shame the family any more than my presence already does. That last one was always at the forefront of their minds since I was a perpetual embarrassment no matter what I did. I wished Nova was coming with me since her family had been invited, but the Fosters avoided big events besides their annual Halloween luncheon in the town square.

As strained as my relationship with most of my family was, Elias and I were close. He was a handful of years older than me and was around a lot when Nova and I were growing up, but we hadn’t seen each other much recently. We might have lived in the same town, but I kept to myself and away from my family unless I couldn’t avoid it. He never cared about me not having a special ability since he was the one who was next in line to head the Woodhaven family anyway. Learning from my dad was difficult, so he had enough on his plate without worrying about me. As long as I stayed out of his way and didn’t do anything stupid, I could live my life without the constant pressure of trying to prove I was more than my lack of ability.

“Ezra, there’s something you should know,” Elias said, his tone taking a solemn turn. I could hear him tapping his fingers on whichever table he sat at. He waited a few seconds before sighing and saying, “Actually, enjoy your night. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

“Are you sure?” I asked, pulling into the parking lot of the club. “It sounds serious.” I turned off the car and switched the phone to speaker. “Also, who says something like that and then says, ‘never mind’?”

“It’s not that big of a deal; you’re just reading too much into my tone,” he said. “I want you to have a fun time at the club. I’m surprised you’re even going. Who roped you into this?” He chuckled. “Scratch that; I’m sure it was Nova.”

When Nova invited me, I didn’t want to come, but over my dead body would she go to a crowded nightclub with just Crystal. “Nova’s roommate invited her, and Nova wanted to go since she loves to see dressed-up humans on Halloween.”

“She’s a fascinating witch, for sure,” Elias said. Fascinating didn’t even begin to cover what Nova was. “Maybe you’ll grow a pair and finally ask her out. You know…we could brew a confidence potion to help you with that.”

“Yeah…I’m not sure about that.” I scratched my neck.

“Come on, Ezra. You are so in love with the girl it puts everyone else in love to shame. It’s painful to watch you guys do the whole ‘we’re just friends’ dance.”

“She’s my best friend, Elias,” I stated, feeling my heart rate increase and my hands get clammy. “I would never do anything to ruin our friendship. Plus, she doesn’t see me like that.”

“You’re joking, right?” he scoffed. “Dude, that girl thinks you hung the stars in the sky. You should consider telling her how you feel.”

I puffed a breath out. “I’ll think about it.” Desperate to change the subject, I asked, “Are you sure whatever you need to tell me can wait?”

“Yeah. Enjoy yourself, Ezra. Please, for once, relax. Maybe flirt a little. If not with Nova, then with a nice human or some other creature.”

I would have seen my brain if I rolled my eyes further back. “I’m hanging up now, Elias. Bye.”

My brother had been with his wife, Annie, since high school, so I think he had lost touch with how nerve-wracking flirting was. He had no idea how much I wanted to shout from the rooftops how much I loved Nova and wanted her to be mine, but I was scared. Scratch that, terrified.

A few weeks ago, Nova and I were watching a movie in my living room, and she fell asleep halfway through. After finishing the film, I picked her up from the couch and took her to the guest bedroom since I wouldn’t let her drive home tired if she did wake up. That sequence of events was not abnormal; she was known for falling asleep during movies, but nothing could have prepared me for the sight I encountered the following day.

Before she fell asleep the night before, Nova had spilled raspberry jam on her shirt, so I had given her one of mine and threw hers in the wash before it stained. The following day, I walked into the kitchen while she made pumpkin pancakes and was stopped in my tracks. My feet were paralyzed as my dreams became reality in front of me. Her purple hair was piled on her head in a messy bun, strands falling from all sides, and she carelessly danced around the kitchen in shorts and my shirt. My heart swelled, and at that moment, I realized I didn’t want to be friends anymore. I wanted—I needed—more.

I was determined for this to be the image I woke up to for the rest of my life.

The big hurdle to get over was that I would never do anything to ruin what we had. Since we were kids, Nova was the only person who didn’t see me as the broken Woodhaven—she saw me as Ezra. Ezzy. I was free to be myself around her. She didn’t care about my lack of a special ability or that I was an outcast in my family. She cared that I didn’t like candy corn, tolerated hours of Halloween movies, and that no one came close to me with shrimp since I was deathly allergic. She cared about me .

I was never good around people, but being around Nova made me confident, not just with her but with everyone else. Her energy was intoxicating, and I fed off it. I mistakenly mentioned how being around Nova made me feel to Elias during a too-boozy dinner once, and he insisted it was because the Gods made us for each other.

One day. One day, I would tell Nova how I felt. One day, she would wake up in my—no, our—house, in my shirt, right next to me. But not tonight.

The nightclub was dark, but thanks to the bright neon lights adorning the wall, it was easy to see the dressed-up humans. Wrong depictions of supernatural creatures walked around the bar and moved through the dance floor. I noticed a man in a ‘ghost’ costume. I wasn’t sure why humans thought ghosts walked around a sheet over themselves; they were just see-through individuals. Not to mention that they had no need for black cloaks and rarely screamed.

The vampire depiction was closer to reality, except none of them walked around with blood on them or their mouths. Who willingly walks around with their dinner all over their shirt? The garlic thing was accurate, but a strong smell would also deter me from going somewhere since it’s not particularly pleasant.

The wizard costumes were relatively accurate, but no one wore cloaks anymore since they were too cumbersome. Mine sat in the back of my guest room closet. I hadn’t touched it since my high school graduation. Also, we didn’t walk around with our brooms. Cars were a much faster and more efficient method of transportation.

I stood at the bar and decided to have my drink early since I was driving back, and we would likely only be here a couple of hours. Nova and I worked tomorrow, and I was sure she would quickly get overwhelmed by the crowd and volume. Not to mention, Nova didn’t like to be touched by strangers, and nightclubs were packed like sardine cans, making it impossible to move without bumping into people.

“Hey!” Nova surprised me and threw her arms around me with a slight hop. I was taller than her, so she clung as I wrapped my arm around her waist. A sliver of exposed skin met the tips of my fingers, sending a shockwave through me. My nose aligned with her hair, and I quickly inhaled. It smelled like cinnamon.

“Hey,” I said, smiling as she pulled away. My heart, brain, and all sense of reasoning stuttered as my eyes landed on her, robbing the breath from my lungs. I was a dead man.

And if this were the last thing I saw, I would die with a smile.

Nova’s legs were almost completely exposed under the mini skirt, except for the allure of the fishnets. The intricate flower design covering most of her thigh disappeared under the black skirt and reappeared on the bit of exposed skin of her midsection. An orange top was tightly wrapped around her chest, and I let my eyes linger on the fact that she was cold. Once my limbs started working again, I would have to give her my jacket.

“You look…uhhh…” I tried to say, but she took my words and breath away. Hell, she could take everything I had as long as she was left behind.

“Silly, I know.” She shook her head, turning her eyes to the ground. “Crystal convinced me to wear this.”

I had to remember to thank Crystal profusely.

“Silly? No!” I exclaimed. Her lavender eyes snapped up to face me again. “Nova, you look…umm…”

She got on her toes and set her hand on my shoulder. I felt her warm breath on my ear, sending a chill down my spine. “Do you want me to use my ability to help you get it out?”

Nova would never use her ability on anyone, but she asked me whenever I had trouble getting words out. However, right now, the last thing I wanted was for her to enter my mind and be privy to what I was thinking. She would never speak to me again.

I violently shook my head, and she raised her eyebrow. “You look hot,” I blurted out the PG version of my thoughts. Smooth, Ezra. Very smooth. “Sorry. You don’t look silly, you look incredible.”

“Oh.” She sank back down on her heels, and her face blushed as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “Thanks, Ezzy.”

Crystal came up behind her and winked at me before ordering a round of shots for us. I took my only shot of the night. The girls followed the first one with four more. It took a lot of human alcohol for creatures to get drunk, but Nova rarely drank, so the shots were enough to make her a little unsteady on her feet.

“Hey.” Some guy walked up and perched his forearms on the bar beside Nova as she chatted with Crystal. He was dressed like a demon, but his depiction was wrong. Demons didn’t have red faces, just red eyes. “Want to dance?”

The question was for Nova, who looked at Crystal and me for an answer. I wanted to shout and scream for her not to do it, but Crystal answered before I did.

“She would love to!” Crystal ushered her toward the guy.

The man grabbed Nova’s hand, who took another shot before looking back at Crystal with doubt in her eyes as she disappeared into the crowd. Crystal turned toward me with a knowing look. Typically, I loved that she pushed Nova out of her comfort zone, mainly with her outfit tonight, but encouraging Nova to dance with a stranger was not something I would have liked her to do. Plus, her smirks were getting on my nerves.

“Jealous?” Crystal sent her whisper to my ear so she didn’t have to shout. I rolled my eyes at her and sipped my beer. “Tell her how you feel, Ezra.”

“Is it that obvious?” I shouted back at her. There was no reason to pretend she wasn’t right.

She leaned back on the bar and sipped her drink. “To everyone but her.”