We continued making small talk in the kitchen for a little bit longer. Dad and Ezra were dominating the conversation as they rambled on about the differences between guitar string materials and the sound they produced. Ezra's eyes were bright as he explained why he preferred pure nickel strings over the nickel wound ones. A little giggle escaped my lips as they debated the topic like they were talking about world peace.

Ezra glanced over at the sound coming from my lips and he bit the inside of his cheek, trying to hold back a smile. Dad eyed me suspiciously when he saw the exchange between us.

"What time is it?" Ezra asked quickly.

"It's around four." Dad said, looking at his watch.

"I have to go. We have practice in an hour." Ezra said, getting up from the stool quickly.

"Thanks for bringing Riley home today." My Mom said, smiling at him.

"It was really no trouble at all." He stood up to walk over and shake my Dad's hand. "It was a pleasure meeting you. I guess I will see you on Wednesday." He turned back to me, not sure exactly what he should say or do.

"Oh, crap." I said, smacking my forehead. "I left my stuff in your car."

I can get it and bring it back up." Ezra offered.

"You don't have to do that. I'll just run out and grab it."

My parents waved goodbye to Ezra and he gave them a wave back. We both walked out the door without another word. When we got to the car, I opened the passenger door and bent over to grab my things. Ezra's hand slid up my thigh and I stood up quickly, holding my clothes to my chest. Ezra was inches from me and blocked me in so I couldn't get past him. He looked back at the house windows and up and down the street to make sure we were not being watched.

He grabbed the things from my hand and reached behind me to toss them on the roof of his car. He turned and found my hips pulling them to him. He slid his hands down my back and stuck them into the back pockets of my shorts.

A blush ran across my face when he pressed his arousal against me. I wanted to wrap my arms around his neck and lean in to kiss him, but I knew it was a bad idea. I was starting to get attached to the way he made me feel, the good and the bad. I wouldn't be able to keep my distance if he kept touching me this way. Maybe he could just continuously hook up with someone and not develop feelings, but that was not me.

It was not in my DNA.

Ezra was probably used to girls who let him treat them this way. He would coo and whisper dirty things to them and then make them feel bad about themselves so they would keep coming back for more.

But I wasn't one of those girls, even if I wished right now that I could be for a just a little bit. 

Ezra pulled me closer and rested his head on my neck, taking in my scent. His breath was ragged, and I could feel him wanting more from me. He turned his head and gently kissed the spot just under my earlobe. He nipped at me and moved his hips against me, causing a moan to escape my lips.

"You are so fucking sexy. I've wanted to touch you all day." He whispered desperately into my ear.

A car pulled into the driveway next door and my eyes flew open, remembering where we were. I looked over and the little old lady who lived next door was looking at me with judgmental eyes watching the dark-haired boy rub himself against me.

"Stop." I whispered as I put my hands on him to try to push him back. I looked back over at where my neighbor was standing and she was frowning at me. She turned and stomped up to her house. I was panicked she was going to walk over and go tell my Mom about how inappropriate her little girl was being. "Ezra, we have to stop."

"No." He growled into my ear. He moved his hand between my legs and moved the fabric of my shorts off to the side until his fingers found me. He began moving circles over me and I was gasping for air, trying to hold back the moans fighting their way to the surface. He wrapped his other arm around me to hold me up as my knees began shaking.

"You want me to fuck you, don't you beautiful?" Ezra purred in my ear. "Show me how much you want me."

My eyes rolled back into my head and I was losing all my senses. It was just Ezra and me here together as the whole world fell away around us. That was until a horn honked from somewhere down the street and I jumped out of my skin. Ezra and I bumped heads and he stepped away from me laughing.

"Well, never had that one happen before." He said with amused eyes as he rubbed a small red spot near his temple.

"You should have stopped." I complained.

"So you decided to head butt me?" He smirked wickedly.

"You are...you... I can't even think you are so irritating." I pulled at my hair.

"You're welcome." He said, amused.

"You can't keep doing this to me. You don't even like me." I groaned, frustrated at my lack of self-control when it came to this boy.

"What makes you think that?" The annoyingly arrogant smile had finally left his face and his brow furrowed.

"The fact you called me a slut earlier and you always make fun of me." I was ashamed that I let him get under my skin like this again after how he acted this morning at the band house.

"You're right, Riley. I can't stand being around you." He ran his fingers over my cheek and brushed his thumb over my bottom lip. My lip quivered from a mixture of being turned on and devastated. It was a strangely confusing combination of emotions. Everything always felt so upside down with Ezra.

"Goodbye, Ezra." I choked out, trying to push past him. He pulled my arms around his back and pulled me against his chest.

"You should come back over again tonight so I can show you how much I don't like you." He mocked me.

"That's not going to happen."

"Why? I know you enjoyed yourself." He teased me again.

"I don't want to cause problems between you and JD."

"You don't want to do this again because your brother might get mad?" He questioned me. His eyes narrowed when he looked down. They had turned to a dark, turbulent gray.

"I can't risk him finding out." I said, sighing.

He pushed me away while he laughed and shook his head at me. Deep down, he had to know we crossed the line last night. He knew what we did was wrong.

"You know what? You're completely right. This would never work for me." Ezra said, looking down at me darkly. "You're not my type. I don't make it a habit of getting involved in charity cases."

"Fuck you." I pushed him back and began to storm up to my house.

"Riley, your clothes." Ezra called to me.

I turned around grumbling and walked back to him. He grabbed the pile and reached out to hand them to me. I snatched them from his hands and continued my overly dramatic exit.

"See you Wednesday." He hollered.

I opened my front door and slammed it shut behind me. I hit the door with my palm and kicked at it in frustration. That damn infuriating boy was going to cause me to have a nervous breakdown. I took a deep breath and laid my head against the door, closing my eyes.

I could hear Mom and Dad still talking about him in the kitchen.

"That Ezra boy is a nice kid." Mom said. "I hope Brynn will come on Wednesday too. Maybe Riley can introduce them. It would be good for Brynn to have a good influence. I think they would hit it off."

"Who knows."Dad responded a half answer to appease my Mom. I know he didn't have any interest in Brynn's love life and didn't care about the dating habits of a twenty-two year old boy. "You know, dear, he seemed to get along with our daughter pretty well. Are you sure bringing Brynn around is a good idea?"

"Why not? Riley won't mind. It's not like Riley and Ezra are going to date. He watches out for her because he's friends with JD. Besides, she is too young for him anyway." Mom was laughing like the idea was crazy.

"It could be very awkward for Riley if it doesn't work out. That's all." Dad said, shrugging it off.

My heart sank. My Mom had put me down and didn't even realize it. I was tired of being the young, innocent one who always needed to be protected.

Why would it be fine if Ezra dated Brynn, but the idea of Ezra and I together seemed so farfetched?

Imagining Brynn and Ezra together broke my heart. Even though Ezra was a jerk, I was selfish and didn't want him to be with anyone else either, even if the person was my best friend.