Page 8 of Wrapped in Red

The urge to suddenly kiss Ezra hit me so hard that I found myself untangling my hand from his. That was how we got into this predicament in the first place, and besides, I had a boyfriend. Well, sort of. What I had with Noel wasnice. Safe. We met right at the end of the season, introduced by Watts. I was sure that was his way of trying to keep me away from his fiancé, which again, he had nothing to worry about.

Noel McCormick raced in the Xfinity series, so he understood what it was like to be a driver. We also wouldn’t compete against one another since it was the tier beneath Cup. He was way out of my league with his inky black hair and enticing eyes, but I felt like he might be going through the motions when we were together. Kissing me, holding my hand, and there wasn’t much of a spark. We hadn’t even made plans to see one another over the break. Most couples did that sort of thing, right? I hadn’t ever really had a serious boyfriend before, but I figured we would see one another between now and February when the season started up again.

“Did I lose you again?” Ezra poked my arm.

I blinked nervously. “Sorry.” I should be thinking about my boyfriend, right? The guy I hadn’t even made plans to see over the next few weeks.

“Did you fall asleep? I should let you sleep.” Ezra rested his chin on my shoulder. “Bet your mom is making cinnamon rolls, though. I could really go for one of those.”

I chuckled. “Always thinking about your stomach.”

“I’m a growing boy, CC. I need to eat.”

“Growing boy, my ass. You’ve been the same height since we were sixteen.”

Ezra smacked my chest. “I could still have a growth spurt. Tomorrow I could wake up and be the same height as you.”

“In your dreams. Have you met your family?” I couldn’t stop the full body laughter that took over me.

“Laugh it up, buddy,” Ezra murmured. “Some of us are just going to be short and pretty.”

I howled. “Good thing you understand that’s your destiny.”

I cackled even harder when I felt his fingers poke at my armpit, and when he climbed up to straddle my waist, I felt tears trickle down my face when he turned into a full-on tickle monster. I could easily turn this around on Ezra, but this felt so familiar and good to me that I let him have his fun. I also didn’t want to hurt him with his injuries. His fingers dug in as I roared until my stomach hurt from laughing.

“I missed us,” Ezra confessed, still sitting on me, his fingers tracing the neckline of my shirt.

This all came back to us so naturally. Like we hadn’t been in some strange limbo these past months.

I grabbed his hands. “Me, too, boo.”

The sun was starting to come up, and in the early light, I could see Ezra’s eyes as he watched me. The freckles that were hidden beneath the ugly bruises of his skin. The red that streaked through his dark hair.

“I have a couple other friends, but no one is you, Carson.” He never called me by my first name, and it made me feel woozy. “No one will ever be you.”

I smiled. “No one will ever be you either, Ez.”

“Should we go get those cinnamon rolls?” He grinned just as his stomach growled.

I poked his taut belly lightly. “Yeah, let’s go.”

***

“Ezra Quinn Bardot!”my mother exclaimed. “What happened to your pretty face!?”

I warned him he should try to cover it up with some makeup before we came down to the kitchen. I told Ezra that my mother was going to all crazy on him the second she zoomed in on those bruises, but he said it would be fine.

Spoiler alert: It was not fine.

“I, uh... It’s not a big deal.” Ezra’s eyes pleaded with me for help, but I wasn’t going to give it to him since he hadn’t told me the complete story.

My mother was on him so fast he didn’t have time to stop her. Yanking Ezra into her embrace, he squealed in pain, and Mom pulled back.

“We don’t see you for months, not a word, not a visit, nothing, and you show up looking like this! What is going on?”

“I was in a car accident,” he blurted out.

That was smooth. I wondered if he had used it before. Like a domestic abuse victim lying about walking into a door or wall. The thought made me sick to my stomach. Ezra wouldn’t lie to me, would he? He knew he could trust me. I wouldn’t judge him or make him feel bad. I only wanted to protect him.