"One, two, one, two, three, I've got a ticket so ride with me, Mary go down on the merry-go-round. All is fair on the fairground. Love go slow, love go fast. Licorice twist, gonna whip your ass. Rollercoaster of love," Love Rollercoaster, The Ohio Players

"I think you would look amazing with this shade of lipstick, Ezra," I blinked twice as Natalie pushed a bunch of makeup products in my face, opening a tube to study the color on my lips. I did nothing but sit there as everything on my to-do list was completed. 

I also couldn't bother Nishan because he was doing a photoshoot in the main room of the house and I didn't want to go distract him or worse, get distracted by him. I just opted out to allow Natalie to mess with me in her room. Free products = happy Ezra Moore. Though, I would only wear her products in the safety of my house because I didn't need a single person seeing me outside of my element. 

Noelani giggled from her swing as she clapped her hands, watching me get all pretty and whatnot. She was probably laughing at the fact that I resembled a girl now. "I wish I had your skin, Ezra," Natalie pouted as she took several pictures of her work. I grimaced as I thought of the time a few years ago when my face was nothing but a slice of pepperoni pizza. It was not cute at all and I didn't know why I was let out of the house every single day. "Ah, thanks," I murmured, but my mind wasn't there in the moment. I was still thinking about that shirt with the bloody handprint.

"Ni..." I trailed off, pointing to the shirt with horror evident in my voice. "What the hell is that?" My voice was shaky and quivering and Nishan just tightened his grip on the shirt, taking a deep breath as he closed his eyes, shaking his head. "...I have not a clue, Ezra," His voice was quiet and I could tell that he really had no idea what this was, who it was from, or where it came from. "But please, don't tell anyone until I figure it out."

He turned to me with a pleading look in his eyes, a look so deep that I couldn't help but nod. I really knew that he had the power to fix this on his own, so I wasn't too concerned about that part. I was mainly concerned with the fact that someone had the nerve, the sheer audacity to send him something so cruel. It let me know that it was someone who was close to him because the message that was written sounded too personal. I didn't want to pry into his business, but like always, I knew that this was something deep.

"I'll tell you everything soon," Nishan reached over to caress my chin with a pained smile on his face. "I promise you." From then, he seemed to be working a lot in order to figure out who delivered this to him. 

I knew he was scared, no doubt about it. He didn't hesitate to let me know when I saw him the next day. That much told me everything that I needed to know because Nishan Lawrence didn't scare easy. There were only a few things that haunted him, and this was one of them. Either way, I didn't like seeing him so pained and so focused on something that could potentially blow up in our faces because we were treading too deep.

"Have you seen Nishan yet?" Natalie asked with a grin and I shook my head, knowing where she was going with her answer. "No. I don't want to bother him." Or worse, I didn't want to go into cardiac arrest with just one glance at him. I knew how I reacted when seeing him on the screen. I was not mentally or physically prepared to see him in person, now that I knew how good he felt in my arms. 

"Well, we can go see him once I'm finished up here," She replied with a factual tone and I grimaced, unsure of how I was going to act when I saw him. "Ezra, you have asthma, right?" I furrowed my brow at the sudden question but nonetheless nodded. "Yeah, why?" I tilted my head as she plucked my eyebrows. "Oh, nothing. I just remembered seeing him coming back with a bunch of inhalers one day, and he told me to put one in every room," My heart started to flutter as I remembered telling him that I had asthma and that I used a specific inhaler to cater my needs.

"When I asked him why, he said that we had to be prepared in case you ever needed it," I smiled unconsciously as she sighed. "I wish I had a love like y'alls." I raised my brow as she closed up all of her products, giving her a look. I had no idea what this was, but I wasn't sure if it was love. It was too quick and too unusual to love someone that easily. Maybe we were in that stage just before we got into love, I didn't know. 

"That's kind of cute," I blushed, looking over to Noelani, who was staring at me intensely. Life was going pretty well right now, which meant to me that something was going to happen soon. "It's funny because Nishan himself said that he would never love anyone because he hated emotions," I seldom listened to Natalie as she began to clean up. "But he was the first one to fall for you," She whispered absentmindedly as I stood up, the butterflies in my stomach fluttering like crazy at her last words. I wanted to ask how she knew that because she wasn't involved in the relationship, but I wanted to hear Nishan tell me that instead of her.

I didn't want to jinx anything, that was for sure. For the first time ever, I found myself looking forward. The business fraternity that I was over accepted me with so much ease and made me feel so respected and valued. Lucia and the people that I worked with were great and they instilled so much confidence and so much faith within me and it finally felt like my dream was within my grasp. And then Nishan looked at me every day, giving me a starry-eyed look that told me that he saw everything in me that I never saw.

That kind of thing was too good to be true, so I was trying my best not to ask for more or less.

What more could I ask for anyway? I had what I had been looking for all this time. "Or was it me that fell first?" I mumbled to myself, fighting the urge to smile. I blinked my lengthy eyelashes (courtesy of the mascara made by Natalie) as I stood up, watching her crack her neck. "Come on," Natalie said and I raised a brow. "I need to stop by the snack room before I go to see Nishan," She stated before going to pick up Noelani from her crib. 

She headed towards the door and I ran a hand through my hair, questioning myself as to why I was feeling so jittery for no reason. Once we were in the hallway and I was donning my black apron once again, Natalie turned to me with a sly but subtle grin on her face. "Go ahead and head down there, Ezra," My eyes widened comically as she removed herself out of the path of my grabby hands. "I need to go feed my dear little niece a snack," Noelani cooed in excitement as Natalie kissed her cheek and I felt betrayed.

"W-what?" I stammered, cheeks blazing hot now, mind racing at the thought of actually having to do this by myself. "You got it, Ez," Natalie winked before nudging me harshly in the direction of the large lounge room. "No need to be nervous. He's already yours," She smirked before walking in the opposite direction. She was right, but she was also so very wrong, I wanted to assume.

I took a very exaggerated deep breath, looking at myself to make sure that my outfit was on point before taking a painful step closer to the lounge room. It was official. I wanted to die. I shook my head and thought happy things as I continued my journey down the hall.

"Hey Ez," I saw Eve walking towards me in a black jumpsuit with red heels on her feet, a smile on her face. "What's up?" I asked as she stopped in front of me. "Do you mind making a dessert for our small gathering this weekend?" I furrowed my brow, questioning why she was asking me. As far as I was concerned, I didn't have a degree in culinary arts. She picked up on this and chuckled, formulating a response. "It's just that when you made that cake a few weeks back, everyone loved it!" She beamed and I internally smirked. 

"I guess I could," I shrugged, finding nothing wrong with the request. I'd have the help of Chevonne and the other chefs, so it'd go smoothly. "Good, thank you!" She clapped me on the shoulder before motioning to her husband Leon, who was standing in the corner of the room like a creep. "Thanks for holding down the fort, Ezra," He came to intertwine his fingers with Eve's, looking happier than ever. "We really appreciate it," I nodded with a smile as they bid me farewell.

I sighed and continued to walk around the corner, giving myself the courage to go through the double doors of the room that Nishan was in. I had no clue why I was busting in there by myself, but I wanted so badly to see Nishan. I hadn't seen him all morning and despite not wanting to be annoying, my heart kept calling out for him. 

Once I was inside, the flashing of cameras blinded me and the commotion of the set crew rambled around my ears and I felt so out of place as I looked around the unbelievably large room. "This way!" A photographer yelled before snapping a picture. I turned my head to see a rack full of different types of clothing and I was amazed that this was Nishan's job. All of these people were here for him. I was surprised they managed to fit their colossal amount of stuff into this room.

"Here, Ezra!" Who here knew me that well to address me so casually? With widened eyes and an expression of confusion, I turned to see a set worker walking over to me with a plate of pastries with some chopped nuts on top. "I tried to save you some before everyone on set ate them all," The girl came to stand in front of me with a bright smile and I couldn't find the nerve to not accept despite all reason to. I grimaced internally, reaching out a hand to grab it. Maybe I would just throw it away when she was out of reach. "Oh—" 

All of a sudden, the plate was snatched out of her grasp and away from me. "Ah, Emily, don't give him shit like this." I smiled softly as I recognized the deep and husky voice, turning my head to look my man in the face. "He's allergic to nuts," Nishan ran a hand through his hair, sweat dripping down the side of his face as he smiled brightly at me, those eyes lighting instantly upon sight. Aw, my heart swooned at the thought of him remembering something so crucial about me that I mentioned briefly. 

I went to speak as the girl started to sputter in embarrassment but when my eyes landed on what Nishan was wearing on his torso, my voice miraculously disappeared. All of the water in my mouth started to dry as it dropped slowly to the ground, taking in that mint green tank top on his body, wondering how a piece of cloth could make him look so sinfully tempting. 

"Can you get me some scooby snacks, Ezra?" I blinked slowly, making sure that I wasn't drooling physically or mentally. I really was standing there looking stupid. He looked so good, especially with his hair freshly trimmed and the curls pushed back down his neck, exposing more of his beautiful eyes. He looked like a whole meal and I didn't have a fork or a spoon to enjoy the deliciousness that was before me. "Uhhh," I swallowed tightly as my eyes trailed up that delicious body of his, up to his juicy pecs, and up to his lips, where I fixated all of my attention. "Oh, yeah, sure," I muttered absentmindedly, wondering if my brain shortcircuited. 

I could see a smirk forming on those pink lips as a chuckle filled the air. He studied my face intensely and I felt a little awkward because I was wearing makeup. I didn't know how or why, but the air felt predatory. "I-I'll go get them real quick," I didn't dare look into those eyes, for fear of getting lost in them. I just held my breath and turned out to scurry out of the room like a rat on crack.

Oh shit.

Did I have a kink for seeing Nishan in mint green?

Fuck, I had to end it all. 

I wiped away the sweat that was pooling on my forehead as I darted out into the hallway, making my way to the snack lounge. The way he looked would forever be ingrained into my memory and I was sure that there was no way that I would get over seeing him look so dashing and handsome but sexy all in one. I needed water, that was what more important right now. 

"I'm gonna go get some water and then go home," Eve would understand why I had to leave. All of the testosterone in my body was at its peak right now and I needed some release. I hadn't gotten off in what seemed to be forever, and this was a perfect time. 

All of a sudden, big hands snagged themselves around my waist and yanked me back into a hard chest, husky breathing echoing into my ear. "You think I didn't notice how fucking gone you looked, Ezra?" All of the breath was gone from my body as Nishan dragged me into a nearby closet, closing the door with a sinful intent. He let me go as I turned around, lip bitten as I focused on him in the dim light of the small room. The air around us zinged with heat flowing between us as he stalked closer and closer to me, his eyes dilated and darkened. 

His lip was tucked under his teeth as he wasted no time in reaching down to scoop me up by the waist and all of a sudden, hot lips attacked my own ferociously. He slammed me against the wall as he forced me to wrap my legs around his waist, his tongue swirling around and tasting every part of my mouth. He was giving it to me as deep and hard as I was giving it to him. His hands stroked down my back slowly, encompassing the meat of my ass as he squeezed tightly, stroking himself against my erection.

Holy shit.

He was kissing me deeper, filling me up inside, fulfilling such a dark urge that I didn't even know I had. I wanted more, I needed more and even then, I craved all of him. He stole my breath, evoking such a strong dominant aura from him as he continued to steal touches and grabs from my body like he couldn't get enough. The smell of his cologne and his shampoo began to take over my senses and I realized that there was no one that I could want any harder than Nishan. His lips tasted like the sweetest chocolate ever made and the way his stubble rubbed against my cheeks had me begging for more.

There was no way I could stop grinding against him.

All of a sudden, Nishan pulled away, allowing us to catch our breath in this heavy moment. He held on to me and I held onto his shoulders, the itch not yet satisfied. He stared at me in thought, his eyes trailed from my own to my lips and back up again. "What are you thinking?" I asked breathlessly and he shook his head like he was fed up with everything. He clicked his tongue and sighed heavily, gripping my body tighter as if he was committing the feel of it to memory.

"I'm thinking that soon is too damn far away for me to wait."