Summary
After breaking up with Alise in a brief text message, Owen has a lot of explaining to do. After hearing his side of the story, the question is whether or not Alise will be able to forgive him.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, annoyed, which was evident by my tone of voice.
"I wanted to talk to you." he said.
Of course, he wants to talk now.
"Right now isn't a good time." I said, crossing my arms over my chest, knowing that Lowery was in the next room and Owen was on his list of bad guys right now. There was no telling what embarrassing thing Lowery would try to do.
"Hey, Lise, do you have that jalapeno popcorn you used to have back home?" Lowery's voice came from the kitchen.
"Uh, no, Lowery. They don't sell it here." I said, turning my head back to the kitchen.
"Really? I thought I saw some at the grocery store…" he said, his voice grew closer. He stopped when he saw Owen. "Oh, well, what a surprise," he said sarcastically.
I sighed, "Lowery, can you just start the movie? I'll be right there?" it was my subtle way of telling him 'I got this'.
"Are you sure?" he asked, walking away, looking back at us. "I could totally kick his ass for you." he called from the other room. It was almost comical, but not at the same time.
"Uh, I don't think you could…" I said, loud enough for him to hear.
"I'd totally try!" he called back. I raised my brows and looked back at Owen.
Owen shrugged, chuckling. "He could try." I could tell he was trying to lighten the mood.
"There's no need for that," I shook my head. "Owen was just leaving." I said, loud enough for Lowery to hear as I grabbed the door, ready to close it.
"I can see right now's not a good time… but I do need to talk to you. I owe you an explanation."
"You do." I said, looking down at my feet. My demeanor had changed because he admitted that, that's really all I wanted.
"I can come by tomorrow…"
"Yeah… okay. Come around 8 pm." I said, looking up at him.
"Great," he smiled. "Have a good night." he looked hopeful. I just gave him a half smile before shutting the door and letting out a sigh.
The next day I was the most nervous I've ever been. My mind was somewhere else completely as I was working. I tried to keep my head in the game, but it was difficult. I was just nervous about seeing Owen later and hearing what he had to say.
The day went by pretty quickly and I got home at 6 pm. I took a long, hot shower and tried to relax before Owen got here. I drank calming tea and mentally prepared myself, going over the possible things he could say in my head and forming responses for them. I was completely overthinking the entire thing.
I was so in my head I jumped when the doorbell rang. I put my mug down on the coffee table and got off the couch before walking over to the door. I took a deep breath. Shit. Here we go.
I was so not ready for this conversation.
I opened the door and Owen smiled, "Hey…"
"Hey… come in," I said, opening the door as I walked towards the kitchen. "Want anything to drink? Water? I'm not even going to say tea because I know how much you hate it." I said, laughing a little, forgetting that I was mad at him for a second.
"Water's fine." he said, sitting at the kitchen table as I poured two glasses of water and sat down across from him.
I played with the glass, moving it around slightly, waiting for him to say something. I had so many questions running through my mind, but I couldn't bring myself to ask any of them. The one glaring me in the face was if there was someone else and if there was, it would only hurt more.
Finally, he cleared his throat.
"So I know I kinda owe to an explanation about… everything," he sounded nervous. I just nodded, agreeing with him. "It's just… shit, I'm not good at this sort of thing." he was right, he was never good at sharing his feelings. "So I guess it goes back to when you told me you loved me…"
"Yeah. You know, Owen, if you didn't want to say it back, you didn't have to. You could have just said you didn't feel the same way. I would have understood. It would have hurt less than a text." I said, playing with the sleeve of my shirt nervously, my wrist leaning on the table.
"That's just it, though. I do love you, Alise."
I looked up at him, now I was really confused.
He reached over and grabbed my hand. "I love you so much. I've never felt like this about anyone before and… I broke it off because I love you."
"Owen, that doesn't make any sense." I shook my head.
"I know… it doesn't, at all. And I realize that now. I just know you deserve better, I'm not good enough for you." he said, looking down. I've never seen Owen so vulnerable. Normally, he was so self-assured, I never thought he'd worry about something like this.
"Why would you ever think that? Of course, you're good enough…"
"I've never been good at commitment, I'm afraid of it. I've fallen for you and that scares me." he shook his head, looking down.
"I'm scared too. It's always scary giving your heart out to someone," I said, reaching out to cup his cheek and turn his head towards me. His eyes were glassy, I could tell he was about to cry. Honestly, so was I. "You never have to be afraid with me. I'll never hurt you."
Owen looked back at me, right in my eyes. "God, I am such an idiot."
"Yeah, you kinda are." I laughed.
He leaned forward, pecking my lips softly, then pulling away slightly, just enough for our noses to brush together. It was as if he were asking if it was okay. My hand slipped to the back of his neck as I pulled him into another kiss. This time it was harder and more passionate.
I bit on his bottom lip lightly and he opened his mouth, allowing my tongue to slip in. I ran my fingers through his hair as his hands found my waist, pulling me to my feet. He guided me so I sat on top of him, straddling his waist, all without breaking the kiss.
I pulled away reluctantly, both of us breathing heavily as I looked down at him. One of my hands on the back of his neck and the other slid down to his vest as I tugged on it.
"Next time you're worried about something, tell me and we'll talk about it. Don't break up with me over text like a dick." I warned.
Owen looked up at me, a smile cracked on his lips. "Never again." he promised, kissing me again. The kiss returned to the same intensity that it was before, then he pulled away slightly. "Should we move this to the bedroom?" he nodded his head towards the hallway with a smirk.
I raised my brows, "You shouldn't have to ask." I tugged on his vest, my lips crashing into his once again. I giggled when he slapped my ass and stood up, my legs wrapped around his waist as he carried me off to the bedroom.
30 minutes later, we were laying in bed, the only thing covering our bodies was a light sheet. My head was on his chest and I was listening to his heartbeat and steady breath. I let out a happy sigh of contentment.
"You know, Blue's mad at me." he said, twirling my hair around his finger.
I raised my brows, "Oh really?" I asked, remembering how Blue seemed annoyed after I left yesterday.
"Yeah, she won't take me seriously. She growled at me when you left yesterday."
"Good. Us girls gotta stick together." I couldn't help but laugh, wondering if what happened between Owen and I was actually why Blue was mad at him.
"Will you come with me tomorrow morning and tell her we're all good? When she doesn't listen to me, the other girls don't and I've got a reputation to uphold."
"Only if you cook me those amazing pancakes and some bacon." I smiled.
"Deal," he kissed my forehead. "I love you."
I couldn't help my heart skipping a beat and the butterflies in my stomach as I picked up my head from his chest and looked at him, right in his green eyes. "I love you too." I kissed his lips softly.
Now everything was back to the way it should be, but I still couldn't help the fear lurking in the back of my mind. I pushed it away, not wanting to bring it to the surface. I needed to focus on the good and that was the man lying in front of me. I loved him so much and nothing could get in the way of that.
Author's Note:
So this one is MUCH shorter than any of the other ones, but I figure it was a good place to end it before what comes next and things really start to get interesting in the next chapter. Since this is so short, I'll be posting chapter 12 in a couple of days instead of making you wait any longer!