Suddenly, my fingers are pulled from their doodling, and they rest in Owen’s warm grasp. “You just what?” he requested, but all I could focus on was the feel of his thumb rubbing small circles against my palm.
Without thinking, I said, “You know, people are going to wonder why you’re holding my hand right now.”
Immediately, he replied, “Let them wonder. Now, explain why you aren’t over there talking to the guy you’re attracted to?”
“Owen…,” I whined.
He copycatted, “Aspen.”
“Ugh, I can’t believe I’m telling you this,” I mumbled before slipping my hand free from his. I’d never admit how much I immediately missed the feeling. “I just don’t know how, okay? I don’t know how to flirt or appear interested. I barely know how to strike up a conversation with a stranger unless it’s something work-related.”
“That’s not true. You’re talking to me right now.”
My head fell back in a haunted laugh. The kind that forces everyone to think you’ve gone crazy. “Owen, I’m only talking to you, because I’ve known you since we were six. You know, when you made it your life’s mission to see how much you could torment me?”
“Aw… cricket, that hurts. I thought you actually liked me.”
“Why would I like you? When have we ever gotten along?”
“We’re getting along now,” he pointed out, and I paused, because he was right. In the last ten minutes, we had been getting along. The world didn’t implode, and the sun didn’t detonate.
Now, I secretly wondered if someone was filming me for a prank show. Sitting up in my chair, I glanced around quickly, searching for any hidden cameras. I locked eyes with Jenna in my exploration, and she held up a hand to her newly acquired date, then made her way over to me.
“Owen Ramsey, what a surprise to see you here.”
“It’s nice to see you too, Jenna. It’s been a while.” She rested a hand on the back of his chair and tilted forward. But unlike the women who slipped Owen their numbers, nothing about her stance was sexual. It was friendly and open, yet I still felt a pang of jealousy, and I had no idea why.
I chalked it up to being envious of her ability to speak to everyone like a lifelong friend. It was a talent Jenna possessed since we were kids.
“It has,” she added. “So, what are you two talking about over here?”
Chiming in quickly, I replied, “Nothing.”
Both of them swiveled their heads in my direction at my outburst.
“Actually, we were just discussing Aspen’s love life.”
“Oh.”
“I don’t have a love life,” I added. “And Owen was just leaving, now that you’ve returned.”
Jenna’s face pinched. “Actually, Derek and I are going to head out and go back to his place for a bit.”
“Oh, well, I can close our tabs really quick.” I’d driven separately, since my dad drove me to my car at Chuck’s and gave it a jumped before I came here, but I didn’t want to hang out at the bar by myself if she was leaving. And I wasn’t going to complain she was ditching me, when I didn’t want to be here in the first place.
As I went to stand, Jenna forcefully pushed at my shoulder for me to remain seated. “No, you stay.”
I tried to argue with her that I had no reason to stay, but Owen inserted himself into the quarrel and said, “Actually, cricket, I have something I want to discuss with you. Please stay.”
And shit, I was a goner. Even with him saying the nickname I despised, hearing Owen ask me so nicely to stay melted me faster than the frost on my beer glass.
“Fine,” I grumbled, and I didn’t miss the way his eyes lit up in triumph.
Jenna flagged down the server and paid her bill, then she said goodbye, leaving with Derek in tow. I watched them leave with a sense of longing. I’d never left anywhere with a guy before. Never taken a guy back to my place or gone back to theirs. I felt even smaller than a wallflower. I was the tiny seed that got no sun or rain. I had no way to grow.
“Earth to Aspen.”
At the sound of my name, I jerked my head around to where Owen waited with a patient smile. It was a look I’d never witnessed on his face before.
“Sorry. You don’t have to sit with me, you know. I’m a big girl.”
“I know, but I wasn’t lying. I actually have something to discuss with you. Something that may benefit both of us.”
Just as he finished his statement, a gorgeous blonde I’d never seen in town before pranced over and fawned over Owen. It was like the world found out he was newly single, and the women were out for blood.
I watched, fascinated, as he gently pried her arms from around his shoulders and explained he was busy. The woman never even turned her head to look in my direction. Instead, she retrieved a marker from her purse, then quickly started jotting down a series of numbers across some of his tattoos on his forearm. She’d clearly done this before, the way she didn’t even hesitate.
When he realized what she was doing, he jerked his arm away, the marker leaving a long streak in its wake.
Despite her actions, Owen scolded her tenderly as he stood. I realized for the first time that Owen rarely ever lost his cool. Even through all the antics I performed at his and his clique’s expense during school, he never shouted or seemed angry. It was a shocking revelation after knowing what I did about his father.
The woman fled through the exit as quickly as she’d come.
“Look, I was being sincere when I said I wanted to talk to you about something, but I’m drawing a crowd. Is there anywhere else we could talk?”
“Talk?”
“Yes, form words with our tongues and create sentences. Just like that.”
