Cut Scene

  Remember how I said that the short story was fighting me? Well, I had to cut a scene from Ezra's POV. It wasn't working. I know many of you are Ezra fans, though, so I thought I'd share it anyway while I work on the rest of the story. Enjoy!

Ezra

Ezra Sagishi was trying his best to listen as Jacob talked. It shouldn’t have been a trial. Jacob was handsome, he was smart, and he was interesting. And yet, Ezra couldn’t for the life of him figure out what he’d been talking about for the last five minutes. He was bored, which was a problem. Ezra was a fox, and foxes didn’t do well with bored.

Ezra tried to focus. What was Jacob even talking about? His course work—specifically a paper he was working on for his biology class. Ezra tapped his fingers against the side of his water glass. He was going to need to let Jacob down easy. They’d gone on several dates and the time spent had been pleasant, but when Ezra got antsy like this, it was time to move on. He was nothing if not honest when it came to these things.

His phone vibrated, startling him, and he almost leapt up and praised the fox ancestors. He now had an excuse to cut the date early. It didn’t matter what the text was about—he could fabricate from there.

Emergency. Need a pick up. Come get me? Stealth mode appreciated. –Kat

Ezra didn’t have to feign his concern. Kat didn’t usually ask for help, and the fox in him perked up at “stealth mode.” This meant adventure, and he was always in for adventure.

“Is there a problem?” Jacob looked concerned, because of course he did. He was a nice guy, which might be part of the problem. He’d probably never stolen anything in his life. Never lied about anything significant. He was good, and no amount of swoon-worthy good looks would make up for that as far as the fox was concerned.

“Family emergency,” Ezra said, standing up and tossing a few bills on the table. He didn’t like paying for things as a rule, but the money hadn’t actually come from his wallet, so he was fine with it.

“I’m so sorry,” Jacob said, reaching across the table and grabbing Ezra’s hand before giving it a comforting squeeze.

Ezra squeezed back. Jacob really was a decent guy. How odd. “It will be fine. I just need to go.”

“When can I see you again?” Jacob’s expression looked hopeful.

Ezra grabbed his other hand, preparing for his version of the, “It’s not me, it’s you” speech that hopefully wouldn’t end in crying. He didn’t have time for crying. Kat needed him.

There had been only a small amount of crying before Ezra could extradite himself from the date. On his way out, he’d paid for a handsome waiter to take over a bottle of champagne to Jacob who still sat at the table, bewilderedly staring into his carbonara.

Once he was in his car, texted Kat back. Be there in 45.

Aren’t you in Boston?

Since Lock has been spending more and more time out in Currant, Ezra had been tagging along. Except sometimes he took pity on them and left them to their own devices, mostly because watching thier awkward dating attempts was almost painful.

Nope. See you soon. Then he texted a fox emoji, a kissy face emoji, and a snowflake.

Subtle. Kat texted back.