The Relationship Clause

Chapter 27

As the Uberpulls up to our building, I breathe a sigh filled with mixed emotions. In some ways, I’m happy to be home. Exhaustion claws at the inside of my eyes thanks to the fact I wasn’t able to sleep much on the red-eye. I’m ready to crawl into bed as soon as possible.

At the same time, I’m filled with anxiety. Although I totally understand and support Owen needing to turn around and leave again, I can’t help the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach at the thought of being away from him. It’s like we’re leaving behind that nice little wintery snow globe bubble where all things magical and romantic existed, and some part of me worries we may never get it back.

“I’m going to walk her up,” Owen says to our driver. “I’ll be back in less than ten minutes.”

The elevator takes us to our floor, and it’s all I can do to not grab Owen by his jacket and haul him into my apartment with me. I liked sharing the suite with him in Vail. I liked cuddling on the couch yesterday afternoon and him falling asleep with his arms around me. I liked quietly trying to untangle myself from him and putting a blanket over him only for him to wake up and pull me back onto his chest. We finished the movie, kissing more than watching. Longing overtaking reason, I may or may not have asked him to carry me to my bed, but he politely refused, telling me we really needed to start packing.

He was right, of course, but now, I’m facing the same desire this morning. The desire to ask him to stay with me. I open my mouth, but before any sound can escape, Owen puts a finger to my lips.

“Don’t ask me, Junie.” His words are almost a groan, filled with want. “Don’t ask me to stay with you again. I don’t think I’ll be able to be as gentlemanly this time. Plus, I do have another plane to catch, you know.”

“So?” I say, knowing I only half mean my words. “Maybe I don’t want you to be a gentleman anymore. And maybe I’m not as selfless as I made myself sound last night.”

“Maybe not. But I don’t want to do anything with you beyond kissing until we’re both ready. And when that moment comes, I’m going to need way more than ten minutes with you.”

A burning flush creeps up my neck, and I can’t bear to look at him.

“Also…” he says, tilting my chin up “there is the issue of that pesky contract we signed and figuring out how we move forward in the workplace.

I wrap my arms around his broad chest. “I don’t even want to worry about that right now.” I tried thinking about the work dynamic a little last night, and all it did was depress me.

To be honest, I like working at Em3rge. I love getting to see Kiera and Owen every day, I’m happy with the work I’m doing, I feel valued and appreciated. But there is the pesky problem of Owen being my boss… If we were to keep dating, I could only work there if I moved to a different department, but what would I do if I weren’t his secretary?

Owen shakes me lightly, as if he knows the depressing paths my thoughts are leading me down. “We’ll figure it out, Juniper. We’ll talk more about it after I get back, and we’ll figure it out. In the meantime, I’m going to have that ridiculous relationship clause stricken from our contract, okay?”

“I do like the sound of that.”

“Good. Now, you’ve got to let me go. Otherwise, I’ll never make my flight.”

Five minutes later, I slip back into my apartment, delirious with just-been-kissed vibes, but with the cold, life-sucking fingers of mild depression clawing at the edges of my consciousness. I look around, wishing I weren’t alone, wishing it didn’t have to be this way.

“Well, it’s not going to be this way,” I tell the empty air. I drop my suitcase and grab the second set of keys that Owen gave me moments before. I was more than happy to agree to care for his cat, Storm, while he was gone again. She’d been alone for most of the time we were in Vail, except for the occasional drop-in from Kiera.

Leaving my apartment, I cross the hall to Owen’s, throwing open the door. Storm is right there, as if she expected me all along, and gives me a loud, indignant yowl. After some bribery in the form of cat treats, she allows me to pick her up, and we cuddle for the good part of an hour.

It’s definitely not as nice as cuddling with Owen, but until he gets back, I can live with the alternative.

“Okay, Juniper, spill.”

I look up from my desk to find Kiera and Summer staring at me intently. “You’re not allowed to call me Juniper,” I say, returning my eyes to my computer. “It’s weird coming from you, Kiki.”

Kiera rolls her eyes. “Fine. Junie. It’s time to spill. Tell us what’s going on.”

I sit a little straighter in my seat, doing a quick glance around the office to see who might be trying to listen in on the conversation. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say a little quieter.

Kiera leans over my desk, matching my tone. “Bull. You and my brother go on a romantic vacation together, come back early, and then he and Shane leave again. You know something. I know you do. What is going on?”

I take great care to control my facial features. I am a stone statue. “Whether I know anything or not is irrelevant, because even if I did know something, which I’m not saying I do, I wouldn’t be at liberty to tell you.”

Kiera makes a pouty face, but Summer looks as if this is exactly what she expected. “Can you at least tell us when they’re supposed to be back?” she asks.

“Um…I don’t think even they know when they’ll be back yet.”

My mood immediately darkens. Not to sound like an overdramatic preteen, but the last twenty-four hours without Owen have been some of the saddest, loneliest hours of my life. And that’s saying something.

And, okay, yeah, so maybe I perpetuated those feelings by holing myself up in Owen’s apartment, snuggling his cat, and watching some of the most depressing movies imaginable, namely The Fox and the Hound,Titanic, and The Notebook, but what was I supposed to do? I’m kind of new to this whole committed relationship thing.

Despite all that, I survived and charged into Monday morning with a pep in my step, knowing Owen would be back in another twenty-fourish hours. Or at least, he was supposed to be.

Less than an hour ago, I got a brief call from a very stressed-sounding Owen who apologized and explained that they had to cancel their Tuesday morning flights. Some things came up, and it is going to take longer than they originally thought to smooth out all the bumps and hiccups caused by Breanna, Linda, and Craig.

I did my best to act supportive and understanding over the phone, but on the inside, I kind of shriveled up and died.

YES, I KNOW I’M BEING AN OVERDRAMATIC PRETEEN.

Is this how it’s going to be from now on? Always counting down the minutes until we get to be together again whenever we’re separated? Because if it is, I may have to reevaluate…

Kidding. Just kidding.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Kiera says, reading my mood.

“It’s okay, because I’m not thinking about it. In fact, I’m not thinking about it so hard that I thought it might be fun for you guys to come to my house—my house-house, not the apartment—tonight so you can help me install my new cabinet drawers that arrived.”

Summer and Kiera look at each other. “Excuse me,” Summer says, “but do we look like the kind of people who know how to do that kind of thing?”

“I know I’m not,” says Kiera, reaching over my desk to grab a few paperclips.

“Yeah, but we could if we wanted to be,” I say. “I watch girls do DIY things on Instagram all the time.”

Summer grimaces. “Right. Well, we’ll come over, but no promises on the DIY stuff. Hey, do you want to have lunch with us? We’re thinking of ordering from that sub shop down the road.”

I shake my head. “Sorry, no can do. I’m having lunch with my dad a little later. Rain check?”

Kiera’s eyebrows lift. “What? Lunch with your dad? I didn’t know he was coming into town.”

“Yeah, we just barely made the plans,” I say, concentrating a little harder on my computer screen.

“You don’t seem as excited about that as you normally would be.”

She’s right.

Usually, I’m way hyped up to meet with him. I literally count down the hours and make little lists in my head about all the things I want to make sure I talk to him about. But this time…

I swallow, wishing I could make this little knot of worry in my throat disappear. The thing is, I decided I was still going to tell him about Owen. Even though they won’t be able to meet, I want to tell my dad all about him and how happy I am when we’re together. I even want to tell him how scary it’s been to make this leap and how I’ve never done something more terrifying yet exhilarating in my life.

That shouldn’t make me anxious, should it? He’s my dad. He’ll be supportive of me no matter what. He’s never questioned my life choices so far, so why would he start now? And yet, for some reason, I’m worried he will.

I don’t tell Kiera and Summer any of this though. Instead, I force a close-lipped smile and shrug my shoulders.

“No, I’m excited,” I lie. “I just have a lot going on, you know? I haven’t been able to let myself get as hyped up as I usually do.”

Kiera shrugs. “Fair enough, I guess.” But I don’t miss the worried glance she exchanges with Summer.

“I’m fine, guys. Promise.”

Or, at least, I will be fine. Eventually.