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"Y-yes. How did you know that?"
"You always have a cup of tea when you come to class, and it smells spicy, so I assumed chai." He smiles awkwardly. "Is that weird?"
The only thing weird about it is how much more it makes me love you.I honestly didn’t need another reason to swoon over this man.
"Not at all. It's very thoughtful of you to notice. Chai is definitely my favorite."
"It seems you've met my sister, Taryn. Taryn, this is Beth. She’s a student. And a friend." The way he addsfriendis odd, like he’s trying it on for size or is something he isn’t sure of. I suppose it’s probably awkward to try to redefine a teacher-student relationship when your best friend is sleeping with them.Or at least he will be.
"Wait.TheBeth?"
Confusion pulls me out of my reverie over getting dicked down later. I release the hand I’d been shaking and cut my attention towards Ezra.What is that supposed to mean?
"Yes, I've mentioned her before. One of my very best students."
"Riiiight," she says with a pointed look at Ezra before smiling back at me. "I need to get back to the customers. Beth, it was a pleasure to meet you. I hope you enjoy the chai. It's my own extra spicy blend." She shoots a weird look at Ezra, then sticks her tongue out at him. When I turn back to Ezra, he quickly rearranges his face to a normal expression, but he was clearly making faces back.
"You two are hilarious. You must be close."
"Very. We're only eleven months apart."
"Oh my, your poor mother," I joke.
"We don't get a lot of chances to get to know each other in class. Do you have siblings?"
"I have an older brother, but we don't really talk much. I had a falling out with the rest of my family a few years back…” My voice tapers off, unsure of why I’m spilling my personal information like this.
"I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have pried."
"It's okay. I came to terms with it all a good while back."
"Well, someday I hope you'll tell me more about it. I'd love to get to know you better."
"Why?" The word is out of my mouth before I can stop it, and I cringe at how grossly broken I sound.“Because I’m dating your best friend?”
He smiles kindly. "You're a talented, fascinating person, Beth. Why wouldn't anyone want to get to know you?" He looks up and makes eye contact with someone over my shoulder. "I shouldn't keep you from your date. Have a fantastic night, Beth," he says, dropping a kiss on my forehead.
Did Ezra Beckett just kiss me?I mean, yeah, it was my forehead, but still, it’s the second time in as many days. Maybe he feels more comfortable around me because I'm dating his best friend? I'm so confused.
Cal is smirking.
"What are you smirking at?"
"The two of you," he says plainly. I worry for a moment that he can sense my attraction to his friend, but he doesn't seem offended. He probably didn’t notice it then. I feel guilt creep up my neck in the form of a blush.
We wave to Ezra and Taryn, and make our way back outside, warm drinks in hand, to enjoy the rest of the exhibits. My Chai is easily the best I’ve ever tasted, and I spend more time raving over it than I do the art on display.
We talk about anything and everything, and I even open up about part of the reason I’m no longer close with my family.
“Growing up, it was always a competition. I was constantly compared to my older brother, who’s an all-star athlete. My looks were more important than my grades or any talent Imight have. My mother always had me on some kind of diet, and I developed a pretty unhealthy relationship with food and my body,” I say, my voice dying off a little. “And the last straw, sadly, was my father’s tailspin into politics. He couldn’t just agree to disagree, he had to bring it up every time I was there. Every visit became a verbal sparring match, and it felt like he was challenging my intellect because I didn’t agree with him about a woman’s right to make decisions about her own body, or whether or not it mattered where a certain senator’s ancestors were from.”
He rubs my back encouragingly, letting me know he’s listening. I shake my head, wanting to change the subject. “I don’t want to bore you over the details of how I lost my family over something as simple as politics.”
“It’s more than politics, though,” Cal reasons. “You have a fundamental difference in how you see the world and treat other people. They don’t get a pass to talk down to you or treat you poorly because you dared be different or disagree with them.” He kisses my cheek and laces his hand in mine. “I think it takes a special kind of person to stand up to the people you love the most. It’s on them if they aren’t willing to be civil, or if they decide that seeing the world through their narrow point of view is more important than a relationship with their bombshell of a daughter.”
I blink up at him, wondering how it is that he can spin something so negative into a strength and make me feel good about myself just like that.
When we make our way to the end of the pier, Cal orders something from seven different food trucks, insisting that we share everything so we can try a little of all of them. I love that, but I'm still conscious of how much I eat, only taking a small bite here and there, covering my discomfort with chatter. Igrill him about his life, asking so many questions I worry that I’m prying, but he doesn’t seem to mind. I’m not sure what he thinks about me deflecting his questions, but I’m so much more interested in learning about the man behind the talent. I especially love hearing about his family.
