Just a Number(105)

This leads my mom to ask about that night. I tell her everything, not leaving anything out. She follows along, never interrupting, always looking at me with understanding. After I finish, a part of me expects her to tell me how dumb it was of me to keep my relationship with Owen a secret, but she surprises me.

“I get why you kept it to yourself. I would have done the same thing in your position. Had you told him, your visit over Christmas would have been strained.” She pauses then, seeming somewhat nervous. “But I also understand why he’s so upset, sweetie. You’ve never kept anything from him—sometimes, much to his chagrin,” she jokes lightly. “And Owen is his best friend. This isn’t easy for him, I know that. But I’ll talk him through it.”

“Thank you,” I say sincerely.

“This isn’t just for you, Amy. This is as much for him. I know he needs space, and I won’t pressure him, but right now, I think he just needs someone he can vent to about everything.”

When our food arrives, we dig in and the conversation shifts to the party Owen took me to on New Year’s Eve. I recount the evening with so much excitement and zeal that it’s like I’m reliving it. After breakfast, Mom notices the time and decides that it’s time she get on the highway if she’s going to make it there for when Dad wakes up after working the graveyard shift last night.

Mom pays the bill, and we stand up and hug before saying goodbye to each other. She tells me she’ll stay in Portland for the night, but will be back in the city tomorrow because her flight leaves tomorrow night. We make plans to meet up for dinner—this time inviting Owen along—and we walk out to the parking lot.

I return to Owen’s place within the hour to find he’s awake and doing his breakfast dishes. I join him in the kitchen, popping up on my toes and kissing his cheek. “Good morning,” I say, hopping up onto the counter next to him.

“Morning.”

“You got my note?”

He nods. “I did. How was breakfast with your mom?”

“Good. She’s headed to Dad’s now. I’m not sure how that’s going to go. I think she’s just going to let him get all of his frustrations out.” I shrug, dropping my eyes to my hands in my lap. “I don’t know, maybe it’ll do some good. He’s always been able to talk to her about things he can’t with me.”

Owen drains the sink once his dishes are done and dries his hands before maneuvering his way between my legs, forcing them to part slightly. “I know it’s not easy, but why don’t we try not to think about it? That’s not to say it’s not important, but we’ve done nothing but stress about all of this, and I think we deserve for our last day before returning to the real world to be unforgettable and fun.”

Quirking an eyebrow curiously, I rest my hands on his hips, looping my thumbs into the waist of his sleep pants and tugging them. “What exactly did you have in mind?” I inquire with a sly smirk.

“Well, I was thinking we’d stay in. Close ourselves off from the world and just focus on each other.”

“Um…isn’t that what we’ve been doing for a majority of the last month and a half?”

Owen chuckles. “More or less, but I don’t think there are any hard and fast rules against doing it as much as possible.”

“It?” I ask, my tone suggestive as I slip my hands into his pants to find him growing aroused.

He moans when I wrap my hand around his length. “I’m sure that can be arranged.” I stroke him again, and his eyes close. “Okay,” he says, his voice shuddering. “New rule for today.”

“Oh?”

“No clothes. All day.”

In seconds, our clothes are off and we’re celebrating what I hope is the first of many “Naked Sundays.” Naturally, though, with such closed quarters and a lack of clothing, it’s not long before we’ve started having sex in every room of his place and on almost every surface…but hey, the day’s not over yet. We’ve got time to cover every inch of this place.





27. A Hard Day’s Night



The next few days come and go, and neither one of us has heard from Alan yet. Samm came back through, and we met her for dinner before heading over to Amelia’s. I didn’t wind up staying the night, but I was sure to leave her wanting more.

We’d made plans to get together tonight, but something came up at work, and I am now going to be working late. Hearing this disappointed her, but she accepted it—though, not until after making me promise to call her if I found a moment or was thinking about her.