Chapter 8 Ezra

O lly trembles in my embrace. I rub slow soothing circles on his back, trying to comfort him. What the hell is happening? And who the hell hurt Olly in the past. I'm shocked, completely speechless at his confession. His secret. But I can tell there's more to it.

If I'm the first person he's opened up to, enough to be sexual with, what happened in his past to shut him down? And why me. How could I have possibly earned this amazing man's trust?

I press my body closer to him. By the silent tears in his eyes, I know what he's just told me is huge. Bigger than anything I can imagine. "I'm here for you, Olly."

He hugs me tighter, and I don't push him to speak. He doesn't need to tell me anything. This is enough for now, maybe too much for two people who just met. But I'll protect this secret with all my heart.

"Why don't I call Midnight Pleasure and cancel our reservation with the restaurant? Apollo owes me. I'll see if he can get someone to deliver some food to us."

Olly nods against me.

We continue to stand there with me rubbing his back. We don't pull away for a few minutes and Olly finally relaxes.

"How did you know how to help me through that?"

I offer him a small smile. "It's been a few years, but my mom used to have a lot of anxiety when I was younger. Everyone responds differently, so please just let me know if I made you uncomfortable in any way."

"No, you were great. I'm so sorry for freaking out on you." Olly glances away, and I can't have that.

"Hey." I tilt his head till his brown eyes look down into mine. "Listen to me, okay, Olly?"

He nods.

"Whatever you are going through, whatever you are feeling, it's okay to feel the way you do." I gently place my palm on his chest and repeat myself. "It's okay to feel the way you do."

Olly lifts my hand off of his chest and kisses my knuckles. "Thank you, Ezra. It means a lot to me that you are so calm about all of this." He waves a hand down at his body.

"Thank you for trusting me. You don't have to tell me anything else tonight, but if you want to, I'm here to listen. Any time. Now, why don't we clean up here, and go up to my apartment? We have a fun, relaxing date night ahead of us."

***

Back in my dining room, Olly and I are sitting at the table, enjoying some wings and fries. I'll have to thank Apollo for getting us food so quickly. It took us a while to get back upstairs with everything we had to put away and clean up, but I get the impression Olly needed the time to gather himself. As soon as we entered my apartment, I was surprised to see Tabby zip by me, lightning fast. At first I thought she was trying to hide, but it turns out she was rushing to greet Olly by weaving between his legs and headbutting him like he was her long lost love.

The conversation between us is so easy. I haven't felt any of those awkward first date silences I'm used to. Instead we've been chatting and bantering back and forth for over an hour it feels like we've known each other for years.

"I know this is a little crazy asking now, but how old are you?" Olly asks before lifting a buffalo wing to his mouth.

I chuckle. "Why, you nervous, old man?"

"Hey! I'm not that old," he sputters.

I arch a brow.

"I'm only thirty-seven, not even forty yet."

Taking a sip of my water, I hide my smile behind my glass. "I'm twenty five."

"Oh my god. My aunt said you were a lot older than you looked. I'm twelve freaking years older than you."

I stifle a laugh. "And how old do I look?"

"Fuck," Olly scrubs a hand down his face. "With your flawless skin, I thought you looked like you were in your early twenties. Twenty two, maybe? I don't know, I kind of suck with ages. But after my aunt told me you were older, I figured since you owned your own business, you had to be in your early to mid thirties."

"Sorry to disappoint, but you are in fact robbing the cradle." I laugh.

"You are the worst."

I chuckle. "But you like me."

Olly shakes his head, chuckling. "I do."

My cheeks heat and I shove a french fry in my mouth. Gah. Why do I always react like a shy teen when he compliments me?

I nudge his leg with my foot. "So, Olly, tell me about yourself. What do you do in your free time when you're not wooing the world with your music."

He smirks. "I'm not sure our music is the wooing type." He taps his chin playfully. "Let me see, it falls in line with being a musician, but I love to play the guitar. Although, if you ask my brother, Noah, he likes to tease me about my love of fiction books. Since we are always on the road, it's easy for me to pull out my phone at any time and read there."

"A reader, huh? I never would have thought. I don't have many friends who read. What kind of books?"

"All kinds. Fantasy, mystery, romance. Give it all to me."

I take the last bite of my food and glance at Olly's empty dish. "Want any more? If not, I can put the leftovers in the fridge and we can pick something to watch." I point at my TV.

"I'm full. But thanks. What about you, do you read?"

"I do," I reply as I reach for his plate and rinse it off in the sink. "I'll show you my collection later. I can't seem to get into ebooks. I prefer paperbacks. Especially knowing it helps our little indie store."

"Oh, yes. I bought a book from there. That place is cute."

I reach for the blanket at the end of my sofa, and Olly sits before holding his arms out. I snuggle up against him and we chat about our likes and dislikes while going through the menu trying to pick a movie.

"Have you seen that new fantasy series with Jude Hale in it? Jude's my favorite actor."

"Oh my god, yes! It's so good. Jude is super hot."

"Should I be jealous?"

I bite my lip and look up at him. "Trust me, you have nothing to worry about. Although I wouldn't mind if you wore that fae warrior outfit Jude did during the fight scene in last season's episode."

"Okay, be honest," he says. "How many times have you seen this show?"

I snort. "Too many times. I can watch it over and over again. Sometimes when I'm working on my designs I just put it on in the background and glance up at the good parts."

"Lets do that then. Let's put it on while we continue to talk and get to know each other."

"Alright. I'm good with that," I reply with a grin. "As long as we can make out during the sex scenes."

"Deal."