Chapter 7
1777 Words
The weeks past and Owen had been a permanent fixture in the beach house from ten in the morning until ten at night. I tired my best to reason with him to go out and find something better to do with his time and he continuously told me that I was worth his time. Liam had been making his presents known as well when he didn't have a game, he would show up after practice just in time for dinner. He'd talk about the team and how they need Owen healthy and to finish his treatment strong so they could rock the league next season.
"What are your plans today?" Owen asked walking out on the patio.
"Writing." I smiled and pointed to the laptop sitting on my legs.
"Pretending to." He smiled and picked my legs up before sitting down. He set my legs across the tops of his. "You've probably added all of ten words since you got here."
"No. I finished it." I smiled. "I sent it in to my editor, it's just a rough draft so I'm sure there will be a bunch to fix but that's the fun part."
"I thought the fun part was writing it?"
"No, it's rereading it and fixing it to make sure it flows more naturally. Its reliving the life of a character that you put a little bit of yourself into. Its breathing life into a new world that you were able to create."
"Wow, I never thought about it like that." He nodded. "That's some great in sight." He had his hand resting on my leg, he started absentmindedly rubbing his thumb against my bare skin.
"What were you proposing for the plans today?" I said and pulled m legs back to sit up straight. "I'm assuming that's why your here."
"Charleston always has a Fourth of July summer festival. There's food, rides, carnival games, live music. It's a lot of fun, I was wondering if you would like to go with me?"
"As friends." I said as more of a statementeminder to myself than anything else.
"Yes, Dylan, as friends." He looked disappointed.
"Sure. Let me get dressed and we can go."
"Why not wear this?" He pulled at the navy blue and white pin striped sundress.
"Because I'd prefer to be fully clothed in front of strangers."
"So, I'm no longer a stranger?" He grinned.
"No, Owen. You're no longer a stranger."
"Do you trust me now?"
"Yes, I do."
Owen's grin grew into a full smiled. "That's the best news I've heard all day. Go get dressed then. Liam's on his way." He tapped my calf.
"Be back in fifteen."
I watched him throw his head back as I walked back into the house.
"Fuck." I heard him groan softly to myself. "What do I have to do to get this girl to notice me?" I couldn't help but smile, because whether he realized it or not, I had noticed him and he had my full attention.
When I reappeared at the bottom of the stairs, Owen was leaning against the wall by the door. His hands were is pockets and his head was back pressed against the wall. His eyes were closed and I couldn't help but just take a second to admire him. His dark hair looked soft and was maybe an inch or so long, his long lashes touched his cheeks when his eyes were closed and she could see the sleeves of his black t-shirt were trying so hard to contain his muscle. The tan cargo shorts he was wearing almost matched his skin. He was perfect right down to his Nikes.
"Ready?" My voice came out breathy and needy, which was completely unintentional but completely unavoidable at the same time.
"Yeah," he opened his eyes and forgot what he was about to say. "you look incredible." The hunter green of her loose fitted tank top complimented her skin tone perfectly. Her boyfriend style jeans hugged her every curve. "Please tell me you're not wearing heels."
"My black sneakers, why?"
"Don't slap me but your ass already looks too good in those jeans, I'm not sure I'd be able to behave myself or control my thoughts if you added anything else to help."
"Are you saying you just checked me out?"
"I did and I do. Regularly."
"Well, that's overly friendly." I winked.
"That's what I want to be." His mouth snapped shut.
"Owen, are you hitting on me now?"
"Since day one, you're destroying my batting average by ignoring my attempts."
"Sorry about that, but I see a full shut out game here."
"I'll hit a home run, eventually."
"Then find someone else for your batting practice." I tapped him on his chest.
"No, if I keep swinging for the fences, I know I'll connect at some point." He smiled.
"Or you might keep striking out."
"Baseball fan?"
"It's the uniform." I let out a longing sigh with a shrug.
"Miss Jones, will you be home for dinner?"
"No, Mildred. I won't be back until much later." I smiled over my shoulder at Owen. "You guys enjoy the rest of your day, see your family. Have fun."
"Thank you." She nodded. "Y'all have fun."
"You want to drive?" I asked and tossed my keys at him on my way out the door.
"Sure."
"I thought you said Liam was meeting us here." I asked as he started to pull out of the driveway.
"He changed his mind, he's gonna meet us there." Owen reached over and laced his fingers with mine. "Thank you." He said after a minute.
"For what?"
"Not pulling away." He looked at me.
"Did you honestly think I would?"
"I didn't know what you were going to do. Every time I've tried to do something like this you end up pulling away or moving away from me before I had a chance." He shrugged.
I was quiet for a moment, all this time and he had been respectful of my wishes, I knew that he found me attractive, that his long game was for us to be just that, and us. For almost two months now, he had been coming over, hanging out eating meals, slowly pushing his way into my every waking thought and making me crave his presence. It was to the point where we could just sit there in complete silence and I would be satisfied with that. So, why was I still keeping him at arm's length?
"Can I ask you a question?" Dylan asked.
"Shoot. But it better not be the why do you want to date me bullshit question again. Because I already told you." He took a deep breath and when I didn't say anything else he continued. "I like you Dylan, a lot. You're funny. You speak your mind. You're opinionated. You care far more for others than you should. You're gorgeous inside and out. The more time I spend with you the more I like you, okay? I will keep explaining it over and over again. I will tell you every f*****g day if I have to but I need you to hear it, not just listen to it."
"I just don't understand, you can have any girl you want." I shrugged.
"No, I can't."
"Sure you can."
"No, Dylan, I can't."
"Why not?"
"Because the girl I want has made it clear she's not interested. And I can only come to that conclusion because you keep saying no." He pulled over to the side of the road and reached over the steering wheel to put the Jeep in park. "Dylan, I'm running out of ways to explain this to you. So I'm just going to say this. You're right, I probably could walk into this festival and walk out with four numbers and three dates for next week. But I'm not going to because not a single f*****g girl in there will compare to you."
We sat there in silence for a moment, still holding hands. He kept rubbing my palm with his thumb, as if he was reassuring himself that I was still there, that we were there and in this together. I was speechless, once again, and felt incredibly stupid.
He reached over and placed his other hand on my cheek wrapping his fingers around the back of my neck. "I want you." He pulled my forehead to his and kept his voice soft and low. "I want you so bad sometimes I can't stand it and the worst part is you don't even realize what you're doing to me. I hate, like despise, whoever hurt you and made you feel like you didn't deserve to be loved or cared for. I hate that you think someone with my body type wouldn't want someone with yours because you see yourself as someone a lot bigger than you actually are. I can't stand that you don't like yourself because I think you are an amazing f*****g woman and I'd really like to kiss you right now. But I won't because you asked me to be your friend. So instead, I'm going to kiss your forehead and then kiss your knuckles. We are going to go to this festival and while we are watching the live band, I'm going to stand behind you. I'm going to wrap my arms around your waist and I'm going to tuck my chin into the crook of your neck. I'm going to treat this like a date because in the back of my mind, that's what this is."
"Okay." She whispered.
"Okay, what?"
"I'll stop asking. I think I understand now." I nodded.
"If you understood, you'd answer yes to this next question."
"Okay, ask it."
"Will you be my date tonight?"
I didn't really have to think about it, it was a no brainer. But he still had his forehead to mine and the smell of him was overwhelming me in all the best of ways. He smelled like the ocean mixed with Polo Red.
"Yes." I closed her eyes and said on a harsh swallow. Only to feel his lips on my forehead a moment later and then again on my knuckles as he pulled away. I was still leaning towards him as the vehicle started moving. I opened my eyes and he was smiling staring at the road in front of him.
He pulled my hand into his lap. "Thank you."
"For what?" I asked looking out the window.
"For giving me a chance."
"Just don't make me regret this Owen."
"I promise you, Dylan, you won't." He smiled and kissed my hand again.
- Writer
