Page 25 of Defect
It squeezed so hard I thought it would pop and rain confetti in my chest.
“Seriously? You don’t want to run out the door?” I laughed.
“Nah. I want to hear more. Tell me about what you do back here in your happy ending room,” he smirked at me and I hit his chest playfully. Why the fuck was his chest so hard? Did he bench press buildings?Jesus.
“I help people heal by channeling energy where they need it most. It’s not really that mystical. It’s rare to find a Reiki practitioner that knows what they’re doing though.”
“But you know what you’re doing?” Ezra asked, folding his arms.
“You felt it when I put my hands on you, right?” I countered, folding my arms too. He cracked a small smile and nodded. “Exactly. Don’t play with me, little boy.” I motioned for him to sit on the table and he eyed it skeptically. “It’s not going to bite you, Ezra. It’s just a massage table.”
“I know. How many other people have been on this table?”
“You’re the first,” I told him. Our eyes locked and the charge I was quickly becoming used to crackled through the air.
“You’re not going to do any black magic on me are you?” He sat his huge frame on the table. His feet scraped the hardwood even though he was three feet off the floor.
“Yes. That’s exactly what I’m going to do. Cast a black magic spell on you to make you come to my yoga studio every day.” I wiggled my fingers at him and made spooky noises.
“You don’t have to cast a spell on me for that.” The way he looked at me set my insides on fire. He had to stop doing that shit.
“So you’ll come keep me company every day?” It was selfish of me to ask him to do that but after having a taste of his presence I could see I’d become addicted. I wanted to become addicted. I was playing with fire because he was so young but I was strong enough to maintain a friendship with Ezra.
“Absolutely. I don’t have anything better to do,” he said.
“Well, you have school right?” I walked over to the table on the left side of the room and lit my sage bundle.
“Not anymore. I got expelled for fighting.” His brows furled together and frustration took over him. I could feel him tensing up. I waved the sage around making sure the smoke reached the corners of the room both high and low.
“Fighting?” I quizzed.
“Yeah. My brother’s best friend. He always hated me because I guess he wanted to be the only one close to Everett. The minute he saw me, I could tell he still hated me. We exchanged words and he ended up spitting in my face.”
“Oh fuck no,” I blurted with a scowl.
“You curse a lot for someone who’s supposed to be all spiritual and shit,” he said, looking at me.
“Yeah. Cursing clears my throat chakra. Sue me.” I shrugged and he laughed. “Plus just because I’m centered and everything doesn’t mean I won’t fuck some shit up. If someone spat in my face I would lose my mind.”
“That’s what happened.” Ezra looked down at his knuckles and made fists then released them, stretching his fingers out.
“Is that how you ended up moving to Radcliff?” I asked, extinguishing the sage. Earthy smoke filled the air and I waved my hands, spreading it around.
“No. My mother decided we were moving after I got jumped. I had to go back to the hospital and she freaked out. We’re not even finished cleaning out our old house. She moved so fast. I think it’s because she can’t stand to be in the old house anymore after Ev died.”
“I bet. That has to be tough for her.”
“Yeah. So tough she suffocates me as a result.” Ezra’s voice was quiet and deep. It was soothing.
“You feel suffocated?” I picked up an amethyst stone and a rose quartz. I placed both stones in his palms and he looked down.
“There’s nofeelingsuffocated. I am.” He paused and looked at me. “Solana, what the hell are these?”
“They’re stones. Oh, I know another one you need.” I raced around the room and found a piece of morganite.
“And they do…what?”
“They’re excellent tools for meditation. The stones themselves don’t hold power even though they do vibrate on a frequency. You hold the power. They help you feel grounded and when you focus on the attributes given to each stone, you hone your thoughts.”
