Chapter 5 5

Leighton's alarm blared insistently, dragging her out of the fog of restless sleep. She blinked several times, disoriented by the sudden transition from the blurry haze of her dreams to the sharp reality of the morning. Her hand reached for the snooze button, but as her fingers brushed against the cool surface of her nightstand, she paused.

Ezra's face, his words, the way his gaze held hers the night before- everything seemed to rush back into her mind like a tidal wave.

She groaned softly and sat up, running a hand through her hair. She couldn't keep doing this. She couldn't keep letting him invade her thoughts, especially not when she had a meeting in just a few hours and a pile of work waiting for her. She had to focus. She had to push him out of her mind.

It wasn't like she didn't care. She did. Too much, maybe. And that scared her more than anything. She had spent years building walls around herself, distancing herself from anything that could potentially hurt her. And now, in the span of a few days, Ezra had done what no one else had been able to do. He'd cracked the foundation.

Leighton sighed, shaking her head. She couldn't let this affect her work. Not now.

She dragged herself out of bed and moved toward the bathroom, trying to push the thoughts of Ezra to the back of her mind. She needed to get ready for the day, to slip back into her role as the driven, focused professional who had no room for distractions.

But as she stood in front of the mirror, splashing cold water on her face, she couldn't shake the feeling that something had shifted-something that couldn't be undone.

By the time Leighton arrived at the office, the tension in her chest had only grown. Her meeting with the team was coming up, and she could feel the pressure of everything weighing down on her. The project had to be perfect. There was no room for mistakes.

Leighton stepped off the elevator and walked down the hallway, her heels clicking sharply against the polished floors. The glass walls of her office loomed ahead, a beacon of professionalism and control.

But as she approached, she noticed someone waiting outside. Ezra.

Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of him standing there, his back straight, his posture unreadable. He wasn't looking at her-his gaze was focused on something across the hallway-but she could feel the tension between them, the pull of something unresolved.

She swallowed, trying to steady her breathing, and then she walked toward him, her steps measured and deliberate. She didn't want to acknowledge the way her pulse quickened or how her mind raced at the thought of being near him again.

"Ezra," she said, her voice steady but betraying a hint of the unease that had settled in her stomach.

He turned to face her, and for a moment, neither of them spoke. The silence stretched between them like a fragile thread.

"I thought we were meeting with the team," Leighton said, breaking the silence, trying to regain some semblance of control. She glanced over her shoulder, making sure no one was lingering nearby. It wasn't that she didn't trust her colleagues, but the last thing she needed was an audience for whatever was happening between her and Ezra.

"We are," Ezra replied, his voice soft but steady. "I just wanted to talk to you first."

Leighton's brows furrowed. "About what?"

"About last night," he said, his gaze locking with hers. "I know we've been trying to keep things professional, but I need to know where we stand. I'm not okay with leaving things unsaid."

Her stomach twisted at his words, and for a moment, she found herself at a loss for how to respond. She hadn't expected him to bring it up so soon, and certainly not in the middle of a workday. But then again, when it came to Ezra, nothing ever seemed to go according to plan.

"I told you already, Ezra," she said, her voice cold. "We agreed to keep things professional. There's no need for anything more."

Ezra shook his head, his jaw tight with frustration. "Leighton, I don't believe you. You're not being honest with me-or with yourself."

She took a step back, the words cutting through her like shards of glass. "This isn't the time or the place for this conversation."

"Then when is it?" Ezra asked, his voice rising just a touch, though it still held an undercurrent of restraint. "When will you let yourself be honest? With me? With you?"

"I'm being honest," Leighton snapped, her patience fraying. "I don't have time for distractions. I have a job to do. We both do."

For a moment, Ezra didn't respond, his gaze searching hers, as if trying to understand her, trying to find the truth hidden beneath her defenses.

"Leighton," he said, his voice softer now, but no less intense. "I'm not trying to complicate things. But you've been carrying this weight, this... wall between us, and I can't keep pretending it's not there. You're not the only one affected by this."

Her breath caught in her throat. His words hit her harder than she expected. The truth was, she *had* been pushing him away, and she had been doing it for a reason. But hearing him say it-hearing him admit that he wasn't immune to the distance between them-shifted something inside her.

She wasn't sure how to respond. She wasn't sure what to say at all.

Before she could speak, her assistant, Mia, came rushing around the corner. "Leighton, the team is waiting in the conference room. The meeting's about to start."

Leighton turned to look at her, grateful for the interruption, though it didn't erase the tension that had built up between her and Ezra.

"Thank you, Mia," she said, her voice professional, the walls going back up automatically. She glanced at Ezra, giving him a tight nod. "We'll talk later."

But as she walked away, she felt his eyes on her, his presence lingering like a shadow she couldn't escape.

---

The meeting was a blur. Leighton kept her attention on the presentation, on the numbers, the progress reports, the projections. But her mind kept drifting back to Ezra and the way his words had rattled her. She couldn't remember the last time someone had made her feel so exposed, so vulnerable, and yet... it wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

She didn't know how to handle it.

By the time the meeting wrapped up, she was exhausted. The weight of the day had already taken its toll, and she was desperate to retreat to the safety of her office.

But as she stepped into the hallway, she found Ezra waiting by the elevator, his eyes meeting hers immediately. He wasn't leaving.

Leighton exhaled slowly. She couldn't keep avoiding him. Not anymore.

"Leighton, wait," Ezra called, his voice calm but insistent.

She stopped, her hand hovering over the elevator button. "What is it, Ezra?"

"I think we need to talk. Really talk. Not about work. About everything."

She shook her head, frustration bubbling to the surface. "I told you. There's nothing to talk about."

But even as she said the words, she wasn't sure if she believed them anymore.

---

Leighton hesitated, her finger still resting on the elevator button. The seconds stretched, and with every passing moment, the pressure of Ezra's gaze on her felt like an unbearable weight. She had wanted to push him away-to compartmentalize her life and keep the professional and personal aspects separate. But now, standing in the quiet hallway, she felt that familiar tug in her chest, the undeniable pull to face whatever it was between them.

She finally turned around, her heels clicking against the polished floor as she walked back toward him. "Fine," she said, her voice taut with frustration. "You want to talk? Let's talk."

Ezra's expression softened, a flicker of relief crossing his features. But it didn't last long. His posture was still rigid, his jaw tense. Leighton could tell he was just as wound up as she was, but for some reason, the weight of the unspoken words between them made it impossible to find comfort in each other's presence.

The hallway was empty now, save for the two of them. There was no one to interrupt, no distractions to force them to deflect. It was just Ezra and her, standing on the precipice of something neither of them were fully ready to confront.

"I can't keep doing this, Leighton," Ezra said, his voice quieter now, the words almost a whisper. "I can't keep pretending like nothing's changed between us."

Leighton felt a sharp pang in her chest. She opened her mouth to respond, but the words got stuck in her throat. Instead, she crossed her arms tightly over her chest, her body language defensive.

Ezra took a step closer, but not enough to invade her space-just enough to show that he wasn't ready to walk away. "I don't want to pressure you," he continued, his tone calm, almost gentle. "But the truth is, I don't know how to pretend anymore. I'm not okay with the way things are between us. I don't think you are either."

The walls she'd spent so long building around herself began to tremble, the foundation weakening with each of his words. Leighton swallowed hard, her heart pounding in her chest. She opened her mouth to speak, but the words were lost to her. What could she say? How could she explain to him the reasons she'd pushed him away in the first place?

"I'm scared," she finally admitted, her voice barely a whisper. She wasn't sure if she was even speaking to him anymore or if she was just saying the words aloud for herself. "I'm scared of what this is-what we are. I don't know how to make sense of it."

Ezra's eyes softened, and for a brief moment, the intensity of the situation seemed to fade. He took another step forward, closing the gap between them, but this time, he didn't wait for her to pull away. He gently placed his hand on her arm, his touch warm and reassuring.

"I'm not asking you to have it all figured out," he said, his voice low and sincere. "I'm asking you to be honest with me. To let me in. Because I know you feel it too. I know you do."

Leighton's breath caught in her throat. She closed her eyes for a brief moment, trying to regain some semblance of control. His words hit too close to home, too close to the raw truth she had been hiding from for so long.

"I don't know what this is, Ezra," she said, her voice shaking just slightly. "But I do know that I don't want to lose you. Not like this. Not by pretending that nothing's happening between us."

Ezra's expression softened even more, and a small, tender smile tugged at the corners of his lips. "Then let's stop pretending," he said, his voice warm and inviting. "Let's figure this out together."

Leighton hesitated, the fear still gnawing at her insides. Could she do this? Could she allow herself to take a chance, to let someone in, after all the walls she'd built up over the years?

But the truth was, she didn't want to be alone anymore. Not with this feeling between them. Not with the way her heart seemed to skip whenever he was near, whenever their eyes met. She wasn't sure if it was the right time or if she was even ready, but one thing was certain-she couldn't ignore this any longer.

Leighton looked up at him, her eyes meeting his with an intensity that matched his own. "I'm scared of getting hurt," she confessed, her voice small but steady. "I've been hurt before, and I don't want to go through that again."

Ezra's gaze softened, and he gave her a small nod. "I'm not here to hurt you, Leighton. I'm here because I care about you. And I want to see where this can go. But I need you to be honest with me too. If we're going to do this, we have to be all in. No more walls, no more pretending."

For a long moment, Leighton stood there, her mind racing, her heart a tangled mess of emotions. The weight of everything they had talked about, everything that had been unsaid, hung in the air between them. But as she looked into Ezra's eyes, she saw something she hadn't seen in a long time-trust. A willingness to take a leap, even though neither of them had all the answers.

"I'm willing to try," she finally said, her voice steady despite the storm brewing inside her.

Ezra's expression softened even further, and he stepped closer, closing the final distance between them. Without saying another word, he reached out, gently cupping her face with his hands. His touch was tender, as if he was afraid to break her, but at the same time, it was filled with an undeniable promise.

Leighton's heart fluttered as she found herself drawn into his embrace. She hadn't realized how much she had been holding back until now. But standing there, in his arms, everything felt a little bit lighter. Like the weight that had been pressing down on her for so long was finally being lifted.

Ezra leaned in slowly, his lips brushing against hers in a kiss that was gentle at first, a question, a plea for permission. And when Leighton didn't pull away, when she kissed him back with just as much intensity, the walls she had so carefully constructed around herself started to crumble.

They didn't need words anymore. Leighton allowed herself to be vulnerable. To let go of the fear, the doubt, and simply live in the moment with him. The elevator chimed in the distance, but neither of them moved, not yet.