An ordinary day for Owen Grady usually started with him getting up at eight in the morning. He was a heavy sleeper. He didn't believe in pajamas and only slept with his boxers on and with one light blanket over him. Otherwise, he would feel like he was suffocating. How did people manage to sleep under the heat of an entire bed set? While wearing socks? People were weird. He was the kind of bachelor who was used to having the bed all for himself; he'd sleep sprawled on his belly, leaving no room for even a small dog or a cat on that mattress. It seemed a good thing he wasn't the type to have a pet. He was also the kind who insisted he didn't need an alarm clock to wake him up, that his 'inner clock' would always do the trick for him, except this was a lie and he was always oversleeping. He relied on a friend from work to call him and drag his ass out of bed.
That's why his cellphone had been buzzing on his night stand for the past few seconds. Owen groaned and pulled his pillow over his head. The first two call intents had gone straight to voice mail, but he knew his friend didn't give up easy. It was a matter of either answering or let that annoying buzzing keep going. He figured he should do the picking up thing.
His head still under the pillow, Owen blindly reached out and started to move his fingers around until he felt the cellphone.
"New phone who's this?" Owen finally picked up the phone after bringing it under the pillow to his ear.
"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty." His friend said enthusiastically for Owen's amusement.
"Bye." He hung up and slowly let one leg slid out of the bed. His foot feeling around for his sandal before he let the rest of his body get out of bed.
From there, he would go straight to the shower, find some fresh clothes, and head out to the subway station. It was on his way when he stopped by this local diner where he always had breakfast. He needed a big meal to function; pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon strips, sausage, hash brown, and a big tall glass of orange juice. He ate fast so it normally took him about half an hour to come in and out. From there, it was over to the subway station and head to the city for work.
For the past couple of weeks, he had adapted a tendency to look closer every time he saw a redhead. It didn't matter how hard he tried, he couldn't erase her face from his mind. The way she smiled was forever graved in his memory, her freckles invading the sweetest of dreams. So he was not going to give up, it didn't cost anything to hope that one of them would be his redhead.
They never were, specially because she wasn't from around. He was very aware that his best bet was the subway, but a man could always hope.
He had sat down to think about it, try come up with a plan so he could see her again. While sitting at his favorite breakfast place, it had occurred to him how everybody followed some sort of routine. He was always at that place at the same time every day, and he knew he had to take the train at a certain time if he wanted to make it by ten to the city for work.
He had taken notice of his surroundings, how he always saw some of the customers at that small diner stop by for some coffee on their way to their whereabouts. He had noticed how on his way to the subway station, he would find the same business men having their shoes shone by the same kid around the same corner, and how right across from them this one old lady would always be buying the day's newspaper from the same magazine stand.
It was a small world, so he figured that the only thing standing between him and the woman of his dreams was the odds to cross paths with her again. He only had one vague detail to work with in order to fulfill his heart's strongest desire; the love of his life had been on that one subway that one night.
He knew she hadn't since then, because he had spent the past ten days making sure he took the same subway back home and on each stop he would move from one subway car to the next looking for her. He was determined to find her, even if so far his heart ached with failure. He didn't let that feeling of defeat kill his determination. Each night, he'd be anxiously waiting at his stop for the subway to open the doors and hopefully revealed that beautiful redhead sitting there.
No one followed a routine by the second the way Claire Dearing did. She had every activity of her day planned out, sometimes even colored code. Everything she needed done had an specific time frame. She woke up at five in the morning on weekdays, she had thirty minutes to shower and fifteen to change. Then she had five minutes to leave her bed made. Ten minutes to brush her teeth and flush, she also had the minutes counted for how long it took her to do her make-up and her hair.
However, there were times when circumstances out of her control would interrupt the flow she had planned for her day. Today hadn't started well for the redhead, she was on her usual seven am subway, ready to head over to work when a delay was announced through the speakers.
The apologetic five-minute delay had turned into an hour. She had spent this time calling work to let them know she was running late and also reorganizing her entire itinerary around this little set behind.
When the train finally took off, the redhead was able to start relaxing; nothing stressed her out more than losing control over her time and plans, specially when there was nothing she could do to gain it back. She took a deep breath and sighed in relief as she felt the subway moving forward towards the next stop.
It was eight in the morning by then, so she should be in the city by ten if no other delay got in her way. Claire started working on her e-mails so the hour she was running behind wouldn't be a complete loss, in a matter of seconds she was completely merged in the little work she could do on her iPhone.
That morning, she was sitting at the back, she was wearing a black pencil skirt and blazer suit. She adjusted on her seat and fixed her skirt. If she'd known she'd be sitting on that train for longer than usual, she'd have worn some pants. This whole experience had been not only an inconvenience for the redhead but also a source of irritability and frustration.
She kept her bag on the seat next to hers with the purpose of avoiding anyone to sit there. She simply wasn't in the mood to share space with anyone at the moment. The subway was relatively empty, anyways since most people at her stop had taken the offer to have a complementary bus ride over to the most convenient stop. Claire hadn't been able to afford that option, she had to go across town and it would take longer by bus, than it would be to wait for the subway to resume service and the trip combined.
Owen's day on the contrary, hadn't been affected by the delay. He had to head to the city and be there after ten so the eight thirty am subway that was now being announced on the screens should get him there in time.
He was standing at the stop, wearing a pair of washed up jeans, a Van Halen t-shirt, and combat boots. He was holding his usual morning coffee, taking advantage of the seconds it took for the doors to open to have a sip.
He stepped on and noticed his usual spot was already taken, he usually sat on the back by the window. However, he didn't care at all, in fact it was perfect because the beautiful young woman sitting on his seat was no other than the woman he wished he'd see one more time.
He was suddenly nervous. He froze, his free hand holding from the handle over him while his eyes were glued to her. People were passing by him and taking on the empty seats.
He had played this moment in his head with different scenarios, and yet his brain had forgotten how to function. His ears were registering the fast beating his heart was offering. He could feel his hands swearing as he held onto that handle.
He was looking at her so intensely, that it made him wonder if she could feel his hazel eyes on her.
Apparently she did, because Claire looked up from her cellphone and casually made eye contact with him. She returned the smile he didn't know he was wearing, it was a bright one the one on his lips, so dazzling it made her blush a little.
After a second, she shifted on her seat and casually reached out for her bag, she rested it on her lap, and hugged it against her chest. She quietly tilted to the side and looked out the window.
This was it, this was the one shot he had been pleading to have, that one opportunity to see her again. He found courage to walk over and ask her if the seat next to her was taken. It felt so off for him to feel like this; so sheepish. He was a confident alpha male who knew what he wanted. He knew he wanted her, that's why he had been determined to find her but now that he had, he was out of words.
Her beauty had him speechless. He wondered if she remembered him, she didn't seemed to which disappointed him but regardless, he was not about to bring that night up.
Owen took the seat next to hers once she shook her head and let him take it. He was good at reading people, he had a gift for picking on behavior. It didn't take a genius to figure out she had had that bag down on the seat next to hers to keep it off limits, maybe because she wanted some space. The fact that she had taken the bag away right after she had caught him staring boosted his confidence, the only problem was that he couldn't measure it and had a peculiar sense of humor that not everybody found funny.
He only hoped she would.
"I'm Owen. I think we should at least have a conversation before we get married."
Claire laughed, slightly amused. She moved her sight from the window over to him and let her green eyes study the man sitting next to her; he was handsome. She immediately thought he had a cute smile, that cheeky one he was offering radiating the kind of confidence she found sexy.
"I'm Claire." She decided to introduce herself after a couple of seconds of silence. She was always hesitant when it came to giving her name to a complete stranger. But she had this off feeling about him, like she had known him from somewhere. It was that odd feeling one would get when meeting someone knew but the connection that immediately sparks between them makes it feel like they've known each other since ever.
He smiled at the sound of her name, it suit her. It was now the most beautiful name he had ever heard.
"And I'd need more than just a conversation before we get married." She flirted back.
