Tara Ahuja's Golden Rules

12: Regret Coming?

Ezra sat at one of the tables. He had gotten there early. I smiled, and rushed over to him.

"Hey, you made it!" he exclaimed. He got up and embraced me tightly. He sunk his head into my neck, and his eyelashes fluttered against my neck.

Every time Ezra hugged me, made me feel like he felt like this could potentially be the last time. He was just another person I traumatized.

I sat down across from him, and he took a seat, too. "How long have you been here?" I asked.

He stared down at his watch, "Not too long, maybe a couple of minutes before you," he said.

That was good, I hated to keep people waiting.

I looked at Ezra for a second. His hair had grown since high school; he even had a light scruff growing in. He wore a flannel and some dark jeans. He had grown up a bit. I guess I never really got a proper chance to see his growth; all of our encounters had been so short.

Ezra awkwardly half sighed and half chuckled.

Was this crazy? Was Varun right? Was I just setting myself up to get hurt again? Was meeting Ezra and numbing some loneliness worth all the turmoil this could cause in my life?

Ezra's glare stayed focused on me. "Regret coming?" he asked.

I was lost in thought, but I shouldn't have been. I should be present in the moment. "Of course not," I said, quickly. I shifted in my seat slightly, "It's just a bit of a shock, that's all," I said.

He nodded, "Oh yeah, I understand that," he said.

That was the thing about Ezra; he was one of the most understanding people out there.

"Maybe, we'll warm up to each other; in the meanwhile, let's get some drinks?" he suggested.

I agreed. He called over a waiter.

The waiter rushed over, "Finally," he said, pulling out a notepad, "Been here for over an hour; I was wondering when you'd finally order something."

I looked over at Ezra, and his cheeks were turning a slight pink. He'd been waiting for me for an hour. My heart melted.

"I'll take a hot chocolate," I said, trying to pretend I didn't hear what the waiter just said.

"Same," Ezra said.

When the waiter left, I knew I had to finally open up with Ezra. "So, how's mom and dad?" I asked. Ezra was an only child, so he was pretty pampered by his parents.

He scoffed, "Overbearing," he said. His eyes shifted around the room, and then back at me, "They really miss you, though."

I smiled, "I miss them, too," I said.

It was true. Ezra's mom was the closest thing I had to a mother figure. When Ezra, and I made up at the carnival, my mind eventually wandered to seeing his mom again, as odd as that might sound.

"What have you been up to in college?" I asked. It had only been the first week, but I noticed Ezra had already made quite a few new friends.

"Just befriending some classmates, and stressing about how I'll pull off this whole college thing. You know you're the only reason I got through grade twelve." he said

"Hey, that's not true," I said.

He raised his eyebrows, "You and I both know that's true," he said.

I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, I know, but I've got to remain humble about it," I joked.