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Walking along Main Street Claire breathed in the damp air, thankful to finally be finished with work. It was late and the park was closed for guests, but some of the bars always remained open for employees with the park's Main Street being the only source of entertainment on the island.

Claire walked along the quiet street, most employees already settled in the bars to unwind from the days work. A drink sounded great to Claire, exhausted from dealing with the Packys escaping from their zone once again and having to handle the cleanup.

Already being annoyed because she was called away from the lab, leaving Veronica alone with Owen. She couldn't help but wonder if he would fall for her tricks. She was annoyingly beautiful and she definitely knew how to handle her men. Standing in the control room, trying to bark out orders to ACU out on the field, Claire's mind kept pulling her back to the lab. Visions of Veronica and Owen flashing in Claire's mind had her stumbling over her words, unable to keep her focus. The drink she was after was definitely needed.

She nibbled on her bottom lip as her finger hesitated over Owen's name as she walked. Would asking him if he wanted to meet up for a drink be crossing the line? She really liked the way they were heading and didn't want to seem like she was moving too fast. But she also didn't want to lose him to Veronica, or any other woman on the island.

Reaching up to tuck her hair behind her ear, she shook her head annoyed at herself. She couldn't remember being this hesitant when her and Andrew first started talking. Things just happened with them. Why couldn't it be that easy with Owen? Why did he make her so nervous? Damn it. She thought and shoved her phone in her pocket. The fear of starting something she wasn't quite sure how to finish kept her from taking the leap she desperately wanted.

Claire froze in place, her eyes landing on a small table on the patio of the bar she was just about to enter. Owen sat, a beer in his hand, laughing with Andrew, Barry, Cassandra and Naomi. Both women were narrators for the Mosasaurus show and were always using that to their advantage. They were the only two women on the island who have ever stood on a platform, hovering over the open waters where the Mosasaurus lurked below.

Her eyes landed on Cassandra who had moved her chair very close to Owen's and leaning over to touch him every chance she got. The only thing keeping her calm was the unconscious moves Owen was making. He shifted away nonchalantly, dodging most of Cassandra's attempted thigh touches. He barely made eye contact with her, clearly caught up in a conversation with Barry and Andrew. Their gazes constantly moving to the screens around them watching the sports games on each TV.

She stood back, watching as Cassandra continued to do her best to flirt with Owen. She even went as far as asking questions about the football came on one of the TVs. Unable to suppress her eye roll, Claire knew it was a desperate attempt to get his attention. Owen had taken a rather large swag of his beer and tried getting Andrew or Barry to answer her questions. When neither were going to help him our, Owen just gestured back to the TV, instruction the blond to, "Just watch."

Deciding to slip out before any of them spotted her— she wasn't about to be invited to have drinks with her ex and the guy she was currently interested in. That was a disaster waiting to happen. Claire turned towards the walkway that would lead her home. It was late anyway.

XXX

Owen let out a loud yawn and slumped back against the bench just outside the main entrance for the resort. Blinking a few times, he forced his eyes to focus on his watch. It was just after 5am and Claire was running late for her morning run. He let his head fall back, resting on the back of the bench, kicking himself for getting up so early.

Owen was just forming a plan to get up to Claire's floor and drag her out of bed since she was the only reason why he forced himself to get up. He wanted a repeat of yesterday morning, and if it meant getting some one on one time with Claire, he's get up at 5am every morning.

The large glass doors to the resort slid open and Owen sat up straight. He spotted Claire walk slowly out of the door with a yawn. As she was hooking up her headphones, Owen stood up and moved towards her.

She looked up at him approaching her and greeted him with a weak smile.

Owen paused, his face falling serious. "Everything ok?"

"Huh?" Claire asked, another yawn escaping. "Sorry, just had a late night last night"

"Work or recreational?" The words came out before he could stop himself.

"Work," She groaned, unable to even attempt to come up with some sort of comeback for the other part of his question. She quickly wondered if his night ended with work back at the lab or recreationally. She shuddered at the thought.

"You do know you could have slept in." Owen pointed out.

"I'm dedicated. I can't help it." She said it as a joke, but it was very true. Claire has only missed her morning runs once or twice before. Her whole day felt off if she didn't follow her normal routine.

"Bet I could get you to sleep in." Owen said with a wink.

Claire gave a light hearted laugh. He was flirting. That's a good sign. "You've got a lot to learn about me if you think it'd be that easy." She threw him her best smile and turned to start walking her normal trail, still too tired to start off running.

Owen was quick to fall in step beside her. "Easy?" Owen repeated. "Who said anything about easy? If I wanted easy I would have Veronica in my bed right now, but that's not what I want."

Claire's cheeks flushed red and she was thankful they were walking away from the bright lights of the resort. "Oh, yeah?" Claire tried her best to keep her voice steady. "What do you want, Owen?" Her eyes widened for a moment before she composed herself. Did she really just ask that?

Owen was silent for a moment as they walked along the trail. "You." He simply stated, happy he had enough courage to say the word and made it sound confident. He didn't miss the falter in Claire's step. Sneaking a peek at her out of the corner of his eye, her face was serious, her gaze focused on something in front of them as they walked.

"I have a reputation to protect, you know." Claire said quietly.

"I respect that." Owen responded.

Claire turned her head to look him in the eyes as she spoke, letting him see the seriousness in her face. "I don't sleep around."

Owen shrugged. "I'm not asking you to."

"Good." Claire did her best to keep the upper hand of the conversation.

"Good." Owen repeated.

Claire turned, narrowing her eyes at him. "What about you?" She wondered, turning the conversation away from her.

"What about me?"

Claire wanted to let out a frustrated scream. Was he really that dumb that he had to ask that? She stopped walking, folding her arms against her chest as she glared at Owen. "Oh come on, Owen. I know your type. Play the hunky, rugged man who can smile and get any woman he wants in bed." She motioned towards his motorcycle back in the parking lot. "Bet you've had more women bent over that bike than female workers on this island." Holding her hand up to stop Owen from interrupting, she stepped closer to him so they were toe to toe and lowered her voice. "I'm not a number, Mr. Grady."

"Are you finished?" Owen asked, clearly amused.

With her lips in a tight line, Claire nodded. The small smirk playing at the corner of his lips made her blood boil.

"I'm not looking to just get in your pants, Claire. I enjoy this." His hands motioned around them. "I like spending time with you."

Claire's eyes widened for a second before she composed herself. No one has ever said that to her before. She couldn't even remember ever hearing those words come from Andrew. Her mind immediately sought out anything to throw back at him. Anything that would let her know he was telling the truth. "What about Cassandra?" Claire asked, her hands tight on her hips.

"Who?" It took Owen a few seconds to understand why Claire was talking the way she was. "Oh…" He trailed off when he finally realized she had to have seen him last night. "You mean at the bar last night? The raptors were all sleeping, so Barry and I were going to grab something to eat and there was football game on I wanted to watch. I saw Zara running papers down to Dr. Wu and asked her if you were free to come with us. She said you were caught up in the control room and it would be a while." Owen shifted his weight from one foot to the other, his left hand coming up to rub at the stubble on his chin— a nervous habit, Claire realized. "Then we ran into Andrew and he joined us. Those women came out of nowhere. None of us invited them. Cassandra had asked me to go out for drinks tomorrow night, but I declined." He paused to take a breath, realizing how fast he was talking. He sighed heavily, reaching out slowly to touch Claire's arm. "I'm sorry if you got the wrong impression."

Claire shook her head and smiled. "New meat around here gets everyone riled up. Guess that's what you get for working on a secluded island. Slim pickings until someone new comes along."

"Yeah," Owen scoffed. "I'm beginning to realize that."

"What about you?" Owen wondered. "If you saw me last night at the bar why didn't you just join us? Bet you would have made those women run away." He tapped his chin as he thought about his words. "Actually, that would have made my night." He smiled to himself as he pictured Claire chasing them away, claiming him for herself. He would have been more than happy to help her win that fight. He pictured himself pulling her into his arms and kissing her like he knew she had never been kissed before. Glancing down at her lips, he fought the urge to lick his own, desperately wanting to know what her felt like against his.

"So," Claire sighed heavily, ignoring his question and reached both her arms up to stretch. "Ready to run?"

Owen shook his head, pulling himself out of his daydream. "Really?" He couldn't help the wine that escaped. "But I like this pace right here." He said, motioning down to the feet, walking slowly along the path.

"Ok." Claire shrugged, turning to jog away.

"And you didn't answer my question!" He called after her, huffing when she kept running. "Damn, woman," Owen mumbled under his breath. "You ever going to let me catch you?" He watched as she moved along the trail and waited, but she never looked back. Shaking his head with a smile he ran to catch up with her.

Claire kept her eyes forward, but smiled when she felt Owen keep pace beside her. She had to admit that she liked the attention Owen was giving her. The fact that he's had two women— that she knew of— who were basically throwing themselves at Owen, but he declined. It was her he was after, but she still couldn't bring herself to make the first move. She was still hesitant on allowing someone else in. Her main fear was screwing something up the way she did with Andrew.

Her work was everything to her, but Owen was different. She found herself thinking about him almost constantly. The butterflies in her stomach when she was called down to the lab for something, knowing he would be down there. Not to mention the fact that he got up this morning to run with her. But the fear of getting too close to him and he realizing she's just not his type. Or was he sweet talking her just to boast that he nailed the boss. He would hold the triumphant title of being the only new guy to have his way with her. Part of her wanted to say fuck it and actually give him something to boast about, but she pushed those thoughts aside. Chalking it up to the fact that she hasn't had sex in almost a year. If this was going to turn into anything, she had to work hard to make it work.

"Hey, wait." Owen reached out, tugging on Claire's arm as he slowed them to a walk.

She turned to face him and looked around briefly to see why he made her stop running. "What?" She asked, when she couldn't figure it out.

"Listen." He said softly, pointing out over the lagoon with his free hand, the other still wrapped around Claire's wrist.

She was so used to the sounds of the dinosaurs that they just blended in to the background now, but watching Owen stare out over the lagoon, a soft smile spread across his face as he listened. "They are singing." He whispered.

"Yeah," Claire sighed, her eyes still locked on Owen's face. He was really enjoying the sounds of the Brachiosaurus in the distance. She turned her focus on the sun rising over the mountains and listened, for what seems like the first time, to the most beautiful song echoing across the open space. The conversation they just had completely forgotten as she got lost in his reaction to the morning sounds of the island.

Owen snuck a peek at Claire out of the corner of his eye and smiled. The way the pink sunrise reflected off her face made her even more beautiful— If that was even possible.

Feeling his eyes on her, Claire kept her gaze locked on the lagoon, but she twisted her hand until Owen loosened his grip. He was about to pull away, but Claire slipped her hand into his, lacing their fingers together. They walked along the trail, but Owen made a last second turn, pulling Claire along.

"Owen this isn't—" Claire started, but cut off when she noticed he was heading right for a bench facing the lagoon. There they had a perfect view of the rising sun and a little background music to set the mood.

Owen was happy that Claire didn't say anything when he tugged her arm to sit beside him. She didn't hesitate to scoot close beside him, their outer thighs touching. "You know," Owen said, resting their joined hands on his lap. "I think this is my favorite time of day."

Claire spared a glance in his direction, smiling when his eyes met hers. "Mine, too." She agreed and leaned in closer to him. He let go of her hand to reach his arm along the back of the bench behind her. Feeling completely comfortable and at ease, Claire kept her hand on his thigh where he abandoned it to lay it behind her.

At this moment, Claire began to see the entire world different. Sitting with Owen, both of them relaxed as they watched the sun rise and listen to the Brachiosaurus morning songs, it brought tears to her eyes as she couldn't remember a single moment in her life when she felt this way. Right now her world was blissful. It felt so incomparable to anything else she ever experienced that it scared the hell out of her. The last time she thought everything was going perfectly fine, she came home to an empty apartment. She was abandoned and she didn't even know why.

Claire glanced down at her hand resting comfortably on Owen's thigh. It looked natural there. It felt natural to have it there. But she couldn't help her mind drifting back to the complete and utter surprise of Andrew's things gone. Apparently she was worse than she thought at reading people. Even the man she was dating for two years.

Suddenly Claire's mind began to spiral out of control. Did Owen let go of her hand because it was too intimate? She leaned back, concentrating on the fact that his arm across the back of the bench wasn't even touching her. She removed her hand from his thigh and folded her hands tight on her lap. Fighting the urge to sneak a peak at his reaction and waiting for any kind of response from Owen, Claire thought her head was going to explode. When he didn't make any move to reach back for her hand, she sighed heavily and stood up.

"Where are you going?" Owen asked, leaning forward on the bench. He wanted to reach for her, but the look on her face had him second guessing himself.

"Jog back up to the resort. I have to get ready for work."

Owen double checked his watched and narrowed his eyes. "But you still have…" He trailed off as he glanced up at her, but she was already on the move. He sat for a moment, scrubbing his hand across his unkept stubble on his chin as he watched her run. Was she running from him? Did he move too fast?

Standing up and scratching the back of his head, Owen began to walk back towards the resort. He ran through the last twenty minutes in his head and couldn't figure out where he went wrong. He thought he was making his actions clear.

XXX

Owen walked into the lab, his mind still whirling over his morning with Claire. He seemed to be running on autopilot, using all his energy to try and figure her out. Normally he wouldn't waste so much time trying to chase after someone he was interested in, but whether she knew it or not, Claire already had a tight hold on him. It wasn't something he quite understood himself, but he wasn't trying to fight it. He didn't want to fight it.

"Ok," Andrew sighed heavily, pulling up a chair to sit beside Owen, who was patting each raptor as they squeaked at him. "What's on your mind? I've walked in and out of here ten times this morning and you have been sitting in the same position. Veronica held an entire conversation with you and you barely blinked." He shook his head with a soft chuckle. "I mean, come on, you have someone like her bending over in front of you like that," He shook his head with a huff, "Any human man would not be able to check out the cleavage."

"Huh?" Owen blinked a few times, trying to get his eyes to focus on Andrew. "Oh," he shook his head, trying to clear his mind. "Sorry, long morning."

Andrew sat back as he watched Owen closely. He didn't even acknowledge what he said about Veronica. "Did you take Cassandra home?" Andrew asked, a smile playing at the corner of his lips. "You guys left around the same time."

"What?" Owen asked, his eyes wide. "No. Definitely went home alone."

"Sorry," Andrew said quickly, catching the offense Owen took to his question. "Touchy subject?"

Owen sighed heavily, reaching for Delta and cradled her as he leaned back in his chair. "If the subject is women, then yes."

Andrew rolled his eyes. "Oh, been there, man."

Owen noticed Andrew's gaze drifted off, obviously thinking of something or someone. He immediately thought back to when he caught the little interaction between Veronica, Claire and Andrew. "Oh yeah?" Owen asked, internally cringing at the conversation he is about to initiate, but he needed to know. "Who was she?"