Page 35 of Bless My Body

But I don’t because I’m a big chicken.

I turn back into my room and shut the light off.

The next morning, I wake up earlier than I usually do. I slept like crap, tossing and turning all night. I

tie my hair up into a bun before opening my door. I know I need to talk to Ezra. My mind isn’t going to

calm down until we figure this out.

Ezra’s door is open, but the light is off, and he’s not in there. I walk over and see that the bed is

made up, and his bags are gone.

I turn and walk down the stairs. It’s silent. I look out the front window and see that his car is gone.

He left. He left before we could talk about this. I didn’t flat-out say no to him. I think deep down, I

want to do it. I want to know what it would be like to be with Ezra, but I’m terrified of ruining our

friendship. He’s so important to me.

My heart beats even faster. Is that it for us? Is everything already ruined because I couldn’t find

the balls to talk to him about it? Surely not.

I check my phone to see if I’ve missed a text or anything from him, but nothing. He can’t be mad at

me. He’s the one who kissed me and said he wants to fuck me. I just needed time to think about it. I

didn’t do anything wrong. Well, except for ignoring him last night. But I was in shock. I think anyone

in my position would have acted the same. Maybe.

I take the stairs two at a time until I’m knocking on Stella’s door. She opens the door a few

seconds later, looking like a hot mess. I clearly woke her up. It doesn’t look like she bothered taking

her makeup off last night and her hair is still in her side ponytail, just messy from sleep.

“Hey, is everything ok?” she asks. She’s whispering in an attempt to not wake up Ozzy.

“Yeah, yeah… actually no.” I feel my body deflate. Admitting that I’m not ok is hard for me. I’m

always the one who puts on a brave face and keeps her shit together. This is not like me at all.

I see Ozzy sit up in bed behind her. “Stell, what’s going on?” he asks groggily.

“Nothing, babe. I just need to talk to Celine about something. Be right back.” She comes into the

hallway, shutting the door behind her.

“What’s going on?”

“Ezra kissed me,” I blurt. No reason to beat around the bush. The faster I get this out, the faster

she can help me decide what to do.

“What do you mean he kissed you?” Stella asks.