Page 61 of Friends That Heal Us
The smellof paint fills the air. A ray of sun is shining right into the bakery despite the cloudy day.
Violet sets down the roller brush, and rubs her forehead with the back of her hand. As she turns towards me, I notice she rubbed some paint on the top of her nose and it makes me smile.
“What?” she asks.
I shake my head, continuing to paint with the roller brush. The mix of a wet swish and hiss drags up and down the walls. “Have you thought about what you’re going to call this place?”
“I think I might name it Violet’s Bakery.” She stops painting and looks over my way. “Would that be a stupid name?”
“No. Why would it?” I reply, stepping up on a stepladder trying to reach higher up. Out of the corner of my eye, I see her shrug her shoulders.
“Because it’s my name. But I thought it would go well with how I’m planning on decorating.”
I glance down at her. “It’s perfect.”
It makes me happy to hear the conversation she had with Haley and the excitement she has knowing they are talkingagain. Not only because losing a customer was hard on her but also because she’s gaining a new friendship. Losing her friends has been hard on her. We were the only friends she turned to for everything. It’s already hard enough for her to let people in and help. She carries so much weight on her shoulders, and knowing she let Haley in is going to heal her in some way or another.
Even today, I know her letting me help is knocking down her wall little by little. It’s not only helping her, but it’s helping me. I didn’t know my life would turn out this way or where it would have gone after knowing my heart didn’t lie with Rya anymore. But I’m glad where it ended up. It’s nice knowing that after all the shit we’ve both been through, there is good coming out of it. It makes me feel like this is exactly where I need to be. Whereweneed to be.
A few hours later, the sun is setting and dark clouds have moved in. I watch as Violet stands smiling with her hands on her hips looking at the paint job and cleaning we did. I can’t imagine how she’ll feel when it’s completely done.
Her smile grows even wider as she turns towards me. “This looks good. The paint brightened it up.”
“It matches your eyes.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your eyes are a lot brighter. You’re glowing and smiling more.”
“You’re the reason for that.”
“And you’re the reason my smile came back.”
She steps closer to me and I can feel my heart pounding harder.
“Thank you, Ezra. I couldn’t have done any of this without you.”
Her tone is soft and the way she whispers my name is so seductive. I swallow hard, and step closer to her which puts us inches away from each other.
I tilt my head slightly, my eyes dropping to her. “I’ll always be here to help you.”
Her hands graze my arms until both arms wrap around me; she steps closer and rests her head against my chest. Her vanilla scent mixed with paint lingers around me. I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her closer, and it feels like all the blood in my body rushes south when I can feel myself hard against her.
“I know you will. And I need to trust that. It’s just hard sometimes.” She raises her head and rests her chin on my chest to stare up at me.
I touch my palm to her cheek, trying to wipe away the dried paint on her nose she’s been carrying around all day.
Her nose crinkles. “Do I have something on my nose?”
“Just paint.”
“Since when?”
“Pretty much all day,” I answer with a chuckle.
She releases one hand from me, rubbing her nose. “And you didn’t tell me?”
I shrug my shoulders a little, but I make sure I don’t release my hold on her. “You looked cute.”
