Authors: Shae Scott
“No it’s not.
Do you remember what happened the last time I was alone in a room with him? I
practically begged him to take me to bed.” I cringed at the memory. Not that
it was a bad one. It had been hot. But the idea of putting myself in that
position now, with our firmly stamped label of friendship, sounded like torture.
“You could see
what happens,” she suggested.
“You aren’t
helping.” I rubbed my temples.
“Al, it’s
going to be okay. Honestly, I think it will be good for you. You need to see
him. He’s just clouding up your memory. You need a clear picture, see how it
feels now that you know him better. This is a good thing.”
I wasn’t sure
that I believed her. It didn’t feel like a good idea. I wasn’t sure what was
a good idea these days. I was losing my ability to see any kind of reason.
Either way it was too late to change it now. I had opened the door, I had no
choice but to walk right through it and see what was on the other side.
Chapter Thirteen
If I said that
I wasn’t nervous about the idea of Owen coming to town I would be lying. Even
though we had made good progress in our friends-only relationship, seeing him
face-to-face was going to be different. When he was tucked away safely in Chicago, I could easily push the feelings I had to the side and convince myself that
friendship was best. But when I thought of him being here, face-to-face with
me it made the flutter return. And what’s worse, I’d invited him to stay with
me. I know. Not my smartest move. But the offer had just slipped out and
once it was out there I couldn’t take it back. I didn’t really want to take it
back. Apparently I enjoyed playing with fire.
I was still
surprised that he was coming for the reunion. If he hadn’t said he was coming
I might have very well skipped the whole thing. I pretty much kept in touch
with everyone I wanted to. Plus, we were living in the time of Facebook, I
already knew what everyone was up to. I even knew what Christy, from my old
Algebra class, had for dinner last night. But, he was coming to town and he
wanted to go. It didn’t seem like his scene, but I’d agreed to go just the
same. It might be fun, seeing everyone again and let’s face it, knowing I was
going with Owen, made it seem a lot easier.
I pulled into
the temporary parking lot at the airport and made my way inside to wait for
Owen. I was working hard at pushing back the nerves that kept creeping up on
me. I wanted to see him, but I also knew what being in the same room with him
did to me. It made me lose all coherent thought. That wasn’t so scary before,
but knowing that there was someone back home waiting for him made me want to
put up my guard and squash these feelings.
I made my way
inside and up to where the gates where passengers were emerging. I stared up at
the top of the escalators as face after face emerged. Each time I saw a tall
dark haired man, my heart would skip a beat and I’d have to remind myself to
breathe again. This weekend might very well be the death of me. Then, there he was.
He wore dark jeans and a dark brown sweater. He locked eyes with me and a slow
smile found his lips. He looked devastatingly handsome. I smiled back and
managed a small wave. I quickly gave myself a quick pep talk to play it cool.
When he
reached the bottom of the escalator he came straight towards me and grabbed me
up in a big hug. I laughed as my feet left the ground. He gave the best hugs.
“Hi,” I laughed again as he put me back on the ground.
“You look
great. Thanks for picking me up,” he said.
“I should be
saying the same thing to you,” I laughed.
“Couldn’t help
it,” he smiled. He took my hand into his, it was casual, but it still did
things to my insides. “Let’s go get the luggage.” He was in great spirits and
it was infectious.
“Here we are,”
I pulled into the drive and out of the corner of my eye I saw Owen taking in
the house. He smiled.
“This house is
perfect for you. It just kind of screams Ally,” he said thoughtfully. I took
a moment and tried to look at it as if for the first time. It was simple, a
brick one story house with angles on the roof and a nice porch that wrapped
around and a porch swing. He was right though, I had fallen in love with it
instantly. It was home and it was nice that he saw that in it. I loved that he
knew me so well.
“Let’s go in,”
I said opening the door of the SUV and moving towards the back to grab his
suitcase.
“Give me
that,” he scolded as he came up beside me and took the bag from my hands.
“I can do it,”
I held on stubbornly.
“I have no
doubt that you can, but you won’t. Now give it to me. You can open the door,”
he smiled sweetly and I relinquished control of the bag.
“Fine.
Wouldn’t want you to feel like less of a man.” I threw him a teasing look over
my shoulder. He chuckled and followed me inside.
I got him
settled in his room and then grabbed us each a beer and moved to the living
room. I curled up in the overstuffed chair opposite the couch. While it was
one of my favorite places to sit, the move was actually strategic. I still
felt like it was best for us to keep our distance. We’d been on our best
behavior since his little confession, but there was still tension and a sense
of something unfinished with us. I needed to be careful.
“So I can’t
believe you are making me go to this thing tomorrow,” I groaned taking a sip of
my beer.
“It’ll be
fun. We can get drunk and make fun of the cheerleaders.” He made a face and I
laughed. We had done a lot of that back in our high school days.
“Well there is
that,” I relented. “I’m just really glad that we are going together. I can
have you as a buffer in case Brendon shows up.” I wrinkled my nose up at the
idea.
Owen laughed,
throwing his head back. “That asshole. I bet he is bald by now,” he said.
“Oh, I hope
so,” I laughed. “He loved his hair. I am pretty sure he spent more time in
front of the mirror than I ever did.” I thought back to my ex and as per usual
I felt a twinge of regret. He’d been my first and he had dumped me not long
after. Of course, that memory always spun into the night he had broken up with
me. It was graduation and it was also the night that Owen and I had ended up in
the old barn together. But I didn’t want to think about that now, especially
when he was here with me.
We talked
about people we knew from high school and made hilarious predictions for them
all. In reality we already knew where most had ended up, but it was more fun
to make up our own versions.
He sat with me
in the kitchen as I made us dinner. Our conversation moved easily and I was
taken with how comfortable I was with him. We never ran out of things to talk
about. And we talked a lot. I wondered if we’d ever reach a point where we
just knew everything there was to know about each other. When I asked him this
same thing, he assured me that it was pretty probable. “You already know me
better than anyone else. The way I see it, that’s really just the beginning.”
His words had tugged at my heart and I pushed it aside, afraid to give it too
much thought.
“Thanks for letting
me stay here,” he smiled as we settled in to watch a movie. I gave in and sat
on the couch with him. I was comfortable and after the three beers I had over
the evening I wasn’t feeling nearly as uptight about the whole situation.
“It’s no
problem. I’m glad you are here. It gives us more time together,” I smiled.
He smiled back but didn’t say anything, he just held my gaze for a long moment.
Then he nodded and turned back towards the flat screen.
“So you aren’t
going to make me watch some stupid chick flick are you? I draw the line at The
Notebook,” he said seriously.
“But it’s Ryan
Gosling.” I returned his serious look and he rolled his eyes. “Don’t. Don’t do
that. Don’t roll your eyes at Ryan Gosling,” I deadpanned.
He chuckled
and I gave him a stern look to warn him that I was serious. That made him
laugh more. “Or what? What will you do?” he challenged.
I pretended to
think about it for a moment. “Let’s just say, you don’t want find out,” I
warned. He laughed again, but then bit it back when I kept my game face on.
“Okay,
Okay…you win,” he laughed, and grabbed my hands and pulled me over closer to
him. My resolve broke and I laughed with him.
“That’s right
I win. You’d be best to remember that for the future,” I said as I settled in next
to him. “I should make you watch The Notebook just out of spite. But since
you are a guest, I’ll let you pick. Don’t say I never did anything for you.” I
handed him the remote so he could look through Netflix. He paused at a few
action flicks and gave me a sideways glance to see what I thought. I didn’t care.
I was up for anything. He ended up choosing Anchorman.
“Comedies are
good common ground,” he smiled. He leaned over and switched off the light as
the movie started. I pulled a pillow into my lap, the darkness making me more
aware of him beside me. Funny how the lack of conversation and light made me
hyperaware of all of his movements. It took me a little while to even be able
to concentrate on the movie. I should have sat in the chair.
“Hey, Kat -
Wake up.” I felt foggy and as I shook it away I realized that I was nestled
against a warm chest. Owen’s chest. I sat up quickly.
“Oh, crap.
Sorry. I guess I fell asleep,” I said shyly. I hoped I hadn’t drooled on him.
Geesh.
“About an hour
ago,” he smiled.
“Shit,
really? I guess I was tired. Sorry about that. Didn’t mean to use you as a
pillow.” I moved away from him and got to my feet.
“It’s okay. I
didn’t mind. It was nice,” he admitted quietly. I bit my lip and looked away.
I loved when he said stuff like that, but they were all dangerous words because
they had me fighting butterflies and we were just friends now. There could be
no confusion about that.
“So I guess I
should get to bed then. You think you’ll be okay? I can get you more blankets
if you want,” I said turning into hostess again. He made it to his feet and
stretched. I pretended not to notice the way his shirt lifted up showing off
the lines of his hard stomach. Holy hell….he had those sexy V muscles peeking
out of his jeans. I swallowed hard and turned away, lest he see me ogling
him.
“I’ll be
fine. How about tomorrow I take you to breakfast? We can wander around town
for a bit before the reunion.” He stifled his own yawn as we moved towards the
hall where the bedrooms were.
“That sounds
great,” I managed. We stopped at the guest room door and he leaned against the
door jam.
“Good. I’ll
see you in the morning then.” He looked so good. His clothes were a little
rumpled and his eyes were sleepy. I wondered if he had dozed off during the
movie too.
“Yeah,
goodnight.” I gave him a smile as I headed down the hall towards my own room. I
shut the door behind me and sunk to my bed. I wasn’t sure if I would get much
sleep knowing he was just down the hall. It was silly, but just knowing he was
so close brought out the desires I had been working to keep down. I chastised
myself for letting them in. I yawned again and glanced at the clock. It read
2:03. Huh. We started the movie at 9. It dawned on me that I’d been asleep
with Owen for much longer than an hour. I couldn’t help it, the idea made me smile.
Chapter Fourteen
Owen and I
spent the day wandering the city. We had breakfast at a diner downtown and then
grabbed some coffee to go and walked the city streets. We pretended to be
tourists, even though we’d grown up just 45 minutes from here. I loved Nashville. I loved the history and the music and the buzz that lingered in the air. I’d
settled in easily here. It was close to my parents, but far enough away where
I felt like I was still on my own adventure when I’d come for college. I’d
never left. I’d settled in at the agency and found a solid group of friends
that had become my second family. It was a great place to live and sharing it
with Owen, even though he was from here, was nice.
“Do you still
have your guitar?” I asked as we passed a music store. I hadn’t thought to ask
him about it before now. I had always loved listening to him play. He was good
and his voice was smooth and sultry. I used to close my eyes and just get lost
in the raspy rhythm. But he never played for anyone else. I always kind of
liked that it was a special thing for us, even though I felt like he could have
really done something with it.
He shrugged,
“I still have it, but I don’t play that much anymore. Too busy, I guess.”
“That’s a
shame,” I said stopping to peer in the window at a pink electric guitar. “You
are really good. I always liked listening to you play,” I smiled at him as we
moved on down the street.
“You mean you
tolerated listening to me play,” he laughed.
“No, you are
good. And I loved the songs that you wrote. They had depth and they always
meant something.” I kept my tone casual as we walked along the streets.
“Yeah? Well, I
guess I felt more inspired back then,” he said.
“Not inspired
now?” I asked eying him quizzically.
“Been too busy
to be inspired. But you never know, maybe I’ll find my muse again,” he smiled
at me and I felt the familiar stomach flip.
“I hope so,” I
managed. I felt it then, that charge that seemed to always find its way back to
us. It was exciting and scary and very much confusing.
We spent the
day like that, browsing shops and talking about random things. It was easy and
exciting at the same time. I couldn’t really explain it. I felt so
comfortable with him that I often forgot to be nervous about what I was saying
or how I was acting. All things I found myself doing when I was on a date. Of
course, this wasn’t a date. I had to keep reminding myself that each time he
would take my hand or randomly brush against me. Because when that happened,
all of my sensible thinking kind of disappeared and my stomach turned into
butterfly central. It was an odd feeling, but not one that I was ready to let
go of.
Hours later I
stood in front of the full length mirror, staring at my reflection, wondering
if I was dressed appropriately for this reunion. It felt a little bit like I
was getting ready for prom. I was dressed up in my deep purple halter dress with
awesome heels and I was heading to a fancy hotel with music, a handsome guy on
my arm. Only, this time my date was Owen. Not a date, I reminded myself.
Still. I knew he would look amazing.
My dress hit
me a couple of inches above my knee and had a nice swing to it. I thought it
would be fun for dancing. And well, really, it was an excuse to wear the
shoes. I’d had them in my closet for months with no real reason to wear them
out. So the mere fact that I was able to do so tonight was enough of a reason
to venture out.
Satisfied with
my reflection I grabbed my clutch and headed out to find Owen. As I came into the
living room I saw him, his back to me, leaned against the bar. His suit was
black and his back and shoulders were broad. The vision was enough to make my
stomach flip flop and he hadn’t even turned around yet.
“Ready to go?”
I asked. He turned to face me and I couldn’t help but feel a little happy at
the look on his face. He cleared his throat and set down the beer he’d been
drinking.
“Wow, Kit Kat,
you look great.” He gave me a warm smile and moved towards me. He looked
amazing. He’d paired his dark suit with a gray tie and the look was classic.
He still sported the hint of stubble across his chin and the contrast with the elegant
look was nice. It was all Owen.
“You don’t
look so shabby yourself,” I smiled. He gave a little spin to show off and I
laughed.
“Come on…let’s
go, can’t waste the shoes.” I gave him a wink as I grabbed his arm and headed
towards the door.
The hotel was
beautiful. The room that our graduating class had reserved was way nicer than
anything we’d ever had while we’d been in school. Maybe they had more money
these days. Maybe they were going to hit us all up for donations now that we
were all working adults. Either way, it was an amazing setting. There were
white twinkle lights hanging all over, casting a soft glow on everyone in the
room. There was a band, a bar and room full of well dressed people that all
looked somewhat familiar.
“Well, this is
a fancy shindig,” Owen said from beside me.
“Right? And
to think I almost missed this,” I smiled at him teasingly.
“I guess we
have the shoes to thank, right, Cinderella?”
I took his arm
and smiled up at him as we moved through the crowd. “Hey, that girl knew the
power of a good pair of shoes.”
We’d graduated
from a pretty big school. I hadn’t even known all of the people when I had
been in school, I really didn’t know them all now. I let Owen lead me to the
bar.
“Want
something to drink?” he asked. I nodded and I took in the crowd around us.
“White wine,
please,” I smiled.
“Look who is
over there.” Owen handed me my wine and nodded his head towards the dance
floor. I scanned the people dancing, landing on a familiar mop of blond hair.
Granted it was a neater style now, but still perfectly styled. Brendon. My
ex. I had seen him once in college at a frat party. He had suggested we hook
up for old time’s sake. I’d declined. He had always been a douche. I could
see that a lot more clearly now.
I studied him
from across the room. Like Owen, he was dressed in a suit. But it didn’t fit
him nearly as well. Then again, maybe I was being critical. Or partial. Or
both. He looked good though, very much the same boy he’d been years earlier,
only no longer lanky as he’d once been.
“Wanna talk to
him?” Owen asked raising his eyebrows at me. He liked teasing me. This was fun
for him. I wish he’d had ex girlfriends that I could torture him with, but no,
he’d been the big mysterious loner back then. Still was, in a way.
“Not
especially,” I muttered.
“Wanna dance?
Mingle?” He took a sip of his beer.
“Um…Dance.
I’m not ready to be social just yet,” I offered him a smile, took a long drink
of my wine and set it down on the table. He followed suit and then led me out
to the dance floor, away from Brendon.
The upbeat
song was nearing its end, but we still picked up the rhythm and began to move.
Owen was a good dancer. I wasn’t surprised. We’d danced together before. We
didn’t touch, but he was close enough that I could smell his cologne. It was
deep and woodsy and very masculine. It made me want to move in closer.
Then, as if
the universe had read my mind the music shifted and a slower beat took its
place. I saw a smile flash across Owen’s eyes as he held out a hand to me. I
laid mine in his and he pulled me against his chest, keeping our joined hands
against his chest as his other arm wrapped around my waist. It had my heart
beating faster. He held my gaze for a long moment and I tried to figure out
what was behind it, but then he smiled and began to sway us to the music. I
settled against him and smiled as he began to hum the John Legend song softly
in my ear. It caused goosebumps along my skin. The words of the song, the
vibration of his lips against the skin of my neck were enough to intoxicate me.
The truth was, if we didn’t talk to a single person here tonight, I’d be happy,
because this was feeling pretty close to perfect.
The song ended
and I felt the brush of his lips against my temple before he stepped back. I
was still caught up in our dance so it startled me when he started laughing.
“Holy Shit! I
think Marcy Johnson is with Derek Wilson!” His eyes were huge as he looked over
my shoulder. I had to look. Marcy had been the head cheerleader and super
popular. Derek had been a nerdy book worm that had always been little socially
awkward. Once in our sophomore year he’d tied himself to his desk with a belt,
just to see if he could get himself untangled. I always knew he’d grow up to
be some famous brainiac who would save the world. I hadn’t managed he’d end up
with the school homecoming queen. I smiled at the thought. Owen was still shaking
his head at the bizarre couple.
We left the
floor, headed to our table for a breather and ran straight into Brendon. So
much for avoiding him. I gave him a bright smile as we neared.
“Hey, Ally.
It’s so great to see you. You look amazing,” he smiled. I could feel Owen
right behind me, standing so close that I could feel his chest move with his
breathing. He left a protective hand on the small of my back. I couldn’t help
but warm at the thought.
“Hey Brendon,”
I smiled. “You remember Owen?” I asked companionably. He nodded and I felt
Owen grunt behind me in hello. He’d never been a fan of Brendon and apparently
that hadn’t changed.
“Yeah, of
course. Good to see you again,” Brendon said before turning his attention back
to me. “You’ll have to come meet my wife, Laura, at some point. She’s getting
a drink,” he said. I glanced at the bar and noticed the blond woman he’d been
dancing with there.
“Nice of you
to get her drink for her,” Owen grumbled to himself, but I knew that Brendon
had heard him. I gave him a gentle elbow to the gut.
“I’d love to
meet her. So how have you been?” I asked the obligatory question and settled
in for the answer about work, wife, and kids. I listened and smiled, asking all
of the right follow up questions and laughing at all of the stories that came
with them. It was the same story all night. Catch up with strangers that used
to be friends. It was nice to see some of them, but really I was just
exhausted and ready to leave after a bit. I caught Owen’s eye and silently
asked if we could escape. He caught on instantly and smiled his approval.
We grabbed our
coats, made some polite goodbyes and headed out to the car. “Wanna go meet up
with some of my friends? They are at a bar not far from here,” I asked.
“Sure. Sounds
fun. Plus, I bet the shoes haven’t had their fill yet,” he smiled.
“They are
pretty important shoes,” I agreed. He gave them an appraising look before
looking at me again.
“Definitely,”
he smiled. I grabbed my phone and sent a quick text to Cassie and told her we
were headed her way. She responded with a big smile emoticon. She was anxious
to meet Owen face-to-face. I only hoped she wasn’t so drunk that she’d say
something I’d regret.