Rya flips her hair over her shoulders, letting her bouncy waves fall. “Ezra, you’re being rude,”
He lifts his head, face blank. “How?”
“The bread’s really good,” I quickly blurt out while pulling a piece apart from the loaf, trying to avoid their tension escalating.
Ezra looks at me, but I shift my gaze over to Zayn because I’m thinking their tension might have something to do with what Zayn accused us of.
Zayn’s expression shifts, his lips tightening. I hate that this is how tonight’s going. Inviting Ezra and Rya was supposed to help ease things, not make them worse.
Ezra sets down his menu and says, “I’m going to get the porterhouse.”
“What?” Rya snaps, her voice sharp, making both me and Zay glance over at her. “That’s expensive, Ez.”
He exhales slowly, his nostrils flaring. “Not as expensive as the shit you keep buying.”
Oh no. Now I know what’s going on. Did she buy more stuff? She must have purchased something expensive if that set him over the edge. He’s not one to lay out all their problems in front of people. Not even us.
“Oh, come on, Ezra,” she shoots back.
Zayn shifts uncomfortably in his seat and clears his throat. “Uh, maybe we should?—”
“No. Don’t come on, Ez,” Ezra snaps. “How could you pay hundreds of dollars for a pair of high heels?” He raises his voice, glaring at her. “For God’s sake, you could have painted red on any pair of your shoes yourself.”
“Ezra, this isn’t the place or time to do this,” Rya snaps, her voice low.
I glance around to see if we’ve gotten anyone’s attention. Thankfully, we haven’t.
Ezra is quiet for a moment, but then he says, “Who the hell pays that much money for a pair of heels? All because the bottom of them is red.” He saysredsarcastically.
Ezra lets out a bitter laugh and shakes his head, leaning back in his chair and rubbing a hand over his face.
My mouth drops and I look down at the heels Rya is wearing. Her ankles are crossed, showing the red beneath the shoes.
Zayn looks at me, his brows furrowed in confusion.
“Ez, stop. You’re embarrassing me,” she whispers, leaning her head more toward him.
“Embarrassed?” Ezra scoffs. “You should be embarrassed by the amount of money you spend on stupid shit.”
Rya looks at him sharply. Then she scoots her chair out and storms off with her brand-new heels clinking against the floor.
Anger crosses Ezra’s face as he watches her leave. What the hell is happening?
The server approaches with a nervous smile, breaking the tension. “Are we ready to order?”
We all glance at each other, and for a moment, no one says a word. Are we supposed to continue our dinner like nothing happened?
Zayn breaks the silence, nods and hands over his menu. “Yeah, I think we’re ready.”
My lips go tight at the thought of Zay continuing this dinner like nothing happened.
As Rya’s best friend, I should go after her. But I’m pulled to stay here with these two. Because I’m not sure if their problems have subsided or not.
Violet: Rya, where did you go?
Violet: Rya, where are you? We’re done eating.
Violet: Rya!! Answer me!!
