Alright, Part 2.
"This one's probably going to be your best bet," Paul told Owen as he showed him an older Ford F-150. "She used to be used by the vets but she got smacked a few times with a steg's tail. See that?" He pointed to large scratches on the side of the bed and one puncture hole by the wheel well. "It popped one of the tires so they brought it back here and grabbed an another truck. Never came back for it."
"As long as it runs, I'm fine," Owen said.
"Oh, it'll run. It's got a nice engine in it. V8. None of this Eco-Boost V6 crap they're coming out with now," Paul said, shaking his head. Owen smiled. "It's heavy, though, so the get up can take a few seconds, and it eats gas like it's got a leak, but I'd still pick this one over any of the others, if it were me."
"You don't have a VW Bug we could give him?" Claire asked. "Or something girlier?"
Paul smiled and Owen sighed. "She's been having fun at my expense all day today," he told the mechanic.
"Well, it's her birthday; she's allowed."
Paul walked over to a work bench and Owen snapped his attention back to her.
"Unbelievable," he muttered.
"I thought you'd be bring by your car," Paul called before walking back to them with a set of keys. "Claire said you were having some trouble."
"It's a bike, actually," Owen corrected him politely. "I've found the problem already. A fuse blew."
"Do you know what caused it to blow?"
"Not yet. I can't get any power to it to check anything," he explained. "I could by pass the fuse, probably, but depending on what the problem is, that might make it worse."
"Yeah, best just to get a new one and hope you can find the issue before it blows again."
"I'll order a handful of them just in case," Owen said. He took the proffered keys from Paul. "Thanks for your help."
"Sure," Paul said easily. "Anything for Miss Dearing."
"Thanks, Paul," she said kindly. "I should get back to work, Owen."
"Yeah," he agreed. He gave her a quick kiss. "I'll text you about tonight."
"I just need you to sign a release form before you go, Mr. Grady," Paul said as Claire began walking out. "You better be takin' good care of her," she heard him warn Owen. She smiled and looked back just as she was stepping out of the garage, seeing Owen nodding emphatically.
...
He told her to dress up.
Like my new dress? she texted him hopefully.
The blue one? Yeah, that'll work.
When he arrived at her apartment that night he was wearing the dinosaur tie she'd bought him. It made her smile and she teased him about it as he rushed her to elevator.
"We're going to be late," he urged her.
"Are we going to be late because you spent an hour deciding if you should wear that tie that you secretly love but don't want me to know how much you love it?"
"This," he said, flapping the tie in front of her face, "is for your benefit. Happy frickin' birthday."
She laughed as the elevator opened to the ground floor of the building and he pulled her through the lobby to the outside. His truck-on-loan was sitting by the curb.
"Did you order the fuses you need for your bike?" she asked as she climbed into the cab.
"Yeah," he said, distracted. He quickly started the engine and pulled out onto the service road. "It's going to be while for them to get in, but..." He trailed off.
"Are you going to tell me where we're going?" she asked.
"You'll see."
"Do you like the truck?"
"Yeah, it's nice," he said.
"I could arrange for you to keep it," she suggested. "That way you wouldn't have to depend on your bike if it's raining or something."
The island had some nasty storms sometimes. She couldn't imagine riding a motorcycle through torrential downpours was very much fun.
"Nah, that's alright. I love riding that bike." He turned to her and smiled. "Thanks, though."
They chatted about how the rest of his day had gone. Delta had been particularly difficult, he told her. She didn't want to listen to him and kept snapping at Echo every time the other raptor got too excited.
"Why do you think that's happening?" she asked curiously.
"Could be just because she's a bit of a bitch," he said. "She's always been temperamental. Or maybe she's not feeling well. If she's got a little bug, or something, she might not be in the mood to deal with her sisters." He pulled into a parking space behind a row of buildings - the uglier backside of the island's Boardwalk. "If she keeps it up I'll have to get a vet out to look her over."
"Hopefully it's nothing," Claire said.
They got out of the car and began walking towards the gate entrance to the boardwalk. He grabbed her hand and pulled her along, making her walk slightly faster than normal.
"You know the nice thing about having a truck over a bike?" he asked with a smile.
"What's that?"
"I get to pick my girl up and drive her around," he said with a wink.
"You could do that with a bike," she said slowly, smirking.
"Yeah, but you won't ride on my bike," he said like it was obvious.
"You've never asked me," she pointed out. "I would do it."
He looked to her, surprised. "You would?" She nodded. "Really? You'd let me take you out on my bike?" he asked doubtfully.
She shrugged. "Sure. As long as you drive safe," she said. "It'd be fun."
"Oh my God," he said in awe. "I really don't know you, do I?"
"I'm full of surprises," she said coyly.
"Apparently," he muttered.
He lead her into a small club. There were small, two-person tables littered through the perimeter of a dance floor.
"Have you ever been here before?" he asked her.
"No; you?"
"No. Barry suggested it. So if you hate it, blame him."
She nodded and chuckled a little.
"Grady - two," he said to the hostess.
He'd made a reservation? How cute, she thought.
They were led to a table in the corner and each handed a single page menu. A server came by and, after asking if they'd been there before, gave a short spiel about the club. He explained that the live band plays cover songs from a variety of genres and they were free to get up and dance at any point during their meal.
"Leave your napkin on you chair if you don't want us to clear your plates," he explained. "Put it on the table if you do. Got that? Napkin on chair - plates stay. Napkin on table - plates gone. It's written here, if you forget." He pointed to a small place card on the table next to the candle.
"That's been a problem, I take it?" Owen asked.
"Happens all the time," the server agreed. "But it's been better since we've come up with this little system. Nothing ruins a romantic night out like a botched dinner."
He took their drink orders - Owen ordered wine which made Claire nearly fall out of her chair - and left them to look over the menu.
"This is nice," she commented, looking around the room. It was sparsely decorated but that was what she liked about it. Sometimes venues went a little overboard with their decor themes. The club had a nice, rustic elegance to it.
"Yeah, it is. Not bad," Owen said, also looking around. "Figured it was another chance for me to one-up McPherson, too. You said he never took you dancing, right?"
"We danced at parties but never came to a place like this," she said, shaking her head. "What about you and Lisa?"
He shook his head. "She didn't like this kind of dancing," he said, nodding towards the couples on the dance floor dancing slowly.
Claire smiled and looked back across the table at him. She started laughing a little.
"What?" he asked, now smiling at her.
"'A romantic night out,'" she chuckled.
"What?"
"That's what the server called this. 'A romantic night out.'"
"Oh, yeah," he said. He looked back down at the menu and sighed. "Frickin' Barry."
"Don't blame Barry," she said, chuckling.
They spent the rest of their meal chatting away amicably.
"So you're happy, here?" she asked him. "I mean, I know you love your raptors, but do you actually enjoy the work?"
He nodded. "Yeah, I do. It's cool to be involved in something that, really, no one else does. But my future is kind of up in the air. Who knows how long I'll be doing this for."
"What do you mean?" she asked, confused.
"Well, I'm employed by the Navy, technically. I've got another year in the service. And then I'll have to decide if I want to reenlist or not. If I do, there's a chance they'll pull me out of here - depending on what's happening in the world. Really, they could pull me out at any time, but I imagine the contract with InGen is substantial enough that they want me to stay here.
"Then there's the girls," he continued. "They'll live for another eight years if they stay healthy but anything could happen. They could get sick. They could get too dangerous and have to be put down. Or InGen could decide they aren't getting the progress they want and shut us down prematurely." He shrugged. "And then what do I do? If it happens within the year, or after I reenlist, the Navy will pull me back into duty. They aren't going to let me just hang back on some island in Costa Rica where there's no benefit to them."
Claire was surprised. She hadn't realized his situation was so fragile and tentative. "What happens if you don't reenlist?"
He shrugged again. "You know Hoskins? He's the InGen rep that comes here all the time," he asked. "He's an ass hole, but I could probably work it out with him to stay with their program. Or I leave - head back to the States and get a job somewhere."
They ate in silence as Claire thought over what he'd told her.
"Would you want to stay here?" she asked him. "If it wasn't working with the raptors, I mean?"
"Depends on what I would be doing, I guess." He eyed her shrewdly. "You got a job for me or something?"
She smirked. "I'm sure I could put you somewhere," she replied. "Garbage disposal or paddock maintenance."
"I'll pass, thanks," he said, smiling.
She looked back down at her meal. "Really, I'm sure we could find you something. If you were interested, that is," she added. "You'd be a valuable asset, given your experiences with the raptors."
"Thanks," he said. "Enough about work though."
"Okay." She smiled. "What, then?"
"I want to talk about you getting on the back of my motorcycle." He grinned happily.
"The back?" she repeated. "Oh, no. I meant I'd drive."
"Oh, really?" he asked, laughing. "I don't believe you."
"You just want me with my arms wrapped around you," she teased.
"Well, yeah," he said. "We should figure out a way to get McPherson to see it. He'd probably keel over."
"You love to mess with him, don't you?"
"Oh, does it show?" he asked innocently.
As they finished their meals, Owen stood and walked around the table, holding his hand out to her.
"Come on, Dearing," he said, jerking his head in the direction of the dancers. "Let see what you've got."
"What I've got?" she asked incredulously. He held her hand and lead her to the center of the room. "I'm worried you're going to be stepping on my toes."
He pulled her to him and wrapped a hand around her waist his other still laced with hers. "I think you'll be okay," he said.
He lead her in a small circle in time with the crooning music of the band.
"Not bad, Grady," she conceded after a few minutes. "Where'd you learn this? SEAL training?"
He smiled but shook his head. "No, it's significantly more embarrassing."
"Did your mom make you take dance lessons as a kid?"
"Nope."
"Spill it, Grady," she ordered playfully.
He sighed and chuckled. "So one of my buddies in the Navy - this was before I was a SEAL - he asked his girlfriend to marry him right before we got shipped out. We were going to be stationed on an aircraft carrier for nine months and they planned to have the wedding right when we got back. I mean...right when we got back. He was only going to have a couple days before the wedding and he wanted to surprise her for their first dance. He bought this book - like a Dancing for Dummies, kind of thing - and taught himself how to dance but he wanted to practice."
Claire started laughing. "You were his dance partner?"
He laughed too and nodded. "Yeah, that's right. I stepped up. I wanted to help my friend out."
"Oh, that's great," she said. "Are there pictures of this?"
"Unfortunately, yes," he admitted. "The other guys had a fun time raggin' on us for it."
"That must have been discouraging for him," she said.
"Nah. Eventually all the ones that were married started giving pointers, remembering the lessons they had taken," he said with a smile.
They danced for a while. Owen hummed song of the songs he knew, sometimes getting very enthusiastic which made her laugh. He'd drum his fingers on her back in time with the beat.
He held her close and she noticed she was completely comfortable in his embrace. How strange, she thought. It wasn't that long ago that the idea of being affectionate in front of other people made her cringe in embarrassment. Good God, now she even initiated contact with him.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked her softly.
"Hm?" she asked, pulled out of her thoughts.
"You look like you're doing some difficult math," he teased.
"Oh, I was just thinking," she said simply.
"About...?" he pressed.
She smiled softly. "About how guilty I feel."
"Guilty?"
"I feel like I've been hoarding you, or something. You could be with an actual girlfriend right now if you weren't here with me," she said.
He regarded her carefully. She felt his hand press harder against her back and he glanced around the room.
"I'd still be right here with you," he said knowingly.
"How's that?"
"It's your birthday and you're my friend," he said. "That's assuming you would have told me it was your birthday."
She rolled her eyes. "Still on that, are you?" He didn't say anything but continued avoiding her eyes. "If you were dating someone else, I doubt you'd be dancing with me right now."
He finally looked back to her with a soft smile. "Sure I would. I probably wouldn't be wearing this ridiculous tie, but I'd be here."
"You love this tie," she said, bringing her hand down from his shoulder to rest on the tie. Her fingers ran across the small raptor silhouette. "You'll never convince me otherwise."
"Okay," he said laughing.
...
"You don't have to walk me up," she said as he parked the truck outside her building.
"Yeah, yeah," he deflected easily and got out of the car.
Inside the elevator, they stood side by side, looking at each other in the reflection of the sliding doors.
"Best. Tie. Ever," she whispered with a smile.
"You can have it if you like it so much," he said.
"I bought it for you," she said. "How rude to give a gift back."
The elevator doors opened to her floor and they saw someone crouching down outside her apartment door. Who was-?
Owen turned her quickly to him and kissed her. He maneuvered her out of the elevator, still kissing her. She was locked in place. He had her trapped in his arms. After a moment they heard a small cough and low, soft voice, "Excuse me."
Owen pulled away from her and she saw Daniel, trying to get around them in the hall. She should have known based off Owen's reaction.
"Daniel?" Claire asked. "What are you doing here?" His apartment was three floors below hers.
"I brought a card," he said, pointing back towards her door. "I wanted to wish you a happy birthday."
"Oh, thanks," she said simply.
"Did you two have a good night?" he asked, eyeing Owen.
"We did. He took me dancing," she said happily. She looked up at Owen. "It was a lot of fun."
"Good," Daniel said uncomfortably. "Well, have a good night."
"Night," Owen said gruffly.
He and Claire walked to her door. She listened for the ping of the elevator opening its doors for Daniel but it never came. Owen apparently noticed that little fact too, because after she unlocked her door and picked up the card Daniel had left against it, he kissed her shoulder, standing behind her.
His hands gripped her hips. She could feel his body along the length of hers. She tried to hide her smirk. He really liked to push Daniel's buttons. One of his hands ran up to her stomach and his lips found a wonderful spot on her neck, just below her ear. She should probably open her door and go inside. Owen would follow her in, she knew, just to piss off her ex who was apparently still standing in the hall.
"Turn around," he said in her ear.
She did so, slowly. Out of the corner of her eye, she confirmed Daniel was still there. She thought at this point it was a little creepy for him to be standing there. But then she caught him repeatedly pressing the call button for the lift. She smirked as she tilted her face up to Owen's.
He took a step forward, pressing her body between his and her door. His hands traveled from her waist, to her hips. She felt one hand leave her side and then the barrier behind her disappeared. He'd opened the door and continued kissing her as they disappeared through the threshold. She heard the door close. His lips slowed against hers and after a moment he pulled away. He smiled at her then turned and looked out the peep hole at an angle.
She doubted he'd be able to see the elevator but decided to let him figure that out for himself and walked into her living room. This was the first time he'd been in her apartment. She was once more incredibly grateful for her perfect organization skills as she looked around the clean space.
"Fucker," she heard his muffled voice say against the door. "What a prick." He turned around and followed her into the living room.
She tossed the card Daniel had left for her onto her coffee table and bent over to unclasp her heels, sliding them off.
"Do you want a drink?" she asked him as she stood and made her way to the kitchen. "I imagine you're going to hang out here for a little while at least - make sure he's not waiting for you to leave?"
"Yeah," he agreed, walking to the kitchen bar. "Long enough that if he is still waiting for me when I leave, it'll at least seem like we had sex."
"So, what - three, four minutes?" she joked as she grabbed a bottle of wine from her fridge.
"Ha, ha," he said flatly.
She smiled. "Wine?"
"Sure."
She poured them each a glass then her phone buzzed with a text.
"It's not McPherson, is it?" Owen asked curiously.
"No," Claire laughed. "It's my sister. She wants me to send her pictures of you."
"Send her the one from Masrani's party," he suggested, grinning.
Karen called her almost immediately after Claire sent the picture. "Oh, God," she said, eyeing her phone warily as it rang.
"Answer it," Owen urged. "Put it on speaker."
"Why?" she asked incredulously.
"So I can hear it," he said.
"Hey," Claire said as she picked up the call, giving Owen a warning look to stay quiet.
"Claire," Karen said in a serious voice. "How have you been dating his guy for four months and not told me?"
"I don't know. I guess I was just waiting to see where things were going?" she answered, unsure. She gave Owen a questioning look, wondering what he thought of that excuse.
"Would you have told me about him if he hadn't stolen your phone from you earlier?"
"Yeah," Claire lied. "Eventually." She'd never had any intention of tell her sister except maybe as a 'Hey, want to hear something crazy? I'm fake dating this guy,' sort of thing.
"Is he with you now?"
Owen shook his head. "No," Claire answered.
"You don't stay with him?" Karen asked, bewildered.
"We do," she lied again. "He's in the shower." Owen gave a thumbs up.
"I'm surprised you're not in there with him," she said in a scandalous tone.
"Karen," Claire sighed. Owen had a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing.
"What? He's hot," she defended. "So what's the deal with you two? You don't sound like you're really into it."
Owen took a sip of his wine as Claire tried to come up with something to say. "It's complicated."
"How?"
"It's hard to explain," she said delicately. Owen was examining a chip in the granite countertop.
"It doesn't sound complicated to him."
"What makes you say that?"
"I asked him if he loves you," she said softly. "He said yes. Actually, he said he its pathetic how much he loves you." Owen smirked so Claire smiled.
"Really?"
"He also said that you haven't said that you love him," Karen said in that disapproving way that she's fine-tuned over the years. "What's that about?"
"I guess I'm just being careful. After Daniel-"
"Daniel?" she scoffed. "That ass hole?" Owen made a fist, punched the air, then brought his elbow down to his knee - a gesture of victory.
"Was I the only one that liked him?" Claire asked. "Everyone talks about what an ass he was - how come no one warned me?"
"I did!" Karen exclaimed. "You wouldn't listen! You're kind of an idiot when it comes to men, hon."
"Thanks," she said dryly. "Well, that's why I'm trying to be better now. This one seems nice but I'm obviously not a very good judge of that kind of thing."
"This one seems more than nice," she said. "He's crazy about you and he's gorgeous. Get knocked up now and lock him in place."
"Karen!" Claire yelled, laughing. Owen had to walk away. Claire could hear his muffled laughter.
"I'm not kidding," Karen continued. "Good men don't come along everyday; at least not ones that look like that!"
"Oh my God," Claire said, still laughing.
"Hang up the phone and go get pregnant. He's already naked in the shower. You're half way there!"
"I am going to hang up on you but it won't be to get pregnant."
"Who are you talking to?" Claire heard the curious voice of her brother-in-law through the phone. "Claire's got a hot new boyfriend," Karen answered. "I'm telling her to go jump him in the shower." "Seems strange that you would be giving anyone sex advise," he said.
Claire and Owen stopped their laughing at the awkward moment they were listening in on.
"I really wish I could continue this, Claire. But I have to go kill my husband and then hide his body," she said snidely.
"Good luck," Claire said seriously. She knew they were having a lot marital problems lately.
They hung up and Claire sighed then laughed nervously. "Sorry," she said before sipping her wine. "She clearly likes you."
Owen smiled. "She's funny." He took another gulp from his glass and then set it on the bar. "I should get going."
Claire looked at the time. "Shame; that didn't last as long as I was thinking it would," she teased. "A little performance anxiety, Grady?"
He sighed and smiled. "I would show you otherwise, which would make your sister very happy, apparently, but I don't think you're really up for it."
"I'm not up for it? Or you're not up for it?" she asked with a quick but obvious glance at the front of his pants.
He smiled and started walking slowly to her door. "You know, you used to be all professionalism and innocence. Have I ruined that so soon?"
"Maybe you just bring it out of me," she suggested, following him. "What happens if Daniel is waiting to ambush you? What's your excuse for only lasting ten minutes?"
"I'll act like I'm running to the truck for condoms," he said, turning to open the door.
"Daniel knows I'm on the pill," she said. "We wouldn't need condoms." She bit her lip, waiting for his reaction to that little piece of news.
The door, which he had opened an inch or so, was pushed shut as he leaned his head against it and groaned. "You're evil," he said.
"Like I said, you bring it out of me," she joked.
He lifted his head back up but was still facing the door. "You might have to push me out," he said.
She laughed and reached around him to turn the knob and open the door. "Go home, Grady. I need to get out of this dress and into a hot shower."
He groaned again, clutching both hands over his chest. She pushed him in the back and he stumbled comically into the hallway. "I'll be taking a cold one," he joked as he turned back to face her. "Good night, birthday girl."
He leaned forward enough to give her a light peck on the lips. It surprised her, obviously. She wondered if he realized what he'd just done or if kissing her goodbye was just a habit for him now. He winked and smiled before walking down the hall toward the elevator. She smiled and shook her head at his antics before closing her door.
So that bit at the end with Claire teasing Owen with some sex-related humor just sort of...happened. SorryNotSorry.
Brace yourself. Chapter 13 is coming.
