Tried

The one thing in the world that sent people into the most dangerous of situations. He used to be controlled by it, used to be greedy for it. He still was, but less so now that he had found better things in life. Ezra didn't dig deeper into that subject. He understood her situation.

"Do you have a friend to call?" He probed. She nodded, swiping on her phone. Her friend didn't answer and she sighed again deep in thought. She turned to him and smiled, looking a little agitated.

"I'll drive to a train station if you don't mind?"

"Where will you go?" He couldn't help but ask as he nodded and she started the car again. The vehicle thrummed, vibrating under her touch.

"I don't know, haven't thought of it."

The words escaped his lips before his mind had the chance to go over it carefully.

"Why don't you stay with me?" He asked without hesitation. She was surprised, staring at him wide-eyed.

"What?" She gasped. The sound was cute and soft despite the natural timbre of her voice. She narrowed her eyes. "What's in it for you?"

There was no free meal in this world and she understood that. Ezra smirked.

"I'm a music producer. In exchange, you can be part of the vocals for my song," he replied.

She laughed, her voice husky. Her voice was delicious. Very delicious. He liked her laughter, a low raspy timbre that resounded with the beat of his heart. Perfect.

His pants felt too tight and he shifted uncomfortably in them. His cock was swelling in the confines of fabric, stifled and smothered, sticking against his skin and pushing at his fly. The dribbles of his precum were staining his thighs. This new underwear fucking sucked. Casper should have gotten him a better one.

"I can't sing for shit."

He could work with that.

"You won't have to," he said. He'd got plans, plans that didn't involve singing. "I'm not stupid," he replied lowly. "In exchange, you can stay for a day or two, or maybe until you find a better place. Depends on how much you do for me."

"You're serious?" She asked.

"I am." Then to sweeten the deal he pushed in the one thing he knew should confirm her doubts. "I'll pay you 50% more than what you earn at the club."

She glanced at him, deep in thought. Then she smiled.

"You live alone?" She asked.

"Yes?" He was confused by her question.

"Just asking in case you need agreement from your family."

Family? He stopped the small wry smile from revealing itself on his face. The only family he had in his heart would be his best friends.

"It's one of the many investment condominiums I put out for rental."

Truth, but that condominium used to be theirs. Until someone other than Ezra, broke his heart without even trying to.

"Well, okay then. Drive to your home mister."

She crawled out of the driver's seat and he pushed himself across the armrest, careful to keep his shoes from touching the leather. Their skin brushed across each other momentarily and his breath hitched at the odd feeling. It was a trickle, a light tingle of warmth that sparked in his chest, disappearing as quickly as it came like the soft brush of water over his skin.

"What's wrong?" She asked, eyes wide as he stared at her softly. He was suddenly noticing things about her that he should have noticed before. The way her nose scrunched slightly when she spoke. The little dip at the very centre of the plump red lips. The way she looked at him like he was something to be appreciated.

The way she looked at him.

"Nothing."

He'd got a gut feeling about her and something deep within his chest flared and burned, a melting pot of feelings he didn't understand.

They drove to his complex. A condominium that was minutes away from the dormitory. Ezra contemplated over whether the boys would show up unannounced. But he was pretty sure they didn't know his password so he let that thought slide quietly to the back of his mind.

She was quiet as she followed him, keeping a clear distance between them.

She was a good five steps behind him, far enough for him to be concerned. He found himself looking back every so often, just to be sure that she was still there. She met his gaze head-on whenever he looked back to check for her. Dark brown eyes glistening like gems in the soft light.

They were the colour of the brown paper bags that carried his usual morning breakfast. The very same shade as the hot chocolates that Oliver would make for him whenever he went on another one of his starvation sprees. He liked the colour, it reminded him of good, yummy things.

She was unfazed by his gaze, giving him her own unreadable stare.

That made him slightly disappointed. Some part of him was hoping that the reason she was walking behind him at that controlled pace was that she was checking him out.

Because she wanted a glimpse of his ass.

Why? He guessed he just wanted to see if she was just as attracted to him as he was to her. Did that make sense? Ezra sniffed, a small smile on his lips. Perhaps. He was being a crazy pervert and he blamed it on the alcohol in his system.

She was silent even when they entered the elevator, the perfect time for small talk. Ezra was used to chatty women who would try to befriend him in an attempt to get into his pants. But she remained quiet.

It was not like the atmosphere between them was awkward, no.

In fact, the way she stood next to him, not too close but close enough for him to be able to taste her scent in the air, made them seem...Intimate. Such a physical distance between them should only be reserved (or at least to Ezra) for best friends or lovers.

God, that smell. He inhaled, her soft scent permeating the air. It was fresh, floral, a kind of sweetness that he'd never smelled before and thus couldn't identify its origin. A deeper inhale that he hid with a steady shimmer of his shoulders gave him more of the scent and he was rewarded with the underlying musk of a woman.

Her scent reminded him of some kind of apple dessert. The kind of snack one would find in random cute little cafes in the countryside. Rare gems created from the blood of urban re-imaging and meant for tempting city folk.

Refreshing, surprising and fucking delicious.

When she wasn't looking, Ezra blatantly checked her out. He stayed on the forty-seventh floor and the crawl of the elevator up the building took some time. It was enough time for him to let his eyes occasionally rest upon her body when she wasn't looking.

He let his eyes drift over her creamy thighs and stay on the swell of her breasts. The uniform was barely able to conceal her chest. It bulged outwards, with deep and long horizontal creases at the front as an indication of the stretch.

He tried not to mentally undress her. Keyword: Tried.