The third time Owen knocked loudly on Claire's door he regretted leaving the cellphone in his car. He stood in the middle of long hallway wearing a dark-blue suit. If he could he would trade it for anything less stiff, but for their second date they were going to a restaurant of Claire's choice. Owen could not tell if she had made a reservation at one of those fancy, expensive restaurants to mess with him or just to have an excuse to make him wear more suits. Truth be told he already knew she had a thing for his short-sleeve t-shirts, so the suits fixation was still beyond his understanding for the time being.
He knocked for the fourth time at the door, wondering what the hell was happening there. Clear sound of utter chaos mixed with glass breaking and Gray's edgy voice for sure could be heard from the other side of the country.
"Can I help you?" an annoyed voice came from behind Owen's back. He turned his head to see Claire's neighbor standing in his doorway. A 30-something guy, straight out of golf magazine cover, was looking at him suspiciously. Just that made Owen instantly irritated with this new 'acquaintance'.
"Not really, unless you can lend me a phone. I left mine in the car, I hurried to pick up my… Claire," Owen reflectively conceded and awkwardly scratched behind his ear. "I wasn't expecting the apparent hard metal festival."
"Definitely enough clamor with you trying to overthrow the doors," the dandified guy remarked and stepped inside his apartment to grab a palm-sized phone Owen did not know that existed (still being a proud Nokia 6210 owner, despite Zach pigeonholing him as a hipster). Owen was about to spell him Claire's number, but the guy did not ask for it and dialed out, and after a couple of seconds he could hear Claire answer. "Hi, there's a guy pounding at your door five minutes now."
Before Owen had the time to thank the weird guy, Claire opened the door in a rush. He stammered at her sight, she was clearly out of breath but looked stunning. Her hair pinned in bob, dark satin and backless dress showing off her shoulders. Something stung Owen in his chest when he noticed she was barefoot and even smaller than he was used to.
"I'm so sorry Owen!" she greeted him while putting a long earring in her other ear. "Gray adopted a stray kitten yesterday morning and apart from peeing on every surface of my apartment it just knocked the honey jar. Just don't ask further questions, my apartment is contaminated forever. I'll have to move to Antarctica to forget the smell of cat pee mixed with honey and Lysol," Claire ranted and just after a minute noticed her neighbor standing in his doors behind Owen. "Jay, hi! Thank you for the heads up!"
"No problem, Fireball," Jay grinned and his voice suddenly softened. "You alright there with the Addams?"
"I've handled worse," Claire grinned back, while Owen just stood there looking back and forth between them, his right eyebrow almost reaching the middle of his temple.
Owen cleared his throat and looked at his watch. "Shall we?"
"Yes, of course!" she exclaimed and duck behind her doors to grab a pair of red bottoms, a coat and a small purse. "Ready. If you excuse us, Jay, we can't be late. A table at Westwood & Blythe does not wait."
"Certainly not. Heads up, Fireball, don't order the Salmon en croûte. They got a new guy on the fish dishes and my latest experience was rather dreadful," he added, wincing and stepped back into his anteroom.
It took a lot of Owen's self-control to hold back the biggest eye-roll of his lifetime.
"Fully noted, thank you," Claire kindly replied and waved Jay goodbye.
As they quietly walked to Owen's car, he savored the view of Claire's back while letting her through first. When they reached it, Owen opened the passenger doors for her and Claire grimaced.
"I hope I don't smell like cat pee," she groaned as she sat down.
Owen bent down over to her and whispered "You smell really nice, Dinosaurella," before kissing the top of her head. She grunted at the nickname but smirked at him, as he walked around the car for the driver's seat.
"What's on your mind?" Claire asked feeling something clearly bothered him. Eyes sunk deep on the road, fingers dug into driving wheel, at first Owen did not hear her question. She placed a palm on his tense thigh. "Owen?"
He really had the urge to ask her about Jay, but at the same time did not want just their second date ruined by unjustified jealousy again, so he decided to ask her later and lied, "I'm fine." She clearly did not look convinced about that so he changed the subject. "I agreed on the reptile job at the College Teaching Zoo," Owen informed her.
"That's amazing!" Claire rejoiced. "When do you start?"
"Well… considering the previous director retires after the winter semester, the beginning of summer semester is most plausible date."
"Professor Grady," she mused and made a lopsided smile. "It has a ring to it."
"Not technically a professor, but yeah, behave yourself or you'll get an F from me," Owen joked and bent in seat a little to escape a jab to his ribs.
After they parked, Claire got out of the car first and enjoyed a rather warm night, while she waited for Owen.
"I'll have you know, never in my life I got an F," she stated as he finally approached her, putting his wallet into inner pocket of the jacket.
Owen grinned at her and offered her an arm before they walked into the local. "Of course you didn't," he teased, using an unbelieving tone.
"It's true!" Claire retorted. "I didn't have the time for re-taking tests. Our mother died young, I had to get a job to support Karen."
Owen's face softened. "I'm sorry. I just had this feeling you were one unruly ginger in your uni years."
"Who says I wasn't?" she teased and winked at him, before turning to the waiter that welcomed them.
While the waiter led them between the tables, Owen looked around the fancy restaurant. He wasn't used to those kind of places and to him it was the kind of restaurant you choose for a business meeting of high importance or to propose in. A slight sweat run across his temple as they sat down and were handled menu cards. It wasn't that he was tightwad, on the contrary. Owen was very glad at Claire's obvious pleasure when he agreed to this restaurant for their second date. However, the image of Jay-the-cardigan popped up in his head. That guy would definitely know what these hieroglyphs meant in short spell book the waiter called a menu.
Claire must had noticed his stupefied expression, because she spread her menu on the table and started explaining, "Pastrami de canard is basically a cold served duck, it's really good. They serve it with foie gras, strawberries and coffee dressing, you'll find it surprisingly fitting," she murmured in his ear and was apparently very oblivious to what her French and its translations did to him as she carried on. "Artichoke risotto is awesome if you like mussel and truffles, I know you're not a seafood fan so this might be risky…"
"I'll entrust your taste," Owen decided and closed his menu after she read him all the options.
She beamed with satisfaction at his words. "You won't regret this."
"So, a cat huh?" Owen initiated after they ordered. "How come Karen agreed to that?"
Claire sighed and handed over their menus to the waiter. "Don't get me started. Scott and Karen agreed they wouldn't kickoff with the favorite-parent race, but as much as Karen tries she's abreacting too. She's seriously thinking about moving here, hence the ease with cat decision. I suppose Jay did not help the case at all."
"How so?" Owen asked, trying to keep an indifferent voice.
"Jay is now Zach's and Gray's hero because he lent them some stuff of his late cat. Of course he's like a cool uncle, incidentally I could never be, so he spent whole the Friday evening playing with them," she sighed and tilted her head. "I miss those days when it was only me talking to my TV," she pondered to herself.
"I guess I'm not cool enough without my raptors anymore," Owen remarked before he realized he just exposed himself.
Claire frowned. "What are you talking about, they adore you. Zach cannot stop bugging me to ask you about motorcycle lessons."
"No problem, Fireball," he agreed meekly.
"Ok, I sense this is about something else," she noted. Claire put her wine glass down and softly wiped her upper lip with napkin. "Spit it out," she requested when he was about to say 'it's nothing'. "We both agreed on the 'Spill the beans' regulation, which by the way you came up with."
Owen sighed. "It's your neighbor, I was a little-tiny-bit annoyed with his attitude towards you."
"Enlighten me, what was his attitude with me?" Claire asked, truly lost.
"Oh come on, you seriously don't see what he's doing? The way he looks at you? It's exactly the same look I give you," he fumed, though not precisely surprised at her clueless face. "You didn't know? I'm amazed he hasn't asked you out earlier."
Claire shook her head. "No, you can't be right. We're neighbors 3 years now, I talked to him quite often when I was back from the island. He never asked me out once."
"I'm just telling you what I saw. He wasn't really hiding it, considering I was standing next to you, clearly taking you out on a date," Owen insisted and rose his eyebrows.
Their banter was interrupted by their food arriving. Owen long forgot Jay the moment he took a bite of his meal. Claire did not comment on his face, but was bursting with 'I told you so' look.
"You're a genius," he admitted between the bites.
"Actually the person who invented this dish is, but I shan't disagree with your compliment," she batted her eyelashes at him and began to eat.
They ate for a while in comfortable silence. After a couple of minutes, Claire made a small sound.
"Mm, I just remembered!" she gasped. "Vivian called me in the morning, apparently the army is analyzing the island for potential recapturing. Blue was spotted on the satellite, she's in good shape."
Owen stopped eating, his face dropping for a second. His thoughts often returned to his remaining raptor protégé. Blue was the last evidence of his 2-year involvement at the Jurassic World.
Claire reached for his left hand, caressing the back of his palm. "Hey, don't worry, they won't kill the animals left, they're going to use soporifics. Some heavy ones but still."
"I don't know how to feel about this, we're not gonna get back there soon. There's little chance the park will re-open," Owen said slowly.
"The dinosaurs will get good care and they'll be safe from each other," Claire reassured him and looked around. "You look like you could use some tequila right now. Though I'm pretty sure we won't order here anything else than Pinot noir vintage 1995."
"Now we're talking." The sly smile returned to Owen's face. "What are you suggesting?"
"Show me how to drink tequila," she dared him.
"Woman, you're playing with fire here," Owen breathed quietly, leaning over the table. "But what kind of gentleman would I be if I refused when my lady insists."
Claire grinned at him and asked a walking by waiter for their check.
Soon they were driving for Owen's drink bar of choice and Claire was practically skipping in her seat.
"Are you that anxious, not knowing where we are going?" he chuckled. "Relax."
"I am relaxed, and I completely rely on you. Don't care where we are going," she backfired and put on her cool expression.
When they arrived, Owen took off his tie and threw it to the backseat.
Claire raised her eyebrows at him, but at the same time she noticed she and Owen were in fact dressed much more officially than the people entering the 'Golden Water Pub' they found themselves in front of.
"Maybe this was not such a good idea, we should have some casual clothing," she hesitated.
"Don't chicken out now, no one cares at 'Golden' really," Owen encouraged and bent over to her. His eyes found hers, trying to understand what was going on inside that redhead of hers. He could almost see her head steaming from overthinking. Breath stuck somewhere in his throat when she bit her lip and got closer to him.
"I don't chicken out," she whispered and pulled away from him to dissolve her hair from tight hairdo. Newly released red-locks were falling over her shoulders, and Owen noticed Claire hadn't straightened her hair that night. He found it even more appealing than her usual hairstyle.
He swallowed hard before following Claire into the pub, wondering how he would survive the night with Claire Dearing at his side.
"Should we find a table?" she wondered while looking around.
Owen smirked and shook his head. "Definitely not," he objected and pointed her to the high chairs by the bar. "Let's do this right."
He snorted loudly when they sat down and first thing Claire said to the bartender was, "Hi, Can we have lots of tequila? My boyfriend here surely needs more than one glass."
"Wow, you really don't even know how to order tequila," Owen laughed sincerely and added to the confused bartender, "Two shots of gold tequila with salt and lime, please. We'll start with the classic way."
"No, I might have drunk it once in my life," Claire admitted, then rested her chin in her palm. "I'm more used to cheap merlots I was buying with my friends after the lectures… or weird drinks I had over business meetings." She looked at him quizzically when they were served their shots.
"Look at me," he instructed, forming a small mound of salt on the membrane between his thumb and index finger. "Lick, drink, suck."
"Lick, drink, suck," she repeated and followed Owen's actions. She coughed a bit after drinking the shot. "This is strong."
"Shut up and suck," Owen hastened and handed her the lime.
At first, Claire cringed, but after few seconds she looked at him with satisfaction. "This is awesome."
"I know. Tell me about your unruly years at uni," Owen inquired after he ordered another two rounds for them.
The red-head frowned, trying to recall anything worth telling him about. "Oh my gosh, I don't know… like I already told you, I usually did not fool around, did not really have time to. However…" she stopped mid-sentence.
"However what?" Owen questioned.
"I got kicked out of class once and the dean suspended me for a week in my second year," she laughed and put some hair behind her ear. "I smeared one guy's back with toothpaste in the middle of philosophy lecture."
Owen applauded her quietly and asked, "What has he done to deserve this fate?"
"I was going out with him for a couple of months, nothing serious really. Anyways, one day he decided to publicly break up with me at this big student party everyone had to be at. And by publicly, I mean throw his tongue down Valerie Leighton's throat, my number one nemesis."
"Classy."
Claire shrugged. "Yeah, but I survived. Nothing a couple of parties and Chardonnay would not fix."
Owen laughed out loud as he took of his jacket, and rolled up his sleeves. "Were those bingo-club parties? Chardonnay, Jesus Christ…"
"Knock it off." Claire huffed. "Why do I even bother with you, I'm sure you were this number one popular jock who drunk cheap beer and wouldn't look nerdy and freckled red-head's way."
"I'm sorry," he apologized, showing a teeth-wide smile. "I was kind of a jock, but I was very friendly. My best friend in high-school was head of RPG games group."
Claire rose an eyebrow. "Do you even know what RPG stands for?" she asked with skepticism.
"Reading Pack Game?" Owen guessed and Claire laughed, covering her eyes with her hand.
"Close, but not really. At all."
"About that comment on red-heads," he remarked and handed her a drink. "You couldn't be more wrong."
"What do you mean?" Claire questioned, obviously confused.
"I always had an eye for red-heads," Owen teased and got closer to her.
Claire nodded her head. She held her breath for a moment like she needed to refocus. "Tell me about your years at the navy. I remember from your resume you joined the army right away after your biology degree?"
"You remember correctly. Nothing was holding me in the states anymore, so I chose a foreign station. My father died after remarrying and I really do not get along with my stepmother."
"How was the navy?"
"Tough. But really great. Helped me overcome my anger towards my biological mother," he admitted and hesitated as he was about to say more. Owen cocked his head to the side and looked at her apologetically. "I'm sorry, I am killing the mood. Let's have a raincheck on this conversation, once we really have nothing more depressive to talk about."
"You're not killing the mood," Claire heartily denied.
A vivid music came on in the pub and Owen put his glass down, smiling playfully at her.
"No. Don't even think about it," she exclaimed, but in a second was pulled into the dance floor. Owen's left hand landed on her side, while his right one found her palm.
"You owe me a beach walk, which I'm trading in for a dance right now," he announced matter-of-factly, leading her slowly through the dancing crowd.
"Who decided it works like that?" Claire wondered. However, she let herself dive into the '70's style beat as Owen swirled her around. "You're making me dizzy," she laughed.
"Now would Jay make you dizzy?" Owen half-seriously teased in her ear.
"I'm sure he knows his dance techniques, I danced with him at last year's Christmas party," Claire teased back, pretending to think through her options.
Owen did not reply at her little provocation. The only thing he was focused on in that moment was the smell of Claire's perfume, the softness of her upper-arm skin under his fingers and her smooth, perfectly pink lips parted slightly. He was happy to notice she was affected at their closeness like he was. Somewhere along the song Owen buried his nose in red locks on the side of her head, breathing in her scent like it was new-found narcotic.
When the song finished and changed to some fresh techno hit both Claire and Owen felt snatched away from their little world and hesitantly headed back for their seats.
"Final round?" Owen proposed.
"Final round. I don't remember last time I got this drunk," Claire admitted, nodding.
"Glad I could help," he chuckled and handed her freshly filled glass.
They drank down at once and Owen looked around for the lemon only to find it in Claire's mouth.
She grinned at him, raising her eyebrows, clearly not thinking of giving up the fresh piece of lemon easily. Without further thought, Owen leaned to her, his mouth finding the fruit between her teeth. Claire smiled widely and opened her mouth under his to give him better access to suck on the fruit. After a moment, they parted a little and Claire took her chance to take out the lemon from his teeth and replace it with her tongue. Owen growled lowly, still tasting the mix of salt, lemon and tequila off her. His hand wandered to the small of her back and pulled her closer to him, while Claire's left hand stroked hair at the nape of Owen's neck, sending electricity down his spine.
Claire moaned quietly when they finally broke the kiss and came back for air, neither wanting the moment ever to end. She closed her eyes lazily and Owen admired her blushed face. Something clearly bothered her, as her expression changed from delighted to crestfallen one.
"What's wrong?" he asked and placed her right hand between his palms.
"I kinda don't want to go back to my apartment," she groaned, smiling crookedly. "Don't get me wrong, I love Karen and the boys but I'm used to having more space and um… peace?"
"I would gladly help you out here," Owen muttered and ran his fingers across her upper arm, sensing her shivers under his hand. "But until the hearings don't end Barry is crashing at my place," he continued, quickly sucking his breath in at the sight of Claire biting on her lip. That gesture was the most interesting thing he noticed during their first meeting and, subconsciously or not, increased his pressure every single time she would do it. Maybe it was some kind of witchcraft, because many women he could be interested in did that, yet nothing influenced him more that this particular redhead and her specific shade of pink lips.
Claire shook her head, but smile widely at him. They both knew they were talking about something else really. "It's okay, soon we'll be all through with this," she reassured him and squeezed his hand back.
Soon both Owen and Claire decided they had enough tequila, so Owen asked for the bill and they left the locale. He was about to catch a cab when Claire stopped him, lowering his arm with her hand.
"Wait. I live nearby, don't I? Care for a walk?" she suggested and stuck out her hand towards him.
Owen gladly laced his fingers with hers as Claire led them through the illuminated park. He knew this was the long way, but did not care. Walking down the pebble aisles, while Claire rested her head on his shoulder, made him feel most relaxed since the island events. He allowed himself to forget the panic, the chaos and the fear for a moment. To that day he would get nightmares about Claire outrunning the T-Rex in her ridiculous shoes, but feeling her warm body right next to his made it easier to convince himself she was safe and could take care of herself. She could take care of herself maybe more than he would take care of himself, and even more than he would like to admit. After their first failed date, Owen often wondered if such independent woman really needed him, why would she even let him take care of her when she did not have to. Therefore, potential competition in form of Jay bothered him harder than he would care in the past. Mostly because Owen recognized his and Claire's differences, and at point her and Jay's similarities emphasized them further.
The pair walked in comfortable silence until they reached Claire's building. Owen followed her to the top of the stairs but stopped at the last step.
"You want to pop by for a coffee or something?" she asked, her cheeks flushed out.
"Nah, everybody is probably long asleep," Owen remarked and checked his watch, noticing almost 2 AM on it.
"Yeah, you're probably right," Claire agreed.
They both got quiet again, and while Claire looked like she desperately wanted to come up with anything more to say, Owen leaned over her. He felt growing pride in his chest seeing an immediate effect he brought out in her. The pale sensation of her rapid breathing against his cheek, and her head turned up high to face him, made him silently curse both guests in her apartment and the couch crasher at his.
However, the moment his lips reached her soft ones, he felt a slight hit on his left arm and Claire bounced back a bit.
"Pardon, can I pass?" a voice asked on the other side of the entrance door Owen and Claire were standing next to.
They both moved to Owen's right and the doors opened fully, showing Jay's silhouette, leading a small mongrel on a leash. Without further ado he passed them on the stairs and disappeared with the dog behind the nearest tree.
"Seriously?" Owen exclaimed. "What the hell- Why is he even-?" he blurted out, feeling totally dumbfounded.
"Ah, Pepper…" Claire sighed and massaged her temple. "The dog is pretty old, it needs a walk in the middle of the night… Jay is being a total hero, he would do anything for this dog."
"Real mother Teresa," Owen murmured sharply.
Claire frowned and replied angrily, "Oh for heaven's sake, Owen, you're being a baby. The man sacrifices his beauty sleep ¸ as you'd call it, for the poor animal. Not so long ago you were the one playing the wise guy on animal's feelings." She folded her arms and leered at him.
Owen sighed, scratching his head. "I'm sorry, it's not about the dog-"
"No, It's your ridiculous alpha thing," she interrupted him in annoyed tone but next thing he knew, her mouth was back on his, moving firmly against his skin.
His arms roamed around her and found her back, pressing her hardly between his body and the brick corner next to the entrance. Claire moaned loudly at the harsh feeling of a mailbox between her shoulder blades, but did not move. She was pinned to the wall with Owen's strong arms preventing her from falling over. A mix of forest berry pie they had for dessert and tequila with lemon tastes entered his mouth along with her tongue making Owen dizzy. It felt like her small, fragile figure took full control over his body. All of Owen's frustration that took a high peak at his latest encounter with Jay. He did not know who, him or Claire, was trying harder to make a point with that kiss.
A low groan, followed by panting, escaped his lips just when the damn vixen that was underneath him ran a hand through the hair at the nape of his neck, her other one supporting herself against his chest. He did not wait long with responding tit for tat and was more than happy to hear her sigh at the feeling of his right hand sliding down from her waist to the flexion of skin between the back of her thigh and buttock under her skirt, rising her left leg a bit to his side.
Part of him didn't want the kiss to end knowing Jay would be coming back anytime and it fomented the 'alpha thing' in him, how Claire called it. However, the greater part of him focused on the few alone moments they were lately able to enjoy. The inability to just grab her and take her upstairs to the her apartment bedroom's, which she currently shared with her sister, was probably worse torture than fighting off a pterodactyl herd.
He was sucking on her bottom lip when he heard a queasy grunt behind him, which probably meant the infamous neighbor coming back from his night walk. Neither of them reacted since they weren't blocking the door anymore, but Claire apparently couldn't keep her chuckle in more than the moment the front door closed behind Jay.
Owen eyed her, wondering how her flushed, deep-pink face still looked perfect and sensuous after their, straight out of some teenager textbook, make-out session.
"I should go," she finally decided, not really making a convincing attempt of untangling herself from Owen's arms. "Call me in the morning when you wake up, we could all have late Sunday lunch. What do you think?"
"Gladly," Owen agreed. "Don't confuse the doors on the way to your apartment," he added in teasing voice.
"Idiot," she breathed under her nose and rolled her eyes. "I'm not that drunk, and the only night attractions in store for me are Karen's snoring and floating Lysol fragrance. Goodnight," Clare whispered, before slowly kissing Owen for last time and disappearing into the building.
Owen headed back to the street to catch a taxi. When he finally succeeded and was on his way home, he rested his temple on cold window glass. What did Claire Dearing do to him?
-x-
Morning came too early for Owen, who was woken by Barry's rapping coming from the kitchen. When he noticed it was 11 AM, he dragged himself out of the bed remembering his promise about lunch with Claire's family.
"Here you are, lover boy," Barry cheerfully called and patted on kitchen island's top. "Have some crêpes and tell me how the date went."
Owen obeyed and sat down by the table. He rubbed his eyes and stared into space behind his friend, trying to find the right words to sum up his evening with Claire. It was barmy and marvelous at once. He feared they wouldn't have anything common to talk about, but they really clicked either in serious conversation or teasing and simple small talk.
"That bad?" Barry made a guess, noticing Owen's reverie.
"No, it was…" Owen paused, searching for the right words. "Refreshing, after all we've been through lately, and after our first confusing date." He mused whether to confide in him about his competition, but not wanting to appear paranoid or diffident, he concealed his doubts.
After breakfast, he called Claire's cellphone, but Karen answered it, telling him her sister was in the shower. Pushing out the dirty thought that immediately popped up in his head, Owen focused on setting place and time with Karen for the lunch. The weather forecast mentioned relatively warm temperatures so he went to change into some casual, Sunday clothes. Owen consciously chose a similar beige shirt to the one he had on island and a black jacket.
Before heading for the 'Peaches & Cream' Café, Owen caught a taxi for the place he left his car at the previous night. He would love a ride on his Triumph; he missed it greatly. Claire managed to save it from the island for him, but Barry was borrowing it for the time being so he was stuck with his jeep.
When he finally reached the café, he only spotted Claire at a table. She was sitting in the open sun, wearing a flowery dress, light overcoat and bug-sunglasses.
"Won't you get sunburn?" Owen called as he approached her and did not give her time to reply, bending down over her and pecking her on the lips.
Claire crossed her arms. "Ha-ha. Is this the only shirt you have in your closet?"
"Exactly, I bought two dozens of these," he played along and sad down next to her. "Where's the Mitchell gang?"
"Probably killing each other over the last cinnamon roll," Claire sighed and nodded towards the café. "I ordered flat-white and ham croissant for you, I hope you don't mind, the queue is crazy."
"You're the cutest weirdo, remembering my faves," he admitted and reached for her hand as she blushed slightly. "How's the feline Pandora box? Content with all the toys from Jay?"
Claire's eyes opened wide at the question and she stuttered out, "She's fine, actually we had a quiet night." She looked around searching for her sister and nephews. Not noticing them she blurted out, "I have a confession to make."
"Okay, what is it?" Owen answered cautiously. He did not know what she was saying but he felt like he did not like it already.
Claire sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. "You weren't exactly wrong about Jay."
Owen frowned. "I was right?" he asked and cocked his head, truly surprised his radar was not off when it came to Ms. Dearing. "How'd that happen?"
"I- um, came across Jay in the morning and he might have asked me out."
Awkward silence fell between them. Finally, but still keeping a rather dumbfounded face Owen managed to say, "I must say, I admire his spirit after last night."
"Are you angry?" she asked and smiled wryly.
Raising an eyebrow Owen crossed his arms. "All depends on what was your answer."
"Of course I said no!" Claire spat out in offended voice. "It's not like I go around hugging and almost kissing people!"
Owen sat back in his chair and narrowed his eyes, "Are you pointing fingers now?"
In that moment they both realized Gray was standing close and listening, his nipping at cinnamon roll interrupted by suspended breath and frightened expression.
"Hi buddy," Owen recovered and welcomed the boy cheerfully.
"Are you going to break up just like parents did?" Gray asked in teary voice. He approached Owen's side and hugged him tightly.
Owen put his left arm around the boy, understanding his fear. Lately the only stability in their lives was sticking together, and Owen really grew fond of the boys and their mother too.
"We're just loudly conversing, Gray," Claire reassured him and patted the seat next to her, inviting him to sit.
"Did you tell Uncle Owen about what you did?!" the boy exclaimed, his mood changing right away.
"What did you do?" Owen inquired, not able to hide his amusement. His heart filled with warmth at a bit premature family designation, but it seemed nobody wanted to correct Gray.
Claire smoothed side of Gray's hair and replied slowly, "I might overreacted a bit about Jay… truth be told I never seen him this much aggressive over something, we always got along pretty well…"
"She kicked him in the tibia," Karen's voice came from behind Owen. As Owen stood up to greet her and Zach, she continued, "If only she kicked him in the nuts."
"Karen!" Claire exclaimed and closed her eyes with embarrassment.
"Dude, it was wicked," Zach commented.
Owen's mouth hanged open for a moment. "Was he that aggressive? Maybe you should have called the cops?"
"No, no." the younger redhead shook her head. "He didn't touch me or got too close, or anything. He, er… started insulting you."
"His lightest insult was that you're savage," Karen said calmly, but she was almost shaking with laugher. "Something about damaged mailbox?" she asked mysteriously, confusing her sons.
"Can we change the subject?" Claire insisted, making a do-you-believe-me-now face at Owen.
"Yes!" Karen clapped her hands and put down her coffee. "I'm sure Claire told you we want to move out of Wisconsin."
Owen nodded at her words.
"I found a perfect apartment and my company allowed me to switch locations, so I guess this is official?" Karen announced.
"What did Scott say about this?" Owen asked curiously.
Karen waved her had, "Please, he spends most of his time in airplanes because of work anyways. He'll drop in when he's around or I'll book a flight for boys."
"We don't mind," Zach admitted, "and I love the change for the big city."
"More girls." Gray grinned and Zach rubbed not-too-gently the top of his head.
"Anyways, I can rent the place next week already so I won't be hovering over you anymore, sis. We're taking our Lucifer kitten with us, so that should be a relief, huh?" Karen teased and rubbed Claire's arm.
"You can keep that name, it suits the cat," Claire agreed in unenthusiastic voice. "But don't be silly and do not rush the moving, you can stay as long you want."
"We'd love to, but it's not a four person flat, you know it," Karen admitted. "Also I kept your TV a prisoner too long."
"Just let me watch the news sometimes over Romance channel and I'll be fine," she insisted.
"Really, Claire, we'll be in the same neighborhood. I'm sure we are still gonna bother you and Owen." Karen winked and turned to the man. "I was hoping you'd give us a hand when our stuff will arrive from Wisconsin."
Owen felt like Karen's eyes drilled a hole in his head and replied right away, "Of course." He noticed Claire turning face away from her sister, not to show her grinning like an idiot.
"You're so screwed," Claire later remarked, strolling long behind her family. They were having a walk down the alley to an ice cream parlor and a comic book store boys begged to visit.
"You mean your sister's moving?" Owen asked and squeezed her hand plaited with his. "You won't get out of it too and I'm afraid your golden neighbor won't be eager to help."
"More of your savagery for me and for Karen's stacks of boxes then," she murmured, resting her jaw on his shoulder.
"You have no idea," he replied and put on his sunglasses.
After all Owen Grady have been through in his life, he definitely did not complain about having family of some sorts and just being with them.
-x-
"This is the last one," Claire announced when Owen reentered her apartment for about twentieth time next Saturday.
It was the moving day for Karen and the boys. Claire couldn't help but constantly wonder out loud how in such short time they managed to collect all that stuff in there.
"Be careful, this one is full of Murano glass," she cringed and handed him the heavy box. "Not that I care for my sister's hideous set of glasses, more like your head in place if anything happens to these."
"Roger that," Owen acknowledged and disappeared again down the hall. When he came back, Claire was bustling around and did not notice right away his shirt and jeans dipping in blood from his palm. "Uhm, babe? Can you give me a hand?"
"What happened?" Claire shouted, running up to him across the room. "Was it the revenge of cursed Murano?" she asked and examined his hand.
"No, no. Unlike my hand, my head shall remain intact. There was a Japanese knife in the box and it shred through the thin cardboard."
"Should we go to the hospital?"
Owen shook his head. "No, it's superficial and I smudged it while loading the box to your sisters' car. She wanted to go to the hospital too, but I told her to go with boys, it just looks scary. Do you have hydrogen peroxide and some Band-Aids?"
"Of course," she said and led him into the bathroom.
Owen sat down on the edge of the tub, while Claire rummaged through her small medical cabinet.
"It'll decolorize your clothes," she commented when she found the needed supplies at last.
"This is my last pair of jeans, if I lose this one too I'll have to go shopping either in board shorts or suit pants," he groaned.
Claire flinched at the memory of board shorts. "Over my dead body."
Owen snorted. "Can you save it?"
"Lose it right now. Cold water first, then we'll see," she commanded and helped him take off the shirt over his head.
Trying to distract himself from her warm hands on his naked chest and then on his leather belt, Owen turned his head away from Claire until she threw the jeans and the t-shirt into bathtub filled with cold water.
"Your hand, please," the redhead demanded. She spread a towel on his thighs, sat down on carpet between Owen's legs and started to clean his wound carefully. "It's not that bad," she breathed a sigh of relief and looked at his face. He was watching her carefully, feeling his jaw clench at her every touch.
Owen hissed when her pale, delicate hands found the deepest point of cut.
"I'm sorry, it'll be better in a second," Claire promised him and totally surprised him by placing a gentle kiss on his wrist. "Better?" she asked in quiet voice, smirking at him.
Owen pretended hesitation on his answer. "I don't know, this whole situation stressed me out. I have a major headache going on."
Claire huffed, but rose just a bit to reach his lips.
The kiss was something different from their previous ones, mostly because it was the first one initiated by Claire. Owen couldn't complain at her right hand stroking his calf in a daring move. His palms found her bottom and pulled her up to his level, her legs entangling between his legs and the bath towel.
Shortly Owen broke the kiss to find her collarbone with his mouth, tasting skin with a couple of small moles above it. He really felt like he should take her sunbathing in summer, feeling great need to see freckles on that fragile surface.
"Jeans," Claire moaned while she leaned harder into him, digging her nails in his neck.
"That's not the word I would expect to hear while kissing you, but why am I not surprised?" he breathed, letting her loose with his palms still on her buttocks.
"No board shorts," she stated firmly. "To be continued. Now scatter, I have some pants-saving to do. I'll lend you Zach's t-sweatpants in a moment."
Owen sighed and got up from the bathtub edge. He tied the towel around his waist and left Claire reading through every detergent in her bathroom.
Though just a moment earlier arousal was filling his body, tiredness overcame him while he waited on the couch in the living room. Nearly dozing off, Owen jumped slightly when he heard a knock on the apartment's door.
Thinking it was probably Karen who forgot her copper Buddha statue or something like this, Owen went straight for the door and opened it without looking through the peephole. This lead to Owen greeting Jay in nothing but towel over his briefs. Jay's face flushed shortly at his confident attitude.
"Dude," Owen sighed resignedly and crossed his arms. "You've got 5 seconds before I kick your ass across the hall."
"Yeah, I suppose your anger is justified," Jay admitted, scratching behind his ear. "Listen, I'm sorry about what I said to Claire last Sunday."
"You don't have to apologize for insulting me, or whatever if you mean that, you could call me a gorilla for what I care, just don't fling yourself at anyone who clearly isn't interested."
"It's just that I know her three years now and… I've been meaning to ask her out since she moved back here permanently and I didn't know she was seeing somebody. All the time I know her I never heard her talk about boyfriend or anything…"
"Is there a point to this self-monologue?" Owen inquired impatiently.
"…and when I saw her on the news, the tragic events, her heroic behavior, it really changed my view on her, she seemed different…" Jay went on like he hadn't heard the question.
Owen tilted his head incredulously and almost squealed, "Seriously? She hasn't changed that much since the island, and I would know, I chased the woman for about a year. When she finally agreed to a date with me, that damn confident woman sabotaged it because she still didn't believe I meant my commitment. How do you see yourself in this equation, hopping on the vulture bandwagon?" he asked, feeling his veins throbbing in neck. "She is not some golf club prize of the week."
"Yeah, understood," Jay finally answered sourly and hesitated for a couple of seconds before continuing, "Look, I saw that Karen moved out already and I had no opportunity to talk to her this week, could you give me her number?"
A loud snort left Owen's mouth, wondering what planet this guy had come from. "I'll ask her, it wouldn't be right without her permission. Also I'm sure she'll come by soon, you can ask yourself."
"Ok, I'd appreciate you asking her," Jay thanked and said goodbye.
Owen shook his head, closed the door and turned around back to the bathroom. When he entered the room he noticed sweatpants waiting for him on the toilet so he put them on quickly. Claire also changed, choosing a casual dress over work clothes. She was leaning over the washing machine and aggressively reading into some info on a stain remover.
"Did that bottle do something to you?" Owen chuckled and hugged her from behind, breathing her in.
"I won't give Karen the satisfaction of giving me a washing clothes rant, so either this will work or you'll be going shopping in Zach's shortish pants," Claire chuckled as she eyed him and turned around in his arms. "Were you talking to someone?"
Owen grinned goofily from ear to ear. "Your invaluable neighbor. He came to ask for your sister's number."
"Wow, he really doesn't waste time," she quietly noted and looked like she pondered on something.
"Second thoughts about your choice, Pumpkin?" Owen teased, running a hand down her side.
Claire sighed. "Stop comparing yourself to him, Owen. He may be a CFO and spend his summers in Dubai, but it does not mean I would ever be interested in him," she explained patiently. She put her right hand on his heart and stroked his mustache with her left thumb. "I love talking to you and I love being quiet with you. No one will take that away from me, no one can change it."
A nod was all Owen managed to do after her little speech. When he finally kissed her, nothing felt more like home to him.