Waiting for the Storm (20 page)

“Wow,” Ezra said quietly, taking both my hands in his. “Quite the change there.”

“Mm-hmm. The new and improved Ella O’Dell.” I smiled up at him, and his eyes softened as they roamed over my face before meeting my gaze. “I missed you.”

“I missed you, too,” he said. “I’m trying really hard not to panic that we have less than a week left before you go back home.”

I bit my lip and nodded my head. This wasn’t the time or place to tell him. “Will you take me home?”

“What about the concert?”

“There will be other concerts. I want to spend time with you where I don’t have to yell to be heard.” He nodded and I got Ella’s attention, asking her if she minded if Ezra and I took off. She looked at me knowingly and assured me she’d get a ride home with Miranda and Kennedy.

“Good luck,” she whispered in my ear, giving me a quick one-armed hug.

“Figures that the evil Gabriella disappears when I leave town, and I won’t really have time to get to know
this
Ella,” Ezra said when we got to his car.

I simply smiled and climbed into the passenger seat. The ride home seemed to take ages, and I sighed with relief when we finally pulled into his driveway.

“You seem really antsy,” Ezra commented.

“I guess I kind of am.” Before he could respond, I got out of the car and motioned for him to follow me down to the beach. I kicked off my sandals and held out my hand. When he took it, we waded together into the water, stopping when we were knee-deep.

“Ella’s been helping me with my water fears,” I told him. “But I’d never have had the courage to even get in if it weren’t for you.”

“You would have found the courage on your own eventually,” he said confidently, gripping my hips lightly.

I shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe. You’ve helped me with so many things this summer, though.”

“Oh god,” Ezra said, eyes wide. “If this is a break-up speech, stop right there. I know you have to leave next week, but I told you we’d find a way. I’m not letting you—”

I put a finger on his lips to shut him up. “This isn’t a break-up speech.”

He grabbed my finger and held onto my hand. “Then why are you so antsy?”

“Because I have big news,” I told him. “Big, life-changing news.”

He cocked his head and stared at me expectantly.

“How would you feel about me sticking around a little longer?” I asked.

“How much longer?” he asked slowly.

“Oh, you know…” I shrugged again and met his blue-green gaze. “Forever-ish.”

“I don’t get it.” His tone was barely controlled, like maybe he
did
get it but he was afraid he might be wrong, so he didn’t want to get prematurely excited.

“We decided we’re going to move here permanently,” I told him, and now I was the one trying desperately to control my tone. “Dad’s going to work for Queen’s, Ella’s going to attend the Angel Island School, and Lilah’s going to help me find a job until I make up my mind about school.”

He blinked incredulously. “You’re…staying? You’re staying
here
?”

“Yes. I’ll have to leave a couple times to help Dad pack up the house and stuff, but we’re staying. All three of us realized there’s nothing left for us in Toronto. When you and I went there last month, it didn’t feel like home anymore. This place feels like home.
You
feel like home.” I paused and took a deep breath. “How do you feel about that?”

“How do I feel about that?” He laughed, throwing back his head. “Are you kidding? It’s the best damn news I’ve heard in weeks.” His hand hit the water in his excitement, splashing us both. He lifted me up and spun me around, kissing me hard on the lips. When he released me, he was grinning like an idiot. “Nobody wants to lose their sidekick,” he told me.

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Your sidekick? Is that all I am?”

“No.” He shook his head, suddenly serious, and set me down, his hands gripping my waist. “You know how when we first met and we decided to give this thing between us a try? And we decided no labels?” I nodded. “Well, I think it’s time for a label.”

“Something more than ‘sidekick’?”

He chuckled quietly. “Yeah, something more than sidekick. Maybe…girlfriend? I’ve been thinking of you that way for a long time now, but I didn’t want to say it out loud because I was afraid you’d move back to Toronto and everything would change, despite what we said about making it work.”

I was smiling so hard my face hurt. “I’d love to be your girlfriend,” I told him. “And I like the idea of calling you my boyfriend. Introducing you to people that way. ‘Hey, this is my boyfriend Ezra, isn’t he cute?’”

He laughed and shook his head. When his lips returned to mine, they were warm and sweet and tender and everything a kiss should be.

“I have another label for us,” I told him a bit breathlessly.

“Yeah? What’s that?”

“Happy.”

His eyes crinkled at the corners as his smile overtook his whole face and turned my insides to jelly. “I like that one even better,” he said quietly, touching his forehead to mine.

We stood like that for a few minutes before I began to back deeper into the water. I stopped when the water touched the hem of my shorts at mid-thigh.

“Watch out, the fish will get you,” Ezra teased, wading out to meet me. He wrapped his arms around me and lifted me again so our bodies were pressed together. I clutched his shoulders, hugging him tightly, feeling safe and loved.

“I’m not scared,” I whispered.

Not scared. Just happy.

Dear reader,

Thank you for taking the time to read WAITING FOR THE STORM. It means the world to me to know there are people out there reading—and hopefully enjoying—my books. If you enjoyed Charlotte and Ezra’s story, I’d love to hear from you. You can find all my contact information on
my blog
, and I’m available through most social media networks—Facebook, Twitter, GoodReads, and YouTube, just to name a few.

Also, I’d be incredibly grateful if you’d be willing to take the time to write a review and share your thoughts on this book. It doesn’t have to be long—even just a few words to describe your feelings. Reviews are very important because they help people decide whether to read a book or not. You have the power to influence people!

Thank you for your support. Every time I hear from a reader who was touched by my work, it confirms that I made the right decision to follow my dreams and become an author.

With love and gratitude,

Marie

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

You’ll likely hear most authors say their books are like their children. And while you’re not supposed to have a favourite child, I think I do, and it’s WAITING FOR THE STORM. This book means so much to me for so many reasons. I put a little bit of myself into each of my books, but none so much as this one. This story has a big piece of my heart, and it feels like, in turn, each reader will have a little piece of my heart, too.

Because this story means so much to me, I want to thank the wonderful people who helped me make it better. I feel very fortunate to have had this group of people read WAITING FOR THE STORM and give their opinions, suggestions, and constructive criticism. Thank you Nancy Landry, Molli Moran, Jessica Sankiewicz, Raymond Hoxworth, Tammie “Starrider” Brower, Terry-Lynn Gray, JaimeKristal Lott, Jenn Ashby-Simpson, and Stacy Lannoye Harris.

Writing is a solitary, often-lonely job. I’m shut away for long periods of time and I know I’d forget to interact with the real world if it weren’t for the people who provide welcome distractions, especially my mum, Amanda, Jessica, and Molli. You girls have no idea how much I appreciate and enjoy our strange, silly, intense, quirky, hilarious conversations. Thank you for being there for me and for being such amazing friends. I love you. And I’d be remiss when talking about welcome distractions if I didn’t mention my precious nephews, Noah and Logan. You guys are the best—Mimi loves you!

Thank you also to my wonderful blogging friends. The world of book blogging has changed my life. Reading young adult books has changed my life. Finding a community of people I can be myself with, share my geekiness with, and fangirl over books and authors with, has changed my life.

Even though she’s been gone for over a year and a half, I want to thank my Grama. Her death and the all-consuming grief I felt after losing her was part of the inspiration for this story. I dedicated this book to my mum and thanked her for teaching me how to love and be loved, but Grama deserves a lot of that credit, too. She was my biggest fan, my biggest supporter, and one of my best friends. Always loved, never forgotten.

And finally, thank
you
. Thank you for reading Charlotte’s and Ezra’s story. I hope you loved them as much as I did.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Marie Landry is the author of BLUE SKY DAYS (contemporary YA—January 2012), UNDRESSED (a collection of short erotic romance stories—October 2012), THE GAME CHANGER (chick lit—November 2012), and WAITING FOR THE STORM (contemporary YA—April 2013). Marie has always been a daydreamer; since early childhood, she's had a passion for words and a desire to create imaginary worlds, so it only seemed natural for her to become a writer. She resides in Ontario, Canada, and most days you can find her writing, reading, blogging about writing and reading, listening to U2, or having grand adventures with her two precious nephews. For more, please visit marielandry.blogspot.ca or
Marie’s Facebook fan page
.