Nonali had been expecting it, but his terrible features still shocked her when he opened the door to the little café. His aura of menace encroached on her personal space, making it harder for her to breathe.
The blonde hair of her best friend popped into view as her monster of a boyfriend held the door open.
They found her and Vee slid into the booth across from her. Ezra drank in Nonali with his bottomless black eyes as he went to order. Vee seemed to thrum with happiness.
“Ezra wanted to have lunch with me!” she squealed, barely able to contain herself. Nonali hated to rain on her friend’s parade.
“He’s dangerous and I think you should leave him before you get hurt!” Nonali whispered furtively.
A look of shock crossed Vee’s face before she burst out laughing.
“You looked so serious!” she chuckled.
Just as Nonali was about to insist she wasn’t joking, Ezra took his seat.
“Oh my god, Nonali! Is that a hickey?” Vee gaped, pointing to a spot on her neck. She reached into her bag to pull out a small makeup mirror and thrust it at Nonali.
Gazing into the mirror, Nonali realized that the exact place Everett had been nursing last night did in fact have a decent-sized bruise. With her hair covering the spot, she must not have noticed it this morning.
The feeling of dread worsened from Ezra, and she watched as he took a deep breath and glared at the dark bruise above her collarbone.
“How could you not tell me you were seeing someone? Is it serious, or...” she trailed off with a wink.
Ezra looked positively murderous.
“I’m not seeing anyone, I burned myself with the curling iron last night, it sure does look like a hickey though, doesn’t it?” Nonali laughed nervously. Vee almost looked disappointed.
“Yeah, you’ve been friggin’ celibate since freshman year of college, I just thought maybe you finally got laid,” she sighed.
“You reek,” Ezra spit out through clenched teeth.
Vee gasped and looked at him like he’d grown a second head.
“Ezra that’s incredibly rude!” she admonished, turning to Nonali with an apology already spilling from her lips.
Nonali stood. “I have to get back to work.”
As she strode out of the building, she could hear the two of them arguing, and she wondered why he would say that to her. Could he smell her boss all over her?
She grabbed her shirt and lifted it to her nose, taking a small sniff. It definitely smelled like his cologne.
She groaned, Ezra’s angry growl cut off by the sound of the café door closing.
Nonali left Mr. Norse all the things he requested and figured it best to take the rest of the day off as he suggested.
She was so tired after lunch she could barely keep her eyes open, fighting the heaviness of her lids the whole drive home.
She all but passed out as soon as her head hit the pillow.
It wasn’t the office this time.
